Remembering Yesterday

[Dave&Ginny]

On another thread some of us got off track and started discussing the memories of camping with much simpler RVs than we have today. Ginny and I have been cleaning out closets and other storage which led me to old brochures and pictures of camping trips of years gone by. My sons and I talk about some of these camping trips with great fondness. I hope some of you will share your memories.

Around 1995 we were broke and starting a business. I found an old Viking popup camper for sale and it was better than a tent. Our 3 sons at the time were 10,12 and 15, all full of energy. That Thanksgiving Ginny's family had a gathering down at "Black Rock state park" in Georgia so we loaded up and took off for the adventure with an overloaded mini van tugging the popup.

Since we were heading South (From Illinois) we assumed that we'd be enjoying warmer weather so we packed accordingly. When we picked our campsite we were amazed to find the picturesque spot still available so we happily took it. We found out that night why this spot was still open, no wind barriers for the wind blowing up over the steep grade. It was cold that year and the popup didn't have a working furnace so we had 3 small electric heaters (we found at the local hardware store) and 5 frozen people with the wind blowing off the mountains. Sure was a lot of cuddling on that trip as the walls shook and waved! It was a lot of fun and we still laugh at the memories.

The popup was simple enough and easy to level. If the door could be opened, it was level. Repack the bearings each spring and check for mice. No Heat, A/C or toilet. Just a gas stove and a sink with a hose that ran out to a bucket.

As many of you, we've worked our way to larger and better RVs but it was the simpler times that have brought me the memories and joys that I hope I never forget.

[travelin' texans]

We spent a weekend with another family at a lake in Oklahoma in tents & during the night a storm blew in & began to rain, harder, harder til we had a river running through our tent so in the middle of the night 4 of us, kids were about 10 & 12, slept in the standard can pickup & all 3 used Dad for a pillow. The next morning we find everything we had was soaking wet & trying to find places to hang it up we find out that a tornado had touched down directly across the lake. Boy the good ole days! Makes me sore just talking about sleeping in a tent. Just like Dave graduated to a pop up & felt like the Holiday Inn, & they've kept getting bigger ever since.

[RCAircraft]

Originally Posted by Dave&Ginny

On another thread some of us got off track and started discussing the memories of camping with much simpler RVs than we have today. Ginny and I have been cleaning out closets and other storage which led me to old brochures and pictures of camping trips of years gone by. My sons and I talk about some of these camping trips with great fondness. I hope some of you will share your memories.

Around 1995 we were broke and starting a business. I found an old Viking popup camper for sale and it was better than a tent. Our 3 sons at the time were 10,12 and 15, all full of energy. That Thanksgiving Ginny's family had a gathering down at "Black Rock state park" in Georgia so we loaded up and took off for the adventure with an overloaded mini van tugging the popup.

Since we were heading South (From Illinois) we assumed that we'd be enjoying warmer weather so we packed accordingly. When we picked our campsite we were amazed to find the picturesque spot still available so we happily took it. We found out that night why this spot was still open, no wind barriers for the wind blowing up over the steep grade. It was cold that year and the popup didn't have a working furnace so we had 3 small electric heaters (we found at the local hardware store) and 5 frozen people with the wind blowing off the mountains. Sure was a lot of cuddling on that trip as the walls shook and waved! It was a lot of fun and we still laugh at the memories.

The popup was simple enough and easy to level. If the door could be opened, it was level. Repack the bearings each spring and check for mice. No Heat, A/C or toilet. Just a gas stove and a sink with a hose that ran out to a bucket.

As many of you, we've worked our way to larger and better RVs but it was the simpler times that have brought me the memories and joys that I hope I never forget.

Our RV history, beginning in 1981, is very similar: tents, van, TT's and then our RW. Our six children have fond memories of those times including blizzards, tornadoes and heat waves. Now the grand children are having those similar experiences with us in our RW (less the extreme weather to date).

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by travelin' texans

We spent a weekend with another family at a lake in Oklahoma in tents & during the night a storm blew in & began to rain, harder, harder til we had a river running through our tent so in the middle of the night 4 of us, kids were about 10 & 12, slept in the standard can pickup & all 3 used Dad for a pillow. The next morning we find everything we had was soaking wet & trying to find places to hang it up we find out that a tornado had touched down directly across the lake. Boy the good ole days! Makes me sore just talking about sleeping in a tent. Just like Dave graduated to a pop up & felt like the Holiday Inn, & they've kept getting bigger ever since.

I guess ignorance is bless.......today we have radar maps on our phones and under usual circumstance no shortage of phone service. We used to try to predict the weather by watching the clouds. And we wouldn't even think about taking a TV......no I have 4

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by RCAircraft

Our RV history, beginning in 1981, is very similar: tents, van, TT's and then our RW. Our six children have fond memories of those times including blizzards, tornadoes and heat waves. Now the grand children are having those similar experiences with us in our RW (less the extreme weather to date).

Bob I always enjoy hearing our son's share their stories with their families too. As a wise man told me years ago......if the weather is perfect, all the equipment works fine and the road is smooth;who would remember it.

When things go wrong I tell the family we're building memories

[Shane Wood]

We started with tents and I can Remeber my daughter Rollin around on a blanket outside on the may long weekend and she was born Mar 12th. We graduated from tents to an 8 ft truck camper as we had the trailer with trikes and dirt bikes. Moved to a 20ft tt and thought we died and went to heaven. The rvs have just got bigger since then

[RCAircraft]

Originally Posted by Dave&Ginny

I guess ignorance is bless.......today we have radar maps on our phones and under usual circumstance no shortage of phone service. We used to try to predict the weather by watching the clouds. And we wouldn't even think about taking a TV......no I have 4

Our first RV TV was a 12 VDC 7" black & white with a telescoping antenna. At the time our family of eight thought it was great. Our RW has three TV's and only two of us along with tablets, laptops, cell phones and printers. REALLY! Maybe too much stuff.

[rob_fla]

The 1st RV we bought when our Daughter was 6 was a used Lark Popup Camper for $300, used it for a couple of years and sold it for $300

The 2nd RV was a used Palomino Popup, it was a little over a year old and the owners garage kept it. They only used one bed, they never even took the plastic off one of the beds and had never filled the propane bottle or used the stove.

When we had the Palomino Popup we had a S-10 Blazer, we made a 3 week trip Coast to Coast from Florida to California and back when our daughter as 9 years old, she is 37 years old today and still talks about that trip today. We had a great time during that trip !!!

[Jeff&Karen39MB]

We have never owned an RV before our Redwood, but did go camping twice at a Yogi Bear campground in Williamsburg Va with some very dear friends of ours. Those times were special, their girls were aprox 7 and 10 yrs and our son was 5.
How different times were then, those kids ran free those weekends, with little supervision required, the park had so much going on for them, they were entertained all day long, with Yogi Bear, Boo boo, hay rides, games and a host of other things, and while we kept an eye on what they were doing, it left us adults free to also sit and talk, and just unwind.
My friend Jimmy often reminded me of when he and I went to the pool, there was a sign that said no diving, so I stood on the side of the pool and stepped off into about 5 feet of water, only to have a whistle blown at me by a pool monitor, who scolded me for jumping in, Jimmy would often say
" Tweet, out of the pool A," without sounding crude, or offending anyone assume for yourself what we laughed about.
They are both gone now , our son is almost 40, but those sweet memories still stay with us, and in some way made have led us to the life we live now, I would like to think so.
In memory of our friends Jimmy and Jo Anne Helton rest in peace.

[Ford truck guy]

We spent the weekend tent camping with our friends about 25 or so years ago, after the first night ( she complained the entire night), my wife said " let's go find something to eat".. We did, it was a local hotel that offered breakfast, well, we ended up checking in that morning and spent the other night in there while our friends were all tenting it.

A few weeks later we purchased our 1984 Corsair at 19'.. Like stated before, we thought we were in heaven,, we had a dinner dinette that could double as a crib.. we had an AC unit that I could change the direction of the flow.. AND if I popped out a screen and window, there were a few spots that I could actually have TV !!

5 RV's later , and many many memories later here we are in our Redwood and not looking back !

[atom ant]

My first RV after several tent trailers and truck campers was an 84 Aluma-lite motorhome. We found a favorite spot on the creek downstream of 11-mile reservoir by Colorado Springs. No hook ups and not sure why that always seemed OK back then.

Wife put the little ones to bed and I sat by the campfire smoking a cigarette. I felt fur run under my legs and I petted what I thought was our dog, until I realized we didn't have a dog It was a skunk, and I slowly walked to the MH and we all stared out at it as it checked out our campfire and picnic table.

The next year we went back and I reminded the kids of that skunk and sure enough, our boy pointed over at it waiting for us at the rocks. That skunk came at dusk every night for as many years as we went there. I often feel like going back but I don't think any of our latest rigs would even fit in there.

[BradPAjax]

I have been camping off and on since I was 3 with my grandparents in one of those old teardrop mahogany trailers... went across Canada in a Kustom Koach when I was 14 and did a lot of winter camping as a teen. We got a Suncamper popup when we got married and both our boys were out camping when they were just 6 weeks old! Some people thought we were nuts but we had a blast! Best trip was to Kananaskis Provincial Park for the May long weekend. The park had to use a front end loader to remove snow to open our site! We stored the beer in a snowbank beside the fire... NO BUGS! Moved up to an 18' Travelaire when they got a little older... it had a head/shower and a small heater. Showers each night to rinse off the grime and then PJs and checkers at the dinette. Boys hit the bunk beds and the dinette converted into a double bed for us. We bought a 26' sailboat 16 years ago and went away for a week at a time in it for 2 summers... the novelty of small spaces had worn off. So we tried going back to a tent in 2010 and last ONE NIGHT on our way to Nova Scotia... it poured all night in Maine and so we quickly changed to B&B "camping" for that trip. The next year we tried a Class C MH and I almost went mad listening to all the banging and rattling it did as we drove down the highway. Stopped the experience was great... while it was being fixed in Halifax we toured some Redwoods on the dealer lot... we were hooked! We looked at everything at the Toronto RV Show and ordered our current unit... have not looked back... we laugh at the great times we have had.

[RCAircraft]

Originally Posted by atom ant

My first RV after several tent trailers and truck campers was an 84 Aluma-lite motorhome. We found a favorite spot on the creek downstream of 11-mile reservoir by Colorado Springs. No hook ups and not sure why that always seemed OK back then.

Wife put the little ones to bed and I sat by the campfire smoking a cigarette. I felt fur run under my legs and I petted what I thought was our dog, until I realized we didn't have a dog It was a skunk, and I slowly walked to the MH and we all stared out at it as it checked out our campfire and picnic table.

The next year we went back and I reminded the kids of that skunk and sure enough, our boy pointed over at it waiting for us at the rocks. That skunk came at dusk every night for as many years as we went there. I often feel like going back but I don't think any of our latest rigs would even fit in there.

What a great experience.

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by atom ant

My first RV after several tent trailers and truck campers was an 84 Aluma-lite motorhome. We found a favorite spot on the creek downstream of 11-mile reservoir by Colorado Springs. No hook ups and not sure why that always seemed OK back then.

Wife put the little ones to bed and I sat by the campfire smoking a cigarette. I felt fur run under my legs and I petted what I thought was our dog, until I realized we didn't have a dog It was a skunk, and I slowly walked to the MH and we all stared out at it as it checked out our campfire and picnic table.

The next year we went back and I reminded the kids of that skunk and sure enough, our boy pointed over at it waiting for us at the rocks. That skunk came at dusk every night for as many years as we went there. I often feel like going back but I don't think any of our latest rigs would even fit in there.

I had a friend when I was in grade school who had a pet skunk that had been d-scented and I guess it was a lovable pet. But at the campground I'd be very worried of making it mad.

[Iceman1777]

I just had to chime in. My earliest memories were camping in our 1958 Rainbow TT that my grandfather bought new. We camped many places but the trailer ended up on our property in Southern Utah. I fished it out in 2014, we painted it, and now we will vacation in it when we feel like joining a vintage trailer rally. I certainly prefer the Redwood but it's fun to still have this in the family:

[Dave&Ginny]

WOW that looks great! Does it still have the gas lights in it?

If you ever want to sell that let me know

[atom ant]

That looks awesome! Even a matching awning!

[Iceman1777]

It DOES still have the gas light over the table, and the awning is original (as is the paint color - a 1957 Ford color). The awning was in the package in the back storage area, never used. I never remembered it as a kid and didn't even know what it was when I cleaned out the trailer. It uses the original "C" channel. I upgraded th power center for safety, and added the roof air for the DW. The story is all documented in my blog, Rainbow Ramblin', with more original pictures. The pictures are fun even if you don't want to read the text. I haven't updated it in about a year.

[spindrift]

Absolutely gorgeous! I assume it's within the truck's towing limits.