It sure is complicated.

A lot of people make it more complicated that it needs to be. Its camping not rocket science here.

austinjenna wrote:
A lot of people make it more complicated that it needs to be. Its camping not rocket science here.

You got that right. Make a list of questions, with a bit of background and folks on the forum can/will answer. You will find most of your questions have simple solutions.

If you’re waiting on Tesla to announce a chassis for, a manufacturer will build RV’s on that chassis, and how to charge it on the road, you may have a long wait.

austinjenna wrote:
A lot of people make it more complicated that it needs to be. Its camping not rocket science here.

Camping is not rocket science,but there is certainly a learning curve. There are a lot of aspects to learn. You do need to pay attention and being handi helps.
Most of it is common sense. The real question becomes?
How common is common sense?

People tend to over complicate and over pack when they start out. It's like everything else - you learn as you go. I have a whole pile of stuff in the RV spot in the basement that I don't bring anymore, even on multi-month trips.

My most vivid example of this was a few years ago at Normandy Farms. It's a popular campground resort near Cape Cod and very popular with newbies because the sites are numerous and easy to get into. They also have a ton of stuff for kids and adults to do. We used to go there once a year, but they have priced themselves out of our acceptable range.

Anyway, this couple pulled into the site next door in a brand new class A Newmar. The gentleman half commenced to empty everything in his basement onto the campsite - table cloth, picnic bench covers, a grill, a 2 burner cooktop, 4 chairs with tables, an easy-up over the picnic table etc. You get the idea. He spent a good hour setting up the site. When everything was jusso, he brushed the dust off and went inside. I didn't see either of them sitting outside all weekend.

jplante4 wrote:
The gentleman half commenced to empty everything in his basement onto the campsite - table cloth, picnic bench covers, a grill, a 2 burner cooktop, 4 chairs with tables, an easy-up over the picnic table etc. You get the idea. He spent a good hour setting up the site. When everything was jusso, he brushed the dust off and went inside. I didn't see either of them sitting outside all weekend.

We have that covered but only when its longer than a one weekend trip.
No EZ up but the 21' awning gets put out with poles and tie downs for the duration. Under it goes the picnic table (with tablecloth) a 3 burner Camp Chef stove with griddle, and a Weber Q grill. We don't stay inside much however, and only put out two chairs at the fire ring.

Reading thru this forum, a lot of folks would have had a heart attack or stroke because we leave our awning out for weeks at a time, and connect the Weber Q and Camp Chef to the trailers propane connection using some repurposed Goodyear air hose I had laying around the shop. In the least we should have had to replace a dozen awnings, or had been killed, burnt up, arrested or sued because of not using some LPG rated hose for transmitting the 0.686418544719726 psi gas going to the WeberQ. LOL. Frankly my biggest worry when camping is how cold the beer is.

BillyBob Jim wrote:
This RV'ing sure is complicated. Between figuring out pipe sizes and codes for home dump stations, how to deal with out of level dump stations, what breeds of dogs will be acceptable in campgrounds, purifying lake water, tire plugs or patches, the inside poop at Tesla, and where to stick your extension cord and fridge operation on propane and its safety implications, it's more than enough to leave your head spinning. Why does anyone even do it?

Personally, I feel I already know everything I need to know about it. But if I join in the discussions I might learn something I want to know. Most of what you ask about is not really camping related, but life related. IMHO a much bigger issue is the people that don't think about, let alone ask about their actions.

jplante4 wrote:
People tend to over complicate and over pack when they start out. It's like everything else - you learn as you go. I have a whole pile of stuff in the RV spot in the basement that I don't bring anymore, even on multi-month trips.

My most vivid example of this was a few years ago at Normandy Farms. It's a popular campground resort near Cape Cod and very popular with newbies because the sites are numerous and easy to get into. They also have a ton of stuff for kids and adults to do. We used to go there once a year, but they have priced themselves out of our acceptable range.

Anyway, this couple pulled into the site next door in a brand new class A Newmar. The gentleman half commenced to empty everything in his basement onto the campsite - table cloth, picnic bench covers, a grill, a 2 burner cooktop, 4 chairs with tables, an easy-up over the picnic table etc. You get the idea. He spent a good hour setting up the site. When everything was jusso, he brushed the dust off and went inside. I didn't see either of them sitting outside all weekend.

LOL. Years back I got bored watching the whole famn damily backing a new 5th wheel into a site. The trailer was pretty big for the site, and way big for his skill level. Put mine rig in backwards, went around the loop into my site. About the time we got set up the lady came over and asked us if we knew the zip code. "No, won't be here long enough to get mail" Shes We need to set up satellite for telly. Before I could say "We don't do that either" DW points out the mailing address is on the receipt. She went back in, and nobody came out all weekend. Not the worse camping neighbors we've had.
A few years back, on another forum a newbie signed up, and reported he had just bought a brand new camper and asked "What else do I need?" For a couple of months he had a couple hundred people "You got to have this" "No that is better" Well, I bought this kind will it work. Then in the middle of winter, he still had not used the camper or any of the stuff everybody told him he had to have, he posted Wow! I thought camping was much cheaper than it is, I'm going to have to sell...

Camping is not rocket science,but there is certainly a learning curve.

Bingo. Many of you forget that you, too, had to learn at some point. Just because someone doesn't pick up on something right away does not mean they don't have common sense-it just means they haven't learned it yet. Yes, some do over-complicate things but I'd say the majority of the time it's not because they want to, it's just they don't know any better-yet. I am always amazed at how fast people on here are to ridicule others who are less experienced than they are. Pride goeth before the fall. Uppity attitudes about how stupid others are be it at set-up, break down, the boat launch, backing in a unit etc. should be replaced with "I remember". Indeed there are some people who just won't get it but they, too, should not be scorned. Karma hurts.

Crowe wrote:
Camping is not rocket science,but there is certainly a learning curve.

Bingo. Many of you forget that you, too, had to learn at some point. Just because someone doesn't pick up on something right away does not mean they don't have common sense-it just means they haven't learned it yet. Yes, some do over-complicate things but I'd say the majority of the time it's not because they want to, it's just they don't know any better-yet. I am always amazed at how fast people on here are to ridicule others who are less experienced than they are. Pride goeth before the fall. Uppity attitudes about how stupid others are be it at set-up, break down, the boat launch, backing in a unit etc. should be replaced with "I remember". Indeed there are some people who just won't get it but they, too, should not be scorned. Karma hurts.

Ding, Ding, Ding, we have a winner! Agree with everything you said. We also have to remember not everyone has the same priorities or concern as ourselves. What's important to one is meaningless to others. Once you "know" a lot about something the less it tends to bother or worry you. That same thing may keep the next guy up all night.

Common sense is not that common. Common sense is actually applied experience. Not everyone has the same experiences thus some have "common sense" about situations that others may not have.

We have been RVing for 45 years! Began with an Apache hard-sided pop-up and have run the gamut from that to our current 32' Class A! Everything we now know was learned either from a friendly fellow camper or through making the mistake we vowed not to repeat! We asked millions of questions, got millions of answers, and used what seemed important. Have always found that people who camp are willing to help, generally very friendly and willing to learn as well! The day either of us really believe 'we know all we need to know' is the day we put the rig up for sale!!! RVing is NOT the same as 'real camping' - that's too much like work for us! LOL There is nothing to be gained by passing judgment on others, but we do watch - and if it looks like we can help them learn from our mistakes, we share!