Why dont more Mudders RV?
- Thread starter arcteryx
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
You can find arguments all day long against RV's, or anything else for that matter.
If the idea doesn't appeal to you don't do it.
The cost of RV'ing is not nearly as absurd as the amount of money I have invested in a truck that is nearly 40 years old just so it will crawl over piles of boulders.
Never mind the other two I have just because they are cool. Some things we do just because we like it, not because it makes economical sense.
But the idea DOES appeal to me.
I went shopping for a small travel trailer but the numbers don't add up for me. At some point, there may be a need for something else though.
Where I currently live, I can't access the places I want to camp in one of those things. Simple as that. Everyone in my party has been managing without indoor plumbing at the campsite.
The biggest challenge that seems to keep being an issue for me is getting set up quickly at night, in the dark. And by dark, I mean pitch black. It's stressful to have to get to where you want to go in time to be able to get set up to use the RTT before darkness makes it very difficult. Some kind of self-contained camping unit might eliminate some of that stress. It used to in the truck camper.
My wife and I had a big cabin tent for years before we got our first TT. It was a nightmare to set up and usually involved a few angry words before it was done. It was such a chore we never camped unless we had three or four days to spend camping. otherwise the effort just wasn't justified.
In contrast we could set up our first little trailer in 5 minutes, as we got into bigger trailers the set up time increased but never got close to the hassle of setting up a cabin tent. The pop-up trailer we have now takes maybe 15 to 20 minutes to set up on level ground. Off camber sites add to that. We can take the pop-up almost anywhere you could take a stock 4WD pick-up truck.
The down side to the tent trailers is the canvas. It is loud in the wind and is poor insulation in cold weather. The up side to the canvas construction is with all the windows open you feel like you are outside when you are in the trailer. It basically becomes a screen house.
Nice truck.
Where do the wife, kids, and dogs sleep?
(sorry for the double thread hijack)
Like I said, for two people!
The dog died about a year ago (at 16), but he slept and traveled on the bed. Most times he would sleep outside.. because he's a dog.
..he was talented at doing dog things
(giving me the WTF look through the rear sliding window crack.. from on the bed)
and doing what he did best on long trips
Me and Jake in the 100
Jake would sleep on a sack of rocks as long as he was with the family.
My point was, once you throw a kid or two (or a grand kid in our case) into the mix sleeping in the back of a LC gets complicated.
We have gone through the whole cycle; young couple sleeping in tents or just on a tarp, married with infant through teen, empty nester, and grand parents. The needs for every stage are different, what makes sense for every stage is different.
At the end of the day whatever makes it enjoyable to get outside with your family is what makes sense. For many of us an RV is a very good option.
Jake would sleep on a sack of rocks as long as he was with the family.
My point was, once you throw a kid or two (or a grand kid in our case) into the mix sleeping in the back of a LC gets complicated.
We have gone through the whole cycle; young couple sleeping in tents or just on a tarp, married with infant through teen, empty nester, and grand parents. The needs for every stage are different, what makes sense for every stage is different.
At the end of the day whatever makes it enjoyable to get outside with your family is what makes sense. For many of us an RV is a very good option.
Here's another pic of Jake when he was a pup with our Arctic Fox in death Valley. We had the campground mostly to our selves.
This was during a 100 year bloom
West side road in death Valley
The view from our camp at Telescope Peak
Another of Jake;
This was during a 100 year bloom
West side road in death Valley
The view from our camp at Telescope Peak
Another of Jake;
Last edited:
Just started rving this year. The wife and I picked a Koala 25DS ultra light, dry weight is 4150 and sleeps 6. It works out great with the 15mo old grandson going with us everytime we go and we've got another grandson that we're hoping to take along with us next year when he's a little older.
As far as sites go we've been sticking to regional, state and national parks. We did end up at a New Hampshire state park that was listed as a rv park. It was OK but didn't really like being in a big open field. Can't bring myself to going toa KOA yet.
The great thing is that the wife is ready to go anytime and enjoys the quick set up and she does like the idea of her own bed. Yes, it is costly if you when you take into consideration the cost of the trailer and taxes. On the other hand being that I've got the space for it at my place and no covenants to worry about it makes for a great doghouse.
I've also got my rtt on the m-416 that I'd like to get the grandsons into using when they get older. Off subject the 15mo old likes to stand up on the front seat and steer the 40 while I drive it thru the yard
As far as sites go we've been sticking to regional, state and national parks. We did end up at a New Hampshire state park that was listed as a rv park. It was OK but didn't really like being in a big open field. Can't bring myself to going toa KOA yet.
The great thing is that the wife is ready to go anytime and enjoys the quick set up and she does like the idea of her own bed. Yes, it is costly if you when you take into consideration the cost of the trailer and taxes. On the other hand being that I've got the space for it at my place and no covenants to worry about it makes for a great doghouse.
I've also got my rtt on the m-416 that I'd like to get the grandsons into using when they get older. Off subject the 15mo old likes to stand up on the front seat and steer the 40 while I drive it thru the yard
Jason we have the same issue with 3 kids but always tell them we have 2. They have never balked when they saw 3 show up. I too am looking for a 4 season unit as we spend a lot of time on Lake Superior and hotels get expensive for a month and staying at family abodes gets dicey after a week or so. My folks had a GMC when I was a kid and it was awesome. Towed the 73 VW Thing behind it. Dad still has the Thing that just had a compete resto.
We are finding a pop-up to be a good compromise. Don't have any pics since we got the LC, but you get the idea.
- Thread starter
- #75
In 2004, I bought a new offroad camper, a Starcraft 11RT, which is similar to your baja. It was really cool. However, the labor involved in setup/teardown sucked. 30 minutes setup, 30 minutes teardown. And the way I camp, its just too much time. I dont stay in 1 place for a week, I hit 4-5 different places, so spending an hour a day doing this was too much. If I wasnt as nomadic, this might have worked
Good thing you weren't around in the pioneer days! Tearing down and setting up those covered wagons, searching for firewood, water, hunting for food...all while moving daily...those were some tough, hard-working people.
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #77
Good thing you weren't around in the pioneer days!
Vacation vs survival are different. I dont know many people who want to work while on vacation. I work a LOT- when I am on holiday, I want to relax. Popups are great entry level campers but the trade off is it requires more labor. If you read above, I had to slide on the floor to pack the fridge. That sucked. I guess I could have raised it, but then there is another 30m to setup/teardown the camper just to pack. Too much raising and lowering for me, my time is more valuable than that. Maybe it works for you, but not for me.
We kind of lucked into a pop up camper, I'm hoping we go enough to justify trading up to a small bumper pull or small Airstream.
As much money as they want for a new pop up... I'd be much happier with a small, used bumper pull. In the end, RVs are all kind of crappy, ESP if you don't maintain, but you have to sleep somewhere.
As much money as they want for a new pop up... I'd be much happier with a small, used bumper pull. In the end, RVs are all kind of crappy, ESP if you don't maintain, but you have to sleep somewhere.
We move just about every day too.
I was wondering how long it takes you to set up / break camp with a tent?
My wife and I can set up camp and be enjoying an adult beverage much faster than most couples can get a tent up and set up their sleeping bags stoves etc. ditto for breaking camp.
How long does it take to load up for a car camping trip? Including finding everything? Ever forget to load something? One huge asset to a pop-up, or any trailer for that matter, is that it stays loaded so spur of the moment trips are much easier.
We've gotten pretty quick with our pop up. Set up or take down in under 30mins.
Being able to keep it loaded is a huge help. The pup has its own set of utensils,plates,silverware etc. All we do is toss the duffle bag with clothes in the pup, load the Norcold fridge and food box in the Cruiser and we're ready to go.