Mac on the road as a camper

[gottoaz]

i am considerring a 26M and would plan to use it as a camper travelling between AZ and MN. Could someone give me some idea of the positives and negatives of such a venture?

[Sumner]

i am considering a 26M and would plan to use it as a camper travelling between AZ and MN. Could someone give me some idea of the positives and negatives of such a venture?

We have the smaller S and sleep in it on the road.

cons......It is smaller than a small motel room
...........No shower

pros......We are use to the bed so usually go to sleep faster
...........When we get were we are going we have a sailboat

We like staying in it, but will get a room if we haven't been able to find a shower somewhere. One thing I'm doing for this year is setting things up, so that the boom with the sail in a cover can stay up on deck, so it isn't in the way below.

Also I wouldn't like it if we wouldn't of................



..............raised the mast up. It is now high enough that the pop-top can go up at night and clear under the mast. Also the mast now clears the bimini, so we can use it on the road at night if for some reason we want to. With an X or M you wouldn't have that problem for the cabin top, but I'm not sure about the bimini.

We figure every night we avoid a motel room on the road is money in our pockets to spend on the boar or other things. The same on the water. We have never stayed in a marina to this point, so have saved all of that money. Now on the other side we have probably spent over $1000 on good anchors, a danforth came with the boat and we bought a 22 lb. Bruce and a Fortress FX-11 and have a Manson Supreme 25# on back order. These all have 20-30 feet of chain and 2 have 3/8 3 twist nylon and one has 7/16 line (all 200 feet). We also have two 3/8 X 200 foot 3 twist nylon shore lines and one 7/16 X 200 foot 3 twist. Our savings by avoiding the motels and marinas has gone into that equipment and we can sleep pretty good on anchor.

Have fun whatever you decide,

Sum and Ruth

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[Captain Steve]

used ours as a camper on one trip. The campground dint now what to charge a sailboat so let u stay for free. Our neighbors in the campground all wanted tour of our Mac. And we raised the mainsail after dark to show some slides on it as a screen. Ended up with a big crowd watching some pictures of our early family camping trips. An original Big Screen Production!

[Boblee]

Our is used almost as much on land as water it allows us to take our time getting from A to Z and as for comfort we travelled for years in a camper trailer which is basically a trailer with a fold out tent and a kitchen and the Mac is soooo much easier but not as good at travelling to outback places off the beaten track.
You need to modify a bit but in the long run not drastically we have raised the mast holders and made the rear one adjustable, this allows full head height with the boom tent deployed and bimini up, we have the potti and a shower under the rear seat, the barbque is usually on legs on the ground to keep boat weight down and we carry spare water in the tow vehicle, we also keep many stores in the tow vehicle too.
Not sure how long we have lived on the boat but it's well over 14 months and it's been absolutely fantastic, occasionally we get someone asking how we can live in such a small space but if we give them a tour it's usually "you have more actual room than our van".
From my view there is absolutely no other boat except an that can go close in giving us so much flexibility.
We do carry the boom complete with mainsail and cover still attached to the mast and it saves so much time but you need to raise the mast carriers.
Hope this works photo bucket have changed things.

[denisesjoy]

What have you done for a shower on the back of the That is our main concern, everything else is great.
I will have to look at raising the mast carriers it seems a good idea.
We have lived on our boat for 10 days, but the water was fresh and beautiful (Myall Lakes)......the only problem being was the porta-potti capacity and the flushing water leaks, as they apparently do ........and the lack of sun for our solar panel to keep the food frozen
Love my

[James V]

At the campground you may not be able to drain the sink on the ground.

Anybody have a mod on this?

[Sumner]

At the campground you may not be able to drain the sink on the ground.

Anybody have a mod on this?

We stayed in a park in Idaho one night on our way to Priest Lake and we were suppose to be self-contained, so we were careful to not run anything in the sink there. We got there late and left early, so it wasn't a problem.

I read about Wag Bags/Double Doodie bags on this site right after we got our boat and was not sold on them, but we decided to give them a try in our......................



...............new head. We love them and would never go back to a porta-pottie. There is more about them on this page.............

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... ll-09.html

.........probably more than you ever want to know.

If you learn how to take a sponge bath they can feel almost as refreshing as a shower and you can do them in the boat and they don't use much water and you can get just as clean. The same for washing each other's hair. Good stuff to help keep you bonded . If you really need a shower on the road a lot of truck stops have really clean facilities and paying for a shower is usually not that much.

Also we usually stay in Walmart parking lots like a lot of RV'ers as on the road we are just trying to get to the next lake. Their bathrooms are usually real clean the first thing in the morning ,

Sum

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[nedmiller]

We spend nights on our on the road. You can use it like a travel trailer except for the shower and sink issue. I have thought about a sink drain line that has a small tank but it's low priority. The shower in our head has a small sump pump that comes on three or four times during a shower. The water goes squirting out the stern which is a problem in a campground or parking lot! One thing we check for is any public lake with a boat ramp--even a small one is fine--or a decent size river. Then we have no issues and there isn't a camping fee when you drop into the water and anchor! The Mac launches so easily that it's a shame not to be on the water instead of a crowded campground.
SILK

[Doug W]

And we raised the mainsail after dark to show some slides on it as a screen. Ended up with a big crowd watching some pictures of our early family camping trips. An original Big Screen Production!

LOL I have to try that!!!

I camped on mine at a truck stop which had bathrooms and showers. My son and I camped in it below 20 degrees F... but with electricity and space heater, it was luxurious!

Doug

[Boblee]

We only camped in a park for about 10 days in total last year and 5 of them were in Darwin waiting for BRP to come good with the Etec and at all those park we just use a bucket below the outlet and dump it around trees etc.
If you are worried about drips missing the bucket you could push a hose up the outlet to direct it better.

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

We've camped in our 26-X, and also in our prev. boat, a 92 Mac 26-C.
Years ago, we camped at area State Parks with friends and family in individual "tents"...and in my opinion, a Mac camper is likened to a bridal suite at the Hyatt comparable to a tent.

During cold weather, a Mac is easy to warm up with only a small elect. heater, and during Summer heat, the Mac is easy to cool with only a small 5200 btu a/c (set on low thermostat). The Mac has adequate space for the "carry along" stuff and supplies required for camping. The Mac isnt the convenience of an R.V. as a land-camper, but it's definately comfortable and fun.

We now keep our Mac in a Marina full time.

[MARK PASSMORE]

I once had an employee of a Federal camp ground tell me that I couldn’t camp in the but if I rented a primitive tent site and set up a small PuPtent he didn’t care how much time I spent in the boat parked next to the campsite. Just a way to bend but not break the rules.

[The Mutt]

We used our last boat as a camper many times, never had a problem, one plus is that in areas with a boat ramp where camping is not allowed, we were never challenged, our will also be used as a camper when required.

Note:
As a stir I once told a guy who wanted to know why we slept aboard when our boat was on a trailer that the camp ground we were in flooded without warning when it rained , he partner complained the next day that he wouldn't sleep after it started to rain.

Some people will believe anything!

Glenn

[ROAD Soldier]

As a camper 26x would be fine. The last people who owned my 26X actually lived out of it traveling the country camping in Wal-Mart parking lots with their boat. I think they were Missionaries. They are now in Africa doing their stuff there. I am in the Army and had to live out of some real run down small spaces in Iraq when we first invaded but I didn't have my wife with me. I would be content to do the Great Circle Loop in a 26X by myself or with someone else but not with my wife. So what does this has to do with the original post of whether you can use a Mac as a road camper? Well that depends on who you are with and how much of modern conveniences they can do without. Some of pride ourselves on what we can do without, and others are terrified of not having enough.

[c130king]

Now ROAD, I read your other post about watching your Vikings make the Cowboys look like Cowgirls...so come on fess up...

You do have a 42" Plasma HDTV with Bose sourround sound in your boat sitting next to your cappaccino machine don't you...doesn't everybody?



Jim