Finding Caravans??????

[Troutbum]

I am totally new to all this and trying to learn the basics about hooking up with Caravans and other members etc.

So I joined the "Meetup" website and navigated to the "Caravans" page where it shows there are currently 3 Caravans in groups 2W,3W and 5W with a total of 6 attendees between the 3 groups as of 7/25/2019.

But it also shows that there are 1,496 members in the group.


Is this correct that there are only half a dozen folks currently active in the Caravan groups or am I missing something or on the wrong website,page or group???

Any help appreciated Thanks

 

[highdesertranger]

Welcome Troutbum to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

check your PM's

we know very little about the caravans. they keep us in the dark for some reason. so unless some one reads this who is actually in a caravan I don't know if we can help you. it all seems rather odd to me and we asked them to keep us informed on what is going on but they didn't want to. they gave us a bunch of silly excuses. if you ask me the caravans should all have a sub-forum right here.

highdesertranger

 

[Troutbum]

Thanks for your help.
I spent a good bit of time trying to figure it all out as there does seem to be a total disconnect and it seems odd that it is not integrated into this forum since the same people appear to have created the Caravans/Meetup aspect and most all of those 1400 members are probably members here also.

It could be a lawyer reason like liability or something. Or maybe it's a safety/privacy issue since they are sort of involved with pairing humans with other humans which could open up a giant can of worms on many different fronts.

I guess a secret society is fine as long as I'm in it Lol.

 

[highdesertranger]

yeah sorry about that, but keep checking maybe someone will chime in. highdesertranger

 

[michaelwnoakes]

yeah sorry about that,  but keep checking maybe someone will chime in.  highdesertranger

There are a lot of meetup members, but only those listed as attending a given caravan are in that caravan. In the listing it will say how many people are currently in the group and how many openings are still available.

The caravans are limited to being small for summer, due to available room at camping locations. The national park areas and blm land don't allow the mass that is allowed in the winter like at the rtr.

 

[highdesertranger]

just to clarify, the number of people in a group has the same limit summer or winter. Bob gets a permit for the RTR and with that assumes the liability and numerous other restrictions.

also I believe you meant National Forest not National Parks. in National Parks it's a whole different ball game.

highdesertranger

 

[Troutbum]

With only 6 out of 1400 members on the "official Caravan list" maybe most of the folks have already gelled with a regular set of traveling companions that stay together?
Does the amount of Dockers drastically decrease that much during the summer? For lack of camping spots?
Sorry for the 50 questions but as a prior bookkeeper my OCD just can't work out this number disparity and a red flag keeps popping up in my brain Lol.

 

[highdesertranger]

I can't speak for the caravans as I don't know. but in general most people pack up in the winter then in spring they all break up to all points of the compass. only to pack back up the next winter.

by pack up I mean gather in groups(packs).

highdesertranger

 

[rvwandering]

Troutbum - the lack of people in the caravans now is due to two things. It's hard to find boondocking spots that are large enough for a group and also have ideal temperatures and cell signal. The second and main reason is that everyone scatters when the weather breaks so the interest in the caravans is not as great.

I think a lot of people joined but don't participate which is pretty common for anything on the internet.

If you're close to any of the locations head over and check them out.

 

[wildbill]

so,,,,,,,there is a shortage of boondocking sites????? Not what I was lead to believe.

 

[maki2]

In the summer time there is a shortage of free boon docking spots that have a cluster of more than a couple of empty spots especially in the areas that are relatively close to towns or have roads that have easy access. Very much especially for the pleasant to be in ones with shade near the water and for spots with no pesky skeeters or flys or no-see-ums. Lots of competition for those spaces you are lucky if you find one open space, finding a half dozen together...dream the impossible dream but don't count on it coming true.

 

[annabell]

Hi. I am not a part of the caravans, but I can talk about the meetup website, which I am a member of in other groups.

With meetup, there are groups you can sign up for, like the caravan group, then specific events you sign up for within a group (which I am assuming is a specific caravan).

Look at it this way- let's say I live in Dallas and I looking for people who want to go to dance parties. I set up a group looking for people who want to go to dance parties.

Lots of people then (hopefully) join my group.

Then I schedule a party, and some people sign up for it.

That's what you're seeing- the big number is the people who have signed up for the group (like my dance party group and the caravan group) and the events, with the much smaller numbers, are the people within the group who have signed up for an event (for my dance party or for a specific caravan).

If I have over explained and misunderstood your question, I apologize.

 

[annabell]

With only 6 out of 1400 members on the "official Caravan list" maybe most of the folks have already gelled with a regular set of traveling companions that stay together?    
Does the amount of Dockers drastically decrease that much during the summer?  For lack of camping spots?  
Sorry for the 50  questions but as a prior bookkeeper my OCD just can't work out this number disparity and a red flag keeps popping up in my brain Lol.

Please don't look at it that way. There is no "clique" of people who are in the caravans. 

A huge number of people signed up for the group, and most will never decide to attend a caravan. What counts is signing up for a caravan. They just want to know who wants to go and how many people to expect. That's all. It isn't exclusive.

 

[annabell]

   
Does the amount of Dockers drastically decrease that much during the summer?  For lack of camping spots?  

Bob has said many times in his videos that finding free land in the summer is much harder, given that it would have to be at much higher elevation. That is only reason he has not developed caravans in the summer. If you know of a great summer spot that is free, and would be willing to be the caravan contact, I encourage you to let Bob know. He has said often he is willing to have more caravans if he has more people willing to set them up and be the contact.

 

[annabell]

if you ask me the caravans should all have a sub-forum right here.

highdesertranger

Hi hidesertranger. As a mod, can you not create that sub forum?

 

[highdesertranger]

yes but I am not involved in the caravans. when I first suggested that way back when they were first starting, they didn't want to because they wanted to limit information. they cited privacy issues. odd, like they are/were hiding. they said they wanted to control who had access to the caravan information. highdesertranger

 

[B and C]

It is probably the only way they have of limiting the number of attendees. A sub forum might turn out like the Summer RTR. We all know that went sideways.

 

[Elbear1]

Ive seen extremely populated areas mentioned above, in fact this perplexed me so much I joined this forum tonask WTF? but the west is huge and the amount of high elevation public land is vast. Im in the Uintas and theres miles of group camping space everywhere just along the one road im on.

 

[B and C]

The problem there would be cell service and reasonably close to a Walmart.

 

[66788]

I've dropped in on a few active caravan groups in Oregon. Lots of space for dozens of more folks, space is not an issue.

Personally I don't see the need for cell service or Walmart. My security and well being don't depend on either.