What's wrong with a tent? (vacation, crowded, city, driving)

[jkcoop]

Yes, it is to each his own and I suppose the older I get we'll do things differently and opinions will change.

For now, camping for us is backcountry - no air mattresses here. And here in Colorado there are many times when there are fire bans, so the only means of cooking is with the little burner we pack in because you can't do a fire.

But you certainly get away from it all and see places you would never otherwise see.

[80skeys]

I think a case could be made either way. I've always tent-camped. I never had an RV. But sometimes I find myself thinking that the luxuries of an RV would be nice. If I could afford one, I would get one.

[80skeys]

Above pic is two days ago at Ruedi Lake in Colorado.

[mullman]

We (family of four) spend a week on the Maine coast with my wife's family every year.

Everyone else has campers, but we camp in a tent.
The kids love it and it is much less work vs pull a trailer 1100 miles ea way.
The nights are cool, and foam pads or air mattresses keep everyone happy.
Breakfast at the campsite, sandwiches for lunch on the beach, usually clean up and dine out somewhere.
It's fun.

We also primitive camp around NC including Cape Lookout.
Cape Lookout is a National Seashore, pack-in, pack-out.
Unless you are sleeping there for the night (tent) how else could you get this shot?



For full disclosure, I am eyeing this because of it's multiple abilities (tent, motorcycle trailer), and it can be towed by nearly anything:

http://www.sylvansport.com/

[MovedfromFL]

My husband and I are thinking about getting a small camper of some kind. We have two boys, ages 3 and 11 months and I just wouldn't feel safe in a tent these days. (bears, freaks, etc) There have been some fatal bear attacks on tent campers in the Southeast US. I have already decided we don't want a pop-up because of the mesh walls. Those things are just glorified tents. I don't want to sleep on a bed that just sticks out there for anything to attack. Guess I'm just paranoid like that.

Anyway, I used to go camping as a child. I still have bad memories of being in the tent with my cousins one night in Florida when the skies opened up. Our tent leaked something terrible (my cat liked to attack the top with his claws). One of us made a mad dash to the adult travel trailer, but they wouldn't let us in.

All of my prior tent camping experiences were bare bones: sleeping bag on the ground and all. I hate the smell of inside the tent (mildew/ dank) and I hate the sand that always tracks in there.

I love the idea of a basic camper for my family for these reasons:
1. safety/ security from bears and other people
2. privacy
3. comfort
4. the whole idea of having this neat little home on wheels (I'm sure this will probably fade once I get one)

We just returned from Big Meadows lodge on Skyline Drive, Virginia and there were quite a few tent campers there. (of course, that is where two women & their dog were murdered in their tent years ago) You would never in a million years think that place would be the site of a murder. That's why I say you never know these days.

[Shagbark Hickory]

Agreed. Camping is camping. RVing is RVing.
Airconditioning, refrigerator, heat... that's cheating.

I'll admit though I am too much of a wuss to do the tent thing.

[Roaddog]

I love to camp, I've had tent trailers and overhead campers and of course tents, i still own a tent trailer but in the last three years went back to a tent, it just feels good, the only thing we ever used a camper for was to sleep in but they have came in handy because we used to camp through out the winter and it was real cold.
To each thier own but if i'm taking something with all the comforts of home then I should just stay home.

[jdavid93225]

I still tent camp, and find it very satisfying. I used to have a slide-in camper, but it was old, and was damaged beyond repair when it was blown over in heavy wind one night (when it was on blocks and not in the truck). I have not owned any other type of RV, either before or after that. What I see, for the most part, is that folks that travel and "camp" in RVs tend to stay inside a lot more than folks that camp in tents. The RV folks stay inside to cook, clean, sleep, watch TV, play cards, etc. The tent folks stay inside to sleep, play cards, or come in out of the rain. Most of the rest of the time, they are outside, enjoying what nature has to offer.

I see both lifestyles as having advantages. When RVing, you can take pretty much everything with you, and have all the comforts of home. When tent camping, you learn to become more inventive in the things you do, because you generally can't bring everything with you. You learn to be creative in the way you do things to make up for the lack of things you have with you. You also learn to enjoy being outdoors and taking up more outdoor activities, such as fishing, hiking, rock collecting, and so on.

One of the biggest advantages I see to tent camping is cost. Obviously, you can buy all your required gear for less than a few months payments on the cheapest of RVs. Also, you can pack that gear into a vehicle that gets 3 to 4 times the mileage of an RV, saving significantly on the cost of fuel. One other advantage I see is that, with the right vehicle, or on foot or horseback, you can get into places that RVs simply can't go. For instance, you don't see RVs in the bottom of the Grand Canyon, but you can get in there by foot or horseback. Many campsites can be accessed with a four wheel drive truck or SUV, where an RV could never go.

I end up taking a lot of gear with me in my truck when I go camping, but once camp is all set up, it has almost all the amenities of home. I enjoy this type of camping, but I don't set it up and tear it down every day when I set up this way. If I am on the move, and need to tear down my camp daily, I use just a small tent and campstove, and leave most of the other luxuries I enjoy behind, so I can easily take it down to move on the next day.

[ReturningWest]

In my youth I tent camped all over the NW...now with a bad back, fibromyalgia and a host of other things the small RV looks really good.

I still love the outdoors but long hikes into the backcountry are out but I can still enjoy shorter "strolls".

[Roaddog]

about 5 years ago i had the bright idea to rough it, I loaded the bare gear on my motorcycle and took off to a remote camp site, i took soup and water and that was about it, I set up camp and laid out this little foam sleeping pad, ate soup and gathered wood, that night i tossed and turned on that pad all night long, the next morning I was so tired and sore all day.
that night i cooked a trout and some beef stew, the stew sucked, I slept that night because I was so darn tired.
I decided I liked my steaks and big breakfast to much to do that agian