What does "camping" mean to you?

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I was just thinking about camping with our Pod with and without hookups.  For the biggest part of my life, camping meant setting up a tent somewhere and enjoying the solitude of nature, at least to some extent.  Even then, we "car camped" and often left the campground by car during the day, usually to explore the area, usually a National Park, beyond the confines of the campground.  It is a rare campground where I would enjoy staying in the campground for the duration of our stay, even if hiking trails were readily accessible. I see people seem to do that though.  

Tent camping seems like the true, if nearly obsolete, meaning of camping to me.  I don't do it anymore.  But I still prefer campgrounds where campsites have a little space between them.  I guess I understand why people like private campgrounds with full hookups, but they are almost of necessity campgrounds with sites close to each other..  Except in Woodstock-like circumstances, that's just not for me.  But with the comfort and privacy of your own self-contained RV, why should it matter?

There's more to it than this, but I wonder how people think of camping.  Are you interested in natural beauty in "special" locations and something like a real "camping" experience, or is your Pod, or other RV, more like a portable hotel room, from which you may or may not venture out every day?

TT

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Tars Tarkas Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 14 Jan 2013 Location: Near Nashville Online Status: Offline Posts: 1452	Topic: What does "camping" mean to you? Posted: 13 Jan 2019 at 12:10pm
	I was just thinking about camping with our Pod with and without hookups. For the biggest part of my life, camping meant setting up a tent somewhere and enjoying the solitude of nature, at least to some extent. Even then, we "car camped" and often left the campground by car during the day, usually to explore the area, usually a National Park, beyond the confines of the campground. It is a rare campground where I would enjoy staying in the campground for the duration of our stay, even if hiking trails were readily accessible. I see people seem to do that though. Tent camping seems like the true, if nearly obsolete, meaning of camping to me. I don't do it anymore. But I still prefer campgrounds where campsites have a little space between them. I guess I understand why people like private campgrounds with full hookups, but they are almost of necessity campgrounds with sites close to each other.. Except in Woodstock-like circumstances, that's just not for me. But with the comfort and privacy of your own self-contained RV, why should it matter? There's more to it than this, but I wonder how people think of camping. Are you interested in natural beauty in "special" locations and something like a real "camping" experience, or is your Pod, or other RV, more like a portable hotel room, from which you may or may not venture out every day? TT
	2010 176 FJ Cruiser

Guests Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Group	Posted: 13 Jan 2019 at 12:33pm
	I'm with you, TT. If we were to look into the storage compartment of my trailer right now, we would see my dome tent. I carry it thinking that someday I will set it up and spend a night or two in it, even though the trailer is sitting right there. I have passing thoughts of getting back to my roots and doing some "real" camping. Alas, the lure of the comfy mattress has (so far) has proven to be too strong. But...one day.....

offgrid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290	Posted: 13 Jan 2019 at 12:55pm
	My back will no longer put up with tent camping. Camping to us now is ideally spending 5-7 days at a campsite with direct walking access to trails and/or other sources of natural beauty (beach/river/lake). Generally where we stay there are picnic tables and pit toilets but no electricity. Water may or may not be available but not at the campsite. Or it might be dispersed national forest camping with zero improvements. We'll use the tow vehicle a few times during that 5-7 days to sight see, go out to dinner, shop, or wash clothes. That's what I like about having a travel trailer vs. my previous small class A. The geezer pass drives some of this but if there isn't at least a modicum of solitude and privacy then its not camping for me, I'd rather just stay home than in most of the private campgrounds I've seen. In the summer in the South we will out of necessity stay in a private campground overnight to have air conditioning while on the road if its too long a drive to make it to somewhere with cooler temps, but if we do that we're generally in around dark and out at first light. Once we can run our air conditioning overnight on lithium batteries we'll stop doing that too.
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold

mcarter Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 07 Apr 2016 Location: Greenbrier, TN Online Status: Offline Posts: 3419	Posted: 13 Jan 2019 at 1:36pm
	Like you TT I did it for years and some really miserable times spent in the military. I just don't find any excitement in that anymore. I want to pull in, set up and live comfy. So, I guess I'm the "hotel room" equivalent, but I think I earned it.
	Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."

StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6417	Posted: 13 Jan 2019 at 2:22pm
	One of the last times we tent camped, I lost my balance trying to get up and fell on my wife's leg, leaving her with a bruise that took a long time to go away. That was about the time I figured I was getting too old for tent camping. I really enjoy our R-Pod. Even with the crawl-over bed, it is still much better than the tent camping. I'm waiting to see the RP195 when it comes out. I could really go for the walk-around bed. However, one of the reasons I did my dinette mod is so if it became too difficult to do the crawl-over, both my wife and I could have a comfortable place to sleep.
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

Live2Camp Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 17 Apr 2017 Location: No. California Online Status: Offline Posts: 240	Posted: 13 Jan 2019 at 2:40pm
	For me camping means whatever makes both of us happy for the given trip or situation: backpacking, tent camping, the bed of my pickup truck, on the ground on good pads on a tarp and also since summer of 2016, our RPod. I was pretty easily talked into RPod for a few key reasons, but mostly that we'll still do all the other kinds of camping until and unless it becomes too hard or uncomfortable for one or both of us. So I didn't have to worry that RPod was replacing all the other kinds of camping before I was ready to give it up; but rather adding to it. And I think that as we gradually move away from the "harder" stuff (although even backpacking can be easy depending on how you do it) it will be a big advantage for us that we'll already be used to RPodding. We love dispersed/remote camping and there are countless places to do that with RPod here in the west, let alone other areas. And we've also enjoyed some camping in campgrounds with hookups. I'm not used to camping around other people except in winter but so far it hasn't been a problem and both the other campers and the settings have been very enjoyable. When we camped at Pinnacles National Park (California) last winter it was really nice to come back from our wonderful rainy hike to our cozy RPod with electrical hookup, in what is also a very quiet campground. We hung our wet layers in the bathroom to drip, talk about easy! Thanks for asking, I enjoy reading others' perspectives. As well, the last line of my signature pretty well captures my feeling about this topic
	2017 R-Pod 179 HRE (the green one) His:Ford F150 double cab 4WD; Hers/mine:Tacoma V6 double cab 4WD Still love rugged, diggin' comfy too

tcj Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 05 Jul 2018 Location: Central WA Online Status: Offline Posts: 141	Posted: 13 Jan 2019 at 7:45pm
	To me camping means being able to have a campfire. Steak on a stick. I'm a pretty good camp cook if I can have a fire. My wife's description of camping: "This little travel trailer is a 17’ R-Pod, built by Forest River. They’re narrower than typical (6.5’ foot wide) which makes for easier hauling. The Hood River Edition, our model, is designed to handle rougher roads, not that you’d take it up an ATV trail or the like. And it has a kitchen and a bathroom with a shower and a gas range and refrigerator and a furnace and air conditioner, and a bathroom with a shower. Did I mention it had a bathroom with a shower? And it has a comfortable bed and table and chairs. Some comforts of home to take anywhere."
	2018 R-pod 180 Hood River Edition

lostagain Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2595	Posted: 13 Jan 2019 at 8:48pm
	tcj, now that's camping to me, at least on the luxury end of things [sleeping in sleeping bags on the ground is the opposite end of the spectrum and I'm too old for that]. Any fancier than that ain't camping it's RV'ing. Not that RV'ing is bad mind you.
	Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost

TheBum Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 26 Feb 2016 Location: Texas Online Status: Offline Posts: 1407	Posted: 14 Jan 2019 at 11:18am
	I grew up mostly with soft-sided trailers and a Hi-Lo. To me, camping is getting off the beaten path and off the electrical grid. We didn't have the luxury of solar battery chargers back then, but I don't think having them would negatively impact the camping experience.
	Alan 2022 R-Pod 196 "RaptoRPod" 2022 Ram 1500 Lone Star 4x4 Three cats

crw8sr Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 12 Oct 2017 Location: Omaha Nebraska Online Status: Offline Posts: 328	Posted: 14 Jan 2019 at 10:20pm
	S'MORES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
	Chuck & Lyn Izzy, Morkie. RIP Zoe Joy & Gracie, Yorkie 2018 R Pod 190 2019 Traverse In moments of adversity;when life's a total wreck, I think of those worse off than me and really feel like heck.