How many people?

[user 30781]

I was thinking last night about what camping/living situation I'd need to feel perfectly comfortable.  For me it would be being able
to see a few more rigs at a little distance.  I'm pretty much a recluse, but I do like to know there are other people not too far away.
I don't mean I don't ever like to socialize, I do, but not a lot. :blush:

What are your preferences?  Out in the middle of nowhere with no one else around for miles?  Densely packed RV park?

Somewhere in between?

What got me going was watching Bob's video about his new ambulance and him mentioning that he wanted the
4 wd so he could really get out in the boonies.

 

[JasonMcD]

I would say 5-8 people that i am familiar with and comfortable being around and that i actually like, would be at most all i would need. If i were traveling in a caravan, i would say no more than 3 vehicles, 4 at most. Having others around would be a nice safety net, especially if you plan on staying at a place for a little while. It would allow several people to stay at 'camp' while others might want to run into town and pick up supplies or something.

 

[user 30781]

That actually sounds about perfect to me. And I didn't even think about needing to leave camp.

Of course it would be good to have someone else to stay and keep an eye on things.

 

[user 423]

I'm a lone wolf when I travel each summer but have a couple of other nomads that I run into sometimes that I could trust. I stop at campgrounds sometimes and like to visit with other campers,so not total isolation then.

Sometimes at auto car shows/swap meets where they allow camping over a weekend. Those can get busy though.

A good situation is a location that's large enough that it doesn't get crowded and you have room to move off by yourself if you need to. Especially on weekends.

 

[travelaround]

I've usually traveled alone but one morning, parked/sleeping alongside the Klamath River Highway, I woke up to find another van parked nearby. I cannot tell you how that thrilled me. Yes, there's safety in numbers, but I'm not afraid to be alone either. I'm interested in joining a caravan to see how I like it when I start traveling again.

 

[user 30781]

It's funny, 30-40 years ago I wouldn't have been afraid to be alone at all.

Seems like other people have gotten more dangerous since then. Camping alone in a turnout
on a dirt road a mile off the highway on the Olympic Peninsula in the 70s? Hell yeah!

Doing it now? Hell no, there might be crackheads out there. I can deal with a bear (locked in my van)
or maybe even a sasquatch, but not crackheads. Or just plain lunatics.

I've gotten ascairt in my old age. lol

 

[user 30781]

I'm a lone wolf when I travel each summer

This is me and mostly because I like to stop for various reasons.  If I see a gravel bar on a river I'm going to stop and
go look for rocks for an hour.  But it would be fun to travel with a small caravan like from a winter campsite to
a spring one.

 

[user 423]

Yeah, I'm a part-timer now but I'm hoping to go full-time this fall and hit QZ. Then I'd like to find a couple of chill compadres to caravan with for the spring/summer departure.

 

[WanderingRose]

I am not one for many miles down dirt roads, and think my favorite campsites is federal of one sort or another with toilets and water available.

I do everything from WalMart parking lots to roadside pullouts to full service campgrounds, the latter generally saved for return visits to favorite places.

I am less interested in large groups as I get older, smaller groups on occasion are okay.

I have been RV’ing in a ClassB for 20 years, the past 7 of those as a widow with a dog.

I have pulled into a few places that I promptly pulled out of, but have never once time been accosted or otherwise felt I was unsafe.

I don’t carry a gun, and believe most people mean us no harm.

 

[RoamerRV428]

Mutt and Jeff situation for me.

Hubby IS SO social and wants that interaction and I AM SO NOT that person.

so we do inbetween.

despise close packed private cgs with amenities.
I want alone, secluded state/federal parks etc. or out in the boonies.

hubby is put me right in the middle of the action.
ugh LOL

So I book mainly great out of the way state parks, small COEs etc and somehow he finds those few people around to chat with and makes 'best buds' somehow with not many people around

so yea inbetween, I can do it all, he loves people but I can just put up with them enough to let him do his thing.
but when I need secluded he gives that back to me.

so not a loner person in my travels, but when I am, IF I ever am......going off the grid into the less people the better but put me within decent driving distance to some general store for supplies, don't need people, need other crap LOL
that about sums it up for us right now

 

[user 30781]

I don’t carry a gun, and believe most people mean us no harm.

Yes this is true.  Maybe I'm a bit more paranoid because I live in an area with a pretty bad drug problem.
I've seen and heard about what desperate people will do.  Or what just plain a**holes will do, we have
plenty of those too.

 

[Ravella and X]

Variety is the spice of life, ya?

I relish being the only person in sight/hearing. I can hear the world turn.

Love having a few good, quiet neighbors for a little while (preferably people who don't want to spend the whole day every day together).

Occasionally like to spend a little time in an Escapees park or Escapees co-op park. No other kind of RV park compares.

 

[WanderingRose]

Locked up inside whatever vehicle you have, you could drive away before anyone could break in.

Guns, crowbars, sledgehammers are not part of this equation, but those things are a rarity in my experience.

You could still drive away from almost any situation that made you uncomfortable.

There are people who believe that carrying weapons and making an armored vehicle out of their rig keeps them safe, but it’s really about people and situational awareness, locking your doors, etc.

We keep ourselves safe.

You could run into a person crazed on drugs or off their meds psychotic, but that could happen anywhere at any time.

But rarely does.

In my experience.

Don’t live and travel in fear. Get out there, smile and greet every person you meet.

 

[user 423]

The often sensational 24-hour news cycle doesn't help much with how people view the risks out there.

 

[Gypsy108]

You could still drive away 

What if they shot/slashed your tires ?    THEN WHAT ????

 

[WanderingRose]

I would drive away on rims, if need be.

That’s why we have insurance.

I’ve never heard of that happening to a person overnighting in their vehicle, tho I guess anything could happen it seems unlikely.

 

[user 423]

There are a million "what ifs" but in reality something happening to you on the road is rare.

Not to say that it doesn't happen but if you use common sense precautions, you will be OK.

 

[travelaround]

Don’t live and travel in fear.  Get out there, smile and greet every person you meet.

YES to this... don't travel or live in fear. Things happen, true, but not very often. Don't worry about what might happen when it isn't happening. You're supposed to be out there having fun, and fear is not fun.

It is good to be prepared, and to have situational awareness. But don't dwell on scary things that aren't actually happening to you.

We may have this problem because of all the true-crime shows on TV frightening people with details of the very rare bad things that happen.

 

[maki2]

This is a non issue, meaning finding camping where you can see someone else camping in the distannce. Or at least not seeing them in a direct line of sight but passing their camp on the way to yours. If you are camping on BLM or NFS areas where the roads are in reasonably good condition and the area is within a reasonable drive of a town and gas stations you will be seeing other people camping in the area when the weather is reasonably warm, meaning not freezing cold all day long. Dispersed camping areas for van dwellers are actually not all that dispersed. They are faily limited and found along the roads where motor vehicle traffic is permitted. That is a fairly small range of locations in a section of public land.

It is solitude that is much harder to come by. For that you need a high cleearance vehhicle preferably with 4 wheel drive and the abilitty to carry a lot of water and supplies.

 

[hugemoth]

The thing that makes me uncomfortable is noisy neighbors, wild animals excepted. Most of my friends are early risers as am I so we're in bed by 8 or 9. My preference is to camp alone or far enough away from others that I can step out and water a creosote bush when needed. My little truck camper can go places bigger rigs dare not tread.

As far as feeling safe, that has never been an issue. The only weapon I carry is a fly swatter.