You know, I still like tent camping . . .

[Jim K in PA]

But I sure do LOVE my PUP!

Last Thursday I went with my sons on a Boy Scouts camping trip to Stillwater Reservoir in the Adirondack Mountains.  We primitive camped for 3+ days, and it was great.  Even with the rain and the biting flies, the beauty of the area and the peacefulness overrode all of that.  Loons calling on the lake, Bald Eagles soaring overhead, clear water, flowing streams coming down the shore next to our campsite.  It was fantastic, and someplace we could not get to with a camper of any size or shape.  All the camp sites at this lake are accessible by canoe or boat only.

But changing clothes while still in a 1-person backpack tent is becoming quite a challenge for my almost 44 year old back with a blown out disk.  

Our next family trip is to Niagara Falls (Four Mile Creek SP) a week from Thursday.  With the PUP.  I am really looking forward to it.

Now, if I could get a pontoon boat big enough to park my Viking on . . .  

[CajunCamper]

But I sure do LOVE my PUP!

Last Thursday I went with my sons on a Boy Scouts camping trip to Stillwater Reservoir in the Adirondack Mountains.  We primitive camped for 3+ days, and it was great.  Even with the rain and the biting flies, the beauty of the area and the peacefulness overrode all of that.  Loons calling on the lake, Bald Eagles soaring overhead, clear water, flowing streams coming down the shore next to our campsite.  It was fantastic, and someplace we could not get to with a camper of any size or shape.  All the camp sites at this lake are accessible by canoe or boat only.

But changing clothes while still in a 1-person backpack tent is becoming quite a challenge for my almost 44 year old back with a blown out disk.  

Our next family trip is to Niagara Falls (Four Mile Creek SP) a week from Thursday.  With the PUP.  I am really looking forward to it.

Now, if I could get a pontoon boat big enough to park my Viking on . . .  

I love tent camping as well, that's how I discovered my love for camping. My kids started tent camping when they were in diapers and that's where they got hooked on camping. The pop up just made it easier to hook up and go, especially in the summer heat.

CajunCamper

[jeezy]

I grew up camping in RVs of various size, ending with a 30 foot Prowler Regal.  As a kid, my brother and friends often set up our tent outside the camper.  I also tent camped for a few years with scouts.  

In my early 20's my father bought my then fiance, now wife a tent and we tent camped from time to time with friends until our two boys came along and we took a few years off.  During that stretch, my dad passed and after keeping it on her cousin's land along the Ohio River in Indiana, she sold it to some friends of hers.  Last fall, we bought our first pup and have now used it twice with the boys.

Now that I'm back in the campgrounds, I love our camper but I am somewhat jealous of some of the tents I'm seeing.  They have multiple rooms, screen rooms, spots for storage, etc.  Some of them look like UFOs.  Some of them look like canvas or nylon cabins.  They are in general much spiffier than our old plain dome tent or the cabin tent of my youth.  Plus, especially at the state park we hit last weekend, you can tuck them away in some pretty cool spots away from the site of the road.  

I can't justify buying a new tent at the moment so I went out and bought a nice new screen room.  At least I have something new.  

[PattieAM]

I too loved tent camping, but for an extended stay - 2 weeks, there is alot of stuff to pack/unpack, set up/take down.....which I can no longer do.

Sleeping on an air mattress or cot or pad/sleeping bag has become a painful experience.

Summer heat/humidity in my area makes sleeping uncomfortable without AC, and if I don't sleep well - I'm miserable and those around me are too!

Medications affect the digestive system - so I like having facilities extremely close and not having to dress, find flashlight and make the toe-stubbing trek in the middle of the night to a buggy bathhouse.

So, I love my PUP, it's hardwalled potty/shower, the AC, the bunks off the ground, the amenities I don't have to pack and set up......and I still have the great views from the PUP windows (open or closed).  Sure do love my home on wheels.

Maybe someday when my RA is under control....I will do a one night stay at an island campground accessing via canoe.....

[archer]

The only tent camping I like is when We open the PUP up. I dont miss sleeping on the ground or the excessive gear needed for tent camping. I just love the PUP best of both worlds! Too hot turn on the A/C,Too Cold turn on the heat, Too buggy or rainy go inside, etc etc. I would give up camping if i had to go back to tents........Happy Camping!

[Jim K in PA]

This is interesting.  It is clear that "camping" means significantly different things to different people.  I think tent camping requires significantly LESS equipment than PUP camping, since you don't need a camper!  I took everything the boys and I needed for 4+ days out in the wild in a couple of canoes.  My tent was smaller than a loaf of bread.  This cargo included food, clothes, rain gear, cooking equipment, fuel, etc.  Firewood was collected on site, and we could have cooked on the fire if we wanted to.

I don't need A/C to enjoy camping, but heat is a nice luxury.  For me, PUP camping is approached much like tent camping, but with a much nicer tent!  I mean no disrespect to others who feel that "camping" can only be done with an electric outlet nearby, but it is not what I need to enjoy beautiful surroundings, away from the constructed world we live in every day.  It is all in the way you approach it.  Tent camping allows you to go places that no camper could ever go.  That means something to me, but probably not to others.

The tent camping trip I just took with my boys was the first one in a couple of years, and I was pleased to find I still enjoy it.  Our PUP is just a different means to the same end.

Peace.