TCM visits the 2023 Texas Truck Camper Rally and asks fellow truck campers why they love truck camping. Note how many folks had a large motorhome or a fifth wheel and made the switch. Camera, tripod, and microphone check. It’s a video!
Above: If the above video does not play, click here to watch it on YouTube.
The Story Behind The Video
For 2023, Angela and I set our truck camping sights on the West. Departing already sweltering Florida in late April, we made a curving B-line for Texas, Harvest Hosts hopping along the way.
With how crowded and expensive campgrounds have become, I honestly would not want to go truck camping without Harvest Hosts at this point. What started as a curiosity over a decade ago has become a reliably fun way to discover new places and experiences. Oil rig museum anyone? Yes, please.
Above: Testing out my new metal detector while camping on Texas beaches
Once we reached the Lone Star State, we camped on multiple Gulf of Mexico beaches for free. I can hardly believe that’s possible, but we stayed for days on end working on this very magazine for bupkis bucks.
Okay, there’s a $10 permit that lasts for a year, but really? If you haven’t noticed, $10 is basically a $1.98 now. So yeah, we camped for free on the Texas beaches (as in wheels in the sand with waves and seagulls) for about a week. Try that anywhere in Florida. Or New Jersey. Or California. Thank you, Texas!
Above: Sea glass (and pottery) finds from another Texas beach
And we got to go sea glass hunting and metal detecting in the process. I found a 1944D penny. Dig it.
Above: The 2023 Texas Truck Camper Rally group shot
All of this was a prelude to a most triumphant return to the annual Texas Truck Camper Rally. Sponsored and organized by Princess Craft RV, the Texas Truck Camper Rally is in its 11th year. Angela and I attended the first two Texas rallies, then another in 2017, and hadn’t returned since. We were getting long overdue notices from our Texas friends; no fines, but the brow-beating was relentless. Of course, we were longing to attend and truly excited that this year the Texas ‘stars’ lined up for us.
No surprise; the rally was phenomenal. We caught up with old friends, made new ones, and learned so much from our fellow truck campers for three days.
Everyone is so open and friendly, and the Princess Craft team works their hearts out to make sure everyone has a good time.
Above: Princess Craft RV’s Texas Truck Camper Rally organizers: Tonya Cavazos, Caitlyn Torrence, Lindsay Buerger, and PJ Buerger (with Johnny photobombing)
Good barbecue. Amazing conversations. And I may have danced a little on Saturday night to the Merles, but I would never admit it in these fine electrons.
If you haven’t been to a Texas Truck Camper Rally, two-step your way back to that bucket list. More photos are on the Texas Truck Camper Rally Facebook page.
Why We Love Truck Camping: Texas Edition
A few weeks before we left Florida, I bought a new camera and was excited – and anxious in all senses of the word – to try it out. Angela suggested we make another, “Why we love truck camping” video, like the one that we made at the 2019 Gettysburg Northeast Truck Camping Jamboree. That video was well received and tip-toed me back into the video-making game. Good idea, Angela. As always.
Above: Shooting a segment of the video at the rally
Long story short, the weather was very Texas. When the oppressive heat settled down, the clouds rolled in. As you’ll see, the clouds made everything a bit drab, but the spirit of truck camping beams through.
What amazed us was how many of the rally attendees bought a truck camper after owning a large fifth wheel, travel trailer, or motorhome. Also, note how these same folks generally gravitated to multi-slide truck campers. They kept as much interior space and storage as possible and gained the ‘Go Anywhere, Camp Anywhere’ capability no large fifth wheel, trailer, or motorhome can match.
Thank you to everyone who put up with my rusty video production chops at the rally and did an amazing job on camera. Nearly every soul on the planet dislikes being put on camera, myself included. You guys were fantastic and helped me get my first video in far too long in the can.
Thank you, Texas friends!
