What's Simple About RV Camping?

Photography & Video

July 16, 2008

When in college, I worked a couple of summers in Yellowstone National Park. My job was usually in the kitchen, where my friends and I could be found chopping vegetables, flipping burgers, or (if we were lucky) scooping ice cream for tourists. As you might imagine, the work paid peanuts. We invested many long, hot, thankless hours in the belly of the Park’s food service beast. But we did so eagerly, for the promise of living in one of the world’s most beautiful places. Our off days were cherished. Whenever possible, we maximized our free time by going camping.

In those days, primarily because we were financially strapped students, camping was a simple proposition. Someone would have a tent, usually a modest 2-4 person affair. We’d bring along our sleeping bags, a couple of canteens, some snacks – and that was pretty much it. “Camping” really just meant a few good friends sharing basic shelter under the stars. And yet, the experiences were spectacular.

My wife and I have enjoyed some spectacular camping experiences with our RV. We LOVE our Airstream. So it’s tempting to position RV ownership as a simple, elemental lifestyle. After all, camping is camping, right? But is it really so simple?

Airstream RV Blog #12 – The Simple Life? from Sean Michael on Vimeo.

Alas, our tastes have grown more sophisticated. In the old days, a moldy sleeping bag was enough; now we sleep on 600-thread-count sheets. Once we were satisfied with a sack of snacks; now we tote around a refrigerator. In the past, tap water would suffice; now it’s captured from some French mountain spring, filtered, and bottled.

Sure, life is simple enough — once you have your propane tanks filled, your tire pressures checked, your assorted water tanks emptied and/or filled, an inverter generator, properly sorted weight-distributing hitch, your storage compartments locked, the stabilizer jacks set in place, and a plethora of camping equipment.

Then there’s the electronics. In our case, we can’t leave home without our smart phones, laptops, DVD players, HDTV, gaming console, digital cameras, HD video cameras, audio equipment, MP3 players, noise-canceling headphones, and enough assorted paraphernalia to open a branch outlet of Best Buy. The wires and cables alone would stretch from Earth to the Moon, three times.

So, the RV lifestyle may not be simple per se. It’s far too complex to be labeled simple. But it does strip away a host of mental and physical clutter. Although we haul along a plethora of creature comforts, when camping we still shed much of our suburban largess.

RV camping facilitates simple pleasures. This is an active lifestyle. One not only spends more time outdoors, but also with family. RV ownership brings people closer together – literally and figuratively.

Even when camping in our fancy travel trailer, I’m certain that we use much less electricity and water than at home. As Kristy blithely remarked, “You get used to being a little dirty.”

We acquire fewer material possessions because there’s no place to store them. When shopping, the first question that comes to mind is, “Where are we going to put it?”

In the end, I suppose we haven’t traveled so far from my college days. The key is to keep all of these technological goodies on a tight leash, and to make sure that they serve us, and not the other way around.

In the final analysis, we RV for the same reasons we went tent camping — to spend time together with the ones we love, enjoying the great outdoors. We master the complexities of RV life just so that we can enjoy certain basic, simple fundamentals. Whether you’re camping in a $40 tent or a $400,000 motor home, there’s still no substitute for the companionship of good friends and family, enjoyed alongside a campfire.