Apologies to Paul Harvey. We are small time farmers, retired military, who just bought a Coleman (Dutchman) CTS14FD TT so we can enjoy seeing the vast heartland.We previously had a 22' C-Dory in Alaska and enjoyed traveling all over the coast of that great state and wanted a small camper similar in amenities to our beloved C-Dory. Are we the only ones who moved from the boating/cruising world to land camping? Our little camper has...a head, a furnace, an AC, a dinette that makes into a queen sized bed, a sink, 2 burner stove, microwave etc. and we feel like we have really scored. We are a bit older and passed the tent stage of life and we didnt want to pull a huge load behind us and find the smaller light weight TTs really work. The Tow vehicle is a 2500HD 4x4 so we know its overkill but its what we already had and the TT is all we need.I have been checking out the forum and see very little about the common space and weight considerations between the cruising world (boats) and the RV world...our small RV seems like a large Yacht with tons of room to us and we will adopt many of the lessons we learned "cruising" to our new adventure. We look forward to "cruising the heartland".....

I work at a marina and am around boats all the time and I hate them. Although there is alot of common ground I do enjoy fooling with the camper and really like using it.

Small world... We moved from a 22' C-Dory to a 22' tt. We thought we were in the lap of luxury! The space! The real bed! But we still really miss the boat. It is much easier to boondock on the hook than it is on land. We learned a lot about simple sparse living on the boat. In fact, we are feeling a little bloated with all the stuff we carry in our current tt. Our plan is to fulltime for a couple of years then return to boat life. We are considering a TomCat so we can do the great loop and Alaska. Our dream is Alaska by boat... I bet you have some amazing stories!One thing we have learned about camping on land is that we still assess each place we visit for its boat worthiness.

My trailer rocks somewhat less than my father's boat did.

Sometimes I am at the marina and think how many sites can we put in a dry storage field. Funny isn't it.

We moved from a Catalina 27 to the Casita. Had more room in the boat but couldn't take the dogs (we mostly gunkholed and stayed on the hook).Avalon:We also moved from the beach to the desert. ;)LS

And Now...the Rest of the Story... | Good Sam Community

punomatic
Explorer
Jun 06, 2013
Started boating as a small child. In 1970, I bought my first sailboat, a 26' plywood-hulled, bald-headed schooner with concrete in the bilge for ballast! Later owned a Catalina 27, Catalina 30 and a Passport 40. We sailed up and down the Washington coast and through the San Juan and Gulf Islands. Once tried to circumnavigate Vancouver Island in a Catalina 30, but the weather drove us back around Port Hardy and down the inside passage. I loved sailing and gunkholing, but the Passport 40 was the victim of a divorce. I chartered boats for years thereafter. Now have a new DW and took up RVing. RVing is easier, but many lessons from boating have come in handy, not the least of which is "stay on top of your maintenance." The biggest difference to me is that boats are solidly built, and RVs are slapped together with the cheapest possible materials. I chose my Hawkins Motor Coach because is reminds me of some of my boats in quality and interior finish. It even has fiddles on the kitchen countertop!
GeorgeNJ
Explorer
Jun 06, 2013
We went the other way around, been TT camping for years & had a 24' pontoon boat. Last summer we tried camping on it in the Barnegat Bay on the NJ shore. We set up a 9x7 tent on the deck and stayed out three days & two nights...we were hooked.

I came home, sold the pontoon after picking up a 23' cabin cruiser. Last weekend was our first overnighter in her, it was great, like having a camper on the water.

Our camping always slowed down in the summer, because I don't like camping when the parks are crowded, I love it when no one else is around.

It was all new being on the lake at night, didn't know people stayed out till very late, we always left just after sunset if it was nice. It was a whole different world at night, it was very nice.
Capt_RonB
Explorer
Jun 06, 2013
We're dirt sailing these days. We sold our much loved Ericson 38 a few years ago. Now we sail our Gulfstream Visa 19 ERD ... easier living than the boat without the storm worries, etc. Half the length but at least equal living space.

We chose the Visa because we liked the interior layout. The queen bed stays made up although we could convert the dinette for company plus it's light enough to tow behind our 6 cyl Trailblazer.

A night plugged in and hooked up is way cheaper than a night in a marina, insurance is way cheaper, maintenance is a ton and a half cheaper,($300 worth of tires beats a $4000 mainsail any day)

Some things are the same ... still have to dump the holding tanks, water and electric limit the boondocking somewhat, still need to go to town now and then, still have a fuel bill, can still take the dog with us.

Even so, as much as we enjoy our camping, we miss the boat. Just can't really afford it any more; Wish we could tow the camper to Georgetown.
LenSatic
Explorer
Jun 06, 2013
owenssailor wrote:
We have sailed since 75, have had our current 1963 38 ft wooden yawl (2 masts) since 78

As a new young commercial pilot back in the early '70s, my first long cross country charter was flying a family from Tucson to the RCAFB in Trenton, ONT. Rather than staying there for the week, I flew down to Boston where I had a friend whose parents managed a twin high-rise apartment/condo complex on the harbor. They gave me a free room for the week and fed me lobster almost every meal! There was also a marina at the complex and they had a few lessee's who where not residents. One was the owner of a Hinckley B-40 yawl and the liveabord captain was a friend of my friend. He invited us out sailing one day as long as he did not have to do anything. I had never been on a sailboat before. Out in the harbor he had us put up every sail on the boat (except the chute), the jib, main, mizzen, and all of the stay sails. To this day it was the most awesome experience of my life. We were heeled over with the water running over the rails and along the walks...just awesome. I was hooked. ;)

Pat
owenssailor
Explorer
Jun 06, 2013
We have sailed since 75, have had our current 1963 38 ft wooden yawl (2 masts) since 78. We continue to cruise on the boat in the summer here in Ont. Started into RV in 2011 with a 1991 Award 30 TT. After 4 months travelling in the winter bought a new Jayco 28U in spring 2012. after East coast trip went 6 weeks on the boat.

We are very used to the small space in the sailboat. By comparison the TT is huge with all the luxuries of furnace, AC running hot water and fridge with a real freezer.

Similarities definitely include small space compared to a big house and a definite limit in what you can take along.

As well with both boat and TT we can spend a lot of time in very natural settings. We continue to love sailing and now enjoy the months we have traveled in our RV.
Ozark_Farmer
Explorer
Jun 06, 2013
Ha, every pursuit has its own terms that can get confusing. When I first started reading this forum everyone kept talking about their TVs and it took me bit to figure out they meant Tow Vehicle.

Nice Catalina by the way Lensatic, I have had a few sail boats along the way myself and grew up racing an old wooden Lightning.

I knew there were probably some former boating types that turned to land. We loved Alaska and enjoyed our lives there but it was way too expensive to retire there and it was just too far from everything. We have found the Ozarks to be beautiful and centrally located for further exploring. We just came back from a trip to Charlotte NC and will be heading to Minnesota in a few months with lots of short trips in between.
hammer21661
Explorer
Jun 06, 2013
Lowsuv wrote:
gunkholing = boondocking ( on water )
walmart camping is not boondocking
dispersed camping for free in Oregon is boondocking
you can only go gunkholing on water

You don't wanna know what I thought it was.
Lowsuv
Explorer
Jun 06, 2013
gunkholing = boondocking ( on water )
walmart camping is not boondocking
dispersed camping for free in Oregon is boondocking
you can only go gunkholing on water
hammer21661
Explorer
Jun 06, 2013
gunk holed?
LenSatic
Explorer
Jun 05, 2013
We moved from a Catalina 27 to the Casita. Had more room in the boat but couldn't take the dogs (we mostly gunkholed and stayed on the hook).

Avalon:

We also moved from the beach to the desert. ;)

LS