The Social Side of RV Camping - Rallies

N

NC 57

Recycles dryer sheets
Joined
Nov 23, 2012
Messages
112
I'm starting this new thread in response to a question posed to me on another thread. I was asked by AJ to expound on rallies. Here goes.

DW and I bought a 3 year old Airstream trailer a year before retirement (3 years ago). We expected to spend time traveling around the USA and Canada by ourselves.

However, we started reading the Airstream forum (similar to this one) at Airstream Trailer & Motorhome Owners Community . We discovered Airstreamers had a formal club (the WBCCI) which hosts rallies and caravans. We also discovered there are a number of independent rallies organized on Airforums. Soon after acquiring our trailer we visited one of the larger independent Airstream rallies in January 2011 at Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. There we met some wonderful people who have been camping together for a number of years. They invited us to meet them for another gathering at an Alabama state park in the spring which we did. We now meet up with this core group 3 or 4 times per year. Plus we joined the WBCCI and belong to a unit that schedules monthly rallies in the southeastern region. We attend 2-3 of those rallies per year and have met some great folks there. Lots of early retirees in both groups and great people to be with.

Currently we camp about 100 nights per year. I'd say 25-30% of the time is related to meeting other Airstream friends at rallies. The remaining time we spend traveling on our own. The social aspect of camping was totally unexpected for us but has been a wonderful addition to our retirement experience.

Note that other brands have clubs and there are some non brand clubs and forums as well. So you can get a flavor for these rallies I'll attach a link to videos made of a few recent Airstream rallies. I'll be happy to answer specific questions on this thread or via PM.

Canopener 2014 Airstream Rally

Alumanlina 2013 Rally

Alumapalooza 2010

Airstream Europe Gathering 2013
 
Thanks for sharing this NC. Hadn't even occurred to me that there would be "camping clubs" so to speak. It sounds pretty fun and I will definitely do some inline research on them. I love the idea of hanging around the campfire, strumming the guitar, singing some songs and shooting the bull. Maybe there's a picking and grinning camper's club out there! ;) Thanks again!
 
There are lots of groups out there - many are specific to a RV manufacturer, suc as Forest River Owners Group, there are RV specific groups, such as for truck campers, etc, and also some by hobbies : canoeing... We are just not group camping people. We are on the road about half the time, and prefer our own agendas. But, there are still people we meet occasionally or talk with in online communities. Many own plots of land across the country and permit people known to them to camp free a few days. Look around, you'll find them.

Also, check out Rv.net which has large sub forums broken down by a RV class, geographic areas, and publicizes many clubs and rallies. A great learning spot, as well.
 
Last edited:
I second rv.net. It is a great forum. I am doing a build log there on the camper we are building which will be our only home. Just installed the NovaKool DC fridge this past weekend!
 
Looks like fun! You have me thinking about them now.
 
AJ,

Lots of picking and strumming going on around campfires all over the country. For the most part RV owners are great people. I've found them to be extremely friendly, helpful, fun loving and sociable. They put on some great pot luck dinners!

Another dimension of the RV camping life I didn't mention was caravans which are essentially themed rolling rallies with multiple stops. The WBCCI and other groups will organize trips to various locations. Some are as few as a few days and others last as many as two months. Destinations for the caravans of 20 or so trailers and/or motorhomes include the Alaska Highway, Newfoundland, the Lewis & Clark route, a tour of the southwest, a trip down the Atlantic seaboard, etc. There are clubs that organize caravans and private companies in the business. The WBCCI website has a good description of caravans and some detailed descriptions of some of the WBCCI caravan trips.

Buying the travel trailer and hitting the road has been the best thing we've done in retirement. I hope to see you out here someday!

Chuck (Florida 55 on Airforums.com)
 
My wife and I intend to do a lot more RVing once retired. We have a motorhome, and I can take one of my old cars along on the trailer. Plan to hit a lot more car shows, and see a lot of the country. We will have to see about some of the social clubs. It seems a good chance to meet folks with similar RV or other interests.
 
We bought our Airstream Argosy from a guy who was very active on the AIRforum.com site. What was nicest about it was we could see his entire renovation through his posts about the process, and felt more confident in the workmanship because we could see it. And it helped when we had to do our own work in later years. Hidden benefit of participating on those forums for sure!

Ours is a 1976 28 MH. I always thought we'd get active in the rally stuff when we ran out of overseas travel we wanted to do. It does look like a lot of fun!
 
This thread makes me feel like an anti-social.

We may make small talks with neighbor RV'ers in a campground, but have not participated in any rally or event. As introverts, we would be worn out in a short time.
 
Last edited:
NW-Bound said:
This thread makes me feel like an anti-social.

We may make small talks with neighbor RV'ers in a campground, but have not participated in any rally or event. As introverts, we would be worn out in a short time.
Click to expand...
+1

We aren't club/rally participants. Being nice to other people is too much work. :)
 
Walt34 said:
:LOL:

Spoken like a true introvert!
Click to expand...

No, more like a cranky geezer. "Get off my RV pad!"

Unlike me, who is a "kinder and gentler" introvert.
 
NW-Bound said:
This thread makes me feel like an anti-social.

We may make small talks with neighbor RV'ers in a campground, but have not participated in any rally or event. As introverts, we would be worn out in a short time.
Click to expand...
I can identify with this. Plus, it seems like most campers have a different outlook on life - as in they aren't the kind of people that I'd seek out in my own town or neighborhood.

Or maybe I'm just a snob. :LOL:
 
travelover said:
I can identify with this. Plus, it seems like most campers have a different outlook on life - as in they aren't the kind of people that I'd seek out in my own town or neighborhood.

Or maybe I'm just a snob. :LOL:
Click to expand...

No, we have to ask ourselves if we want to befriend somebody like ourselves. :cool:
 
Last edited:
I think it's pretty funny that a thread about the social side of RV'ing is now getting a lot of comments from folk who are talking about the anti-social side of RV'ing :D

Mind you, what else would we expect from a bunch of ER's, given that we established a long time ago the over-abundance of introverts here?

Truth be told, I'm the same. I do like to know my neighbors well enough to be able to do occasional favors for them, and to ask them in return but beyond that, I'm not into a great deal of socializing. I imagine I'd be the same if RV'ing. This leopard is not about to change his spots!
 
I was just kidding in above posts. ;)

I recently told a story of entertaining a life-long friend back from high school in "the old country". I have not seen him in person for perhaps 11 years, and we exchanged emails once every 2 years. I invited him and his wife to spend a week, but his wife could not make it, and he came to stay only 2 nights.

On the 2nd night, I felt we ran out of things to talk about, so put on a DVD and we watched it together. Tells how talkative I am in real life.
 
Last edited:
Major Tom said:
I think it's pretty funny that a thread about the social side of RV'ing is now getting a lot of comments from folk who are talking about the anti-social side of RV'ing :D/...
Click to expand...

I hope we are not scaring newcomers away. :ROFLMAO:

I do make friends with neighbors, particularly up in my high-country home where hermits and introverts abound. Yes, we talk to each other about twice a year. :)
 
I wouldn't call us introverts but I still don't know the names of the neighbors on either side of our house and we have lived here 14 years.
 
Fermion said:
I wouldn't call us introverts but I still don't know the names of the neighbors on either side of our house and we have lived here 14 years.
Click to expand...

That sounds like a Jeff Foxworthy-type one-liner as in, "You might be an introvert if you've lived in your house for 14 years and you still don't know the names of your neighbors!"

I'd classify myself as a big introvert (though not particularly shy) yet I do my best to find out a little about all my neighbors. I like to know enough about each of them such that I can briefly chat with them from time to time. It helps me feel a part of the area in which I live.

However, after the occasional brief connections, boy do I need my alone time!
 
I don't feel so mean spirited, now that other introverts have spoken up. We have met with members of other forums for a day or two at a campsite, but we're generally boon dockers. Heading out to the Catskills and then to Maine in a couple of weeks. A forum friend owns some land up there, and offered to let us camp there a few days. Of course, he'll be in Alabama at the time. He lives in his rig most of the time while he works.
 
It's interesting, how a majority of forum members - on different forums - claim to be introverts. Perhaps forums are about as close to social interaction as they want to come. If the conversation isn't interesting, we can walk away and no one really a knows.

Right guys?


.....Guys?
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Franklin
anyone pick up golf after avoiding it for years?
2 3
Replies
53
Views
3K
albireo13
A
N
Wisdom needed- Downsizing Renting vs Buying
Replies
15
Views
794
meleana
M
T
Retired 10 years today!
Replies
18
Views
1K
Koolau
Koolau
E
Swim spa cover recommendations
Replies
1
Views
223
CaptTom
C
Happyras
Thoughts on moving to 55plus community
2
Replies
44
Views
4K
pb4uski
pb4uski

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom