at the local park some 8km's round trip away. Got the bike and dog trailer, and am using the wifi of a tourist whom will be here for a month. Have set this camp up for a long stay, hoping I can have it here for at least 3 months maybe more. Have been wanting to do long term camping in our Wild Country tent, and a 5 m X 3 M DD tarp , which is designed for rough weather for a long while. I am set up with a queen stretcher bed and queen self inflating mattress, also a 3 way fridge, butane stove. hot water bottle, have the TV/dvd player with Invertor, 40ah Gel batt, and 80 watt solar panel. Also have a gas heater( and no need to warn me, the window stays open when heating, and it still keeps warm). Just want to give the wife a break, from me for a while. I may not be on the forum much over this time, but I also want a break from the computer as well. Milo loves this style of camping, he get's me all to himself, and doesn't have to share with the other dogs. It is currently raining pretty heavily, no leaks from the roof or floor so far. Luckily their is a toilet here, but as it is a 100m walk , may bring out our portaloo, and toilet tent, if we keep on getting rain all the time, like it has been lately. Lived in a tent for 18 months travelling around Australia in the 80's being looking forward to doing it again ever since.
We still use our large family tent, it has a bedroom, kitchen & a lounge/dining area.
Our stretches have overlay mattress's that are more comfortable than a double bed.
The kitchen area is setup like a galley kitchen in a home & the lounge/dining area is huge.
The tent is high quality & totally waterproof with a fly/shade over the whole top.
It has sown in floors thoughout plus three separate extra floor coverings in each section.
It has way more room than a caravan.
We used to use it all the time when we took our boat away but now only use it occasionally.
Nothing like sleeping under canvas.
Enjoy your 'real'' camping experience.
I sometimes wish We could take a big leap back in time to when we went camping but then I step into our en suited caravan, nay thzt will not work, I am way to spoilt now and we did earn it.
I sometimes wish We could take a big leap back in time to when we went camping but then I step into our en suited caravan, nay thzt will not work, I am way to spoilt now and we did earn it.
YEA I agree.
I do not wish to go backwards now. If I cannot be reasonably comfortable I will not go !! But we all have our own different comfort areas
What I am doing now is luxury, to my normal, camping by bike. In that situation, I have a 4 season 2 man tent, a 3cm self inflating mattress, a 3 and 4 season -5 C and a -15 C sleeping bags 2 x 110gm gas bottles, I mini gas cooker. coffee and food thermos's. I have the advantage to be able to squat, kneel on my knee's, lay on hard ground and sleep, and actually I love this more, then having luxury. Both myself and my wife decided to go back to a hardfloor camper, from the van, so we can get into far out there away places. We were both missing the true form of camping. The dutch oven over the warming fire, being outside in the cool night air, looking at the stars, we missed doing all that. And we missed all our campertrailer friends, so now we are back, we have done 22 trips away since October, in the camper, plus I have done 7 bike and car camps with the tents and we only did one minor trip iin the preceding 3 years in the van, as we were not enjoying it anymore. This way of camping that we are doing, has taken a while to come to the realisation for us, that we were just not enjoying caravanning anymore, I suppose it is the "young" in us. Keeping fit, and feeling young might keep us alive a little while longer.
-- Edited by Bicyclecamper on Friday 29th of April 2022 12:09:11 PM
What I am doing now is luxury, to my normal, camping by bike. In that situation, I have a 4 season 2 man tent, a 3cm self inflating mattress, a 3 and 4 season -5 C and a -15 C sleeping bags 2 x 110gm gas bottles, I mini gas cooker. coffee and food thermos's. I have the advantage to be able to squat, kneel on my knee's, lay on hard ground and sleep, and actually I love this more, then having luxury. Both myself and my wife decided to go back to a hardfloor camper, from the van, so we can get into far out there away places. We were both missing the true form of camping. The dutch oven over the warming fire, being outside in the cool night air, looking at the stars, we missed doing all that. And we missed all our campertrailer friends, so now we are back, we have done 22 trips away since October, in the camper, plus I have done 7 bike and car camps with the tents and we only did one minor trip iin the preceding 3 years in the van, as we were not enjoying it anymore. This way of camping that we are doing, has taken a while to come to the realisation for us, that we were just not enjoying caravanning anymore, I suppose it is the "young" in us. Keeping fit, and feeling young might keep us alive a little while longer.
-- Edited by Bicyclecamper on Friday 29th of April 2022 12:09:11 PM
I know how you feel as I too got rid of the caravan two years ago and replaced it with a hard floor camper trailer. I find it quite liberating, because towing and setting up the caravan was getting quite stressful, and I was limiting the places we'd go to because I didn't know if the caravan would make it.
I do understand those who don't want to go backwards in their comforts, and I do miss the ensuite toilet, and we are more picky about when we travel because the camper isn't as weatherproof as the caravan was. But, the wife and I are re-discovering the simple pleasures of camping and living more outdoors again, and as we've got less than half the money tied up in the camper than the caravan, we don't feel like we have to use it at every opportunity.
