Posts Tagged ‘campsite’

RV Camping Virgins

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

First of all, let me say that I am a big fan of backpacking, tent camping, and being as close to nature in general. With that said, however, being outdoors with a properly showered and blow dried spouse who has access to all the conveniences of home allows for longer, and more enjoyable, trips. My wife and I decided to buy a travel trailer in the middle of the current economic crisis, which we thought was a bad idea initially, but it ended up being one of the best investments that we have ever made.

Since we didn’t have a pickup truck to tow a fifth wheel, we decided on a 32′ Sun Valley Road Runner travel trailer from a local dealer. Our first camping adventure took place directly after leaving the RV dealership. The Doll Mountain campground located on Carter’s Lake in Gilmer County, Georgia is one of the jewels in the Army Corps of Engineers’ recreation areas. Among its amenities include 34 campsites (roughly half of which are RV sites or dual purpose), 2 boat ramps, laundry facilities, picnic areas, and shower houses. The grounds are well kept by a full time staff and the campground is open from April-September.

When we first arrived I made several attempts to back in to the site and it took about 15 minutes, and the help of a friendly camper to get us backed straight into the site. Hooking up was simple after the mandatory orientation given by the dealer. Lighting the furnace for the hot water heater was a little more difficult but once the pilot was lit correctly the system fired right up. Within 45 minutes all the systems were running and our awning, chairs and tables were setup, ready for some serious relaxation. That’s when it hit me. Had we been tent camping we would have spent the rest of the trip gathering firewood, running back and forth to the bathroom to take showers and do laundry. Instead, we had a closet full of clothes, stove, microwave, oven, shower, and toilet. We spent the rest of our three day weekend wondering if we were ever going to go tent camping again.

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Transition from Tent to Camper

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

Tent camping was the norm for my wife and I before the addition of two Yorkshire Terriers to the family. So the thought of being in a tent with two active puppies with equally active bladders and bowels is my personal version of a nightmare. So we decided to buy a travel trailer. We knew next to nothing about campers or RV’s in general which meant that we had a great deal of research to do. What kind? How long? What kind of features do we need? All these questions were answered by the folks at Northgate RV in Ringgold, GA.  Salespeople and I rarely seem to see eye to eye, so it was refreshing to find one that I hit it off with. Fred May answered all of our questions and a few days later we became the proud owners of a 2006 Sun Valley Roadrunner XL 27RB. We left the dealership and headed straight for the campground at Doll Mountain on Carter’s Lake to try it out for the weekend.

Our first camping experience in the travel trailer was a bit confusing initially, but we soon settled in and found out what all of the fuss was about. The first benefit we discovered after getting the electricity and water connected was convenience. When we were tent camping, my wife had to get in the car and drive to the public bath house in the campground to even use the restroom. In the camper there is a toilet, shower, and sink with full privacy and safety. The next thing I noticed was that there was more free time to actually enjoy the camp site. With tent camping we would focus most of our time on making the gear work, like messing with tent stakes,  the rain fly, sleeping bags, and propane bottles. With the RV, things just worked. The bed was made, dinner was ready in minutes instead of hours, and we spent less time looking for things that we knew we had brought but couldn’t seem to find. Now traditionalists may find these very activities a reason FOR tent camping, like part of the experience, and it is. But sometimes you just want to relax. Camping in a travel trailer allows you to focus on the parts of camping that are enjoyable  like endlessly messing around with the campfire or reading a good book or playing guitar. When the rain comes, you just go inside the camper and do something else until it quits instead of praying that you sealed all the seams correctly in your tent.

My wife and I will still go tent camping, but without the puppies and probably in conjunction with some hiking. So if we are going to get drenched, smoky, and tired, the destination will make it all worthwhile.

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