jbjuices wrote:
I'm sure there's a couple of you that can provide advise on this subject. We just got a new 32' camper with a B/H that sleeps 11 (we are a family of 5). My brother, who doesn't make a lot of money, and his family of 4 loves to camp and tries to go camping with us as much as possible, but without a tent. They figure that there's enough room for us and his family. I broke down during the 4th of July and they joined us. It was 80% chaos, 20% fun, and I do not enjoy chaos. Today I talked to him and he asked about Labor Day, stating that they would love to join us as the Theme Park we go to, but the don't know if they can afford a hotel.
Does anyone else have these vacation invasions, and if so, how do you deal with it when enough is enough? I enjoy camping with other people, as long as we can have our own space. We've been out once by ourselves with our new camper, and love not having to break down the dinette, pull out the 2 couch beds, and constantly trip over each other. So far, we've camped a total of 4 times since we bought it new and each time we had someone staying with us.
Simply put, I value my own "personal space" which is why we have a trailer that sleeps 4. Anymore than my immediate family is just too much to have in ONE RV.
I have over the years "invited" other family siblings but with the added conditions that they MUST provide their own "shelter". So far in nearly 15yrs of "camping" NONE of them have taken up the "invitation".
Sort of glad of it too, kind of like just doing our own thing without having to "plan" around others...
Sometimes it can be too much of a good thing to have "others" in your space so I would nicely explain that you would like to have a simple personal "getaway" if anyone asks or gets offended that you didn't include them.
Otherwise you risk growing hard feelings sort of like some folks I know which were always the brunt of "family" camping. They got sick of being the "host", having to own, tow, setup, tear down, fix the RV. Not to mention fixing meals and so on for the others which never lifted a finger nor paid for anything. They eventually sold their RV and have never camped since (going on 20 yrs now).
Same thing happened to these nice folks when they bought a boat... Lather, rinse, repeat until they sold the boat...
Don't be like those people and let others run your camping life, set some ground rules and expectations now before it ruins your camping fun..