xlr8tn Posted April 23, 2014 Report Share Posted April 23, 2014 BUMP! We bought a camper yesterday and have our first trip already planned in just a couple weeks. Actually had it on the calendar for the past month and stressing on whether or not we'd have a camper in time. NOW I'm looking for suggestions on where people like to camp/have been and recommend. We're looking to do a bit more exploring than we have in the past and I'd say at this time we're open to driving UP TO 5 hours each way. I want to limit it to that for now as I'm sure there is plenty to see/do within that range and we'd rather do quite a few 3-4 day weekends all over than a few longer trips further out. Any ideas welcome, thanks! what camper did you end up buying? We did Cook Forest PA one year and had a pretty good time. We go to VA Beach every year. It's a haul but worth it. The kids have a blast out there. We actually go just south of VA Beach to Sandbridge because it's a lot more laid back and not near as many tourists there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buelliganx1 Posted April 23, 2014 Report Share Posted April 23, 2014 I've never actually been to this place but it's on our list of places to go this summer. http://www.longsretreat.com/?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bam Posted April 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 The UP/Northern Michigan is ungodly sexy, although wait till its really hot here to go up and "cool off" August up there is like September here, only no humidity. Family has gone up to Frankfort Michigan for a decade +, a little over 6 hours but well worth the trip. We definitely plan to make it up that way within the next year or two. Love the commercials about pure michigan and have a co-worker that goes up every year who has been telling me plenty of good things. Thanks! what camper did you end up buying? We did Cook Forest PA one year and had a pretty good time. We go to VA Beach every year. It's a haul but worth it. The kids have a blast out there. We actually go just south of VA Beach to Sandbridge because it's a lot more laid back and not near as many tourists there. We bought a 2012 Starcraft AR One. I'll look into Cook Forest as I haven't heard of it and I've heard of VA Beach but will have to look up more into that as well. We actually camped down at Myrtle Beach years ago, certainly a drive but would be worth it for a week long trip or so. I've never actually been to this place but it's on our list of places to go this summer. http://www.longsretreat.com/?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 Funny you post this!!! We've actually been here 2 or 3 times and are planning on going this summer as well. Plenty of things to keep kids busy. Hope you guys enjoy it. Thanks for all the suggestions....hopefully we'll get to experience some new places this year and in the future and I"ll try and post back anything good/bad we come across. Another camper question....do you guys typically go for full service spots or electric only or what? Do you guys still use the bath houses or just the camper? Is it more common for you to reserve ahead of time or just wing it and show up? Anything you recommend I buy or add to my list of potential things to buy now that we're not limited to just a tent? How do you guys store/travel your bikes? We've got 4 bikes and I'm searching for ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlr8tn Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 the place we stay at near va beach is called North Landing. http://www.northlandingbeach.com/campingvirginiabeach/default.asp They have a fresh water beach on the grounds, swimming pool, playground for the kids, and is only about 20 miles away from va beach or even closer to Sandbridge beach which is a much more laid back setting without a crowd. There's a few other campgrounds closer to va beach but we like being out away from the crowds. We always have reservations where ever we go. I try for full hook up everywhere because it's easier and I don't have to carry water or mess with a dump station but it's not that big of a deal really if they don't. We use the camper and skip the bath houses although most campgrounds take really good care of the bath houses and they're almost always very clean. We carry the bikes in the camper because I carry my grill and small gas smoker in the bed of the truck....since I have a 5er there's not a lot of room left over. Plenty of bumper style bike racks to choose from out there. Make sure you don't just attach it to the bumper of the camper without contacting Starcraft about the bumper rating. The bumper on mine is only rated to 100 lbs and I've read stories about people losing the bumper going down the road due to racks being on them. At some point I'm going to look into getting a frame mount back there for bikes but I've also read horror stories about Lippert frames bending. I met a guy a couple years ago that put a frame mounted receiver on his camper with a rack to carry his generator and it bent his frame away from the floor of his camper. Others have no issues doing it so it would just be something I'd want to research a lot before doing. The dollar store and Sam's club are your friends....the first thing we did was go stock our kitchen with stuff from the dollar store like dish towels, knives, ect ect. I buy bulk paper plates, cups, forks, and spoons from Sam's and we stock the pantry with kids snacks from there. The more stuff you can buy for the camper the less you have to pack before a trip. We basically put clothes in the closet and we're ready to roll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.