going out to eat

[hoosiermark]

My wife is on board with traveling and camping in an RV. Our concern is that we like to eat out a lot and we like to wander on day trips a lot when we are home. We are concerned that we will be limited on our availability to continue to do this with an RV. We envision getting off the road at say 4 and going to the campground but are concerned that at 6 we will want to go out and eat rather then eat in RV. Or we will want to just take a simple ride in the evening. The RV seems that it will limit our freedom and we will have more freedom at a hotel. But I really like having my own bed and not packing stuff in nightly.
We have had a Class A and C before but the 3 kids were little and it was a different time for us then.
So how do folks handle the itch to see the town or country without feeling like it is a major undertaking? Is it simply daily planning which I am poor at. I feel like I have been time scheduled for decades and love the freedom of controlling my own time.

[sgfrye]

I'm a foodie. And love to cook at home and while camping. I also enjoy going out to eat for local cuisine when we travel best of both worlds. We have a TT. So no problem unhooking truck and driving to food or sightseeing

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

I HATE to cook - if I'm on vacation, I want to eat out. Ed and I love to find little places to sample the local food. That being said:
When we had a Class C, after several years we learned to bring a toad - we had a lot of fun exploring areas surrounding where we camped! Then we graduated to a 5th wheel - that wasn't so great. The giant truck we used to pull our 5er didn't fit in the quaint little seaside cafes' parking lot. Most times, we'd be able to find a spot, and then would walk back a block or two, to the place we wanted to visit. I'm sure your average Class B would have the same limitations. Then we had a truck camper - it was more nimble, but hard to park parallel on a street because it was too wide. After buying a condo to Snowbird in, now we have a converted Transit on the 148" wheelbase - not really an RV, but a camping conversion. Fits just about everywhere we've wanted to go as long as we watch the height.

I really feel like the optimum setup for exploring is a good-sized A or C, with a fun little toad along 🙂 We had a Wrangler, and did some mild off-roading with it, too - waaaaay fun!

[mycamperfriend]

Hi! If you get a vehicle you can tow or a motorhome with a (second) car which you can use for your dinner trips, no problem at all. I guess the majority of us though enjoys especially the phase of the day that you would be missing. Having arrived at the campsite, putting some good food on the grill, enjoying an ice cold beverage, having a campfire, etc. To me, those camping evenings are magic. Yes, we eat out sometimes and it's fun, too. But i wouldn't want to miss my relaxing evenings at the campsite. But hey, that really comes down to personal preferences and I totally respect yours. 🙂 And, per above, as long as you have a vehicle you can detach from your camper, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't be able to fulfill your camping dreams your way. Going out for dinner really isn't that much of a hassle depending on how far away from the next town/restaurant/diner your campground is. If the dinner thing is really important to you, you should just make sure that whenever you book or pick a campground that it's not too far away from the next town/restaurant/diner. Otherwise, your dinner trip will be stressful indeed. Have fun! Hope this helps a bit.

[mileshuff]

We go out to dinner frequently while out in our 5'er. Our next big trip will be to wine country in California. Most of the day we'll be out in the vineyards. In the evening we'll head out to dinner then back to the trailer to relax. Sure we don't spend that much time in the trailer but I greatly prefer it over a hotel.

[bsinmich]

My class B is only the length of a 4 door pickup and I can park in the lots at the malls and restaurants. In 4 years of solo travel I still have not eaten a meal in my Roadtrek.

[BizmarksMom]

I have a travel trailer specifically so that I can set up base camp and explore from there. Set the trailer up, unhitch, and then I have wheels for exploring ghost towns, getting to hiking trails, driving to restaurants, hauling the kayak to the lake, or whatever it is I want to do.

[ppine]

There are plenty of opportunities for finding restaurants when you are traveling, and on the way to camp sites. I like to stop sometimes and get dinner to go and eat when we get there. I believe that in order to really enjoy RV living you need to like to make dinner at least some of the time. I really like cooking in Dutch Ovens on a fire.

[michaelhebert19]

We are buying a new vehicle (smaller than all the ones we currently have) just for this reason. We paid cash for the MH so that expense is out of the way so we have money for a new vehicle now. There was no way we were going to move and get up there and have no vehicle.

[FunnyCamper]

Crowe wrote:
You can also adjust your meal time so it doesn't fall at the busy times. That will open up more parking options.

Excellent advice. We often do that just so we don't have to wait. I am an absolute BEAR when I am too hungry!

That's the thing tho, with a RV you never have to be hungry LOL
I tell hubby that all the time, he says HEY WE must leave now cause I am starving to get to a restaurant and eat and I say, hey there is a ton of food in the RV right now, don't worry, you won't die any time soon HA HA

very true on the time when you eat. just before lunch is great and a few hrs after lunch time is wonderful...but that major time, wow, places are usually packed and parking lots are not friendly at those times. good advice on that one.

[Crowe]

You can also adjust your meal time so it doesn't fall at the busy times. That will open up more parking options.

Excellent advice. We often do that just so we don't have to wait. I am an absolute BEAR when I am too hungry!

[hoosiermark]

All good comments. Wife and I just need to think our path out and what we really want to do and see when we travel. I appreciate people sharing different points of view.

[Bobbo]

Tow a trailer, or tow a car behind a motorhome. You are free to do whatever you want.

[2gypsies1]

For you, I think your issue will be that you'll need to get a very small RV - possibly a Class B or C if you won't be towing a car. But to me, this would still be a hassle of disconnecting everything whenever you want to go somewhere.

Or... if you want to go bigger then plan on towing a car. It's really very easy to do and only takes minutes to connect and disconnect.

Or... get a trailer and have the truck to drive around. However, you'll still need to disconnect the truck if going out after parking.

Truthfully, there are a lot more pluses in RVing than trying to find a place to eat.

[FunnyCamper]

Woooo thankfully we don't care about meals enough to plan our day around them 🙂 but if you are a restaurant person and love that then I get it!!

Motorhome means bring a toad or get a 'toyhauler' motorhome and bring a motorcycle or whatever with ya.

It is 1000% about how do you want to travel. We love XYZ so our rig and setup fits our XYZ lifestyle.

You want ABC, make sure what you do fits how you want to travel and get around. You have no problems, just make it all work for you 🙂
You got this! Let us know how you handle your lifestyle and fit your trailer and more into it to make it work how ya love it.