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We just bought our first TT, just moved up from a pop-up.  With the pop-up we kept everything in the van.  Now I need suggestions as to what to pack in the TT.  What not to pack. Paper vs plastic dishes.  I'm a real newbie when it comes to camping in a TT.  We/ve tent camped and pop-up camping  for 30 years.  So we are really excited about this new adventure.

Suzy-Q

Thanks for the post.  We're picking up our TT on Thursday.  I've been trying to figure out how to put sheets on the bed with the different size cushions.  How do you do it?   What do put in the cabinets?  This is all new to us. Once again , thanks for your suggestions.  I'm going to Wally World  tomorrow to check out the hanging shelves.

Suzy-Q

Thanks Kim,

Your hints were wonderful.  My husband has taken the solarpanels that we used for the pop-up and is going to install them on the roof of the TT.  We plan to use solar power whenever possible.  We are planning a trip to Padre Island, TX this winter.  So I'll have a few months to get our camper ready.

Somehow I'm going to rig up a curtain to separate the sleeping/dinette off from the kitchen.

I'm sitting on pins and needles waiting for tomorrow morning when we pick the camper up.

Suzy-Q

Ummm the Seashore may not be packed, but you will find people there year round.  We have a bunch of "Winter Texans" (read snowbirds) that call TX home during the winter.  The Rio Grande Valley and along the coast are popular destinations.

The nice thing about Padre is it's really long and there's plenty of room – however, there are parts of the island that can only be reached via 4 wheel drive.

Regarding Mustang Island…..

Over thanksgiving, we took a 3,200 mile trip from Michigan to Texas. On the drive down we stopped for a sleeping break at a rest stop in Southern Illinois and one rest stop outside of Dallas. After the rest stop in Dallas, we camped at the Guadalupe River State Park-

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/pu….._001.phtml

 for several days while visiting family in San Antonio.

We then drove to Corpus Christi camped on Mustang Island State Park-

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/sp…..ng_island/

for four days while visiting family. The kids loved touring the Texas State Aquarium and the Lexington.

BTW, Snoopy's, under the causeway bridge to Mustang/South Padre Island has the best seafood in the world!!!!!!

Regarding both state parks, they were peaceful and the sites were clean and well maintained. We were used to the shower amenities in Michigan where you have your own locked shower room. Both parks in Texas had a shower area, three banks of showers, separated by curtains. That being said, the most important thing to me is that they had hot water and good pressure. The shower and bathrooms were clean but dated. The showers and bathroom on Mustang got dirty quick due to the sand everywhere more than anything else.

Both had water and electric hook ups, both were excellent. For the water hook ups, we attached a water filter purchased at wal-mart to the hose. The water from the TT tasted like bottle water!

On Mustang Island state park you are close BUT you do have privacy based on the set up. You have your own grill, picnic table and covered area (see pic below), behind us was only dunes and beach. The reason we were there after seeing family is for the beach which is walking distance from the park. We had our windows open all night long, there was a steady breeze and we could hear the surf crashing, soooooooooooooooooo peaceful, the stars in the sky were awesome. The park was packed over Thanksgiving (quite a few Canadians) but it was so nice and peaceful, perhaps the time of year, perhaps because of the snow birds.

We were thinking of staying on the South Padre Island Sea Shore but didn't do it because there was no bath facilities, electrical or water hook ups. Been to both beaches, Mustang by the park is more secluded than Padre.

If we were to go back we'd definitely do Mustang and Guadalupe again.

BTW, we purchased the annual Texas pass for $60 which gave us free entry to any Texas State park for a year, the camping fee was like $14 for Mustang Island and $17 for Guadalupe (Electricity and water included). 

One more thing! I picked up free Texas parks Wifi at both parks by the main offices. On Mustang, I even was able to surf the net from the picnic table at our camp site since the main office was close by.

Hope this helps!

Here's pics of our spot on Mustang Island-

 

Julie,

For the past two years we've tented at Tahquamenon, Pictured Rocks, Cheboygan, Ludington, Mears by Silver Lake and decided we needed to get a TT. We're planning a trip to Florida this winter break, my middle daughter who's 12 and loves horses wants to camp in Tennessee or Kentucky next spring and plans are for a two week trip out west to Mt. Rushmore, Devil's Tower, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Jackson Hole and then some in the summer! 

It was incredible how many Michigan natives we've run into out last trip to Texas! Also, I didn't realize how beautiful Michigan was till we started camping, now we're hooked!

John

Post edited 6:46 pm – October 11, 2011 by Suzy-Q

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Hi Everyone!

 This past October we did a Florida vacation.  It was our last trip in our Pop-up.  We left OK on 9/30 and returned home 11/4.  It was a perfect time to go to Florida.  Highs in the mid 80's lows in the 60's. our 1st stop in FL/GA border was Lake Seminole COE.  The entrance to the Parkl was in Chattahooce, FL. but the campground is in Bainbridge, GA vy nice and quiet. Restrooms vy nice.  We stayed with family on our way to Disney.  We had to days at Disney and we stayed at their CG.

Ft Wilderness.  The campsites were fantastic.  We were there in their off-season,so the cost  was cheaper $44 per night. 

  Our farthest destination was Key West.  We had reservations for Bahia Honda SP.  I highly recommend you do reservations  on most of the parks.  We were very disappointed with the CG. The sites were small, but private.  The mosquitoes were aggressive.  The traffic noise from the causeway was non-stop.

We thought we were lucky to have a site right on the water, so we could hear the waves while sleeping, WRONG.  Ear plugs were the only solution for sleep.

  If you plan on going to Busch Gardens, you need to stay at

Hillsborugh River SP. It's a 15 min trip to the park. The CG is very well maintained, the restrooms are vy nice.  The campsites are large.  The skeeters are very few, they get fogged once a week. 

  On the panhandle there are 3 wonderful SP's ST Andrews in Panama City, Grayton Beach in Destin and Topsail Hill in Santa Rosa Beach.  In Pensacola, there is a National Seashore to camp in called Fort Pickens.  They have water & electricity.  If you like seafood the place to go is Flounder's Chowder House.  Save room for dessert, The Key Lime Pie is to die for. Yum!!  If you want to buy seafood go to Joe Patti's in Pensacola.  It's huge.

  John and I prefer the west coast to the east coast, but east coast has some very nice SP's.  Anatasia in St Augustime is beautiful.  The sites are shady, close to the beach.  The skeeters aren't too bad, another is Faver/Dykes outside of St. Augustine.  It's very nice very quiet.

  On down the east coast there is a CoE near Lake Ocochobee.  We haven't been there, but I heard it's very nice.  Near Cape Canaverel is a CG called Jetty Park, very nice.

  You can have a very nice Florida vacation without ever going to the theme parks.  Do a swanp tour or an airboat ride to see the real Florida. As you can probably quessed We love Florida.  We both grew up there.  It's a nice place to visit,  but I don't want to live there.  The humidity in the summer is awlful.

  I hoped this helped.  Next year we are planning a NW adventure.  Now that we have a TT it's going to be a lot more fun.

Bye for now…Suzy-Q