Touring or Camping?

[booster]

We just got back from a 3 week trip to Devils Tower and the Black Hills and part of the goal of this trip was to test what we really like the best, moving all the time, or settling in. In the past, we had been moving a lot because of limited time, as I hadn't retired yet, but this time there was no schedule except for 14 days reserved in the same campsite in Custer State Park. We had a one nighter on the way out, then two days at Devils Tower dry camping, one night in a private campground by the Badlands because the NP campground was full, three days in Wind Cave National Park dry camping, and then 14 days in Custer. We totally enjoyed the 14 days in one spot. There was a challenging hiking trail within walking distance, bike trails close, lots to do with short drives, and the campground was deserted all day if we wanted to sit back, because everyone was off at attractions. It gave us a chance to setup the screenhouse and I could lock up the bike without having to fold and pack it every use day. We found the "spokes and hub" method to be very much to our liking, compared to a new campsite every night. The three day stay at Wind Cave was our next favorite.

It appears, for us, our method will be to plan on moving around, but with the intent to stay a week or more if we find a place we really like. We were both very surprised at how much we enjoyed being in one spot for so long, and future trips will be planned around some longer stays, even if we don't know where they will be.

[Davydd]

Booster, I am not sure you are describing "spoke and hub". That entails having a towable RV or vice versa car of some sort that could leave the RV at one place while you drive around. That is just extended staying in a convenient location to me. We did that last March. We got down to South Padre Island with the intent to hang around a few days but ended up staying a full week because it was cheaper to commit to a week stay in the campground. At the end of the week we extended again and then again a week later mainly because the weather was terrible everywhere else within a day's drive. Simply put, we just explored South Padre Island longer than we had planned and got to know it more intimately. We covered Harlingen, Brownsville and Port Isabel too but I would not call it spoke and hubbing.

The key though is do you have a B that is going to be comfortable enough for extended trips whether you stay in one place per night or several nights. What I believe you have done is take out the equation of needing to move on to a different campground because of your B limitations. I'm looking toward not having to make a decision each day whether I need an electrical hookup or not. One or two auxiliary batteries with solar makes that almost a daily thought especially in a campground that prohibits generator use. You have also discovered another thing. Retirees have the luxury of time. Our Alaska trip two years ago was open ended with no schedule during or end other than the eventual cold weather.

[booster]

Originally Posted by Davydd

Booster, I am not sure you are describing "spoke and hub". That entails having a towable RV or vice versa car of some sort that could leave the RV at one place while you drive around. That is just extended staying in a convenient location to me. We did that last March. We got down to South Padre Island with the intent to hang around a few days but ended up staying a full week because it was cheaper to commit to a week stay in the campground. At the end of the week we extended again and then again a week later mainly because the weather was terrible everywhere else within a day's drive. Simply put, we just explored South Padre Island longer than we had planned and got to know it more intimately. We covered Harlingen, Brownsville and Port Isabel too but I would not call it spoke and hubbing.

The key though is do you have a B that is going to be comfortable enough for extended trips whether you stay in one place per night or several nights. What I believe you have done is take out the equation of needing to move on to a different campground because of your B limitations. I'm looking toward not having to make a decision each day whether I need an electrical hookup or not. One or two auxiliary batteries with solar makes that almost a daily thought especially in a campground that prohibits generator use. You have also discovered another thing. Retirees have the luxury of time. Our Alaska trip two years ago was open ended with no schedule during or end other than the eventual cold weather.

I would define "spoke and hub", as having a campsite for a length of time, regardless is if it is a B, tent, trailer, A with car, whatever, and doing trips to the surrounding areas and then back to the site. For us, that allowed us the time to setup a screen house, leave more stuff in place, not have to register or select a site, etc. It was also a test of the livability of the van for an extended stay, and we found it really no different than moving every day. We actually spent a lot less time in the van than when moving all the time, and had more time to do things like cooking, visiting neighbors, etc. Our Chevy is smaller than a regular Sprinter, and much smaller than an extended one, but we have lots of storage, and did not have any "space" issues for the two weeks in one place, or when moving more. I guess I don't understand the question of taking out the limitations that would require a move to another location, as to us moving or staying doesn't really change the livability. If you are talking about being off grid, then we have very much reduced the chance that low power would necessitate a move. We plan on doing Alaska next year, after a several month "practice" run south this fall, so we will learn even more, but we totally expect livability not to be any issue at all.

We still talk about the possibility of what we will do when older and have seen what we want to see around the country. The obvious is to plant somewhere nice for longer periods, I think. Using a small egg trailer like a Scamp as a base camp is still a possibility for month plus stays, with the Roadtrek for side trips, but that is still in the thought process. It would seem to be a better solution than an A or C with a car in tow, or a trailer and a pickup to pull it, as it would still allow side trips with overnight or longer stays in the Roadtrek.