Single Mom PU campers?

[frieker]

I am a single mom of two.  I have one daughter who is 16 and a son that is 7.  My friends think I am nuts to own a house and now to buy a pop-up to camp with.  Not to mention some of my girlfriends think I am nuts to camp at all tent or PU.  

I was just wondering if there were any other single mom's like me that dare to pull a trailer and enjoy some time with their kids?

[Kelly]

Yep ~ I'm nuts, too.  :J

I have 4 kids ~ the youngest is 5, the oldest is 11.  I 'lost' my first PU in the divorce and just picked up our new-to-us PU at the Rally in Ohio.  IMHO ~ I got the better PU!  LOL

My friends don't think the camping is as weird as the road trips!  We just got back Tuesday from Ohio.  We had a great time with our special camping family and put about 2140 miles on the van.  Two long days out and two long days back ~ with 9 awesome nights of camping in between.

Last year we put on more miles going to Montana to tent camp near Glacier.  My kids are experienced road-trippers and have already camped in 15 states!

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[Johnowolf]

On another forum I follow (www.popupportal.com) there's a camper in TN who just recently started out on forays by herself. Apparently a number of her local "friends" were making all sorts of comments about it. We all encouraged her to go for it and have fun! She's been having a great time camping!

Camping for anyone is such a wonderful way to "get away from the world" and enjoy life in the open! I can't wait until I can make my next trip. Unfortunately I'm getting ready to begin to foray into the "single guy camping by himself" experience. I'm not really looking forward to it, but camping with just my dog and I will be a much needed escape. It's funny, but my fur-kid has been my lifeline through some recent trying experiences. She's my anchor while life is getting stormy.

Definitely no reason to let anyone convince you that single-mom camping is strange or unacceptable! After all, it's the best family experience there is

[Rustyone]

YOU GO GIRL![/B]

[NCSunshine]

I am not a single mom, but I have camped more times by myself with my children than with DH along.  There is a great feeling of inner happiness JUST camping regardless of who is there.  

So I say, Go and enjoy yourselves.

[maromeo]

I was also a single mom for 14 years, cub scout den mother and I loved to camp. I would take my son tent camping during the summer to the mountains and fish. He loved it. We did this for many years. I used to carry a men's size 11 hiking boot and set it outside the tent, just to make people wonder.

After cub scouts, I worked one week in the summer at the boy scout camp just so he knew I was there to enjoy it with him.

We have many great memories from out tenting days. He is now 22.

Mary Anne Romeo

[ilovecamping]

I am not a single mom, but I was for several years.  At that time in my life I had been away from camping for quite a few years, so I never took them on my own.  I did go last year with only my son and his GF and it seemed weird because I had never gone without DH, but it worked fine.  I say go for it.  If I had it to do over I think I would have at least tried taking them on my own.

[Popups4Rent]

I was a single dad camping for a while. They reactions are just as strange as a single mom. People cannot believe a dad would care enough to haul kids as young as 2 around the country by himself. We had a great time, and they both have memories of our time together.

[Miller Tyme]

I'm also a single father who camps. My son is 17, and can't wait to get out(which isn't often, due to my work schedule):swear:
 
 Usually, we'll head out for a 2 or 3 nighter, along with the dog from (you know where):yikes: and just enjoy the time together. He spent the last 13 years living with his mother, and I recently got custody of him.
 
 Only problem-he wants to drive the Exploder while towing...yeah right....:J

[crm1385]

Kelly,
I just got back from cabin camping in New Hampshire with my two daughters, 9 and 7 and everyone thought I was nuts too.  I would love to buy a pop-up trailer but I don't know anything technical.  Where do I start?  Consumer Reports?  Can I put it up myself?  I want to show my girls all of the national parks in this country before they go to college.  I have a Dodge AWD mini-van to tow with and 3 great mountain bikes.

Please help!
Christi :confused:

Yep ~ I'm nuts, too.  :J

I have 4 kids ~ the youngest is 5, the oldest is 11.  I 'lost' my first PU in the divorce and just picked up our new-to-us PU at the Rally in Ohio.  IMHO ~ I got the better PU!  LOL

My friends don't think the camping is as weird as the road trips!  We just got back Tuesday from Ohio.  We had a great time with our special camping family and put about 2140 miles on the van.  Two long days out and two long days back ~ with 9 awesome nights of camping in between.

Last year we put on more miles going to Montana to tent camp near Glacier.  My kids are experienced road-trippers and have already camped in 15 states!

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[Kelly]

Kelly,
I just got back from cabin camping in New Hampshire with my two daughters, 9 and 7 and everyone thought I was nuts too.  I would love to buy a pop-up trailer but I don't know anything technical.  Where do I start?  Consumer Reports?  Can I put it up myself?  I want to show my girls all of the national parks in this country before they go to college.  I have a Dodge AWD mini-van to tow with and 3 great mountain bikes.

Please help!
Christi :confused:

Christi ~

If I can learn it ~ anybody can.  (oh!  and Welcome to PUT!! )

If you go back through some of the old threads in the general section you can find lots of good information about what to look for in buying a popup.  Use the search feature.

You could also start a seperate thread asking for help and ideas.  I don't know anything about your van and what it can tow, but I'm sure there are people here that would!  With only 2 kids ~ you would probably be comfortable in a PU with an 8' box.   There are a lot of options for carrying bikes, too.  I haven't found the perfect one for us yet, but we have a few more bikes!  LOL

Best advice is to start looking at floorplans of different PUs.  Find something you like that would fit your needs (and that your van would tow) and go from there.     Next best advice ~ don't be afraid to ask questions.  The people here are great and they know there's no such thing as a stupid question.  (Right guys??  :p )  I wouldn't be out there towing a trailer by myself if it weren't for the help, advice and support I got from the people here.

E-mail me and I can answer any specific questions you have![/color]

[SA Sis]

I'm an "empty nest" mom.  My sister and I just bought our new-to-us Pop-up and we LOVE getting away.  We started by renting a PUP from a local dealer who showed us how to pop it up and down and decided that weekend to start looking for one to buy.  We first hit a couple of Camper shows to see a lot of variety under one roof to check out all the features.  Next we visited all the dealers in a 100 mile radius to see what was available in our price range.  We ended up buying our 1999 Starcraft Starmaster from a local couple moving up to a TT.  It was in immaculate condition. The old owners gave us all the owner manuals and logs on maintenance.  We watch this forum and Popup Explorer for great tips and answers to our "newbie" questions.

We've been out 6 times and it is just getting better with every trip.  Go for it.  You won't be sorry.

[endless horizons]

Hi Cristi,

I'm no longer a single mom but I love to encourage women who are. When we were looking at pop-ups I liked the idea of being able to pull it and set it up and take it down by my self. Due to my husbands demanding job I have taken the boys out on my own.  Any kind of camping is work but pop-up camping makes everything much easier. And once your kids can chip in and help it makes every outing even easier.  I encourge you to go to pop-up sales places and check them out. take them down and set them up. Depending on the size of the kids and the number you have, you don't have to get something huge. Also remember what your car can tow etc.  Talk to other persons on this web site I have learned so much from them. They are a wonderful extended family for you to have.
Sincerely
Maggie

[Pattycakes]

Hi Christi,

My husband of 16 years has recently filed for divorce and left me heartbroken and stunned.  Apparently he has a girlfriend to help him through his midlife crisis.  Anyway, we bought a used popup last year and only got to take it out once, although it was for 2 weeks.  I sadly cancelled our reservation for this year and thought I guess we'll have to sell the popup because I certainly can't tow it and my husband didn't think he could teach me.  When I finally stopped crying I thought the hell with him - I'm going to try.  Another woman came over and showed me how to hitch it up and followed us towing it on our first solo.  I have a 9 year old son.  My sweet son told me I tow better than Dad!  I rescheduled our annual vacation in Maine near Acadia National Park.  I was scared with a 5 hour trip ahead of me and cried that morning going to Acadia without my husband for the first time in 10 years.  Well that trip was the best thing I ever did.  We just returned safely after 9 heavenly days.  My attitude about my life has changed, and I can't wait to get out there again.  Actually, that's why I was browsing these forums, I was hoping to find a group to camp with.  My son can now back me up to the popup, hitch, unhitch, setup, take down, build a campfire all by himself, and hopefully has learned a lot from watching mom try something she never thought she could do.  He used to ride his bike and play while we setup or took down camp.  It makes me so proud to see him now.  I think it does wonders for his self esteem as well.  He let me know how important it was to him that he didn't miss this camping trip for the first time in his life.  We biked, we hiked, we collected beach glass, and we found peace of mind.  

The jist of all this is - DO IT GIRLFRIEND!  You can do it and there are always people around at a campground to help.  The campground hosts are a good choice if you have a problem.  On our first solo I had a dead battery in my car after packing everything up.  Note to self:  don't leave interior lights on anymore.  A fellow camper gave me a jump and we were off.  On this past trip to Acadia I pulled an ultimate stupid popup trick.  I kicked the front leg out that holds up the tongue (I was trying to get one of those lego blocks out from under it).  The next thing I knew the tongue of the trailer was on the ground and I was cursing myself out for my stupidity.  After a few yucks some fellow campers got a very large crow bar and managed to pry it off the ground so we could get the leg back down.  I told my son, the good news is every time we do something stupid, we'll never do it again!!   All the people we met gave us 'atta boys for doing this by ourselves.  

Good luck and have fun!!!

P.S.  I tow with a 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan, FWD  
I am going to sign up for Good Sam or AAA for added peace of mind on the road.

[Johnowolf]

Hi Christi and Pattycakes and all!
 
Well, my story is heading the direction of Pattycakes', but from the opposite side. My wife of 6 years decided she wants a divorce and has given me the "ol' heave-ho". I can definitely relate to the heartbreak and pain. We were having problems, but I actually thought we were on the upswing coming back from them when WHAMMO!
 
Anyway, in the course of just a couple of weeks, I've gone from a family camper who LOVES camping with his family, to a single guy who gets to anticipate camping by himself. I haven't done my first "solo" yet (and it'll be my first time solo camping in over 12 years), but I'm planning one in a few days. I hope that it will be as positive an experience as yours has been for you!
 
I won't be able to take my step-daughter with at this point, so it'll just be me and my dog (my lifeline). However, I'm hoping once things settle down a bit and stabilize that DD and I will be able to at least sometimes go camping together. It just won't be the same without my fishin' buddy!