I find short trips to be more work than long ones, and I don't even own a truck camper.
Typical weekend scenario for me is Friday night through Sunday morning. Get off work at five on Friday and load clothing, bedding, fresh food, dog food, dog bowls, dog crate, by now 6:30. Do I eat dinner now or risk a migraine and skip dinner until much later.
Get to camp a few hours away, setup in the dark, maybe with a migraine from not eating dinner. Burnt out from Friday go to bed.
Saturday is good, big breakfast early dulls the migraine. Hiking or whatever, lunch, play with a campfire, maybe another short hike. Time for dinner. After dinner, time to repay sleep debt from earlier in the week.
Sunday, quicker breakfast, need to get RV ready for travel again. Break camp after lunch. Head back home. Sometimes will cook dinner in a crock pot started at lunch otherwise it's disgusting fast food for dinner. Alarm clock going off already back to the grind Monday morning. After work Monday unload the camper, sigh
But on a long trip, a month is about all I can afford, I take a day to get loaded. I can check out every thing on truck and trailer, and either drive a no rush short day or leave next AM after sleeping in a bit.
On the road, I don't make reservations. I wake up when my body is ready, sleep debt usually paid up in a few days. Destination is usually 4+ days of driving away, so there's no camp to make and break for a while. Just slide into Wally's or a quiet side street for dinner and sleep.
Much less stressed this way. I wouldn't say less work, probably more work, but it's spread out. I'm not having to worry about the Monday alarm for a few weeks. Plus I try to schedule my return on a Thursday, so back to work for a day Friday and into a weekend for unloading.
