Ideas on switching camping styles with the kids

[Loco-Nomad]

I currently have a 25 foot hard sided travel trailer with all the "normal" amenities. My kids, 14, 7, 6, and 20 months love camping as does my wife. I want to get back to more primitive camping and overlanding and get out of the state parks and other over populated campgrounds. MY kids are like alot of kids now days where they think they need entertained 24 hours a day or they are bored. So not having the tv/dvd player will prove interesting. However, we like to camp all summer so having a/c is a must even for me. Laying in a tent full of sweat is not a fun time. My 20 month also has a lot of special needs so this also plays into the equation. Any ideas on meeting this halfway so I can take them camping but get out of the campgrounds but still be able to camp in the summer? I'm in Ohio so I'm not lucky enough to have a lot of places to go to nearby.

 

[98roamer]

Pat and Cindy have done a nice job in making their travel trailer boondockable.

http://www.everymilesamemory.com/ourtrailer.htm

 

[JPK]

May be that a Kimberley Karavan would be a good fit. They are very nice but not inexpensive.

The offer an awning with a full enclosure for a large extra room for the kids. Leave the Kamper door open for their A/C.

There is a thread here in Expedition Trailers by a fellow who had one built and shipped.

Here's a link the the Kimberley Karavan site: http://kimberleykaravans.com/

 

[BillTex]

Truck camper...

 

[dms1]

When I was a kid my family started out camping in a station wagon and then upgraded to truck\camper setup, but the kids always slept in a tent.

Here we are camping in Mexico out of a station wagon and tent, we eventually upgraded to a camper setup like you also see in this picture. We pulled a trailer with a dune buggy and dirtbikes behind the station wagon.

 

[r_w]

A rooftop tent with fully screened annex and a couple cots for whoever is on the ground level. It is a two story vacation home wherever you park it. A couple 12v fans do WONDERS if you can blow the air under the cots as well. You can put it on the Dodge you have.

$1800 for the HUGE CVT tent, 500-1500 for a cap (depending on how fancy and how lucky you are on finding used), and a couple hundred for things like cots, campstoves, lanterns, privy, etc. if you don't have them.

Sounds expensive, but not compared to a new rig. If it doesn't work, you can probably sell it and be out less than you would have spent on RV camp fees.

 

[UglyScout]

............MY kids are like alot of kids now days where they think they need entertained 24 hours a day or they are bored. So not having the tv/dvd player will prove interesting. ..........

Throw away your TV at home and toss out the one in the camper! :Wow1:

Seriously though, just start going to places with fewer man made things to occupy your time. There are a lot of more rustic campgrounds that you could get your trailer into. Or switch up to a crew cab truck and a truck camper.

 

[kjp1969]

I currently have a 25 foot hard sided travel trailer with all the "normal" amenities. My kids, 14, 7, 6, and 20 months love camping as does my wife. I want to get back to more primitive camping and overlanding and get out of the state parks and other over populated campgrounds. MY kids are like alot of kids now days where they think they need entertained 24 hours a day or they are bored. So not having the tv/dvd player will prove interesting. However, we like to camp all summer so having a/c is a must even for me. Laying in a tent full of sweat is not a fun time. My 20 month also has a lot of special needs so this also plays into the equation. Any ideas on meeting this halfway so I can take them camping but get out of the campgrounds but still be able to camp in the summer? I'm in Ohio so I'm not lucky enough to have a lot of places to go to nearby.

We also have a hard sided travel trailer, and although we don't do any "RV Park" camping, in my opinion a/c = campground. I suggest that you keep "camping" in the trailer during unbearably hot weather (nothing wrong with that) and get out in the wilderness when the weather is nice.

But by all means get rid of the TV's and other electronics during these trips. Maybe let them play that stuff when the car rides get too boring, but not when you've arrived.

 

[wanderer-rrorc]

I have the 12vt fans for everyone...they will run for DAYS without draining a battery (I just plug them into a jump-starter pack)....

I had the slide in..it was AWSOME the few times I actually got to use it...and Im looking at going back to my tent for next year...but the girlfriend doesnt do "well" in the heat...time to toughen her up!! LOL!!

my 7yr old always finds things to do...I tell her its called "imagination"...:sombrero:

 

[granitex1]

With my wife and kids it is the little things that make it easier, like two tents. One big one that we all sleep in, and a small two person that all of the clothes and crap go. When you change clothes you go to the little one instead of tripping over someone while getting dressed.

As far as anything electronic, a GPS and a headlamp are it. A few good books go a really long way, and take up no space at all.

 

[Karma]

HI All,
I have a 24 inch flat screen TV in my Aliner trailer. I don't use it for television. It has a built in DVD player and I use it for movies I bring along. Since I travel alone, it is a nice diversion after a long day on the trail. I like it a lot.

Sparky

 

[Ray Hyland]

just get a tent and a big container of talcum powder. Then you wont sweat.

 

[nwoods]

Ohio is pretty muggy in the summer. Can you get up to michigan's west coast? Tons to explore, great forests, world class dunes, terrific camping, and excellent ( though sometimes volatile) weather with cooling breezes off the Lake. I like everything north of Holland.

 

[shortbus4x4]

Camp where there is some water and beach to play on and kids will be entertained for hours. Mine whine some at first about not having their tv/video games but then forget about them and play like I used too when I was a kid. Rocks, sticks, water, dirt all equal a good time.:elkgrin: Try sleeping outside a night or two also with them, its amazing how many kids never get a chance to really look at the night sky. Take some bird/plant/animal/rock books too and have the kids see how many things they can find and identify. Older boys usually like pocket knives and whittling, will keep them busy for hours, finding the perfect stick and then carving on it. I know I usually make the kids ditch the pocket video games when we are camping and do stuff. There will be whining at first but at the end of a long weekend they don't want to go home.