Do you Travel by Camper?

Source: Photo by Sara Darcaj on Unsplash.com

Like many people, the pandemic has upended our lives… and one impact has been that we had to cancel our Universal Studios vacation. We had planned to go there for a week in April, but then with the Stay at Home order we cancelled everything and got our money back with the intention of re-booking when things get less crazy.

Now, Universal Studios is opening back up on June 5th with some restrictions (mask wearing, social distancing, etc.) but we won’t be going back for a while. However, we would really love a vacation!

So, we’ve been thinking outside the box and asking ourselves what type of vacation would be relaxing and also let us feel safe when it comes to our health. What can we do that will be fun, but still allow us to socially distance easily?

One of the ideas that keeps popping up is traveling by camper. We’ve never rented or used a camper before though, so we think maybe a short trip would be fun to try out camper life.

We have a 4-wheel drive truck with a towing hitch and my husband regularly drives tractor trailers, so we feel pretty confident about driving around. We can either rent a full RV or a camper to attach to the hitch on his truck. I’d like to go someplace with a beach, so there are a bunch of east coast options, including: Assateague Island in Maryland, Cape Henlopen in Delaware, and First Landing State Park in Virginia.

Here’s the thing though, I’ve never even been in a camper. I’ve never sat in one, cooked in one, or slept in one. Will I hate it? Will I love it? Who knows!

So, if you’ve tried out camper life, by either owning an RV or renting one… I’d love to hear all about it! What’s best, what’s worst, what did you not realize until you were in the thick of things?

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9 thoughts on “Do you Travel by Camper?”

  1. I grew up with a camper. It was my dad’s daily driver too. I highly recommend it. You get the fun parts of camping (fires, smores, outdoors) with the comforts of home (air conditioning, a bed, refrigerator, cook top, running water, toilet, shower…).

  2. We own a camper (Jayco 28DSBH) and have been camping with it for the last four years. It has a bedroom for us, and two bunks for our girls, and a real bathroom/shower. I’m not a ‘roughing it’ kind of camper. I LOVE that you’re considering trying it out first before just buying one (I wish everyone would do that). It’s awesome that your husband has the truck driving skills – that will take away a lot of that ‘omg what is happening’ learning curve – if you decide to tow a camper.

    We had plans to come to Virginia beach with the camper this summer – we were going to stay at the Williamsburg/Busch Gardens KOA – we still have the reservations, but we’re not sure it’s going to work, depending on what’s actually open to do in the area. We have friends in Richmond, but if we can’t go to the beach, or have to mask up for the beach …it just won’t be worth the trip this year.

    Please feel free to email me directly if you have questions or anything. We love camping – especially with a camper (no tents please) and I prefer full hookup locations if possible, but we do overnight camp at Cabella’s or WalMart sometimes on the way to destinations, so we’ve camped without hookups also. I think you’re adaptable – so if you want to like it or if your family likes it, you will too 🙂

    1. Awesome, thanks for your input! We aren’t planning to buy a camper, but have been looking at renting one (either though an AirB&B for campers, or though a camper rental company. Willamsburg/Busch Gardens could be a great location since there is so much to do around there… and of course, all the yummy pancake houses! For the hooking up, is that hard to do? Can you use the bathroom if it’s not hooked up (like, does it hang out somewhere…)?

  3. I grew up with a camper, camping since I was 4 years old. When I was little we had a pop up, and now my retired parents have a full service RV. When I moved out on my own, I was just camped out, I just wanted to go on a real vacation in a hotel. The pop up was also a bit claustrophobic, all of us (4 people plus a dog) in one enclosed room. As the years when on, my parents RV is a lot roomier and with more space(they have a separate bedroom), plus a bathroom and shower, TV and A/C. My mom also likes having a kitchen inside so she didn’t have to cook in the rain. You just have to remember that everything is more compact that you are used to, so that it can fit in the smaller space. If you don’t like smaller enclosed spaces, I wouldn’t recommend it. I would recommend bring a car if you end up renting an RV. It will let you move about without having to take your whole campsite with you. At this time, I will visit my parents and drop off my son to spend a couple of nights with them, but don’t want to stay.

  4. We owned and used a 21 foot camping trailer for 9 years. You don’t need to be hooked up to use the facilities in the camper. There is a pump and generator for water and electricity. But it takes some getting used to. There were often problems starting the generator with ours. The toilet can get quite gross. Sorry for the detail but here goes… I was good at timing a #2 with opening the chute. If not, it gets all over, because there is no water for it to hang in before flushing. Just crap on plastic. The shower is quite tiny. The mattresses usually suck. I had to buy a custom one. Hooking up isn’t too tough. Be sure places have water and sewer hookups and it helps if the site is “pull-through”. Be sure to make reservations wherever you are going because the best places fill up. If you are renting the camper the cost ends up being as much if not more than a hotel. Your truck will eat gas like you have never seen before. Getting around pulling a camper is easier out west because there is much less traffic, but I don’t care for it east of the Mississippi.

  5. I once heard the actor, Wayne Brady, say he wanted to rent an rv to go camping with his kids. He said they didn’t like emptying the refuse ( ok, crap ) out of the rv. Not sure how he had to do this, but he said, that’s it, he thinks that was a one time thing.
    We are thinking of renting an rv, but every time I start thinking about it, I decide to think about something else! Clear avoidance! All I want is a little cabin somewhere….
    Take care and be safe, Joules!

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