Tent vs. Titanic vs.Toter

Tent camping is fine fun.

We’ve done it for many years. It is an inexpensive way to camp. However, there is that business about how much work it can be to set up and break camp—to find a level spot that does not become a bog or lagoon when it rains, or does not have rock outcroppings or a nest of fire ants where you intend to sleep. You can carry equipment to increase your comfort level, but then you have all that equipment to deal with. You have to pack and unpack it, use it, then repack and unpack it again. It’s actually amazing what you can get into a small car. A friend of ours has been known to assemble a veritable village from the contents of a small SUV. I have accused her of being Mary Poppins. (You remember that scene where Mary Poppins pulls a hatrack from her carpetbag.)

There are two countervalent laws of camping:
  1. It’s never possible to anticipate every need, and
  2. Whatever you bring, you have to deal with.

Titanic camping is also fine fun.

The RV lifestyle would not be so popular if it were not fun. Mobile luxury is an attractive idea. The downside is that it is not for the faint-of-wallet. The idea that you are going to save money on hotel bills seems to get lost in the fact that you are traveling in a vehicle roughly the size of a small aircraft carrier whose mileage is measured in gallons-per-mile. Then you show up and have to park the Titanic somewhere—and that somewhere will likely cost you as much as staying in a nice hotel. (That is assuming you stay out of the mini-bar in the hotel). And, there’s no room service and no maid service. You have to maintain the Titanic yourself unless you bring your butler and upstairs maid along. (Ka-Ching Ka-Ching Ka-Ching!) (or unless some family member can't stand to spend a day without something big and nasty to clean). There’s a lot to be said for having a mobile base-of-operations, but sadly, the natural limitations of traveling with such a huge amount of impedimenta dictate that you will spend your days lumbering down the road in a vehicle with a humongous outside and not quite enough room inside. Then at night, you will park cheek-to-cheek with the other behemoths where only the power amps and subwoofers on your mobile home theatre will drown out the din of the several dozen generators within earshot.

Then there’s the Toter.

The Toter tows easily behind almost any small vehicle. Your gas mileage will not be significantly worse than it would be for the vehicle alone. When you arrive at your day’s destination, you do not have to find a place where the contour of the ground matches the contour of your backside. Nor do you have to find a place big enough to park the Starship Enterprise . You do not need the elephants to help you raise the Big Top. (We usually leave the elephants at home and set up a 10’x10’ Easy-Up if we need additional shelter or privacy.) In 10 minutes after arriving, we are set up. We lift the kitchen hatch, chock the wheels, deploy two leveling jacks, crank down the tongue jack, uncouple the trailer from the car (if appropriate), put down a couple of mats. If there’s electricity, we can plug in. Otherwise, the 12 volt system does what we need (including running those important primping devices like hair dryers and curling irons). The Toter is small enough to take almost anywhere you would take your vehicle. Yet it’s roomy enough for two friendly adults to sleep in comfort. The Toter is insulated, so it stays warm (or cool) and reduces the ambient sound level significantly. The windows are screened, and open for ventilation control. A 12 volt fan keeps it from getting stuffy. A 12 volt electric blanket gives all the heat you need. We have a small 110 volt heater and fan for winter camping, and a few minutes of the heater will warm the Toter to almost uncomfortable temperatures.