Is it camping or RVing? Are they the same?

With the spring camping and RVing season just around the corner I’m getting a little antsy for our first trip. I’m not sure what early trips we’ll make, but we’re already booked for Memorial weekend with a short trip joining family at a park in northern Indiana.

But I think about our camping trips and how they’ve changed – mostly because of the change in equipment. I’m one of those people who like to discuss things – sometimes to the dire end. So, we have this discussion – are we still camping even though we’re going in our travel trailer?

I remember our early days in the tent with all of the comforts of the outdoors – the outdoor cook stove, lanterns, a “camping” coffee pot, grill, sleeping bags and bug spray. Then my husband needed to add a fan and TV to the list, as well as an air mattress. Apparently, the ground was getting harder that it had been in the past.

Then we went to the popup camper – it got him off the ground and gave me that outdoor feel that still let me believe I was camping out. I enjoyed the popup, and it gave us a few more conveniences. But after some years of this, my husband again tired of the setting up of camp. If we arrived late, it was dark and more difficult to get everything ready – and beds always had to be made.

So, came the day that we went “camper” shopping, i.e. travel trailer. My husband so wanted a trailer that could be backed into a site, and with less effort, ready for the weekend in mere minutes. I went into this a little less enthusiastic. We settled on our 29-foot Jayco, and I must say, it is very nice. But I still ask, are we still camping?

It’s not that we are indoors more when we’re at campgrounds, but it’s not the same having the wind blow through the wide open screens of a tent or even a popup camper. And, let’s be real, we use the AC now. Yes, there’s TV with surround sound, a microwave and the kitchen is all indoors now. While I don’t mind this when bad weather moves in, I still wonder if we’ve lost something.

My husband says absolutely not – this is heaven. He loves camping – you can find him at the campfire almost the entire time we’re out! And he loves his travel trailer. It’s perfect, or near perfect, he says. But then I wonder why he is looking at a fifth-wheel travel trailer and even at some of the smaller motorhomes.

I don’t think our conversion is complete yet, but I’m holding him back a little. I’m not ready for a “camper” with a sauna yet.

So, tell me what do you think? Is it still camping? And please, share some of your favorite camping/RVing experiences with us! Happy camping, I can almost smell the campfire!