Camping Reality Check

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camperAL

camperAL

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Joined
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Indiana
Hi Folks,

My Mom and Dad use to RV in the 70's - 80's in a Superior Motorhome. Way back before the internet as we know it, my father use to cut out articles from Trailer Life Magazine and had files he kept on places to go, maintenance and just different aspects of RV Travel. One such article was of a state park who thought very low of campers. He marked DO NOT STAY.  ;D

In some of those files, I found receipts of places they stayed and the costs of the campgrounds. I was surprised to see a campground back then cost $3.00 to $4.00 to stay, along with electric and water. We are talking 46 years now on some of those receipts, which is a ten fold increase of cost. I am sure inflation was much higher.

While I didn't expect the cost to be anywhere near what we pay today for a camping site, I was somewhat shocked by their costs back then on the road. I realize that $3 dollars could buy much more back then, compared to our $3 dollars today. I now wonder what the cost of their motorhome might have been. Best wishes, safe travel!
 
I now wonder what the cost of their motorhome might have been.
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In 1973 I bought a low end mini-motorhome (now class C) for just over $10,000. Of course my pay was maybe 10%-12% of what I got in 1998 (when I retired).
 
Hi,

I checked a few of the places they had stayed at, to see if they are still around. I'd say about 40% are still around. Camper's Inn near Dunnigan, CA is as well as Apache Wells near Mesa, AZ. Of these 40% a number are run down now and I doubt will be around unless $$ are put into the parks. I know they also stayed in Tucson, AZ but not sure where at the time.

While I don't want to dwell on the old times, thought it might be fun to trace there travels on at least one trip if I could.

One thing that stands out, some of the concerns we now have as RV travelers were present then. Camping at malls, areas who aren't RV friendly, speed traps, Boondocking, best places to stay, costs, gas prices on rise, etc. and so on.

One article I saw was a couple who RV'd for $10 a day total cost. Safe travels!
 
It's all relative. Some yearn for the good ole days of $.19 a gallon gas and $.79 a six pack beer. I got married in 1973 and was making a damned decent wage of $5.00 an hour as Class B operator out of Local 756 Electrical Union. My Dad was a journeyman electrician  making $6 something an hour. My wife's mother was a nurse making less than my Dad. Things were cheaper back then and life may have seemed easier but I think we might be looking at those times through rose colored glasses.
 
Costs and "the good ol' days" aside, I think it's always interesting to find old files like that. My grandparents had a popup when I was in my early teens and when my dad remodeled our kitchen they took me, my sister, and my mother on a 2-week trip up to Prince Edward Island. A couple of years later they bought a small TT and took it across Canada and the US on a 2-month trip. They pulled it with a circa 1980 Chevy Caprice Classic. When my grandfather passed away we found tons of maps, CAA travel books, and other stuff from the trip. Quite a fun read in my opinion!
 
camperAL said:
I realize that $3 dollars could buy much more back then, compared to our $3 dollars today.
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I found a neat calculator at www.dollartimes.com. You put in the year and the amount, and it will tell you the equivalent in today's $$. According to the calculator, $3 in 1970 was the equivalent of $19.21 in today's economy. Sounds like campgrounds were a little cheaper then in terms of real money, but I bet they didn't have the same amenities either.
 
When we started full timing in 1998 there wasn't GPS (at least to our knowledge) and we didn't have cell phones. My wife navigated with a map. I can remember being told to turn and then having to back out of a dead end road for a mile with a 37' 5er. Diesel was about $.89 a gallon. If my income stayed the same as the present I would go back to those times.
 
When we started full timing in 1998 there wasn't GPS (at least to our knowledge) and we didn't have cell phones.
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GPS was, indeed, available. My first one was a Trimble that I bought at Oshkosh in 1993 and, though it wasn't moving map, with its navaid and airport database, it made navigation on my flight home much easier. My second one was a Garmin GPS 3 I got in 1997 (not an aviation unit) that, though it had moving map, didn't have a road database to the extent now available, mostly state and national highways, plus towns.

But as you indicate, that wasn't a common thing back then. And cell phones were around, but very expensive and not very common.

If my income stayed the same as the present I would go back to those times.
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I'm not sure I completely agree with that, but there are a lot of reasons I'd give up a lot of modern technology to go back to (sometimes) better years. Still, since it's not an available choice...
 
Hi Punomatic and all,

It seemed you had to let them know if you wanted water or electric back then at that time. A few times that wasn't available. Not sure if they had sewage dumps on lots. Probably had to go to one on the way out. Perhaps that was reserved for the modern era camps that were being built at the time. Anyway, I agree that there were most likely not as many amenities back then.

When we camped at the Knoxville Worlds Fair, I can remember that being pretty nice. Walking distance to the fair. This was most likely built for the fair and why it was so nice.

Hi Joezeppy, Yes it is nice to take a little trip down memory lane and see how things were done and where they camped. I see Dad was also looking at some other motorhomes as there were a few brochures in the files.
 
Gosh you guys are reminding me just how old we're getting!  Its great to reminisce about those old times.  I remember paying 40 cents for a gallon of gas in the Colorado Mountains in 1970.  No way we could afford to pay that much! 
 
Just turned 76 today,, got a card that reminded me that I've reached a "crossroads point"  Older than dirt, but still above it.. ::) ;D
 
utahclaimjumper said:
Just turned 76 today,, got a card that reminded me that I've reached a "crossroads point"  Older than dirt, but still above it.. ::) ;D
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Happy Birthday! If you're like me the best thing about birthdays at our age is - we had another one.
 
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