Newbie with kids looking for direction

[cms4140]

Originally Posted by UAPachyderm

Chris, I'm expecting you to save me a spot to park my Airstream in Auburn this November. =D

Absolutely. Join us here:
RV Parks|Auburn AL|Campgrounds and RV Parks|Deluxe RV Park|RV Resort

[Maggiefoss]

There are lots of great places on the East coast that you can head to, anywhere in maine along the coast is great, new hampshire and vermont have great places too. We were up in Nova scotia and PEI and I would love to head up there and go camping! We live in calif (outside San Fran) and the drive between LA and the Bay area is great, but you have wonderful places very close to you now. I think you always want to travel where you can't get to easily!! I'm dying to get back to the East coast with my Airstream, but here I am "stuck" in California!! (ha ha we do have tons of great places here, but so do you!) when we retire, we will have alot more freedom to do longer trips than we do now!

We have camped since our kids were babies. We started out with a small toyota pick up and very small cab over camper, then graduated to a large GMC pickup with a very large cab-over camper. Our kids loved that. they would sleep and play in the bunk while we drove, but I don't even know if thats legal anymore! Then during the main school years it seemed that every weekend was swimming or baseball or soccor or football or school plays etc etc.....so camping was reduced to 1 or 2 times a year during the summer. Then after the kids went off to college, the last 10 years we have had travel trailers. Its very easy when you go somewhere, after you've parked your trailer on your camp site. Both my kids love camping now,although work and school schedules don't always make it work!
good luck, camping with kids and dogs is the best! If we could do it with cassette tapes and read along books, then I know with all the technology kids have today, they will be fine in the car!
maggie

[idmtman]

Bostonrv, welcome to the forums. My wife and I just bought our AS after a significant time studying all the options and attending RV shows, etc. We're retired now, but we camped with our three children throughout the west in a small TT (14') and eventually a tent trailer as it provided a nice bed for everyone. An AS was always something I hoped to purchase some day.

We spent some time looking at the Earthbound trailer at a recent RV show in Spokane. We were intrigued and spent a lot of time studying the trailer. My biggest concern was that this is new and not established. It looks great now, appears to be "green" (though what happens when the plastic deteriorates), but just doesn't have the reputation and reliability factors yet.

I agree with the comments above. What is your definition of camping, how will it be used, where will it be stored, how often will it be used, etc. We bought our TV first which does match up well with the AS but, if we were to do it over again, I would decide on the TT and then purchase the TV. Buying the TV first reduced the options available to us though it all worked out very well.

The International 28' Serenity is indeed a beautiful trailer, but consider buying slightly used and then use the money saved for an adequate TV.

[bostonrv]

Have been without internet access the last couple of days - skiing in New Hampshire and was so pleased to come back and read the new responses to my post.

thank you so much for offering advice!

We chit chatted about this and our current plan is perhaps as early as April school vacation week, we would like to rent a Class C from the local place (not sure what brands they have but it doesn't really matter as this would be a trip to understand the ins and outs of a long road trip with little kids, hooking up, backing up, etc.).

If at all possible over the summer we'd like to rent an airstream trailer - I think they are available for rent from a few KOA campground sites (unfortunately none around here).

I think have a basis of understanding (via the rental experience) the difference between a TT and MOHO will be worthwhile.

As for a TV, my husband's car is on the older side. We planned to keep it another couple of years but it is a 2003 with over 100K miles on it. One of the doors doesn't open from the outside anymore. One of the seatbelts doesn't work. Repairs are getting very pricey. I could see us moving out timeframe up on replacing his car and choosing something that could haul a TT (we need a bigger car with towing capacity anyway because of the boat so it isn't that big a deal). Maybe a Suburban or Tahoe or something?

As far what type of campers we are... My husband enjoys it quite a bit - will camp out in tents, the whole nine yards. As for me, I would need some comforts of home. Mostly a comfortable bed as I have a bad back. I enjoy seeing things, going places, hiking, biking etc. BUT I know it would be a more enjoyable experience for me if I had a nice layout/floorplan with some space and not too grungy.

I could still imagine trying a renovation project although I take the comment above that it is not for the faint of heart seriously. We live in an 1890's house and gutted it and renovated it top to bottom, soup to nuts so I have a little bit of experience there. Also, I am an interior decorator specializing in kitchen and bath design so it could be an amazingly fun and satisfying project to work through... I have an open mind at this point and am excited to see how it plays out.

[Chuck]

Don't forget to come see us in May, just up the road in Salisbury. Camper or not...just show up and introduce yourself. Happy hour starts at...well, its pretty much always "happy hour", but officially, 4...or is it 5?

New England Unit » Calendar

[Aviator]

When considering newer TV's don't rule out the four door pickup trucks. The cab of our four door F150 is huge! There is plenty of room for two children and a 60# dog in the back seat.

[mistral blue]

Originally Posted by bostonrv

If at all possible over the summer we'd like to rent an airstream trailer - I think they are available for rent from a few KOA campground sites (unfortunately none around here).

Less than 2 hours away from Boston:

Mystic KOA
118 Pendleton Hill Road
North Stonington, CT 06359
(800) 562-3451
Camping in the United States & Canada | KOA Campgrounds

They list it as an Airstream Silver Cloud. If it really is a Silver Cloud I may have to go steal it from them one of these nights. (Pre-War Airstream)