What experiences led you to be able to do RVing?

As far as towing goes I learned by towing my sailboats. First a 13' laser, then a Catalina Capri 16.5, and now our Catalina Capri 22 which has about the same tow weight as the new TT. The thing that's different is that boats are aerodynamic and with all 3 I could see over, around or under the boat on the trailer. Can't exactly do that with an 8' wide wall behind you so I'm having to learn to park with just the mirrors. Luckily the TT storage spot is easier to back into than the one for the boat.

As far as camping goes, DW has owned a TT in the past. Cruising in our Capri 22 is kind of like camping in one of those teardrop trailers: Not much headroom, not much power, and not much of a potty (we use a luggable loo and wag bags). The TT is a step up in that regard. Somehow I don't think we're going to get rocked to sleep like we do in the boat, though.

I have been camping since I could remember. My parents went often, first in a canvas tent, and later in a class a. I joined Scouts, so I did my share of sleeping under the stars. Camping in a tent with a baby in a bassinet is easier than most would think. It does get tricky when they learn to walk!

I bored my sister and brother in-law's pop up once. Driving forward was easy, backing up was a nightmare! About 3 years later, I rented a class c. We only took that 40 minutes from home, it felt like I was driving something that was wider than the lane I was in. Everything rattled, it really was not a fun experience. Another 8 years go by and I have had enough of sleeping on the ground... I traded in my Fusion for a crew-cab pickup and a 28' travel trailer. it is kind of wild to think this is the second thing I have ever towed, I have learned a lot in the past 4 years.

Both hubby and I have had RV'S in the past but from 1995 until 2012 we enjoyed our tent. There was nowhere we would not go and any weather. My hubby even learned how to pack an open incision in a tent. Imagine in the bush, 5hrs from the nearest, phone, store or gas and having to sterilize everything around you and the equipment needed, 3x a day so you can pack an incision that was large enough for his two hands to get in? All in a tent he could not stand up in. We have done it numerous times. Anyway after going through the worst things possible and having everything down to an art, hubby decided it was time we did not sleep on the ground any more.
I thought he was joking...apparently not since a 27/30' TT sits in our yard.

Went camping a few times, in my younger days but never seriously. Then, I did some at tournament sites trying to save money on a motel. Had some tents but never really did that much. Always too busy with other things on the weekends.

Now that we are getting closer to retirement, we started thinking about getting out of here for the winters and how we would accomplish that. That's when we settled on the idea of doing it in an RV. So we found something that we really liked and could have it paid off by the time we retired. Started easy, doing a little local stuff but have gotten totally hooked in the last couple years. Now we can't wait to get out! We enjoy it more than we ever thought possible.

After a couple hundred of miles going down the road you become an expert so they say...

Roy ken

What experiences led you to be able to do RVing?

I blame Lake Michigan.

A sporting event where they had RV parking right on the breakfront of Lake Michigan.

At the end of the day I watched in envy all those guys just walked over to their spectacular CG site and kicked back for a cold one, a BBQ and watching the sun set off the lake!.....while we had to schlep all our stuff back to a crummy motel and repeat that process for the duration of the event. Swore some day that would be me.

Fast forward or slow forward 30 years when I got my first MH the FIRST place I headed for was that event and proudly pulled my MH onto the breakfront of Lake Michigan!


First place on my bucket list was parking on the water's edge...ahhh,done! :C

As serene as that pic looks the next day the waves were crashing over the breakfront and pounding the RV! :B:B

While serving as The Command Master Chief of NAF EL Centro, I noticed by far the happiest people on base where the retirees from the RV park. After learning more and more about RV'ing from them, I knew what my retirement plans would include. I wasn't wrong on this one!
I arrived on base in October, I knew NAF was the winter home for the Blue's and everyone on base was saying the snowbirds would be arriving soon, I was like dang, the Canadians flight team is training here too?? lol

I've been camping since before I was born,it was just a natural thing in my family.
In the sixties my father took us on trips and we would pitch the tent in a field on the side of the road for overnights.
1970 I had a Mr.Chips delivery truck with a hammock, a wood stove a bucket, and a 30 gallon drum of water. Spent 18 months driving around the country, living off the land in that van.
1972 I became one of Uncle Sams Misguided Children and spent the next four years camping in foreign and exotic places.
Just never stopped,just wanted more comfort and convenience!

Grew up camping at a COE park on a Lake in central Arkansas - Dad loved to waterski.

Tent camped occasionally over the next 20 years including the Philippines, Guam, Antigua and Japan - along with Mississippi.

Moving back to the US, took my kids tent camping in Texas and Arkansas.

Met and married my wife who had tent camped some over her lifetime.

On a tent camping trip to Palo Duro Canyon SP about five years ago - the tent was blown over by the high winds one night, and we had to drive two miles to the bathroom.

Decided that night to get a trailer.

Now on our second, and will be full-time within a couple weeks. Best decision we ever made.

We started in our sailboat. First a 17 footer, then a 25' and finally a 33. Both being teachers we looked forward to summer where we would pack the boat with essentials and head down the inter-coastal waterway. We would take one to two month vacations, slipping into various marinas anywhere on the coast and sometimes just dropping anchor in some out of the way cove.

DW got pregnant, we had a son and by the time he was 5 we realized there was no boat big enough or fast enough to satisfy him and stop that, "Are we there yet?" We were never able to get him to appreciate the serenity of the waves gently lapping against the hull!

Fast forward to his senior year in high school where he was involved in select team baseball with tournaments in three states. We bought a small, 24' motorhome so we could go to all his games. He generally rode and stayed with the team but we had great fun just being there for every game. He continued to plat baseball in college so every February, we packed the motor home and moved to Georgetown, TX. We went to every game including all the away games in Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and of course, Texas. One year the team made the playoffs and went to Kentucky. At this point we had just bought our Allegro Bay 34 and were planning on an extended trip.

The team lost but we decided since we were already so far along we would just keep going. We went to Niagara Falls, and had to stay on the US side since we hadn't gotten passports and then spent a month on Cape Cod, where we got to attend much of the Cape Cod League baseball games. The boys who play there are generally the pro bound ones that are top prospects to make the majors. Son is long since graduated but we still keep finding places to go. Last year we left home in May and didn't return until January. I still miss the sailboat, but readily admit the cruising territory was rather limited. With the motor home I have extended our range to include Canada, Mexico, and the entire United States.