Annoying to "break camp" every time you want to drive?

[yogiyoda]

Thanks! Lots of good info here. Feel free to post about any aspects of breaking camp, but I'm most interested in experiences/tips regarding driving while staying a campsite.

I'm guessing prepping for trips/arriving and leaving camp/getting home are fairly similar for all RV classes. But its driving while at a campsite that seems the most different for class B ...which really seems to be optimized for continually moving from site to site.

--Travel trailers and fifth wheelers have their tow vehicles

--Most class 'A's and 'C's have their "toads".

--Even with my tent camping, I leave my tent set-up pretty much alone when driving around after setting up camp. Never had anything stolen (knock on wood).

But class Bs are kind of unique in having to 'break camp' every time you want to drive away from camp.

[llamadave]

I too thought this would be an issue when we went from a large gooseneck horse trailer to a Sprinter high roof SMB. When leaving camp during the day and planning to return later, here is our list:

Clear the counters and close all cabinet doors, vents, and windows.
Rotate front seats forward.
Wind up awning if it was extended.
Unplug electric if attached and leave cable on ground.
We never hook up water and sewer.
Leave chairs and folding table out.
If used, remove gas grill from side of van and disconnect gas line.
Crank down TV antenna if used.
Drive off leveling blocks if used and leave in place.

So these are all pretty quick and often we do not use the awning and grill and TV antenna. If we leave camp several times on a week's stay, it is still less work than unhitching and re-hitching the trailer once. So our class-B in fact saves time over our large trailer.

David

[86Scotty]

There's also always the idea of a van 'toad', meaning a motorcycle (or scooter). They go great on a rear rack and give you a grocery getter. This is, of course, if there are only 1 or 2 of you. We always take 4 so that's why I went with a Jeep.

[shenrie]

we sat comfortably under our awning last sunday and watched the couple we camped with pack up for a good 2 hours (they took a few breaks, lol). i looked over at my wife and said "arent you glad we dont have to do that anymore?" she gave me a high five and handed me a cold drink from the cooler.

as they loaded up the last of thier gear. we started packing up.

2 burner camp stove & cooking crap in bin (maybe a minute).
break down collapsable table (maybe 2 minutes).
roll up awning and remove from gutter (6-7 min).
throw those three things and 2 folding chairs in van (a minute tops).

absolutely love it. roughly 15 min to evacuate. once we get a top and actually build out the inside, im sure we can cut time off that easily.

is it annoying? not really, but i find that it is kind of a drawback (ONLY drawback ive noticed so far) not being able to leave a vehicle in place to reserve a spot, but on the other hand, we drift a lot more and see more of an area now. so a lot just depends on your outlook on the situation.

weve left our cooking stuff, table, and chairs out to save a spot a few times without any issue, but seriously considering a motorbike to go putt around on in the future. you can cover a lot of country on one.

[daveb]

Originally Posted by yogiyoda

I'm most interested in experiences/tips regarding driving while staying a campsite. Class Bs are kind of unique in having to 'break camp' every time you want to drive away from camp.

IMO you're never going to be able to compete with an RV and tow vehicle after the RV has been set up and the tow vehicle is disconnected ready to go. But considering how difficult it is to deal with a tow vehicle overall is why so many people prefer a class B style vehicle over something like a diesel pusher and toad.
Actually I feel there isn't much to put away and drive off with my SMB. If I want to set up a base camp it will be there when I get back, I hope

[rob_gendreau]

Sorry YogiYoda but no one (or maybe even two) vehicles can do it all.

You've focused on breaking camp in order to use the SMB for day trips. But for most of us I suspect the camp breaking is only part of the problem, if there is one. I don't mind packing up in 20 minutes since I don't have a very spread out camp anyway, but what does give me pause is the use of the SMB for day trips. I have some reluctance to, as my friends put it, put my home at stake every time I go fourwheeling with them. I come back with "I can at least survive in my broke-down SMB whilst you will surely perish in your broke-down crawler," but I must admit I know what they mean. And then there's the gas...expensive errand runner. If I do non 4x4 drives it doesn't really bother me much, so if you don't push your vehicle this may not be a concern for you.

But there are other factors as well: the SMB isn't so hot to carry a group with if you've designed it for two. So you may not be able to take a bunch of folks into town for a meal. And you've got a big vehicle; if you use toads you can take a variety of vehicles that may be suited to what you're doing on that vacation. And the SMB makes a lousy daily driver; at least with the pickup/trailer combo you've got a vehicle at home that's perhaps more economical and/or useful.

But cheer up: ANYTHING you choose is gonna be a tradeoff. Obviously we like the SMB as the best of most worlds but YMMV.

[ANZAC]

If you don't mind leaving your cooking gear/tables etc out, my biggest time sink is getting my daughter to bring all her stuff down from the PH bed so I can close the top. Other than that, easy peasy. The big trick is don't bring too much stuff, and don't deploy it unless you need it. All of my "less used" items (ie for shorter trips, stuff like shower tent) stay in the storage under the lower rear cushion (*EB50).

That would be a fun comparo, a video walkaround of everyone's rig showing where you stash stuff.

[daveb]

I agree with the "stuff" issue. It's one reason I installed an indoor stove. It's easier to put away and deploy. Now my next high dollar venture that I swore I'd never want is a good video system. I was on the fence about having one of these on board and figured my PC was good enough. Now when using the PC I see how nice it would be to just pull down a screen and fire it up. It's that much less to stow away in the morning. Obviously some don't want or need such a thing, but that is how you need to look at things. Make it easy to use and store things. I've found that to be huge.

[yogiyoda]

Lots of good stuff here. Thanks for the insights.

[Millerfish]

I like pulling a small trailer. This allows us to make a base camp and leaves the van more available for side trips.