General Camping: Did You Camp w/ Your Parent(s)?
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Topic: General Camping: Did You Camp w/ Your Parent(s)?
Posted By: Blue Highways
Subject: General Camping: Did You Camp w/ Your Parent(s)?
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2017 at 7:10pm
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Just wanted to suggest (possibly) an interesting topic for those of us who grew up camping with parents?
(I tried to start this new topic in General Camping, but didnt see any topic starter icon there; only here)
What early camping equipment do you remember, (or camping habits that your parents had) that were just too memorable?
For example in my case:
Dad built our first camping trailer out of an ancient "wood box" with 15" bias ply whitewall tires, moon hubcaps, building up to the roof (which was curved like the side of a barrel). There was a hand-built "tumble out" 4-step staircase on big hinges to climb inside, which had bunk beds and a little sink basin.
My parent's second "RV" was a '64 "Thunderbird" white metal (& aluminum) tent trailer, with vinyl flooring, a mounted army jerrycan on the tongue for fuel, towed by a 63 Fairlane station wagon, 260-V8. At the campsite, Dad always got up the earliest to build a blazing morning fire, and began boiling the coffee water (hot choc for sister and I).
Our alarm was Dad's "Crack - crack - crack" .....his axe sectioning up more wood. Mom managed every operation connected with the old aluminum-sided cooler with the metal latch. I helped her pump up the pressure in their first-generation Coleman stove, and learned to prime the lantern mantles. Good times.
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Replies:
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2017 at 7:23pm
We started with tents. I remember a big, green tent that was heavy canvas. It had three poles on each side and a ridge pole held up by a long pole on each end. It was a pain to set up and take down. I also have memories of the first camping trailer my dad built. It was painted green and was a home-built pop-up in that it unfolded and had canvas. I don't remember too much more about it. Then there was the travel trailer which had the convertible dinette in front (for Mom and Dad) and four bunks in the back, two on either side of the toilet. Since there were five of us kids, one of us slept outside in a pup tent.
I don't remember, but Dad said that he almost jackknifed it on a trip to Pennsylvania. It was not too long after that we switched to a truck camper. The first was one Dad built. Later, they purchased one that was much better equipped. I remember going down the road and baking a pizza. We could not get away with that now since we would need to be belted in seats.
After I left home, my parents moved on to a small motor home, then a bigger one and finally their last one which was even bigger. It got to the point where they did not feel they were able to continue using it, so they sold it.
It is the fond memories of camping trips with my parents that made the decision to purchase our escaPOD easy. We've had some adventures, including an encounter with ice and wind in Wyoming that left us with both the Escape and the escaPOD damaged (written up in a separate topic). We are waiting on the car to be fixed and for resolution on the trailer as to whether it can be fixed or whether it is totaled. The dealer's service department said it was too expensive to fix. I contacted Forest River and am waiting for an estimate from them to know what will become of our escaPOD.
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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...
http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS
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Posted By: Leo B
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2017 at 8:07pm
We started
intents and a pop up trailer. Took a lot of family camping trip to New Hampshire.
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Leo & Melissa Bachand
2017 Ford F150
2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk
Previously owned
2015 Rpod 179
2010 Rpod 171
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Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 20 Jan 2017 at 6:17am
We started with a Sears tent. Then we went to a 1959 Ford Station Wagon (2 tone, yellow and white), my parents slept in back and my brother and I slept outside on cots. Had all the new stuff Coleman stove, coolers and double mantle lantern. Greatest adventure was a 55 passenger school bus we converted to a camper, we hand painted it and it carried a boat my grandfather built on the roof. My father put bunks in, a kitchen area and a chemical toilet. Screened the living area off from the drivers area. We took it to Kenora, Canada in 1966 and spent many weekends in it running trot lines on local rivers and streams. My parents moved on to motor homes after we left home, but I always recall how creative my father was. He built a go cart frame out of a sleeper sofa. Easy to see why they are called the "Greatest Generation".
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Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."
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Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 20 Jan 2017 at 7:47am
My start was with a old recycled boy scout tent that would probably sleep 10, so there was plenty of room inside for the 5 of us. It was quite heavy and bulky, took up over half the space in the trunk of our 1957 Dodge Coronet 500. It was customary to wait at the straits of Mackinac for the ferry. The 5 mile long bridge spanning the UP to the lower wasn't built yet. Waiting usually lasted from 1 to 1.5 hours, loading would take another 45 minutes to an hour, crossing the 5 mile stretch was another 30 minutes, then unloading was another 30 - 45 minutes depending on where your car was located inside the ferry. Today, people would go ballistic waiting that long to travel 5 miles!
Dad built a homemade propane gas stove, pretty fancy as it had 3 burners, not the typical 2 burner stove like the Colemans. And if it was inclement outside dad would cook inside the tent, we just made sure to open a couple vents inside for ventilation. I also remember the sleeping bags and the air mattresses that fit inside them. Those were all Coleman and the air mattresses were rubber, it probably took us 10 minutes to blow our mattress up, using our mouth, talk about a head rush after blowing all that air in the mattress. Why we never used a hand pump is beyond me. Also amazing is to think that after all those years the air mattresses never rotted out, being filled with moist air day after day. Us boys would get impatient with mom and dad when we would travel out west if, when they were at a filling station, saw another car with Michigan plates on it. They would commence to talk about where they were from ect for what seemed like an eternity before saying their 'good byes', we would pray that they wouldn't see any more Michigan plates until we would reach out destination to Montana.
One funny episode we all fondly remember was when we were almost finished setting up the tent when we heard our mom saying, "shoo, shoo, get outta here, shoo, shoo." She sounded really upset so we got out of the tent (we were in Yellowstone NP) and saw mom at the open trunk of our car hitting a curious black bear on the head with a rolled up newspaper!!! No way was she going to let that bear (as big as her) get any freebies out of our trunk! Fortunately, she didn't get hurt.
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God's pod
'11 model 177
'17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost
Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake
"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."
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