Too much work for short trips, too small for long ones

[tealboy]

Saw this quote from a forum member and thought it was interesting. Is it really that much work to load these things up? Any truth to the quote in the subject line? Friend bought a camper, peaked my interest so have been digging around here.

[toedtoes]

GordonThree wrote:
Rhagfo, I do stock the rig with condiments, non perishables, linens, etc.

Clothing I'm too frugal to duplicate, it's either at home or in the camper.

Dog bowls I guess I could buy extra. The dry food I feed stinks awful, so I wouldn't want an extra bag stinking up the rig. Haven't met an air tight container that can hold the stink. I think it's from the oils and they can pass right through the plastic walls. Too frugal to buy a stainless steel container.

Thursday is usually the shopping day for fresh food. If I didn't get too beat up during the work day, I'll stock up the trailer on Thursday and it is great, but it's not too common an occurrence.

Drive the rig to work, park in the street no problem. The old dog would sleep for hours in the truck without issue. The new dog is much more high strung, haven't tried this with her yet.

Pick up a large opsack bag. They are amazing at holding the odors in. Many folks use them to store pet waste when hiking. They say the worst part is when you unlock the bag to empty - the smell is much more intense. But when it's sealed, the odor is non-existant.

[GordonThree]

Rhagfo, I do stock the rig with condiments, non perishables, linens, etc.

Clothing I'm too frugal to duplicate, it's either at home or in the camper.

Dog bowls I guess I could buy extra. The dry food I feed stinks awful, so I wouldn't want an extra bag stinking up the rig. Haven't met an air tight container that can hold the stink. I think it's from the oils and they can pass right through the plastic walls. Too frugal to buy a stainless steel container.

Thursday is usually the shopping day for fresh food. If I didn't get too beat up during the work day, I'll stock up the trailer on Thursday and it is great, but it's not too common an occurrence.

Drive the rig to work, park in the street no problem. The old dog would sleep for hours in the truck without issue. The new dog is much more high strung, haven't tried this with her yet.

[Kayteg1]

5 month of the year 2017 we spend in our campers.
it is 2 of us and 3 small dogs.
Never complained about too small, although in long CA rain season it was a bit boring, but so is rain in 3000 sq ft house.
That said my min standard is 12' camper with slide.
Dogs sure force you for entertaining and exercise .

[toedtoes]

Once your camping season starts, stock your rig with non-perishable items. That includes clothing, pet supplies, canned goods, etc.

I did a one night trip the other week. Haven't done that before. I checked pet food levels (keep airtight containers in the RV), added the pets and perishable foods, then drove off. I was rather amazed at how easy it was for a one-nighter. With a TC, I'd do as my dad did - load it on the truck the night before.

[Yeti_plus]

The camper is usually almost loaded after the first trip of the year, so it is only add clothes and fresh food and gone.
If the camper is off the truck, then add 1/2 to 1 hour to load onto truck. It varies depending on the mood of the truck and camper. I swear sometimes they jump around as I'm trying to load; next time boom first try!
We like the camper for road trips, because it goes almost everywhere.
We lived in it for 4 months up to Alaska, Yukon, N.W.T. It only seemed small if the weather wasn't co-operating because we were outside most of the time.
The trailer seems more confining because it doesn't have the amount of storage that the camper has.

[jimh406]

The more you load the easier it gets.

[rhagfo]

GordonThree, why not pack Thursday evening, get doubles for the dog bowls and food, extra clothing. Unless parking at work is in a garage load the camper Thursday night and take it to work and be ready to go Friday at 5:00 pm.
On Edit: See you have a TT, we had our 5er always loaded and ready, best time was 1:15 from out the door at work to out the gate at the storage yard! This was an unplanned weekend, had to install hitch and air up tires, six miles from work to storage, house in between.

[GordonThree]

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.

[rfgaugush]

Spent 3 months in Alaska in my Outfitter Caribou Lite 6.5. Not too small for that trip.