Do you like caravanning?

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HAL9000

HAL9000

Lifer
Oct 17, 2010
22,021
3
76
I've never actually been in a caravan and can't see the appeal, the only knowledge I have of it, is from Top Gear however.
 
MagnusTheBrewer

MagnusTheBrewer

IN MEMORIAM
Jun 19, 2004
24,122
1,594
126
The beauty of camping is there's a style for everyone. From ultra light backpacking/pioneering to 90 foot never parks. My daughter's version and apparently ShawnD1 is slow room service.
 
SpatiallyAware

SpatiallyAware

Lifer
Sep 7, 2009
12,960
3
0
HAL9000 said:
True.



I've been camping, that I can see the appeal of, I just don't get caravanning.
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Well maybe you should ask on a UK-biased forum rather than create subtle trollposts which are unfortunately spreading from your usual OT and P&N to Garage.
 
GuitarDaddy

GuitarDaddy

Lifer
Nov 9, 2004
11,465
1
0
The type caravanning shown on top gear where you go to an open field type RV park with a bunch of other caravanners doesn't appeal to me in the least, that seems to appeal more to old folks who get together in large groups for the companionship.

However I have had quite a blast using a "motor home" as we call it in the states. A few years back my folks had one and I borrowed it on several occasions. I used it twice for camping with two couples at a 3 day outdoor music festival which was really fun and enjoyable. And I also used it as a base of operations on a couple of hunting/fishing trips to remote areas with 3 or 4 guys and it was very nice for that pupose. But perhaps the most fun I had in it was when my wife and I and another couple took it to a remote beach location for a week of sun and fun, parked it right on the beach and the fresh water storage tanks and gasoline generator allowed us to stay there for a week 250 miles from the nearest gas station or hotel.
 
S

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
2
81
HAL9000 said:
True.



I've been camping, that I can see the appeal of, I just don't get caravanning.
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Where do you camp? I camp at a lake where people bring power boats and water skis. As a kid we would camp there for 5 weeks at a time (parents were government employees). Spending 5 weeks in a tent would suck. Spending 5 weeks in a motorhome is pretty sweet. The motorhome even had air conditioning. My parents never had AC in their house but the camper had AC. It also had electric and propane heating, electric and propane refrigeration.

Since I've stopped camping with them in a trailer, camping kinda sucks. I have a tent. It blocks the wind and the rain but it's still a piss poor insulator. If it's cold at night, it's cold in the tent. If it's crazy hot during the day, it's crazy hot inside the tent. Refrigeration is a bit of a problem too. I have a 12V camping fridge that I tie to a second car battery and charge using my car, but it's nowhere near as good as the 120V regular fridge in my parents motorhome. The motorhome had a built in propane hot water heater; I can only boil water using a shitty stove and a pot filled with water. The motorhome had something like a 20 gallon water tank; I need to buy jugs of water try to somehow fit them in my trunk.

The electrical system in a motorhome is awesome. It has regular 120V sockets and a very big power inverter. The engine has its own battery, and there are also 2 large deep cycle batteries in addition to that. A switch on the dash allows the system to switch between deep cycle batteries, starting batteries, or both at the same time. The alternator is something ridiculous like 300 amps and it's strong enough to run the oven while driving. I guess theoretically you could use that to cook meth while driving too but let's leave that discussion for ATOT.
 
MagnusTheBrewer

MagnusTheBrewer

IN MEMORIAM
Jun 19, 2004
24,122
1,594
126
ShawnD1 said:
Where do you camp? I camp at a lake where people bring power boats and water skis. As a kid we would camp there for 5 weeks at a time (parents were government employees). Spending 5 weeks in a tent would suck. Spending 5 weeks in a motorhome is pretty sweet. The motorhome even had air conditioning. My parents never had AC in their house but the camper had AC. It also had electric and propane heating, electric and propane refrigeration.

Since I've stopped camping with them in a trailer, camping kinda sucks. I have a tent. It blocks the wind and the rain but it's still a piss poor insulator. If it's cold at night, it's cold in the tent. If it's crazy hot during the day, it's crazy hot inside the tent. Refrigeration is a bit of a problem too. I have a 12V camping fridge that I tie to a second car battery and charge using my car, but it's nowhere near as good as the 120V regular fridge in my parents motorhome. The motorhome had a built in propane hot water heater; I can only boil water using a shitty stove and a pot filled with water. The motorhome had something like a 20 gallon water tank; I need to buy jugs of water try to somehow fit them in my trunk.

The electrical system in a motorhome is awesome. It has regular 120V sockets and a very big power inverter. The engine has its own battery, and there are also 2 large deep cycle batteries in addition to that. A switch on the dash allows the system to switch between deep cycle batteries, starting batteries, or both at the same time. The alternator is something ridiculous like 300 amps and it's strong enough to run the oven while driving. I guess theoretically you could use that to cook meth while driving too but let's leave that discussion for ATOT.
Click to expand...

Some of us view the opportunity to leave the complexities of modern life behind as a plus. :D
 
JulesMaximus

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,586
985
126
MagnusTheBrewer said:
Some of us view the opportunity to leave the complexities of modern life behind as a plus. :D
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No kidding. Why bother to leave home if you're going to take your home with you? To go to some shitty campground in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of annoying drunks at the campsite next to you?

I'd rather stay in a hotel somewhere interesting or go backpacking in the wilderness to get away from it all.
 
hanoverphist

hanoverphist

Diamond Member
Dec 7, 2006
9,867
23
76
i used to go camping with my grandparents in their motor home. we would go to one of the local lakes and park for a couple weeks. i would wander off and camp in a tent a few nights at a time, then come back and sleep on the couch for a few nights. it was pretty cool, even as a kid. now, i take my kids out to camp grounds with a few tents, a canopy and a bunch of wood and food. my back pays the price every morning now that im older. even tho its always a good time, i do miss that couch in the motor home.
 
MagnusTheBrewer

MagnusTheBrewer

IN MEMORIAM
Jun 19, 2004
24,122
1,594
126
ShawnD1 said:
They only say that because they can't afford an RV ;)
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hanoverphist said:
i used to go camping with my grandparents in their motor home. we would go to one of the local lakes and park for a couple weeks. i would wander off and camp in a tent a few nights at a time, then come back and sleep on the couch for a few nights. it was pretty cool, even as a kid. now, i take my kids out to camp grounds with a few tents, a canopy and a bunch of wood and food. my back pays the price every morning now that im older. even tho its always a good time, i do miss that couch in the motor home.
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We have a portable king size bed for our pavilion so we're not exactly roughing it. :)
 
S

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
2
81
MagnusTheBrewer said:
We have a portable king size bed for our pavilion so we're not exactly roughing it. :)
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I got me one too, but it's an air mattress. I have a weird feeling the mattress will have a lack of firmness so I'll end up sleeping on the ground to prevent neck pain D:

RV mattresses were pretty good. It was just a thin piece of foam with some cloth around it. Very good insulator, slightly softer than laying on the ground, but it's thin enough to have the firmness of the ground.
 
BurnItDwn

BurnItDwn

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
26,353
1,862
126
MagnusTheBrewer said:
Some of us view the opportunity to leave the complexities of modern life behind as a plus. :D
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Some things are missed though ...

Back rests

Well lit throne room with flushable toilet and hot shower

Air conditioning (at least I miss it when it's fvcking 95 with a 70 degree dew point)

Dishwasher (washing dishes by hand is no fun!)

Vacuum cleaner (seems like dirt and sand always gets all over everything when camping!!!)

:)
 
S

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
2
81
BurnItDwn said:
Well lit throne room with flushable toilet and hot shower
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I love how trailers and motorhomes have this :D

I'm going tenting at a music festival for 4 days, I'll probably end up spraying lysol on my balls. This and indian showers.
 
K

kornphlake

Golden Member
Dec 30, 2003
1,567
9
81
ShawnD1 said:
They only say that because they can't afford an RV ;)
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If I want to play with power boats all day and sleep in a bed all night there are plenty of places I can go within an hour of home and I can sleep in my own bed at night and not have to worry about getting the satellite dish pointed just right or running a generator after a certain time or filling water tanks. If I want to get away from the city and get into the outdoors I want to really get out, a trailer or RV isn't quite mobile enough to get me far enough from civilization to make it worth sleeping somewhere outside of my house. I go camping several times throughout the year, even during seasons with inclement weather or extreme temperatures. With a little bit of equipment and some experience it's quite enjoyable, so enjoyable that it's worth the discomfort of sleeping in a tent.
 
Kadarin

Kadarin

Lifer
Nov 23, 2001
44,296
16
81
Camping is great when you're with the right group. However, "caravanning" Top Gear style is retarded.
 
S

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
2
81
Kadarin said:
Camping is great when you're with the right group. However, "caravanning" Top Gear style is retarded.
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It makes sense when you're british. Most of the US is pretty dry, so people vacation near lakes. UK is a swampy wasteland, so people vacation on the grass :D
 
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