5 reasons to switch from a caravan to a tent

Your trailer, you love it and I'm glad you love it. You look good. Whether it's with your family in the fifth wheel, as a couple in the tent trailer, or solo in your teardrop, you have a great time. I know you're usually a satisfied RV owner, that it's mission impossible to get you to "lay low". But I'm trying to have fun anyway, okay?

Tent camping allows you to enjoy breathtaking views without having to pay for overpriced accommodations. Most RVs require direct vehicle access, which affects the quality of the sites. It often looks like a golf course where the lots are literally on top of each other. Some campgrounds abuse a bit and make the most of every piece of land to get the maximum number of lots. To develop them, they often had to proceed to a massive cutting of trees.

In a tent, it is possible to find real gems! Wooded, vast, with a breathtaking view on the lake, isolated from the world on an island or on a beach. For example, at Camping Val-Jalbert our site was a private domain on the river. This family campground offers a pool, water games and a playground. As we were camping as a family, we stayed there taking advantage of the infrastructures without making any compromise, in the shade of a forest canopy, the soft murmur of the river to which we had direct access.

There are many good ways to enjoy your vacation. Some people stay connected, others banish electronic devices. Maybe you're flexible and don't want to bother with it? That's fine! But if your intention is to quit and you can't, a tent might be part of the solution. I think there are several factors that help you break away from your usual life rhythm, such as the environment, daily tasks and minimalism.

Firstly, if you are surrounded by lush nature, you are more likely to be contemplative. Secondly, the many tasks involved in setting up your camp and feeding yourself are a departure from your home life and keep you busy, so it's plausible that you spend less time on Facebook. Then, the minimalism of your home gives you the opportunity to relax. For me, as a rule of thumb, the less stuff I have, the more I relax. 

A 1000 km road trip in an RV for 4 people has a carbon footprint of 0.42 tons of CO2 or 0.10 tons MORE than by plane! The same road trip by car has a carbon footprint of 0.19 tons. Cycling and backpacking are carbon neutral or mobilize a negligible amount of CO2 according to the literature which suggests that the cyclist or hiker must eat a little more than the car driver.

But we agree that it's green, and a beautiful green at that! 1000 lbs of furniture will have required 9 tons of raw materials (or if you prefer 3 hippos) and will have emitted 1.2 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. Outdoor equipment, by definition less dense, requires much less material and has a smaller carbon footprint, not to mention ultralight.

Camping in a tent is very economical, as you can imagine. But do you know how much? According to the study I found, an owner's expenses average $1124 per year - not including the cost of the vehicle, which ranges from $15,000 to $500,000. These expenses include insurance, maintenance, storage and equipment purchases. As for expenses during the trip, they peak at about $260 per day for a family of 4, 38% of which is dedicated to fuel - between $75 and $250 a tank of gas. (These figures are from 2019, imagine that now!!).

By being smart, it is possible for a tent camper to equip himself for less than what it costs for a single year of RV maintenance. Even being the self-confessed princess that I am (I want the best view, the best food, longer, more often), I often come in under budget when planning my tent trips, whether they are urban or bucolic. Traveling in a tent is cheap!

All set? You've got your gear, tent and cooler in your tank, ready to go? You can stop for a hike or discover what's waiting for you at the end of this narrow road. Just turn to port!

With your trailer, you've probably found some tricks to park without too much hassle. You're good, but you can't park in downtown Trois-Rivières on a whim to enjoy the microbrewery: Le temps d'une pinte. Sometimes you give up on the idea of a mythical roadside restaurant and have to give up on the best guedille in the region.