Tag: camping

Now We’re Camping! Keeping RV Trips Running Smooth

Keep Rv Trips Running Smoothly
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Hello Camping Season! The RV is out of storage and we just returned from our first trip. Unfortunately, the weather was not ideal. It rained a lot.  And the pristine condition that we left the RV in when it went into it’s winter slumber is now covered in mud.  We are still trying to get the tent ends to dry out, but the sun has been very shy this May. Once again, the opening on HD Indoor Storage cannot come soon enough — I wouldn’t be waiting for third day to dry outside.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not sour on our RV camping.  The right attitude and packing can make the difference.

Camping Requires Letting Go of Perfection

I think the greatest lesson from camping is that it will not be perfect. It may not be what you expect. But, if you can let go and roll with it – great things can happen. Despite the weather it was a good trip.  A little rain can slow things down. But, a good conversation can take off, an old board game has a new life and you remember how satisfying a puzzle can be.

As I have said before, Is there such a thing as a bad camping trip? I was just reading “Go Forth and Camp: Tips for making camping easy” and the author also recalled her history of camping with her family.

And while that week was never without incident — on one trip we lost a tent into the lake and my dad sunburned the bottom of his feet — it was always worth it in the end.

But, Don’t Leave Everything Up To Chance

“Letting go” is easier when you have some options, like a few board games or puzzles. Remember the Scout Motto of “Be Prepared” — think through some situations that might occur, so that if they come up, you’re covered.  I enjoy our RV because I have the room to tuck away those necessities that smooth the bumps in a trip.  My tweezers came in handy this last trip when a nasty splinter appeared. Poison Ivy Wash was a lifesaver last summer.  And there is a basket of sunscreen, bug spray and itch cream that are along for the ride for the season.

What Is Your Camping “Necessity”?

I can do without a lot of things.  And I have weathered, quite a few unpleasant scenarios (i.e., nursing a little camper’s late night stomach bug while dry camping). But, I have found one thing that can make or break me is Coffee.  To be a little quirkier, iced coffee.  I find I can weather almost every storm if I have my iced coffee. So, after our first season of camping, I made sure I had a coffee maker and I pack ice or ice trays for the freezer. My fellow campers appreciate this commitment.

Think about one or two things that might make you a bit more comfortable? Your pillow, a camping chair with a footrest, chocolate.  I found this link with new camping gear suggestions.  I think the canned wine may be a new camping necessity.

I’m looking forward to a Camping Season full of adventure and challenges. As always tips are much appreciated!

Welcome New Campers! Nice RV!

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1-in-4 New Campers are in an RV (1)

We know more Americans are going Camping, but the path to Camping is driven by RVs more  than before according to the 2017 North American Camping report just released by Kampgrounds of America (KOA).

Among U.S. households, 61 percent now include someone who camps. And many of those are new campers. Well over 1 million households have started camping each year since 2014, resulting in 3.4 million new camping U.S. households over the last three years. When asked how they started camping, a fifth of Campers surveyed said RV – that’s a 33% increase from 2014.

When you just focus on those newbies, you see RVs pulling ahead again. About 1-in-4 new campers say they camped in an RV in 2016 — that’s about a 40% increase from a just year before.  This trend seems to be supported by RV Industry trends — new and experienced campers are driving growth. The Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) reports this year the RV industry expects to ship 383,000 trailers and 55,000 motorhomes, the eighth consecutive year of growth.

Looks like 2017 will bring new campers and new equipment to Campgrounds across the country.  I know just the place to keep them — HD Indoor Storage.

Get your Camper out of RV Storage! And make some Camping Friends

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I mentioned yesterday how I long to get my Camper out of nearby RV storage and thawed out from the snow.  If I had it parked at HD Indoor Storage, I wouldn’t be so cranky because it wouldn’t be encased in an icy, white mass.  I could easily go inside and check on it as it waits, cozy in its own garage.  I would have likely visited during the winter and inhaled the faint scent of campfires from days past.  Maybe even taken it out for a camp on those many odd, warm weekends this past winter…

Enough RV Storage Talk…(for now)

Bottom line, HD Indoor Storage can’t open it’s shiny new garage doors soon enough for me (if you are anxious too, check out updates on Facebook). What inspires me today is not the many inspiring places to camp near and far, but the prospect of MORE FRIENDS!

More people camping = more camping friends!

This morning I saw this exciting post “More Americans Are Going Camping” based on a report released by Kampgrounds of America (KOA).  And this is not new, news exactly. I enjoyed thinking of myself as a “trendsetter” before. Hey, Oprah was sitting on the steps of an Airstream on the February 2017 cover of O magazine!  (I bet she is not waiting for her Airstream to thaw out at some outdoor RV storage place.)

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What might that new camping friend look like?

It just came to me this morning.  More people camping will mean meeting so many new “Happy Campers!”  Who are they? Intrigued, I downloaded a copy of 2017 North American Camping Report myself. Fifty-four pages of juicy tidbits.  Here is what jumped out at me…

  • Look at you! You’re likely to have a Camper in your house. Among US households, 61% now include someone who camps.
  • Many of these Campers are FRESH! Not 80’s Hip-hop “Fresh”, but new to camping. Over 1 million households have started camping each year since 2104. That means 3.4 million Us households becoming new campers over the last three years.
  • They’re fresh-faced. I say that as a weathered Gen Xer (thus the 80’s Hip-hop reference). Those Millennials (born 1981-1997) are taking to the outdoors and doing so in greater numbers than expected. In the overall population millennials comprise 31 percent of the adult population, yet account for 38 percent of campers.
  • Not that fresh-faced, they have kids. You parents out there no what I’m talking about! Your new camping friends have a good chance of having kids. Fully half of all campers reporting that there are children in their households.

So much to look forward to this 2017 Camping Season.  I’m going to pour over these numbers a bit more.  It almost makes me forget about my thawing camper in RV storage.

Spring is here. Start planning those RV Camping trips… Now!

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So, Spring is here. Next up Summer. HD Indoor Storage needs to get their RV camping trips in order.  Not sure if we’re “early birds” or “late to the party”.  We need to plan a trip!

What’s on our Wish List?

Already have some classics on the RV Camping calendar: Knoebel’s and Hershey Park. I think we need to add more than a Roller Coaster to the mix. There is a lot of inspiration out there.  Googled “RV Camping Trips” and I got 795,000 results!   Being snowed in last week had us researching.  But, we’re looking for a camping trip within our Pennsylvania state lines and some water — fishing, kayaking, swimming — am I missing anything?

RV Camping trip wish come true?

I like this “10 of the Coolest Parks for RV Camping” link because it includes a campground less than two hours from us in Pennsylvania, Keen Lake Camping & Cottage Resort. I haven’t been yet. (I didn’t book in time the last few years!) And it has water — the “lake” part was a giveaway — boating, fishing and lake swimming. I’m off to a great start.  If you have any RV camping trip suggestions that fit our wish list, send them our way. I don’t have time to sift through 795,000 results!

RV trip planning is a great distraction during the Spring thaw. I just removed huge hunks of snow from our backyard trampoline a few days ago.  It was back-breaking work — I thought trampolines were supposed to be fun! It makes me think of our poor buried RV.  The new HD Indoor Storage Facility cannot open soon enough.

But, what do you think: should I be panicking about my RV Calendar — how early do you plan an RV Camping Trip?