I stayed at a campground for the
first time in a camper van during
the off-season, and I didn't
think it was worth the price
Insider,
by
Frank Olito
Original Article
Posted By: NorthernDog,
2/27/2021 9:48:12 AM
I'm the first to admit that I'm a city person through and through, so when I booked a stay at a campground for the first time, I was immediately apprehensive. I decided to rent a luxury camper van back in January and looked into campgrounds around New York City. I was surprised by how few campgrounds were open during the off-season, but, eventually, I booked the Philadelphia South/ Clarksboro KOA campground in Clarksboro, New Jersey, which was just outside of Philadelphia. When the weekend came, I left my city apartment and ventured into the unknown world of campgrounds. Here's how
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Knotwyrkin 2/27/2021 9:52:20 AM (No. 709731)
So, the city-slicker writer was ignorant before, during, and after their experience. Must be a Xiden voter.
75 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
oldmagnolia 2/27/2021 9:57:14 AM (No. 709738)
Around NYC is the great outdoors????
37 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
earlybird 2/27/2021 9:59:10 AM (No. 709740)
I won’t subscribe or turn off ad blocker, but this is not my idea of camping. To be in a “campground” in a camper with a gazillion other persons in campers is not camping.
43 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Ming 2/27/2021 10:01:49 AM (No. 709744)
If this moron is typical of the urban elite, it's no wonder our cities do so poorly financially and otherwise.
66 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
Highlander 2/27/2021 10:06:17 AM (No. 709754)
In a real crisis of survival, guys like him would die off first.
68 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
clayusmcret 2/27/2021 10:08:54 AM (No. 709758)
Well for starters, stupid people should probably not try new things. They get too confused. Then, that was not a luxury RV. That was a van with camping equipment installed. Finally, don't do your research? You'll end up in a suburban neighborhood looking into people's back yards. This gent had "kick me" written all over his body.
57 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
earlybird 2/27/2021 10:09:21 AM (No. 709759)
Managed to get past the hurdles with Reader. This was just what the author billed it as being. A chronicle of his first experience in an RV in a KOA campground near Philadelphia in the winter. Anyone who expected anything more is definitely disappointed.
I was immediately surprised to see the campground was located in the middle of a suburban neighborhood — even though I didn't check the location beforehand. While this one was well-located for my visit to Philadelphia, in my mind, campgrounds are located in the middle of nowhere and tucked away in dense woods. Pulling up to the campground, I instantly knew all my preconceived notions were about to be proved wrong.
A campground in a suburban neighborhood with a gift shop is not what most real campers would expect. And the cost is horrific compared to prices where one is really ourdoors near something special.
He freely admits that his discomforts were all a result of his own mistakes. (How rare is that?)
Not at all interesting unless the reader is interested in knowing what this is like. I’m not.
PS to the snarky: Most of those who go to these places in rented RVs are city slickers.
20 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
Thos Weatherby 2/27/2021 10:10:54 AM (No. 709762)
All I read was his complaining about social distancing and wearing masks, that don't work. He's in the wrong business.
24 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Lesthanzero 2/27/2021 10:11:21 AM (No. 709763)
What the author described is not camping but sleeping in a luxury camper vehicle parked in the suburbs and expecting urban amenities for pennies. God help us if this notion overtakes the true campgrounds of our myriad national and state parks and forests.
23 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
anniebc 2/27/2021 10:11:44 AM (No. 709765)
Moral of this story-don't go camping if you're stupid. City folks, good grief! My military family used campgrounds as stop offs when cross country PCSing by car.
28 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
bad-hair 2/27/2021 10:20:11 AM (No. 709774)
Driving around in 85 feet of RV with your 3 slide-outs and a TOAD (Towed, get it, yukyuk) and setting up in a KOA is certainly NOT camping. 100 grand up front and 4 miles to the gallon will buy a LOT of hotel and nice B&B rooms .that you don't have to maintain.
Not only that, but if i get the urge I can sign the guest register as Grizzly Adams
18 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
lakerman1 2/27/2021 10:22:13 AM (No. 709778)
Another whiny, whimpering NYC denizen. The very definition of loser.
I bought a new VW camper, 1969, while in graduate school. One of my sons owes his very existence to that double sleeping bag!
I would buy another VW camper of that era (not their current junk) but a restored one costs 100,000 dollars.
And my face still flushes with joy when I recall puling up to the Ausable River in the Adirondacks, parking and fishing the catch and release stream at Tournament Falls/.
The writer of this article is an urban dunce. Stay in the city, dude, and get sucker punched by psychiatric patients.
Stay out of our outdoors.
42 people like this.
The guy is an idiot on so many levels.
30 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
mc squared 2/27/2021 10:30:02 AM (No. 709789)
A campground near Philly? You'd think he be aware of the indigenous animals.
21 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
Ribicon 2/27/2021 10:32:09 AM (No. 709794)
A first person account from the type of extremely self-centered New Yorker who makes himself instantly unwelcome when he moves out of the city. Complains about the price, complains that features such as the swimming pool are closed for winter. Gets snippy about the rental office gal not wearing a face diaper, complains about it to company HQ, then whines about a jumpy toy being closed because of Covid. Can't be bothered to listen when the guy explains the electric hookup, then freezes in the dark because he failed to being a flashlight and because it turns out that solar panels don't work at night. Doesn't bother to research the campsite ahead of time, then complains that there's no beautiful beach or epic seaside cliff. Go back to the Rotten Apple; misery loves company.
46 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
happywarrior 2/27/2021 10:38:06 AM (No. 709804)
#3 you might want to turn off your ad blocker just this once to read how this dumbass from the city couldn't even figure out how to plug in a cord! And who would go camping without something as simple as a flashlight?? I think my IQ went down just reading this soy boy's article whining on and on about the horrors of RV camping in.....suburban NJ!
27 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
lftrn97 2/27/2021 10:41:07 AM (No. 709808)
Wait...you mean solar panels don't work at night.
27 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
bgarrett 2/27/2021 10:51:31 AM (No. 709822)
Author cant plug in an extension cord. Doesnt have a flashlight. Thinks sleeping inside a van in the city is camping. I look to see if the author is a woman. Frank, turn in your man card!
25 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
LadyHen 2/27/2021 10:54:06 AM (No. 709827)
Dumb dumb, there's a reason all those RVs head to FL and AZ in winter.
10 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
Terry_tr6 2/27/2021 10:54:18 AM (No. 709828)
we have a KOA we visit for fall leaves in the blue ridge that is small, heavily wooded with the sites backed up to a small brook. 4 or 5 miles to a small town with great restaurants and regular shopping including super markets for supplies. Just a few mlies from a nice stocked trout stream and a number of very nice water falls. a few more miles to spectacular overlooks. Friendly and helpful staff that keep it immaculate AND most campers came by to admire out Trump truck window picture. One couple even apologized for their state going democrat. No i am not going to name it. they already have plenty of business
20 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
Geoman 2/27/2021 10:59:27 AM (No. 709836)
The article and author seem mighty queer.
16 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
joew9 2/27/2021 11:00:04 AM (No. 709837)
In tropical climates there is a sector of people who can survive only because it doesn't get cold and food is plentiful year round. They are dumb and lazy people. They would die off in the cold climates. There are also some smart people in the tropics but there is always a plentiful supply of the dumb and lazy.
Farther north where it gets cold in the winter dumb and lazy people can't survive unless some smart people help them out. This guy qualifies as one of those who needs the help of the smart.
However, I think from his writing it shows that he probably is smart enough to learn. But he is basing his whole dissatisfaction with camping because he hasn't learned. He needs to camp with someone as an apprentice before he strikes out on his own. And then he needs to start using his brain. You don't have to be trained for everything you can do in life. But you need to be smart enough and have been challenged enough to know you can figure something out yourself. I was amazed that he couldn't figure out how to plug into the power in the dark. He didn't have a flashlight!? I could've done it with just the light from a match.
His liberal arts degree never challenged him to do anything except liberal arts. I bet he lives in New Jersey where you aren't allowed to pump your own gas so he has never had to learn how.
18 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
Maggie2u 2/27/2021 11:02:48 AM (No. 709839)
So he whined to Corporate that the receptionist wasn't wearing a face mask. This is a man but his name is Karen.
33 people like this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
BlueRidgeMtn 2/27/2021 11:06:04 AM (No. 709843)
Tale told by an idiot.
26 people like this.
Reply 25 - Posted by:
Condor44 2/27/2021 11:07:43 AM (No. 709845)
An original Pajama Boy!
23 people like this.
Reply 26 - Posted by:
Grackle 2/27/2021 11:08:19 AM (No. 709847)
I'm dumber for having read this.
Summary: man who says he doesn't like camping to begin with tries camping in the worst possible way and does not have fun.
20 people like this.
Reply 27 - Posted by:
MDConservative 2/27/2021 11:15:08 AM (No. 709852)
My hope is that his wonderful account dissuades others like him from taking to the road.
Not long ago we encountered a young, independent woman at Yellowstone who slept in her Smart car because she couldn't figure out how to erect her brand new, self-erecting pop up dome tent, leaving early because she was uncomfortable. We offered to help...she was independent, you know. The instructions were there in the box.
21 people like this.
Reply 28 - Posted by:
wideout 2/27/2021 11:16:58 AM (No. 709855)
Such a loser...most assuredly a Biden voter...cannot figure how to figure to plug in the electricity?...what did he think was outside of Philadelphia?...Yosemite? Parents should have enrolled him Scouts or had him enlist in the service to gain the common sense his parents did not impart upon him, instead of some worthless liberal arts education at some overpriced private school.
21 people like this.
Reply 29 - Posted by:
motorcycleboy 2/27/2021 11:17:23 AM (No. 709856)
This idiot probably just needed an adapter for the 30-amp plug, they probably sold them in the office, where the campground store was.
Hard to believe he actually published this, and somehow thinks he's doing a public service by showcasing his total ignorance and inability to adapt to the simplest challenges. And there were many of them, seemingly most of his own making. They all overwhelmed him.
His most basic problem is, he lacks intelligence.
16 people like this.
Reply 30 - Posted by:
bogeegolf 2/27/2021 11:17:55 AM (No. 709858)
It would have been worth it to me just to see someone not wearing a mask.
12 people like this.
Reply 31 - Posted by:
Jen103143 2/27/2021 11:31:06 AM (No. 709877)
I might be a woman, born in a big city, (Indianapolis) but I know I would be smart enough to have taken a flashlight and figured out how to plug that big thing into an outlet, rather than freeze all night. I would also be ashamed to admit that stupidity to the public! The iPhone has a flashlight too!
18 people like this.
Reply 32 - Posted by:
Chuzzles 2/27/2021 11:34:43 AM (No. 709883)
This article right here is why when or if it ever comes, urbanites will not survive any kind of national catastrophe. Most likely the big urban blue areas will look like reality versions of Escape from NY. But we small town/rural/country folks will do just fine. Thinking for yourself, and being self sufficient will do that for you.
I have been camping in the winter as a teen, and yes it was cold, but Dad had a great wood stove inside the tent, properly vented and we stayed snug and warm. Given the guy had an RV, I truly do not understand his problem.
12 people like this.
Reply 33 - Posted by:
stablemoney 2/27/2021 11:47:26 AM (No. 709891)
I could never see buying an RV and driving that around, finding a place to park it, when I could drive a car much cheaper and faster, and stay at a motel 6 for a lot less money. It's a personal choice.
9 people like this.
Reply 34 - Posted by:
pmcclure 2/27/2021 11:48:04 AM (No. 709893)
A KOA campground in the dead of winter near NYC as a test of RVing? Whose stupidity is greater - the author or the publisher?
14 people like this.
Reply 35 - Posted by:
bigfatslob 2/27/2021 11:50:52 AM (No. 709897)
First mistake parking, not camping, in a KOA where people are stacked one on top the other to make money and the most expensive place to park. That's not camping I like the boondocks with no people around. I have a travel trailer and camped in the dead of winter while it was cozy inside. The city slicker writer of this article sounds stupid as any liberal does.
10 people like this.
Reply 36 - Posted by:
davew 2/27/2021 12:22:14 PM (No. 709918)
There are people who enjoy recreational vehicle camping as an adventure and temporary escape from their structured lives and then there are people who live in RVs because of something within them that simply doesn't want to participate in normal life and fixed relationships.
The best movie I've seen in a long while was "Nomadland" with Frances McDormand and David Straithairn. The film is more a documentary with most of the cast being the real people who migrate through Nevada, Arizona, California, and New Mexico and live nomadic lives in mini-vans and dilapidated old RVs. They barter for their needs or work local jobs at fast food places or park attendants to support their minimalist existence. Most of what they enjoy is the sharing of this experience with other nomads each of which has their own reasons for living this way. Some eventually return to connected families and houses and "normal" life but some simply reject that for their own individualist reasons.
Its a small movie but very well done and worth finding on a streaming service if you have the time.
5 people like this.
Reply 37 - Posted by:
Laotzu 2/27/2021 12:25:47 PM (No. 709922)
Too funny. A New Yorker thinks Philly is the great outdoors.
The piece confirms my pre-existing conclusion that outspoken urbanites typically are really, really stupid about everything other than how to ride a subway.
12 people like this.
Reply 38 - Posted by:
JackBurton 2/27/2021 12:56:56 PM (No. 709945)
Two words.
Flash. Light.
Google it. (Or use the light feature on the back side of your phone, wot?)
5 people like this.
Reply 39 - Posted by:
bad-hair 2/27/2021 1:10:18 PM (No. 709955)
All this moron needs is drugs.
We have acres of homeless things camping on the Streets of San Francisco every day for months on end.
We need a government program to buy them ALL $80,000 campers.
4 people like this.
Reply 40 - Posted by:
earlybird 2/27/2021 1:11:56 PM (No. 709958)
I am astounded at how many view a camper in a KOA campground with electricity and restooms as “camping". And those who do it successfully as survivor material. Those who do that kind of “camping” would never make it in a survival situation.
5 people like this.
Reply 41 - Posted by:
Right Time 2/27/2021 1:13:05 PM (No. 709959)
Wonder if he plastered a Xiden/Harris bumpersticker on his rented RV?
Or maybe a Coexist sticker?
6 people like this.
Reply 42 - Posted by:
Mushroom 2/27/2021 1:50:53 PM (No. 709983)
*face palm*
Spousal Unit Prime and I are avid RVers. It may be a night in WalMart (very rarely) or a small park at or near our destination. Or it might be a reststop just to catch a couple Zs or lunch. And my preferred combo: A Ma and Pa rv park off the beaten path or a true resort.
KOA is ubiquitous and some of the worst prices you will ever find. Everything adds to the costs, I did note that nothing came OFF the bill for being closed. :) Don't believe everything gets added on? How about KOA prices sites for 2 people. Children are extra. ( I'm going to bypass the foolishness of doing this at the drop of a hat in a rental in (and still shaking my head) winter.
I'm going to stick to WHY RV?
I was a road warrior type technician. I lived hotel to hotel and got home when I could. That brings me to my first reason.. No bag drag.
That alone is almost the only justification I need.
However there is more, in no particular order...
You wake up in known surroundings, all your stuff is there, No questionable biological items in your bed (i.e. Bed Bugs, the rest I will leave to your imaginations).
Your schedule is your own. Zero problem if you want to take a daytime nap etc..
As to places, most destination vacations ( Grand Canyon, Yellowstone etc) have a hotel option. In each there is a much cheaper, if not more meaningful experience in the campground.
In general, an RV is not cost effective until you get to multiple children and a easily drivable destination. I don't do it to save money. I do it for the other reasons I mentioned. I don't have kids so that doesn't even factor in. I have visited relatives by pulling up to the property and using a 15amp outlet. (I have a quiet generator if I needed air conditioning , every light in the thing is LED so no big deal on draw).
Last but not the very least, I do live in the boonies, my front porch has a beautiful view. But, we do get frequent power outages and such. If I find ourselves in danger of flooding (or more likely) forest fire. we can leave in the MH. Maybe we will go to Philly in Feb!
6 people like this.
Reply 43 - Posted by:
coldoc 2/27/2021 2:01:18 PM (No. 709987)
Classic city dude ignoramus. Needy and dumb. Go back to the city where you belong.
5 people like this.
Reply 44 - Posted by:
mariboo72 2/27/2021 2:12:17 PM (No. 709995)
Yeah, the guy is being a little whiny but camping is a learning experience. You have to go into it knowing that you will make some mistakes. It took several camping experiences before we learned all of the ins and outs of it. We still camp close to home for our first outing of the season because know that, no matter how many lists we make, we are bound to forget something.
5 people like this.
Reply 45 - Posted by:
picturelady 2/27/2021 2:21:34 PM (No. 710005)
What a whiner...
3 people like this.
Reply 46 - Posted by:
red1066 2/27/2021 2:36:38 PM (No. 710011)
Next time stay home bozo. If not wearing masks scares the hell out of you, then your dumber than the rocks you parked on. Social distancing? Your outside! Just another socialist writing a piece proving to himself and others like him, just how superior they are to the knuckle draggers that don't live in the oh so superior confines of a crime infested city run by other Socialists.
8 people like this.
Reply 47 - Posted by:
Philipsonh 2/27/2021 2:58:34 PM (No. 710022)
We use a flashlight in the dark, but then, we have no interest in writing articles to show how ignorant we are.
5 people like this.
Reply 48 - Posted by:
DVC 2/27/2021 3:01:00 PM (No. 710023)
"The Insider"......LOL! Yeah, like staying indoors all the time.
And "camping" in NJ, "just outside of Philidelphia? LOL!
Sorry, those are NOT places I would EVER even attempt to use the word "camping" for.
And city folks in a "luxury camper".....laughing again.
Get a tent and a backpack and head out into a REAL wilderness and then you'll know. But I am CERTAIN that Frank wouldn't like it. PLEASE stay in your city, Frank. You won't like the wilderness, and those of us who do, won't like you.
7 people like this.
Reply 49 - Posted by:
DVC 2/27/2021 3:02:58 PM (No. 710024)
Yeah, #14, there are some large feral wildlife forms there that are exceptionally dangerous....and I'm not thinking of the bears.
3 people like this.
Reply 50 - Posted by:
chumley 2/27/2021 3:09:05 PM (No. 710029)
I've never been RV camping, but done plenty of tent camping over the years. A tent, some folding chairs, a cooler of booze and a battery radio is enough. Bring or cut firewood if you want. Maybe a jug of water for washing and you're all set. And guns. Dont forget your guns. In the winter a propane heater is nice but not required.
4 people like this.
Reply 51 - Posted by:
DARling 2/27/2021 3:18:26 PM (No. 710034)
When adversity rears its ugly head, this whiny soy-boy and those of his kind will self-cull, due to their clueless ignorance of the basics of simple survival.
He is a reporter but does not have the research skills to check out gear online? One cold weather sleeping bag could have solved most of his vacation problems.
3 people like this.
Reply 52 - Posted by:
OldBuffalo 2/27/2021 3:21:45 PM (No. 710039)
He didn’t have a flashlight on his phone? What a Putz
3 people like this.
Reply 53 - Posted by:
Timber Queen 2/27/2021 3:31:42 PM (No. 710046)
Reminiscent of that article by the whiny New Yorker that her Trump neighbors had the gall to remove the snow from her driveway, causing her untold angst because she had to thank them. If this is an example of the younger generation, I'm going to start smoking more cigarettes. I'm ready for the call Home.
5 people like this.
Reply 54 - Posted by:
WV.Hillbilly 2/27/2021 3:35:25 PM (No. 710050)
A good rule for camping in January: a good sleeping bag.
You won't freeze in a good one, fruit cup.
5 people like this.
Reply 55 - Posted by:
Alfalfa 2/27/2021 6:10:25 PM (No. 710111)
I’ll ignore his other observations, but who doesn’t have a flashlight in their vehicle?
2 people like this.
You little wussie! I pitched a tent above Platoro, Co. Reservoir in October. I slept in a bar ditch with my shotgun waiting to kill a few crows at 5 am for a corn farmer and got ate up by sand fleas. Spent a night or two sitting in a field waiting for coyotes to come in after smelling frog blood that I spread on my clothes. Woke up one morning at another camp to a chain saw over my bunk wielded by a guy who drank his way to dawn (he later dumped a full load of weed into the Carribian by crashing his Cessna and got picked up by a Danish freighter).
Don't know how I got here, but I have a '64 Airstream 28 foot Ambassador and I will continue to interact with the deplorable gypsies...makes life interesting 😊
4 people like this.
Ah, he just missed the gunshots, sirens, garbage trucks, and bus fumes. And, those twinkly things in the sky? they are called stars. Probably thought he was a Navy Seal.
2 people like this.
Reply 58 - Posted by:
Violet 2/28/2021 8:00:50 PM (No. 710929)
What kind of an idiot travels without a flashlight? Or worse yet, camps without a flashlight?
0 people like this.
Reply 59 - Posted by:
djmed 3/1/2021 10:31:32 AM (No. 711342)
stories like this make me feel like the world's most interesting man
0 people like this.
Comments:
Dumber than a box of rocks. Camping in the dead of winter and he got cold. Was surprised it was dark at night.