I agree! Where are you camping in the picture? We have a small motor home which I bought after selling our 1965 Air Stream that I still miss. We enjoy camping the the DEC sites in the Adirondacks. I don't know how to post from my phone--all my pictures are there. Our Cavalier always comes and one of our Labs. No reservations this year until Fourth of July.

That is Juneau County Campground, Wisconsin on lake Petenwell, WI. It is in Central Wisconsin and they have a whole string of campsites that are basically 20 feet from the water...second largest lake in Wisconsin.

I considered a motor home but am glad I went with the small trailer. The expenses are soooo much less and I don't have to drag around another vehicle to drive around while camping. It is just my wife and I along with the dog generally so we don't need a lot of room. The small, light trailer works great with my Silverado 1500 truck. Most of our camping is within state and generally within about 2 hours or so of where we live but I took it on a 10 day round trip from Wisconsin to Corpus Christy, TX last summer. Everything went great aside from a trailer tire blow out at 70mph on the interstate just south of St Louis on our way back. I put on the spare and got it to the next Walmart and had both tires changed out. It was my fault, I was on older, but not excessively old tires and going faster than the tires were rated for. Minimal damage to the trailer undercarriage and totally blow tire were the only result.

We stayed in a Walmart parking lot one night in SW Iowa, on the way down and then at Tinker AFB campground, OK for a night before we got to San Antonio, TX, where we stayed at Lackland AFB campground several nights while we visited with my wifes brother and wife. Then we went on to Corpus Christy Naval Air Station and stayed at their campground for a few nights while we did the tourist thing until heading back to San Antonio for a night before heading back north. Stayed one night at an old friend's driveway for a night and then on to my sister's place near St Louis where we again stayed in the driveway for a night before heading the rest of the way back home the next day.

Walmart Parking lot for a meal and nap. If you haven't dry camped in a Walmart Parking lot, you either haven't done any cross country travel camping! :)

Try it sometime... Consider it a badge of honor and check box for any avid travel camper.

Corpus Christy NAS, TX. The campground is right on the water. I have photos of the other places but didn't want to get too picture heavy.

USS Lexington in Corpus Christy bay. If you get down there, you have to see it. Phenomenal tour. Just try for a little cooler day. It gets stifling inside the ships catacombs when temps are on the wrong side of 100.

If you ever visit San Antonio, you have to see the Alamo. Otherwise it didn't happen.

This is what happens to a 5 year old trailer tire, rated for 65mph when going 72mph on a 100 degree day. I only have a single axle trailer so this was especially hair raising when it went.

For anyone traveling cross country with a camper, I highly recommend military campgrounds if they are convienient and you have have access to them. Some are open to the general public but most are not. Corpus Christy NAS is open to the public and the price is less than $20 per night. When hotels are pushing $200 per night, it is a great way to spend a few days in Corpus. Tinker AFB near Oklahoma City and Lackland AFB in San Antonio were both sub $20 a night as well. Superbly maintained and you don't have to worry about any crime whatsoever.

I loved reading of your adventure--yikes! The tire blow out. Last year Michelon replaced 6 for me under a recall.

I have stayed in a Walmart parking lot-- it was a fun memory I am in upstate NY and contacted a man in Louisiana about his 1965 Air Stream--it was only 17 ft. Oh how I loved that camper. It had all the original books and even photos of the owners with it...anyway. My husband was appalled that I had arranged for us to meet the owner in a hotel (with cash) for his AS. We stayed the night in a Walmart parking lot in Pa. That night was the first time of quite a few where we had door knob trouble. I had to crawl out the front jalousie window when it was time to go.

We always stay waterfront in the Adirondacks and I don't tow a vehicle hubby drives the car with the Labs. Its a bit of a pita but ok for our situation now.

Alamo is on our bucket list.

annz3, Do visit the Alamo, but make sure to go early to avoid the lines. They can get atrocious When you do, there is also a sub shop across the way I also highly recommend hitting! off topic however. esox those are some great pictures! Great story too, and the advice is great. Luckily I still have my ID so we can get into some of those "off limit to civilian" campgrounds, ill have to check out some of the spots

For sure check them out Jake. They are some of the best run, cleanest, safest camping spots you will find and the prices are amazingly low. Most are $25 or less per day with full hookups. The only drawback I see is that there is little privacy. Spots from what I have seen are mostly like a parking lot. Corpus Christy an exception. They had plenty of room around each spot. Bit if you are traveling and just need a day or two to park the trailer over night or for a launching pad to do the tourist thing, then they are perfect.

That looks great. Who got stuck in the tent?

Ha ha, just a poor Lcpl. At least he had a cot!

Yah, I suppose one of those nice comfortable fold out military cots? Nice.

I started with a tent. Even after 13 years in the Army, I wasn't totally against tent camping yet. Of course that was Military Intelligence and Recruiter duty so not a lot of field time.

Then I (we, the family and I) moved up to an old Pop Up and finally about three years ago, we got out small 19' trailer. I think we are set for a while now.

Ha ha, How'd you know? At least he had a nice ish tent, and not a canvas two piece. Thats nice, how is the trailer? Does it have a Shower/Head and all that?

And 13 years, thank you for your service. I only have 4 under my belt.

Yah, it has a shower, but it is made for a 12 year old max. I might rinse my feet in it. hahaha. Head (toilet) works great and so nice not to have to battle the spiders, flies and smell in the camp toilets or god forbid have to take an E-Tool with me out to the woods. And certainly nice not to have to go outside at all for that. Oh, yah, gotta love the fridge, A/C, heater and running water too.

Here is the "head" and shower since you asked:

And the floorplan. Guess which bed is mine? The wife sleeps on one of the bunks in the rear. She prefers that to listening to me snore.

I got it from a camper dealership. They have two or three of these units that they use as rentals and after two seasons, they sell them and replace them with new ones. We got a great deal on it and they gave us a one year warranty and fixed all the problems that I found in it before I took possession. It is a KZ Sportsman 19BH model.

PS: Thanks to you for your service as well. Are you still in or just did a 4 yr hitch. I have a nephew in the Marines. He is on a 5 yr intitial hitch as an aircraft mechanic. I think he has less than a year to go and plans to get out and I think get married.

Take care and happy trails,

Bruce

We have never camped other than a couple of times on a sand bar on the Mississippi River with friends. I HATED it.............camping was no fun for me.......trying to cook over a fire......bah, humbug. 2 years ago we did something SO out of character for us that some people thought we fell out of bed, hit our heads, and decided to do this...........we bought a 44 foot 5th wheel toy hauler. Now we "glamp". We love it..........have had so much fun in it. We've taken the 2 grandkids and their bikes so we can ride on some bike paths. We can take the motorcycles and ride around the area. And, it even has a king sized bed! Where you can see the word "Cyclone" on the side..............that folds down into a patio. This is at Worlds of Fun Village where we parked the RV when we went down last May for the NASCAR race.

Anna: Some of my most fond memories as a teenager were camping on the upper mississippi sand bars. No crowds, no camp nazi's. It was great fun to fish while eating dinner or just lounging in a camp chair.

But, like you, I have now graduated from isolated tent camping to tent camping in a park with electricity to pop-up camping and now to a small trailer with hookups. I don't think we will ever get to the 40 foot mark, but I am hopefull that somewhat bigger trailer is in the future.

PS: I caught this one night fishing from shore while camping on the Mississippi

What did you catch? No photo here.

I never knew this forum was here either. I just happened to click on the "more forums" tab to see what was here. I don't know that there is a better place to put the forum, but I think that keeps people from finding it.

esox07, that catfish is amazing! Your camper looks a lot like ours, except ours is 21'. We're considering a new one, but haven't found one that meets all the requirements, mainly one built for someone who is tall. But the smaller ones sure are easy to pull and put in any space.

I agree Barn. The smaller ones are easy to maneuver and tow. But small isn't always good for some people. Good luck finding your new one.

This forum was MUCH more active before Garden Web sold out to HOUZZ.

Anybody taking any trips soon? The Spousal Unit and I, along with another couple, are leaving this coming Saturday for Kentucky. We're going to take in The Ark Experience. Our campground is in Indiana; we'll be staying at "Follow the River" RV resort. I can't wait..........been too long since we've been out; a month. Too many things going on here at home. This was from last year when we had the grandkids along..........they were solving the world's problems over breakfast.

Leaving Tuesday AM for a three nighter at a campground on a lake about 90 miles north of here. I can't wait either. Stupid rain looks like it will be a significant part of the outing however.

The last 2 years we've taken in the NASCAR race in Kansas City. We stayed at World of Fun village campground. Reasonable rates and a nice park with cement pads for your RV. Well kept up. We've not taken in the amusement park part of it. We'd recommend staying there.

I have always wanted to take my trailer and take in a Nascar race somewhere in the midwest. It sounds like a great way to spend a weekend.