Not new to camping but new to going it alone

[SheCamper]

Hi all,

I bought an 80's 18 foot travel trailer, a Bendix Citation. I can't find much info on it. It's getting some work done...front corner has come apart and needs fixed, and the electrical needs some work. Hope to get that fixed by the end of the month. I'm thinking of joining a womens camping group but also doing some traveling by myself. I went camping a lot as a kid, my parents had a trailer then a motorhome. But it's been like 30 years. I'm kinda nervous about pulling a trailer myself, but excited to get back to camping.

Any hints or helps you can offer a newbie would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[SheCamper]

Thanks for all your comments. I really appreciate it. I am going to try a short camp with RVing women, the Great Lakes group. The leader was very nice and friendly. I hope they aren't too wild or clickish. I'm also planning a solo trip as well. I'm not that social, but would enjoy making a friend or two. My idea of camping is walks along the beach...sightseeing...and chilling by a fire. And my dog will be coming along too, for company and protection.
I will spend some time practicing pulling and backing for sure. Hooking and unhooking too.
I have a Chevy Trailblazer to pull it. It had a hitch on it when I bought it, I think they pulled a boat with it.
Thanks for all the encouragement!

[CharlesinGA]

Lots of solo women on the road. Some touring/sightseeing, some living full time.

What are you using for your tow vehicle and is it going to be reliable enough and powerful enough? 18 foot isn't alot, but still something that many vehicles would have trouble with.

The boot camp and the book will be very helpful. Doubtful that a bunch of other solos will be of much practical help, you would be better spending your evenings watching youtube videos on how to RV subjects.

Charles

[wa8yxm]

Regarding the "New to going it alone" part.. I found myself in that spot 5 years ago 1st of the month.. Boy did I get April Fooled (Wife died last day of March)

I have found that sometimes I do a "Short setup" for example Hook up just power and do not even (if site long enough) separate towed and tower.

Then come the next day I finish the hook up.. which is a bit more invovled for me as I put up a Ham Radio antenna as well.

Take down. Again I may do part the afternoon before. This helps.

[JimK-NY]

jplante4 wrote:
I'm gonna go against the grain here and recommend you strike out on your own .........

I would agree entirely. If you are looking for a travel club or traveling companions, that is a different situation. Otherwise you should have no problems taking off and handling life in a small trailer. My wife and I did it the extreme way. We bought a used RV and parked it in the driveway while we downsized and sold the house. Then we put our excess stuff in storage and set out for 2 years of full time RV living. About our only mistake was bringing too much stuff. Parking and handling an RV can be frustrating and a little tense for a few days. It quickly becomes something that is easy. I do recommend that you read the manuals that came with your RV. If you did not get manuals at least download appliance manuals. Sooner or later you will need to make some modifications or repairs. You can save time and money if you know and can do the basics yourself.

[toedtoes]

Groups can be good if you want the social part. May take trying a few to find a good fit. And it does require dealing with a group of people. Like any club, etc., you may find cliques and such.

I do belong to a clipper club. I've found it enjoyable to go to their rallies about twice a year. They do them every month - as a social get together. I go to the main two rallies and visit as the club is very helpful for clipper knowledge, etc. I also am their webmaster so I am a "useful" member.

But their social get togethers is not my style of "camping". So the rest of the time, I go out on my own.

I do have a female friend from work who has an RV and a male friend from the club with a clipper who both enjoy my type of camping. They will often meet up with me on my trips. We all have slightly different interests and different levels of "socialness", but it works well as our interests overlap nicely and we are all happy to "do our own thing" over the course of the trip.

So don't be afraid to talk to friends and try a group or two on occasion. You might meet up with someone who would make a good camping cohort at times.


And don't think you have to stay attached at the hip or do things you don't enjoy or only camp with other "like-minded" women.

One of my most frequent camping companions is a man I met through the clipper club. Like me he isn't big on their style of camping. He likes to fish - I don't. I like photography - he's not into it. When we meet up camping, we go do our own things throughout the day. Visiting at meal times and in the evening. He's social and will have met everyone in the campground and know all their stories. I may not even notice anyone else is around. But we have a really nice time when we camp because we give each other room and don't make demands. His wife doesn't like to camp and he prefers to have a camping companion. His other friends often can't fit a trip in - so he will join up on one of mine to get his camping fix. I always tell him if there will be fishing opportunities and if his boat is necessary or not.

[JoeH]

Our first Class A was a Bendix Citation ( yes, they made motorhomes too). It was a great unit and we had a blast in it for many years. Good Luck and enjoy your adventures.

[SusanDallas]

I am going to go against the grain as well and suggest you strike out on your own. I am a 65 yr. old single female. I bought a 19 ft. travel trailer last year. My only experience with a travel trailer was when I traveled with a friend for a week. I never participated in hooking up or driving while pulling the trailer.

I have had to learn everything. Just stay calm and take your time. An excellent book is the Idiot's Guide to RVing third edition. It covers everything.

As far as these single groups, I would recommend you stay away. You will meet plenty of solo travelers in the RV parks. I felt the same way as you when I first started out. I thought it would be nice to join a group in a club. WRONG !!!

My experience with a group was terrible. Sorry, but the Loners on Wheels group that I met up with was an awful experience. All they do is camp at the park and stay there. They play cards and have potluck dinners and GOSSIP about each other. I breathed a sigh of relief when I left. I also hope you don't mind them telling you where they want you to park and don't expect to have any privacy like having a nice quiet breakfast and a cup of coffee alone in your trailer. If you do, you will be the target of their next gossip session for being unfriendly.

Like I said earlier, you will meet a lot of wonderful people at the RV parks but pick and choose your own friends.

[Captain_Happy]

Just a heads up on the subject of joining in on an exiting RV Group, it's kind of like trying to fit into a "Click Club" in High School.

[BB_TX]

2gypsies wrote:
.............:
The link given above on the Sister on the Fly is a specialized group of flyfisherwomen if you would fall under that category. That's how it started out, anyway. It may have changed over the years.

Agree about the original fly fishing thing. But we encountered them in an Amarillo RV park where they were having a small rally of 12-15 TTs. No fly fishing rivers within hours drive. They were just having a good time.

[toedtoes]

I have a hitching mirror. It's on a telescoping pole with a magnet. It really helps with hitching solo.

[jplante4]

I'm gonna go against the grain here and recommend you strike out on your own and leave the support groups to others. Too many of these support groups have toxic dynamics similar to high school and you probably don't need that in your life right now.

There's nothing you'll need to do that is all that hard. And if you run into something you don't know about, there's here and fellow campers that for the most part are more than willing to help.

In the immortal words of Groucho Marx - "I don't want to belong to any club that will acceept me as a member".

[donn0128]

Once you get it home, hook up, find an empty parking lot and practice, practice, practice. Backing alone can be a chore, but totally doable once you understand how to backup.

[2gypsies1]

Yes, there are some good singles groups out there and they're not dating groups. They get together throughout the country at a designated place and do many things together. We know a few people in these groups and they sound awesome. The help each other with repairs or modifications, go many activities together such as hiking, siteseeing in the area, kayaking, biking, etc. and have fun times sitting around the campfire and potlucks and solving problems and making new friends. After the big gettogethers some branch off on their own in small groups to continue travels. You'd be amazed at how many single women are out there! Here are some sites:

https://rvsingles.org/

http://www.rvingwomen.org/

http://lonersonwheels.com/index.html

The link given above on the Sister on the Fly is a specialized group of flyfisherwomen if you would fall under that category. That's how it started out, anyway. It may have changed over the years.

[time2roll]

What a great adventure. Have fun :B