@Dixie Highway You are 100% NOT wrong. I travel a lot for work as well. Getting to a hotel, getting checked in, unpacked, and "there" is FAR faster and less expensive than a camper. You're right.
I'm going to lump camping into a single "pool" here. Wether it's in a tent off the beaten path, or in a $250k Class A in a luxury resort, we'll assume that the setup, cost, and time is all the same. SO when I say "camping" I'm including whichever level one might want to consider it as, even though there are countless different ways to experience it.
The benefits of camping for us are multi-faceted. We get the "outdoorsy" feelings of being out of the house, and being more "rugged" than just staying in a hotel. We're essentially outside for an entire weekend, or longer. This is HUGE for someone that gets cabin fever quickly and easily, like my wife. The change of scenery, pace, and feeling of being outdoors is a monster boost to her attitude in general. This is 100% a "lifestyle" type choice. There is no logic or reasoning to it, it's just kind of a "feel" thing. We're more comfortable in general in a campsite, than a hotel lobby. Just more "our speed" if that makes sense. No real good way to explain it.
We have something the kids can do. If we check into a hotel with two boys, we're immediately inundated with "I'm bored". When camping we can just point them the other direction and say "go play", and they'll figure something out. Sure the time to get to that point is longer, but once there, the possibilities of what the boys can do are far more open. Go ride a bike, take a walk around the campsite, find a stick and make it a sword, all kinds of stuff. They both love being outside, so just tossing some monster truck toys in the dirt will keep them from being bored for an hour or so. These possibilities are endless here, and the benefits cannot be understated. Having taken the boys on trips to hotel based stay, and a cabin based stay. The level of work required by the adults to keep the kids from going insane, and then driving the adults insane, is far less for us with an outdoor base location.
Typically camping is a little easier to deal with loading/unloading the boat. We can take our time with being right there with it. No elevators, stairs, lobbys, or parking lots to deal with. We can hang out our towels, and let them air without leaving the boat in the parking lot and being concerned about security. I typically don't have to lock things quite as tightly in a campground as in a hotel parking lot, I acknowledge this has nothing to do with location and everything to do with my comfort level and prejudice of what caliber of people will be around the boat where it's located. Overall, with a campsite, boating is easier than in a hotel. The only time it has been easier in a building than a campsite was when we rented a cabin with a private dock. Once the boat was in the water, it was there for the week. We don't have the budget for that on any more than once a year.
Speaking of budget, it's somewhat inherently less expensive to camp than hotel. If we consider lodging a wash on money (which honestly hotels are probably less expensive than a moderate camper/truck combo, and campground fees), food becomes less expensive very quickly. A family of 5 is easily $50 for decent food. We've spent $30 on McDonalds. That's $450 for food ($75 meals for 2 days) for a two day trip. We can camp for $100 for the weekend on food, and that includes drinks for the adults at night. While total cost over the course of a year is probably a wash, camping comes in smaller more frequent hits, which are typically easier on the budget in our experience. Sure there's an argument that we should be able to budget for a whole year, then pull from that pot, and all the discussion that comes from that. It's for another thread though, and the end result is that cashflow is a thing, and camping is easier on tighter budgets from a monetary aspect.
Again, you're not wrong. There is certain appeal to just showing up, unpacking and being done with it. Shelly and I take the boat and do that once or twice a year as a "date weekend" or similar. We've done it for our anniversary, as well as just to get away. I just don't think it's the right fit for the whole family, although we will undoubtedly give it a try at some point or another. Honestly the appeal of just showing up, is why we're even considering a permanent, or semi-permanent campsite. We just show up, unlock the door, and all our "stuff" is there. Just need to bring food and some simple clothes with us for the weekend. The boys would even develop friendships with other campers in the grounds, and that would even add to the lack of resistance to going, and "I'm bored" portion of the weekend.
A happy medium between tent camping, and hotel stays is what we're really after. Where that is, I'm not sure we've decided yet.
