24 foot TT can I camp at tent sites?

[mapett]

Hi, I'm new to this site. I have a possible option to get a great deal on an older but in great shape 24 foot TT. I don't love being close to all the trailers, it seems sort of cramped to me, as someone who has never done that type of camping. With a 24 foot trailer, if I'm not picky about hook ups and stuff, will most parks allow me to park in tent type spots? Also, are there spots that are bigger with a bit more privacy like the tent spots specifically for trailers at many parks and campgrounds? I am in Colorado, but never bothered to think about this stuff until this new option presented itself. FYI, I have two little kids as well. Thanks!

[mapett]

That is funny!

[bobndot]

It's possible that some CG's might charge you more money than the standard site fee when you use an rv on the tent site. It happened to me.

I have used a grassy muddy tent site when there was no other rv site avl. and I was charged a dump station fee on top of my site fee.
It was a CG rule that was posted at the dump station upon leaving, you get to see it. That tent site turned out to be the same price as a full hookup level rv site.

The owner (a nut ! ) and his co-worker (who was probably a salaried employee) actually blocked me in while at the dump station until the fee was paid. I was wondering why they were circling my site , waiting for me to pack up that morning.
Imagine two people stalking an RV'er all morning to see if he was going to use the sewer and maybe escape without paying "the fee" ?
I had a suspicion something was up with the owner from the get-go, he had that Norman Bates look about him. I'm glad I was up at 7 A.M. and took my grand ol' time about packing up, pushing him to the check-out time. They only had to stalk me for 3 hours while his employee was on the clock. :B

[rbpru]

Getting away from the crowd, is best done where vehicles cannot go. I have seen some tent camp areas that were not reachable except by foot.

However, this summer I was surprised to find about one third TT s, one third PUPs and one third tents at two of the State Parks I was at.

I hope it is a sign of more new campers. It is a big tent.

[toedtoes]

OldRadios wrote:

GeorgeNJ wrote:
As for noise TT vs tents, sorry I'm not buying that the mechanicals (WH & Pump)are loud and rude. Granted if you were tenting so close to one, maybe... But most noise is contained in the TT, where there is no buffer for noise from people in tents.

There's nothing like sitting on the shore of a nice mountain lake at dust expecting to hear the loons and instead hear two or three generators running. Sorry but those that want to run their AC and generators all day and night really don't belong in some campsites.

I think there is a difference between a generator running and a water pump or water heater running. I have never heard someone else's water pump or water heater running while in a campground. I have never heard mine running when I have been sitting outside in my campsite. I have heard generators running from 5 to 6 campsites away. Comparing the two is a bit extreme - which I believe was GeorgeNJ's point.

I have never had a tent camper take issue camping next to me and my clipper (or my TT before that). I have never taken issue camping next to a tent camper. We all seem to get along just fine.

[OldRadios]

GeorgeNJ wrote:
As for noise TT vs tents, sorry I'm not buying that the mechanicals (WH & Pump)are loud and rude. Granted if you were tenting so close to one, maybe... But most noise is contained in the TT, where there is no buffer for noise from people in tents.

There's nothing like sitting on the shore of a nice mountain lake at dust expecting to hear the loons and instead hear two or three generators running. Sorry but those that want to run their AC and generators all day and night really don't belong in some campsites.

[rbpru]

People have pretty much covered the plus and minuses of using an RV in a tent designated area. It certainly is location dependent.

What has not been pointed out is that RVing is not tent style camping. If you enjoy tenting and the closeness to nature, you may find it lacking in an RV.

When folks tout the advantages of a TT, they often mention rain, mud, mattresses, cold, set up and teardown, bugs and a host of other inconveniences. What they are missing is that these are part of the many things that are part of tenting.

The DW and I have traveled all across the country in our TT. We have also spent a lot of time with tents and canoes, including reenactments with a a canvas stretched over the canoe held up by the paddles being set up by candle lantern light.

They are all "camping" but they all have a very different feel.

You may also find some tenters do not enjoy the presence of an RV nearby.

[ZeeLet50]

One other thing to consider is that RV sites usually have a rock base under the ground so your wheels dont sink. A tent area may not have that. This will only come into play during rainy weather but something else to consider. As most boondockers know, it is easy to get the TT stuck in ruts.

[GeorgeNJ]

The NJ state parks I've been to list some sites as tents or pop ups due to size (of what they think the average person can maneuver into, it seems). I pull my 36'er into our favorite "tent spot" several times a year, while tight between the tress, the sites are big and not on top of each other. Yes I'll block some of the view to the lake along with the brush and trees, but I made my reservation and paid for it, same as anyone else could've.

The other morning one of the Park's rangers stopped his car and was looking at my trailer early in the morning, I popped my head out and said hi. He asked how big the trailer was and I told him, he was amazed that it fit & said that he hardly ever sees anything that big in the park.

As for noise TT vs tents, sorry I'm not buying that the mechanicals (WH & Pump)are loud and rude. Granted if you were tenting so close to one, maybe... But most noise is contained in the TT, where there is no buffer for noise from people in tents.

The most rudest people noise wise I've ever encountered while camping has been tenters, either young families whose kids are running around screaming late at night, or young adults who think camping means partying late at night. It seems we are encountering it more and more, inconsiderate people making a racket either late at night or super early in the morning.

[OldRadios]

LVJJJ wrote:
Another one of my pet peeves when I was tenting, was the hot water tanks on the trailer 10 feet from my tent firing up in the middle of the night, or the air conditioner running all night, or the 12v water pump chattering away. Just thought that was rude.

I agree, it is rude.

We are campers and stay away from RV parks as much as possible. We keep a gallon water jug in the bathroom for flushing at night so there is no pump noise. Hot water tanks are always off until we need hot water. Nothing worse than being in a nice campsite on a mountain lake and having to listen to someones rig running the whole time.

Had a nice spot a few weeks ago and the RV a few sites down did nothing but run it's generator and AC from dawn till 11 or 12 at night. Completely ignored the quite hours. I think they came out twice in three days. Sorry but that's what RV parks are for, not mountain campsites.

[ktmrfs]

depends a lot on where you are. In oregon, mt, idaho, utah we have camped at many many "tent" sites with our 35' trailer. Often a "tent" site is really just another name for a site w/o any hookups. And we have found many full hookup sites that we can't get the trailer into. So, really what a site is called IMHO really doesn't have much input on what it has for room.

In many areas I have been to if the site is remote from the parking, it is listed as a "walk in" in which case, then a trailer is definitely out of the question

BUT ALWAYS check in advance to find out if you can fit. Many older campgrounds have very huge site, many others are hard to get anything other than a pickup into.

[LVJJJ]

Another one of my pet peeves when I was tenting, was the hot water tanks on the trailer 10 feet from my tent firing up in the middle of the night, or the air conditioner running all night, or the 12v water pump chattering away. Just thought that was rude.

[mapett]

Ok, I think I got it. I just need to look at the campgrounds online and look for the hook up spots, and those are the ones I should stick to. Like I said, I had just never really paid attention to different sites at the places I went, which were usually in RMNP. Thanks again for the info!

[cooperrobt]

Agree. Tent sites are for tents. They can be just as crowded and noisy as RV sites, especially in the morning.

[cooperrobt]

KD4UPL wrote:
You don't like being crowded in next to a bunch of big trailers. So, you're going to jam a 24' trailer into a tent site. Doesn't that seem a bit ironic? Think of the tent campers around you.
I wouldn't do it. Just find a campground that has large sites with room in between. Every campground is different. Some are like subdivisions or parking lots, some have large isolated sites.