How did you start camping? (old subject for newbies and for board elders)

[mowalker]

I put this in General for a reason. Some of us have asked this question way back in the day. We had so may answers back then it was unreal.
 
For me..My Dad started us in a tent, but we did many nights with no tent under the stars with no cover at all. Then Dad bought a bread truck that was converted into a camper, I spent so much time in there just thinking it would be mine one day. What was I thinking at 11 years old? he sold it for $60, yes $60, to a guy that sold it for survellence (sp) in Washington DC for the Govt? Hmm..watergate? Hey can I have my camper back now?
 
Later in life ...now married, once again under the stars, rain and chill we decided on a tent,very soon later we overpaid for a 1970 Scamper (wish I had the board back then) up to our present camper a 1994 Rio Grande. We have had it for 9 years and are ready for a hybrid, just need to pay off some bills first.
 
It's been a fun ride and I have enjoyed every moment. Been camping in the following States:
 
GA, NC, TN, VA, PA & FL
 
Would love to hear the rest of your starts and move "ups" as well as the states where you camped and any advise you would like to give to the members of this board.
 
My advise - Have a camping list and menu, plan for anything especially weather.
 
Brenda & Ray

[gsm x2]

My father was a teacher who lived in another state.  His child custody was for six weeks in the summer.  He'd take my sister and I around camping including several long tours.  He also got us into backpacking. We made fun of "Camper Campers"...people with motorhomes.

As an adult, I was a "camp under the stars" type guy getting out the backpacking tent only if I was concerned with weather or snakes.
 
Georgeanne had a popup when we met, but with those "Camper Camper" joke still in my head, I considered a tent a reasonable compromise.  We tent camped for a number of years, but suddenly found that we weren't doing that very much.  After a bad tent experience on a windy Pine Mountain, we talked about getting a pop-up.  Picked one out our first day of looking and haven't regretted one minute of it.
 
For now we have NO PLANS on upgrading.  We love the popup and would only upgrade if we decide to joing the RV group and live in a unit for a couple of years.
 
So, that's our story, and I'm sticking to it.
 
gsm x2

[mikewilley]

As a kid I tent camped with the Boy Scouts and our family would take a small travel trailer to the Smokies are the Rockies every summer.  My folks slept in the trailer, while us kids and my grandmother slept in a tent (Yes my dad made his DMIL sleep in the tent :tent: )  Often, my aunt, uncle and cousins would join us, they always used a pop up (pretty sure it was a Coleman circa 1965 or so).

When my DW's mother passed away she informed me that she had not seen nearly enough of her family (which is scattered from coast to coast).  Now we really needed to start planning to see them on a regular basis.

When I started adding up in my head the cost of airlines, hotels, meals, etc. well...  :yikes: .  What to do?

On my way back from a business trip, I heard a radio advertisement for the local RV show.  I thought to my self, "self, if we rented a popup, we could travel pretty cheaply and boy I miss camping anyway. I wonder if DW (city girl, never slept without a solid roof over her head) would go for it?"  So I suggested that we go to the RV show and check it out.  2 weeks later we were the proud owners of a Fleetwood Santa Fe.

Since that time (March 2003) we have gone to New York, Phoenix, Albuquerque, and Toronto, camping all the way and LOVING IT. :-()  Not to mention numerous weekend outings her in Texas.

DW loves it and my youngest DS (6yo) is so obscessed with camping that he has drawn dozens of KOA logos and taped them all over the walls of his room. (Note: when we are in transit we often stop at KOAs for one nighters since they are easy to get to, and very seldom offer unpleasent surprises).

This is the best money we have ever spent EVER.  Whenever I open that camper and smell canvas, I feel free.  Three cheers for popup camping.

[Gone-Camping]

I can blame all this on my parents!!!
 
They were an average middle income family with four children of thier own, plus they had custody of two of my cousins as well. For a family of 8 to go on vacation, the only way they could do it was to go camping, motels were just too much money for that many people.
 
They started out simple enough, one large cabin tent, one pup tent, one Coleman Lantern, one 2 burner Coleman Stove, and one 40qt Coleman cooler, 2 enclosed box type roof cargo carriers, and 8 sleeping bags. Cram all of this into a 1965 Plymouth Fury III station wagon, and away we went!
 
It didn't take long before they realized that in order to bring all the stuff they wanted to bring, and not leave anyone behind, they eventually bought their first Pop-up....an early 60's Apachee that was nothing more than a silver box with a bed on top, and a big cabin tent that folded out from the top of the bed. They used that for a couple of years, then they upgraded to a 1965 Starcraft Starmaster-8, their first pop-up that looked more like todays conventional style trailers. This is by the way, the same model and vintage as Birol's, but there was one unique thing about Dad's Starcraft I've never seen on another camper since then. Hard (Fiberglass) tops over each bunk-end. I remember setting them up, raise the rear/outside end first, then go inside and lift the other end and it hooked into the inner side of the top. Very quick and easy set-up really.
 
From there it was just something that got ingrained in my blood, I've been camping ever since. (Yeah I know, I just 'dated' myself with this post...)

[springer02]

I never camped as a kid.  We lived on a lake and summers were spent on my Dad's fishing boat on Lake Michigan.  My first EVER camping trip was our first trip in our P.U. and that was from Va. to Fla. in April of 2002. This definitely was my "make it or break it" trip!

DH and DD had tent camped a few times and our family vacations were always to a cottage on Lake Huron.  The owner of the cottage decided to sell it and was asking a fortune for it and to discourage renters in the summer, he jacked the rental $$ WAY up.  We had toyed with the thoughts of a camper off and on for a few years and this was the deciding factor. DH did his research and we got our Cheyenne.

The first FLorida trip was great and we've been camping for three years now.

Tena

[Papaso]

I also started camping with the Boy Scouts I think I was 12. My first trip was to the Watchung mountains in Jersey. It was for a Klondike derby with snow on the ground, we slept in a army surplus baker tent. Needless to say we froze our bootys off. I had a blast and have been camping ever since. We got our PU in 2000. Prior to that I tent camped and camped out of the back of several pickup trucks and vans. I've camped across the USA on two separate trips in 79' and 84'. In 92' I did a trip down the Amazon River out of Manaus, Brasil.  I've been very fortunate to be able to camp year round down here and having Long Key State park so near by, the only negative is it takes about 7 hours to get out of Florida. We've been to most of the State Parks on the penninsula on both coasts and have gone up to the Great Smokys twice in our PU. I love camping and so does my DW. The girls are starting to whine about going but once we are there they have a good time. To bad they have to grow up, but DW and I are looking forward to a time when we might be able to do campground hosting and spend a few months on the road.

[brainpause]

Well, OUR story is really TWO stories.

I started tent camping with my parents at a semi-annual gospel singing. Mom and Dad would even take me out of school for this trip (such REBELS!). I barely remember the tent, because soon we got a popup. I'm not sure what kind it was, although I think it was a Coleman. Nevertheless, I was lucky, because I was too little to help put that darn thing together. It was nothing more than a box on wheels, and it took four people to put the roof up, and then the canvas had to be attached EVERY time. It didn't fold up attached already.

We used that thing a couple of seasons, and Mom and Dad bought a Coleman Brandywine, mid-70's model. We thought we were UPTOWN, as really we were. The camper was in great shape, although I think we rewired it. It had an actual crank, and the canvas was ALREADY attached! It also had the stove and sink. Wow!

Well, along came high school and college, so we really weren't able to do anymore camping. After graduate school, I bought a cheap 2 person tent (very small) for myself and my mutt. Went camping a couple of times in it, but it was small for a 6 foot tall person. Got cold at night too.

Then I met Holly. Sort of a city slicker, at least in Tennessee terms. She had been popup camping once with a divorced girlfriend, who wouldn't let her do anything. She also went camping/ATV'ing with me and a female friend of ours. I had my little pup tent and Holly and the other girl tried to make it in another tent. Well, they never could find a spot where there wasn't a rock or a root. Also, let's just say that Holly had problems on that trip, and didn't get to spend much time in the tent anyway (You probably won't guess what happened to her, so just quit guessing). That was that for tent camping.

Fast forward a few months, and Holly bought our camper on the same day I proposed to her, September 3, 2001. The camper sat unused (except for one or two nights by me in the driveway) for six months. We went on our first trip 3 weeks after we got married. I didn't think she'd like camping, even off the ground, and it also rained. But she has fallen in love with camping!!

See another angle on our purchase of the camper at http://www.larryandhollycrockett.com/proposal.html

Larry

[gsm x2]

Well, OUR story is really TWO stories.
 
I started tent camping with my parents at a semi-annual gospel singing. Mom and Dad would even take me out of school for this trip (such REBELS!). I barely remember the tent, because soon we got a popup. I'm not sure what kind it was, although I think it was a Coleman. Nevertheless, I was lucky, because I was too little to help put that darn thing together. It was nothing more than a box on wheels, and it took four people to put the roof up, and then the canvas had to be attached EVERY time. It didn't fold up attached already.
 
We used that thing a couple of seasons, and Mom and Dad bought a Coleman Brandywine, mid-70's model. We thought we were UPTOWN, as really we were. The camper was in great shape, although I think we rewired it. It had an actual crank, and the canvas was ALREADY attached! It also had the stove and sink. Wow!
 
Well, along came high school and college, so we really weren't able to do anymore camping. After graduate school, I bought a cheap 2 person tent (very small) for myself and my mutt. Went camping a couple of times in it, but it was small for a 6 foot tall person. Got cold at night too.
 
Then I met Holly. Sort of a city slicker, at least in Tennessee terms. She had been popup camping once with a divorced girlfriend, who wouldn't let her do anything. She also went camping/ATV'ing with me and a female friend of ours. I had my little pup tent and Holly and the other girl tried to make it in another tent. Well, they never could find a spot where there wasn't a rock or a root. Also, let's just say that Holly had problems on that trip, and didn't get to spend much time in the tent anyway (You probably won't guess what happened to her, so just quit guessing). That was that for tent camping.
 
Fast forward a few months, and Holly bought our camper on the same day I proposed to her, September 3, 2001. The camper sat unused (except for one or two nights by me in the driveway) for six months. We went on our first trip 3 weeks after we got married. I didn't think she'd like camping, even off the ground, and it also rained. But she has fallen in love with camping!!
 
See another angle on our purchase of the camper at http://www.larryandhollycrockett.com/proposal.html
 
Larry

Geez Larry---you just zoomed right in and hijacked this thread with the proposal story.  What a country guy!!!
 
gsm x2

[Camping Coxes]

See another angle on our purchase of the camper at http://www.larryandhollycrockett.com/proposal.html
 
Larry

OHMYGOSH!  Larry, you are the most romantic guy!  That is a story to tell your grandkids!  Wish I had one of those -- but mine can't be told to minors .

[campingboaters]

While I think Larry's story was awesome, I'll TRY to get this thread back on track with how I started camping.  
 
 My father used to take the month of August off from work each year. My parents would load us (the three youngest kids) in the car and drive across the country.  My three older brothers were old enough to stay home on their own since they all had summer jobs.  At the time, I thought these vacations were just a way of torturing me -- making me spend SO MUCH time confined in a car or tent with my two younger brothers!
 
 Other than the cost of gas, it was a pretty cheap vacation.  Most nights, we would stop somewhere around 5 or 6, set up our tent, make dinner and hang out by the campfire.  The next morning, we would either stay in the area if there were sights to see, or we'd take the tent down and move on to our next stop.  I stoped vacationing with them when I was old enough to work during the summers.
 
 As an adult, I got back into tent camping with friends and my then boyfriend (now husband) when we went wine tasting in the Finger Lakes region of New York or at Raystown Lake, PA.  A few years later, a friend bought a used pop-up that we borrowed on a trip to Raystown Lake.  By the next camping season, we had bought our first pop up -- a 2001 Coleman Santa Fe CP and our Durango to tow the camper.  After a couple camping seasons, we realized we didn't like all the "work" of a pop-up and started looking at the hybrids -- especially since we had a truck that could tow the extra weight.  We bought our 2003 Trail Cruiser in September 2002 and have been loving it.
 
 Now, a couple years later, we're looking at upgrading our hybrid to take advantage of some of the newer features and possibly get one that's just a bit bigger.  We've definitely passed on the camping tradition to our kids as they just LOVE it.  
 
 I didn't realize until now (as I typed my story) why I tend to like the evenings best when camping.  It goes back to my childhood when we'd spend the day on the road and the evening around the campfire!  Even now, we tend to go out and do things during the day, but we always return to the camper for dinner and a relaxing evening!  Cool...  :!

[brainpause]

Sorry...didn't realize I was hijacking the thread. Thought my proposal story was sort of "the end." I guess it was actually "the beginning" to my current camping situation.

[Kelly]

Sorry...didn't realize I was hijacking the thread. Thought my proposal story was sort of "the end." I guess it was actually "the beginning" to my current camping situation.

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."  (Closing Time by Semi Sonic)

I went camping with the Girl Scouts a few times before my dad came into some money in 1977 ~ that's all I can figure happened since we were so poor!  He bought a new pickup (Ford F-150 with a topper), a new boat (15' runabout) and a new tent (big old canvas thing!) and we saw the sights of Minnesota every summer for years afterward.  He'd load the camping supplies and the kids (all four of us!!) in the back of the truck, fishing supplies and the big ole tent in the boat and off we'd go.  (He's since 'graduated' through 2 pickup campers and his current RV is a 31' Minnie Winnie)

I stopped camping when I was a teen.  Still loved to travel and the ex and I would do these wonderful road trips ~ staying at hotels every time.  As the children started showing up it got to be a little pricey.  We rented a PU one summer and went to Great Falls, MT.  I was hooked!!  The joy of camping came flooding back to me when I didn't have to sleep in a tent!  Although since then I've tent camped a couple times and loved that, too!  

This is the third season with the PU and we've shared custody of it all summer long.  Come the end of the camping season he'll be keeping it (long story) and I hope to have a PU all my own for next camping season.  Three of the four kids have the camping bug and enjoy it just as much as their mom     Maybe by the time they get their own PU I'll be cruising the US of A in my very own fiver!  

[PopUpMomma]

I started camping in Girl Scouts.  Under the stars.....as we got older, we would pair up and share a 2 man tent.  It really was a lot of fun.  Back in the days, we would dig our own pits, cook over fire, and pack in our own supplies and equipment...As we grew EVEN OLDER....a larger tent with a blow up mattress was necessary.  Now, much older, It makes for a long set up and tear down and not to mention the clean up after you get home.  So, we bought our first Pop Up almost one year to the day and have used it a minimum of once a month.  Very easy to go camping here in California.  I have had coffee with wild turkeys....the bird kind....Deer and even had a wild animal lundge at me from the bushes.....(turned out to be a deer whom I scared even worse than he scared me)

I wouldn't give up camping for anything.

 

[brainpause]

I started camping in Girl Scouts.  Under the stars.....as we got older, we would pair up and share a 2 man tent.  It really was a lot of fun.  Back in the days, we would dig our own pits, cook over fire, and pack in our own supplies and equipment...As we grew EVEN OLDER....a larger tent with a blow up mattress was necessary.  Now, much older, It makes for a long set up and tear down and not to mention the clean up after you get home.  So, we bought our first Pop Up almost one year to the day and have used it a minimum of once a month.  Very easy to go camping here in California.  I have had coffee with wild turkeys....the bird kind....Deer and even had a wild animal lundge at me from the bushes.....(turned out to be a deer whom I scared even worse than he scared me)

I wouldn't give up camping for anything.

 

Nice story. Welcome to PUT!

Larry

[Campers3]

Started camping before I could walk.  Have pics of me 45 years ago camping, fishing, riding on horses.

We grew up in Utah, camping in the Rockies.

Been doing the camping thing ever since.

My son, who is now three, was camping after his six week checkup.  We cruised from Texas to New York, visiting folks in our New 30' Airstream motor coach, camping in RV parks, and other campgrounds.  We camped in it all the time, until he was about 18 months old.  At that time, we sold the Airstream.  We decided that it was not the right camping vehicle for a small child, and decided to purchase a Coleman popup camper.  We chose the Cheyenne.

David my son loves camping. Sometimes, I have to set the camper up in the back yard so that he can go camping.  We go out and pretend to be camping, though we actually sleep in the thing.