Quote:
Originally Posted by roofus4
I am taking the month of May off. I want to do a long trip in the RV, but in this time of Covid19, I’m worried about where to stay and whether any hotels or lodges would even be open. Camping comes to mind.
I’ve never considered it before now. I would be starting from scratch. I have absolutely nothing in regards to camping. I need ideas for everything! Tents, sleeping equipment, how to eat, how to pack it in the RV, and even suggestions on things like camping etiquette.
Then where to go? I live in TX. I’m thinking Idaho, Washington, or Oregon.
I know I’m asking a lot of questions, but thanks for your suggestions.
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Camping is both natural and acquired skill. So INTERESTING you never camped out and have no gear.
OK. There are different types of camping, Backpack Camping, Motorcycle camping, Airplane Camping, Car/Truck Camping. I mention this because you will be LIMITED in weight and volume. I so wish I had a picture of all the camping gear I stuffed in the baggage compartment in my RV.
What temps will you be in? May it will be cool in the mountains and hot in valley. Pack for both.
Basics
Tent (light weight one or two person backpack or compact tent, rain fly is must) Don't go cheap but then again you don't need to spend $100's
Sleeping bag or sleeping roll (I like a small pillow, blow up pillow is marginal but better than nothing)
Blow up pad (because you will be sleeping on the ground)
Cooking. A small back pack stove is good. I use JETBOIL. It is all in one and has a container to heat water or even cook. For coffee I heat water and use a French Press. For food, that is a whole topic. Google it.
Ice chest - Use Styrofoam ice chest, light, cheap, efficient. Careful not to crack it and usually wrap in large garbage bag if it weeps or leaks. They are water tight but I re-used two of them for years and years. Eventually they broke down. I have plastic ice chest and I find the Styrofoam only ice chest keeps ice better than the store bought plastic ones.
Clothes - Pack light and right for conditions. Some materials can be hand washed and dry fast. Don't forget TP and garbage bags to fly out your garbage. Leave it like you found it.
WHERE - If you camp out with NO facilities, no power, water you will need to bring it. To charge your phone or iPad a solar panel is nice and Aux Li-Ion battery pack. Water? You will need to bring it if you can't get it Some places you land will have water, ride into town to get food and supplies. Temperatures? Gear up accordingly. First Aid? Bring things you need, sun screen, First Aid, ibuprofen.
FLY IDAHO (booklet)... Johnson Creek ID is my favorite. It is a long manicured grass strip in the mountains. READ ALL THE INFO ON HOW TO GO IN AND OUT OF THIS STRIP or ANY MOUNTAIN STRIP.... I has nice permanent clean outhouse, water and an "airport" car to go into a nearby small town of Yellow Pine to get food and supplies (not sure if this still applies). There is usually a care taker at the airport. No fuel.
Camp in your back yard! (or front yard if you don't care what neighbors think) - Learn to set up and breakdown your tent, sleep in it, make meals in your yard without going into the house. Better to find out now what you need and how to use it in your yard than at some remote air strip.
As a Boy Scout I camped out, often on week long backpack trek along Appalachian trail. Backpacking or mountaineering is the most stripped down minimal gear you can get. All my gear and food for week was on my back. I joke now anything under 4 star hotel is camping. However I love destination camping. However in an airplane you can do a little better than backpacking level of gear.
Motorcycling camping was more challenging than airplane camping, as far as available volume of stuff you can bring is less. I have a BMW with side and top bags I travel on, camp out over the years. That is where I got serious and bought very compact light good quality gear. I have VERY compact fold out chair and table. I have a high tech tent with rain fly. Really TENTS ARE TENTS. You do get what you pay for to a point. You will also NEED LIGHT for night time. So flashlights and LED lights are great. I also bring a LI-Ion battery pack to power my phone and other things. During the day I charge the battery pack off the plane/motorcycle battery or solar cell. I learned a lot going to a BMW motorcycle rally and camp out at Barber Motorsports Track a few years ago. I saw some pretty awesome camp set-ups motorcyclist came up with...
Car Camping? I have totally different gear, bigger, heavier, volume is not as limited. Airplane camping (RV) has limits, but with MODERN GEAR that is light and efficient, there are many clever designs to choose from; it is easy to keep weight and volume down but you will MAX OUT your RV 2-place bird. If you have a C180, C182, C210 or RV-10 it is closer to car camping, you can bring bigger tent, more food, larger chairs. Bigger heaver gear is cheaper than the super light compact gear. For example you can fly out to a bigger airport and town and get a ride to the store for shopping, they fly back to the remote strip.
You will have to research this "Camping" topic and buy on line at this time. If you get a chance to good to go to big outdoor stores like REI and look at gear it helps. There is so much to choose from. HOWEVER it is pretty PRIMAL... living outside like people did 1000's of years ago is natural. It's basically survival. Reminds me survival guides and books are good to know. That also reminds me be very careful if you don't know about navigating on the ground, have a compass, portable GPS. Phones often don't work in mountains. PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) is great but cost money; however you can use it for flying. Many first time (and experienced hikers) get lost in the woods. Term "orienteering" is the ability to use a map and compass to navigate (like "Pilotage"). Compasses with sights are used to sight off landmarks and then orientate it to the map and even triangulate. GPS is pretty reliable; however the ability to use map, compass and landmarks is a good one which may come in handy one day when Mr. GPS takes a dump. Also BE AWARE OF WEATHER the whole time you are on the ground. Any one who camped out at Oshkosh or Sun-N-Fun and weather blew threw can attest to that. Last watch some camping movie comedy gone wrong for fun.... it might happen. That is part of the fun. It is an adventure and you don't really know for sure what might happen. (Don't watch the Movie "Deliverance" Ha ha.)
Last bring some kind of self defense, be it pepper spray, bear spray, knife, club (check the laws). I don't usually conceal carry when I fly, because of all the rules which might risk a weapons charge. Some State or City Parks are forbidden to have guns for example. However I believe you can carry an empty gun in a locked case almost anywhere in your vehicle and even in the airport (as checked bag). The ammo is locked up and located separate it should be legal (check laws). When in a car, driving through Illinois my carry permit is not recognized in this state. So before going across the state line into IL, I unload my gun and lock it in a case in trunk. If you land where you can arm yourself, you can put your gun in battery (loaded and ready to fire). When I hike in places I know are good to carry, I go armed. You never know if there is some hungry wild life that might want to make you a meal. Surprisingly high number of people every year are attacked by Bears, mountain lions, coyotes, Moose (very dangerous), snakes, wild pigs. Again you are outdoors in their neighborhood.
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