Camping 2020

[Gamerfan81]

Cant believe its almost year 2020 already.... we cant wait to go camping again...even though our campground we go to is open all year round its still cold to go camping since we only have a tent... got a new colman fold and go stove for Christmas... works really good...we still cook over the fire though

[bluestar99]

Re: Camping 2020

This is the time of year I make all my summer trip plans. It's not as good as camping, but keeps me thinking about it and making plans for where to go. Right now it's looking like a trip back out west and up to Glacier. It should be about a 3 week trip.

[huricanelane]

Re: Camping 2020

This is the year I get back into camping in a big way. I am getting a teardrop camper this spring. I am scouring the internet for ideas to outfit it, as well as making trip plans. My yearly trip home to Montana one of these years is going to include Glacier, but not this year. Already have 1 group trip with friends set in stone, and working on a second.

[Happy Joe]

Re: Camping 2020

Cant believe its almost year 2020 already.... we cant wait to go camping again...even though our campground we go to is open all year round its still cold to go camping since we only have a tent... got a new colman fold and go stove for Christmas... works really good...we still cook over the fire though

Yep... "tis the season to plan and go through the camping goodies (hopefully with the addition of Santa's contributions)...
Campfire cooking (IMO) is basic to camping; ..have a number of stoves but what gets used most is the coffee pot, campfire grill, and forks... the camping kitchen got used maybe 1.5 trips then got disassembled as being too much trouble/hassle.

Gave up on winter camping several years ago; when "all my rowdy friends ... settled down".

...Evolution happens...

Enjoy!

[bluestar99]

Re: Camping 2020

This is the year I get back into camping in a big way. I am getting a teardrop camper this spring. I am scouring the internet for ideas to outfit it, as well as making trip plans. My yearly trip home to Montana one of these years is going to include Glacier, but not this year. Already have 1 group trip with friends set in stone, and working on a second.

Which teardrop are you getting?

[huricanelane]

Re: Camping 2020

Which teardrop are you getting?

I am getting a teardrop from Tcteardrops. For what I was looking for, seamed to be the best value. 4X8 with some extras.

Bluestar99, any must have teardrop galley accessory suggestions?

[Denni2]

Re: Camping 2020

We are hoping to take a few weekends to get out soon. Not sure if it will work out. My brother-in-law is dying so we have been spending time with him. We have stayed in his drive way a couple weekends.

We have 2 long trips planned, one in February we have plans to visit family in Florida and stop and see our daughter in North Carolina in the way home. Most of the times we will be Mooch-docking at relatives.

in May we plan to Drive Shenandoah National Park. We will be spending a night there. From there we will be driving the Blue Ridge Parkway taking it easy, camping and hiking along the way.

[bluestar99]

Re: Camping 2020

I am getting a teardrop from Tcteardrops. For what I was looking for, seamed to be the best value. 4X8 with some extras.

Bluestar99, any must have teardrop galley accessory suggestions?

TC Teardrops make a nice unit. I don't know which model you are getting or what the galley comes with. I try to have a cooler and stove storage inside the galley. I cook on a Coleman gas stove on the picnic table but I like having all my cooking stuff stored full time. When I leave for a trip I want to only load my food and clothes and take off. For me, the less I have to store in the tow vehicle the happier I am. I would be sure and get a Fantastic Fan or Maxxair fan and some 12Volt and 110 power outlets.

[05Kingquad700]

Re: Camping 2020

So far I have about 16 nights planned, and that's just to July 4th.

[huricanelane]

Re: Camping 2020

TC Teardrops make a nice unit. I don't know which model you are getting or what the galley comes with. I try to have a cooler and stove storage inside the galley. I cook on a Coleman gas stove on the picnic table but I like having all my cooking stuff stored full time. When I leave for a trip I want to only load my food and clothes and take off. For me, the less I have to store in the tow vehicle the happier I am. I would be sure and get a Fantastic Fan or Maxxair fan and some 12Volt and 110 power outlets.

Cooler wise, I am on the fence of getting an electric cooler. I will have power most of the time. I also have a 2 burner butane camping stove that was handed down to my from my father, and is probably as old as I am. I might upgrade to a new model at some point. But I plan to do a lot of campfire cooking, and maybe some dutch oven cooking. I have a fan and ac/heat unit with my build as well. I pick it up early April and will have it out hopefully the last weekend in April. And use through deer hunting season.

[Karla "with a k"]

Re: Camping 2020

My brother-in-law is dying so we have been spending time with him. We have stayed in his drive way a couple weekends. .

Sorry to hear this sad news.

[Karla "with a k"]

Re: Camping 2020

Karla's 2020 camping goals. If I have a perfect year, I will....
1. continue my once-a-month camping adventures for a 5th year
2. build my winter tarp
3. visit 3 new WI state parks (Lake Wissota, Tower Hill & Big Bay)
4. camp with my cat at least twice
5. camp on the WI river with my inflatable kayak
6. volunteer one weekend with the Ice Age Trail Alliance building trail

[Happy Joe]

Re: Camping 2020

Cooler wise, I am on the fence of getting an electric cooler. I will have power most of the time. I also have a 2 burner butane camping stove that was handed down to my from my father, and is probably as old as I am. I might upgrade to a new model at some point. But I plan to do a lot of campfire cooking, and maybe some dutch oven cooking. I have a fan and ac/heat unit with my build as well. I pick it up early April and will have it out hopefully the last weekend in April. And use through deer hunting season.

Having been through the electric cooler, low and high tech cooler and 12 volt fridge thing, I would say to avoid the electric coolers (they really don't cool well especially in hot weather.
A medium sized high tech cooler works fine for me for trips around 4-5 days (have to stop for fuel every 300 miles or so, and make a bread and munchie run every week or so, thus ice is rarely an issue. (If you open the cooler lid more than a couple of times a day, your ice will not last well, however).
On some forums you will see people saying that 12 volt refrigerators are the best thing ever... for me they are not as they require a moderate amount of power and thus a need to recharge the 100 amp hour accessory battery every few days... some folks claim great results using solar (~100 Watt panel) to recharge the battery, however my preferred campsites are shady enough to preclude solar recharging (I base camp in primitive (no reservations, no power, no water, no facilities) areas). If you camp in open areas without shade solar recharging may work well.
If you drive a significant distance every couple of days it will, likely, be enough to recharge the battery, if it is set up to recharge from the vehicle.
If you have access to ac power, you don't need either the second battery, other than for lights, or to recharge it very often.

Hope it helps...

Enjoy!

[huricanelane]

Re: Camping 2020

Having been through the electric cooler, low and high tech cooler and 12 volt fridge thing, I would say to avoid the electric coolers (they really don't cool well especially in hot weather.
A medium sized high tech cooler works fine for me for trips around 4-5 days (have to stop for fuel every 300 miles or so, and make a bread and munchie run every week or so, thus ice is rarely an issue. (If you open the cooler lid more than a couple of times a day, your ice will not last well, however).
On some forums you will see people saying that 12 volt refrigerators are the best thing ever... for me they are not as they require a moderate amount of power and thus a need to recharge the 100 amp hour accessory battery every few days... some folks claim great results using solar (~100 Watt panel) to recharge the battery, however my preferred campsites are shady enough to preclude solar recharging (I base camp in primitive (no reservations, no power, no water, no facilities) areas). If you camp in open areas without shade solar recharging may work well.
If you drive a significant distance every couple of days it will, likely, be enough to recharge the battery, if it is set up to recharge from the vehicle.
If you have access to ac power, you don't need either the second battery, other than for lights, or to recharge it very often.

Hope it helps...

Enjoy!

Thank you for sharing your experience, it does help. I will have solar, but only 20 watt panel to start with, so I was not planning on that to power anything substantial. Just C-pap when off the grid.

[James.]

Re: Camping 2020

We are hoping to take a few weekends to get out soon. Not sure if it will work out. My brother-in-law is dying so we have been spending time with him. We have stayed in his drive way a couple weekends.

We have 2 long trips planned, one in February we have plans to visit family in Florida and stop and see our daughter in North Carolina in the way home. Most of the times we will be Mooch-docking at relatives.

in May we plan to Drive Shenandoah National Park. We will be spending a night there. From there we will be driving the Blue Ridge Parkway taking it easy, camping and hiking along the way.

Sorry to hear about your brother in law. At least you are in a position to visit and spend some time with him.