Went tent camping. Forgot how much work it is.

[Idaho45guy]

I was looking at buying a small RV to tow behind my 4Runner, but the ones I could afford were of dubious quality, and the ones that had a big enough bathroom for my 6'2" and 300lb body to fit into were too heavy to tow. Plus, I wanted to be able to bring my UTV with me.

My girlfriend had concerns about sleeping on the ground, so I got the idea to buy one of those pickup bed tents and put it in my utility trailer that I use to haul the UTV.

It worked out pretty well, with plenty of room for a queen-sized air mattress.

But having a tent and not an RV meant I had to pack everything to create a kitchen, a bathroom, and a shower. Driving 18 miles on dirt roads to get to our spot meant everything in the trailer was coated with dirt when we got there, so had to use the shower to hose off everything, then let stuff dry, then set it all up. Took about 2.5 hours before we were ready to sit and enjoy the woods.

Then another 2 hours to break everything down, then head back to civilization, and unpack everything and clean and repair as necessary.

I imagine having a small RV and keeping everything in it ready to go except food would be much faster and easier.

Any experienced RVers that can confirm that? Or is there a bunch of other things that take time to set up that make it a pain in the rear?

My set up at the camp site ready to go...

266078

266080

I think if I want to be able to haul the UTV into the woods and tow at least a 21' RV, I'll have to get a pickup with an 8' bed, preferably a 3/4-ton. But I would have to get rid of my 4Runner, which I love as a daily driver. Unless I just buy a used pickup, but those are expensive around here if they are in decent shape. I looked at toy haulers, but to get one that my UTV will fit inside means going up to at least 26' and crazy money.

I like remote camping and you are really restricted as to where you can go with those huge RVs.

[Thumbcocker]

Check out weeroll.com

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[Beerd]

"another 2 hours to break everything down, then head back to civilization, and unpack everything and clean and repair as necessary."

it must not have snowed on you.
..

[dverna]

I had a 43' toyhauler 5th wheel. I could carry my UTV in the garage. The ramp could be lifted to be parrallel to the ground and used as a deck. That needed cables, railings and netting installed. It took about and hour and half for a full set up. About the same time to tear down. Used a one ton dually diesel to haul it.

Mice were a constant problem as they invaded it during the winter. It would take hours to clean it our every spring. It was at the dealer 5 or 6 times for a fridge that would not work (do not buy a Norcold product) and three times the slides would not function and left me stranded.

Fortunately, I had a accident with it and it was a write off. Only lost $20k after five years of frustration.

If I was going to RV again, I would buy a good quality cargo trailer and fix it up myself. I think an 18' unit would be about the right size for our needs (no kids). If I got over RV'ing, I could tear out the RV stuff and still have a useful trailer.

[megasupermagnum]

I've got a fish house that I dang near live out of for months of the year. I won't lie, it sure is nice being able to just step inside a warm building, fire up the stove, and cook a meal. I do not travel with it much though. The big downside to towing a camper or fish house, is you can't bring anything else with you. I'm sure they make toy haulers that could fit your big UTV, but you need a heavy duty truck to pull them.

For the most part, when I travel, I am not bringing the camper. Instead I'm towing the boat, or dirt bike, or whatever I need that time. I too dislike sleeping on the ground. Always wet, always biting bugs, never comfortable. My sleep set up is a dream hammock, underquilt, wool blanket and sleeping bag (I'll bring an extra blanket during the winter), and superfly rain tarp. Cooking is a portable stove, I like my coleman duel fuel (runs on gasoline), or if really going light I like my alcohol stove. For a shower I bring a towel. I've never been anywhere I couldn't find shower, creek, or worst case sponge bath from my water jug. One nice place in the fine town of Holyoke, MN has a perfect waterfall to rinse off in. For a bathroom, I bring toilet paper. Water is in a 5 gallon jug with spout. Food is in a 28 quart Coleman cooler. I've hunted up to 7 days on this setup.

Alternatively you can get rid of that UTV and buy something more fun like a couple KTM 300 dirt bikes.:p A lot of guys take the forks off and transport their bikes in the back of cars, leaving you to get any camper you want.

[Bazoo]

You might consider building a fishing shack on skids to fit your trailer, or converting a box trailer. If you did it right,with either a drop door or double doors you could haul the UTV in the house and then move it out when you live in it.

[Idaho45guy]

I had a 43' toyhauler 5th wheel. I could carry my UTV in the garage. The ramp could be lifted to be parrallel to the ground and used as a deck. That needed cables, railings and netting installed. It took about and hour and half for a full set up. About the same time to tear down. Used a one ton dually diesel to haul it.

Mice were a constant problem as they invaded it during the winter. It would take hours to clean it our every spring. It was at the dealer 5 or 6 times for a fridge that would not work (do not buy a Norcold product) and three times the slides would not function and left me stranded.

Fortunately, I had a accident with it and it was a write off. Only lost $20k after five years of frustration.

If I was going to RV again, I would buy a good quality cargo trailer and fix it up myself. I think an 18' unit would be about the right size for our needs (no kids). If I got over RV'ing, I could tear out the RV stuff and still have a useful trailer.

I've heard that the fancier the RV, the more problems you can have.

I thought about the cargo trailer route. My dad bought a mint condition used cargo trailer for $1500 off a buddy to help him out. 7'x16' and plenty of room. I thought about buying it from him but when I measured the rear door, it was about 4" too short for my UTV to fit into. I think a brand new one with a door big enough is probably a few grand and would be fun to convert to an RV. Tons of videos on YouTube of people doing this.

[FLINTNFIRE]

I gave up on tents and use a large tarp , rope for peak and sides , basic wall tent is what it ends up being , cots for sleeping , haul it all in a 94 toyota 4x4 pickup , water cans and all in the back under a canopy , sometimes use the mini van for it if all my young kids are going .

Good to be out and about , just my preferred way to do it as I have used campers and trailers before and just prefer simpler .

Been using same tarp for about 7 years , pretty quick tear down , lots of room , still fun being up in the woods no matter what one uses .

[popper]

Weeroll is neat but needs a steel frame and springs! Al superstructure is fine but load needs to be carried on steel. Just get some big waterproof bags for camping gear. Water and extra battery, misc. stuff arranged around on the trailer. 4runner is only good for classII - 5100#? Old horse trailers STINK.

[bakerjw]

Go for the gusto!
This was me and my wife's last camping trip.
Elk Pass on the AB. B.C. border in Canada. A little over half way on my wife's first 100 mile mountain biking day.

266092

2 person tent, pad and sleeping bags.
Clothes, food, water...
The whole shebang.
We ended up with over 300 miles in 5 days.

[richhodg66]

Go for the gusto!
This was me and my wife's last camping trip.
Elk Pass on the AB. B.C. border in Canada. A little over half way on my wife's first 100 mile mountain biking day.

266092

2 person tent, pad and sleeping bags.
Clothes, food, water...
The whole shebang.
We ended up with over 300 miles in 5 days.

I like this.

Growing up, we back packed. Lots of fun, and you learn what you need and what you don't. Most of it was in the peidmont of the Appalachians in upstate S.C.

There's a reason why they call it "roughing it" If you need all that stuff to be away from home, stay at a hotel.

[Thundarstick]

Uncomplicate matters, leave the woman home!

Really, I've gone weeks on a bicycle carrying everything, and sleeping on the ground every night! My wife looks at RVs and quips, "now there's a nice tent"! Getting ready to do motorcycle camping now! Ye haw!

[Ozark mike]

Just take a bedroll with ya and some food and water. Dont forget the fishing poles to make yore food supply stretch. If a bear can crap in the woods so can you. And have fun no need for all the modern crap that humans lived without for thousands of years before the Chinese discovered they could sell plastic crap to unsuspecting people.

[Idaho45guy]

Just take a bedroll with ya and some food and water. Dont forget the fishing poles to make yore food supply stretch. If a bear can crap in the woods so can you. And have fun no need for all the modern crap that humans lived without for thousands of years before the Chinese discovered they could sell plastic crap to unsuspecting people.

I grew up riding horses into the Idaho mountains and surviving off what I had in my saddlebags, plus a bedroll strapped behind the saddle. I'm older and fatter now and no longer can stand a night sleeping on rocks and "roughing" it. Why should I? To prove that I'm a man by torturing my old bones? Doesn't make sense to purposely torture my body on my rare time off of work. I've proved my mettle decades ago in the military and growing up on a horse ranch. I've earned the right to be comfortable when enjoying the outdoors and won't fall for any shallow attempts to "shame" me for wanting to enjoy a relaxing couple of days in the woods.

[Thundarstick]

No shame intended!:kidding: Obviously you need a much larger truck for your endeavors!

[bedbugbilly]

I feel for you. When my wife and I were first married - we tent camped at a State Park up in Petoskey, MI - beautiful place on the lake. Not so much fun when it rained or stormed but we got by. After a few yers, we bought a small used Coleman pop-up. By then, we had two dogs that went with us - much better than the tent but it got plenty small during storms when we couldn't sit out. Now, we both look back on those camping times with fond memories as while we didn't have fancy "accommodations" . . . we sure had fun spending time together and with the dogs that also enjoyed the camping and the long walks. Life got in the way and we took care of sick parents for some twenty years and we dropped the camping trips - it was just nice to get away once in a while for a day during those times. I was in Cabelas one day and browsing their camping gear and they had a really neat fold out aluminum cot, that when you unfolded it, it had a nylon compartment that covered the entire cot - zipper sides with screens and a storm cover to go over the entire thing in case of rain. I thought it was so neat that I bought one. I used that for years when I went to the Nationals at Friendship and to other events - less than 5 minutes to set up and take down - that and my Hudson Bay blanket - fire wood and a small cooler and a grate to cook on and I was all set. Ten minutes to put things in the back of the pickup and off I could go. When I finally bought a small pickup and had a cover put on over the back - I just put in a thick foam pad to sleep on and a blanket roll and I spent many nights in the back of the pickup in complete comfort.

It takes a special lady to really appreciate the primitive aspect of some camping trips an I learned after a while that while I could pretty much camp, sleep, etc. under most any conditions, my wife just didn't appreciate those things. We had a friend who bought a condo right on Lake Michigan and she would invite us to come stay and we could use it whenever we wanted to . . . we would usually go up for a week and it became very evident to me that having a bed to sleep in, a hot shower and a kitchen or restaurants to walk to was my wife's idea of camping!

[white eagle]

After having an RV I can say for sure they do not cut down the work for camping
you still have lots of work just not the same type
you still need to deal with your waste,your power,your RV,and have to pack it
believe me just because you have a RV its not going to be less work
After saying that I can tell you my wife and I are going back to tent camping

[megasupermagnum]

I grew up riding horses into the Idaho mountains and surviving off what I had in my saddlebags, plus a bedroll strapped behind the saddle. I'm older and fatter now and no longer can stand a night sleeping on rocks and "roughing" it. Why should I? To prove that I'm a man by torturing my old bones? Doesn't make sense to purposely torture my body on my rare time off of work. I've proved my mettle decades ago in the military and growing up on a horse ranch. I've earned the right to be comfortable when enjoying the outdoors and won't fall for any shallow attempts to "shame" me for wanting to enjoy a relaxing couple of days in the woods.

Can you sleep on a cot? I've tried ground pads, air matresses, and cots. A hammock is the most comfortable way to sleep that I have found, and feels like a floating cot. At 6'5" I appreciate that I fit in a hammock, most beds/cots are about 6" too short.

Do not get an RV. I've never met anyone who wanted them after a few years. Too much work, and what do you do when you need to drive to town? Load everything back up, and drive the big bus.

[Ozark mike]

I grew up riding horses into the Idaho mountains and surviving off what I had in my saddlebags, plus a bedroll strapped behind the saddle. I'm older and fatter now and no longer can stand a night sleeping on rocks and "roughing" it. Why should I? To prove that I'm a man by torturing my old bones? Doesn't make sense to purposely torture my body on my rare time off of work. I've proved my mettle decades ago in the military and growing up on a horse ranch. I've earned the right to be comfortable when enjoying the outdoors and won't fall for any shallow attempts to "shame" me for wanting to enjoy a relaxing couple of days in the woods.

I have no intention of shaming anyone i just like it better that way it was just an opinion not telling anyone to do anything

[Idaho45guy]

Can you sleep on a cot? I've tried ground pads, air matresses, and cots. A hammock is the most comfortable way to sleep that I have found, and feels like a floating cot. At 6'5" I appreciate that I fit in a hammock, most beds/cots are about 6" too short.

Do not get an RV. I've never met anyone who wanted them after a few years. Too much work, and what do you do when you need to drive to town? Load everything back up, and drive the big bus.

My most comfortable bed camping has been a good cot with a twin-sized cheap air mattress on top. When I was in the Army, I packed a cheap air mattress in my pack and the couple of pounds of extra weight was well worth the great night's sleep.

The queen-sized air mattress I slept on the other night in the tent was just fine as well. Just can't do a cheap foam pad.

[GhostHawk]

Look into a Hennessey Hammock.

If your going RV look at R-pod. Smaller, lighter weight, but all the essentials needed to take a female into the wilds.

[fastdadio]

I've been a dirt bike moto camping guy for a long time, and have pretty much covered the gamut from sleeping in a tarp on the ground, to owning a motor home. What I finally settled on was a 16 ft. enclosed cargo trailer. Load the bikes in the trailer first and then fill in the empty spaces with gear. Once we get to our destination, we take the bikes out and roll out a large carpet inside the trailer. Blow up a queen size mattress and set up a couple chairs and small folding table. Boom, home sweet home for a couple days. My trailer is an all aluminum R&R. and weighs about 1500lbs.
https://rnrtrailers.com/product-category/aluminum-cargo-trailers/

Fastlady rides and camps also. We tend to like the organised private camp grounds for the bath houses. But we do camp in the woods on occasion also. So we have a chemical potty. Fastlady likes it, and it really is easy to use and keep clean. And for those that don't know, there is a chemical we add to the holding tank that breaks things down and eliminates odors.
Similar to this one.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07S3SX1MJ/ref=dp_prsubs_1

[tankgunner59]

My wife and I haven't been for some time but we plan to go this fall if we can. (COVID) We have a 4-6 person tent that sets up pretty quickly, everything else is loaded in my old 01 Silverado. Completre set up takes an hour or a little less. We love it and it is so relaxing to spend a weekend in the outdoors.

[megasupermagnum]

My most comfortable bed camping has been a good cot with a twin-sized cheap air mattress on top. When I was in the Army, I packed a cheap air mattress in my pack and the couple of pounds of extra weight was well worth the great night's sleep.

The queen-sized air mattress I slept on the other night in the tent was just fine as well. Just can't do a cheap foam pad.

Definitely give a good hammock a try sometime. Don't waste time with one of the $20 junk they sell, and camping hammocks are much different than the woven stuff they sell for the backyard. There are two kinds to look into, gathered end is the most common, and the less common bridge hammock. The difference is in the name. Gathered end hammocks have all the material bunched up on the ends. The beauty of this style is that they are dead simple, and about as light as it gets. You lay in them diagonally, and they feel just like a cot, slightly nested, but flattish and very comfortable. Bridge hammocks on the other hand have a bridge, or cross bar on the ends to spread the material out. They are quite honestly hanging cots, and feel like such. The downside I've heard are that you need a bigger rain tarp.

My own choice is a gathered end, made by Dream Hammock in Ohio. They are not cheap, but I do not regret it at all. There are a number of good hammock makers out there, and if thrifty, you could make one yourself easy enough. I've never tried a mattress of any kind in a hammock, but who knows, it might work great. A twin wouldn't work, but the narrower ones for RV's may. In summer I get away without anything underneath me, but much of the year I need something for warmth. I've used a foam sleeping pad plenty of times, the downside is that it is relatively small, and it seems I always had an air gap. I've since invested in an underquilt, which covers everything. Many guys use an inflatable sleeping pad, which are usually only an 1" or 2" thick, and may be a good option for you. If you go this route, I would recommend a double layered hammock, and you can put the pad between the layers. This keeps it from shifting around.

[SSGOldfart]

Weeroll is neat but needs a steel frame and springs! Al superstructure is fine but load needs to be carried on steel. Just get some big waterproof bags for camping gear. Water and extra battery, misc. stuff arranged around on the trailer. 4runner is only good for classII - 5100#? Old horse trailers STINK.

Sir can you explain your last statement,my wife's horse trailer never stunk!cleaner then most kitchens, she spent many a night in it.

[SSGOldfart]

I like my cabin tent with stove nice to have 12x14 ft so everything stays dry even in the snow,I can set it up with one hand from a wheelchair in less the a hour.with a couple of cots I'm right at home. Would be able to carry in your 4-runner with ease.