Tent or Camper

Would you rather sleep in a tent or camping trailer?

 

Depends on where I'm camping, as well as whether or not I'm alone. Trailer or van in predator country. Tent or hammock anywhere else. Neither of these statements are written in stone.

 

As an everyday way of living I'd say camper, lived in a 35' model while I was living near death valley.
Though on the financial side of things it's a lot more costly to keep some means of pulling it around in shape so if the budget resembles a shoestring a tent may be a better option

 

Over the years I have gone from tent camping .to a camper. Back to a tent. And then back to a camper. The last camper being a 35 ft rig with all of the bells and whistles . And even then we did tent camping. We have settled on a pop up camper for now. But still use a tent at times. What I missed the most with our large camper was the lost feelings of being in nature. With heat, AC. TV, a great sound system. It was like staying in a hotel, not camping. There was no sense of being in nature.

Update. here we are months later . Brought a shuttle bus. ( small bus ) gutted the inside of it and are now making a camper out of it. We are going with a basic , simple , lay out. It now has a queen sized bed in it. A sink and propane stove., A very basic "bathroom" (no shower) I am wiring it for electric power.. It is more of a plain Jane no extra's type of camper. Now that we are both retired . Getting up off of the ground after sleeping all night is no longer fun for us.. And it gives us a dry, warm place to sleep in. Since we seem to always plan our outings when rain is in the forecast .

 

Sleeping bag and roll up sleeping mat (no tent)
Sleeping bag and roll up sleeping mat - two-man tent(s)
sleeping in the back of the car or van and hope you don't get paid a visit by the North Woods Law game warden (because you're no longer allowed to sleep in your vehicle at the trailhead parking area)
Sleeping bag with accommodations at one or more AMC Huts or shelters

 

In my youth I was quite content to pitch a tent or make a lee, though as the years have passed, the hastle of setting up a shelter coupled with a touch(/two) of Arthritis can seen me prefer a more robust form of covered convenience
Don't get me wrong, if someone sets it up, I'm game for Natural Connection, Conversation and Chilling, but compromised with a reduced physical capacity to construct (/de-construct) I think either a Car or trailer suits me better

 

Tents are good, depending on climate and location but this has been a good home the last 6 months.

 

I like both. Just got back from a road trip where I rented an RV for two weeks, thinking about buying one, or a trailer. I still have a good size tent for camping, hope to do some more this summer.

 

After a great day of riding we enjoy going back to some comfort

 

I built a tiny, lightweight, hard-side pop-up camping trailer that weighs less than 750 pounds loaded, and I pull it with a 4-cylinder compact SUV. It allows me to travel all around this country safely during the pandemic, always having access to my own bed and interior cooking/showering facilities. An ultralight trailer made mostly from aluminum. It's as compact as a medium sized tent, but more secure and more adaptable to stealth camping.

 

It took me 3 years, but I finally talked my wife into camping. Of course, she found a giant 10x14 tent that we just HAD to have. Its nice, however, and great for extended stays. It fits us on a queen sized air mattress, as well as out 90lb pitbull on his own little bed, plus plenty of room for our stuff. It has a divider, and we've used it down to 30°f so far.

After a week in the Allegheny National Forest in PA, she said she would like to get something a little more secure for fall camping, as bear are a constant issue. Also, a fairly large mountial lion crossed the path about 300 yards from us, and that took a while to get over lol

We also had a really strange couple of nights at Pymatuning in PA with a rrally strange older lady in the site next to us. She showed up alone in her Saturn, set up her tent, went and got firewood and get herself all set up quite well. She appeared to be in her 70's. However, after it got dark and my wife and I finally went into our tent, we were afforded the opportunity to listen to this lady wander around her campsite grunting and making all kinds of really strange noises... I'm 5'10, 250lbs. And when I say it was a little freaky, I mean it was a little freaky.


But, we still get out as often as our busy lives will let us!

 

My ex fiance used to go to school at Pitt Bradford where the zippo museum is! I've been past never, never stopped though. As far as anything else near ANF, we didnt. Met a friend for a day of exploring with a Purple Lizard map, hiked another day. And a lot of relaxing

 

With climate change causing much more frequent mass evacuations, and with the pandemic causing people to avoid being crammed into an indoor shelter, people really need to think about their plan for having a tent or camper available, along with plans for food, water, and staying clean during an evacuation period.

My region is subject to wildfires, so I have gradually been developing an improved evacuation plan. I built my tiny pop-up trailer as rodent-proof as possible so I can keep it ready to go in the event of an emergency-- the backup battery is charged, the water tank is full, the little cooking facility is ready to go, the bed is made, and essential camping equipment is stored under the bed and in drawers under the kitchenette sink. Inside my house, I keep a food box, clothes bag, and essential documents box packed and ready to grab.

Hopefully, I will never have to use these items for evacuation purposes, and can simply keep using my little trailer for recreational purposes.

 

I have always used a tent or a tarp shelter while camping.
I like to keep it simple, and enjoy the outdoors.
Can really get deeper into nature this way.
I did stay in a camper/ rv once with a lady friend.
But for me I'm more of a camp in the woods type.
The state parks in my area are usually packed at camp grounds, and I enjoy the piece and quiet, just listening to the birds and exploring nature.

 

Back in the day I could literally curl up in a poncho under a tree for the night. These days, my back and rusted joints appreciate an Airbnb.
My last tent was a big two-room thing with standing headroom and a front awning, with a queen-size air mattress; truck camping. Arguably more comfortable than those thin foam yoga mats they try to pass off as sailboat & camper mattresses.
I used to hang a mosquito bar from the bimini & shrouds of my sailboat, with an air mattress in the cockpit, and swing at anchor all night.
Then there was a woman I recall with great fondness, who had a highly decorated VW bus...

 

I was always a tent camper. Then when our son was born,we experienced a few rough camping experiences which led us to buy a pop-up tent camper. That was over 40 years ago.since then we have bounced from a camper back to a tent. Back to a camper etc. Now our new toy is a shuttle bus conversion into a camper. It is our project in process.and for the most part we are enjoying our project.

 

A shuttle bus conversion should be good for stealth camping, like when you start getting tired after a long day of driving and have no campgrounds nearby. I have slept comfortably and securely at all sorts of urban and rural places

My lightweight pop-up trailer is a continuous work in progress. I keep a lightweight drill, an inverter, and some hardware in the tool box for the road. Recently I installed a small flexible solar panel to keep the trailer's deep cell battery charged. Prior to that I had been charging the small battery during the day from the tow vehicle's charging system, but that was a bit of a hassle.

I also added a few more small windows that can be slid open, a 12-volt ventilation fan, and a little conversion card and antenna that turns my laptop into a TV so I can watch PBS at various locations in the evenings.