I wanted to post this update sooner but life is busy….and painful. I am not going to draw this out with fluff so I’ll get right it. Our last trip almost broke us because our towing hitch was stolen that weekend. We did not realize it was gone until we were packing up to go home Sunday morning. Imagine that feeling when you realize a complete stranger took your expensive property. We have no idea if it happened at the fair or at the campground, River Forest Campground.
Your body responds negatively and panic settles into your gut. Your angry, frustrated, and your mind goes through all the reasons this could have been avoided. But the deed was done and we were hitchless. The one RV store open does not have anyone knowledgeable in parts in that could understand what we were looking for. The poor sales guy was clueless and we were frustrated.
The campground was very accommodating and permitted us to keep the RV onsite until we could find a way to get it home. We drove the 90 minutes home and immediately went to the RV store down the road. Long story short….they said we’d have to buy a new towing system and expect to spend $400+ for it.
I went home and scoured the internet. Our towing system was old and I could not find anyone selling that model. But I was determined to keep looking. I went to Craiglist and after hours of scrolling I found a guy 20 minutes away who was selling the exact hitch we needed! YES!! I responded to that ad and by Monday evening we were on our way home with the hitch for only $100. Can you imagine how good it felt to have everything line up in your favor?!?!
On Tuesday, the hubbins and one of our sons went to pick up the RV and brought it home for me to get it ready for winter. I was happy but the sting of someone taking your property was still fresh. In all of our years of camping, we’ve never had anything stolen or heard anyone ever say they had their property stolen.
Is there a lesson here? Hell yea! We are buying a lock for the hitch!! And, if we are going to be in a public area where people are coming and going, store the darn hitch in the camper. Unfortunately, this event pushed everything I wanted to share about the campground our of my memory. This event has painted this campground with a sad memory. It may always be “the campground where we experienced the evils of humanity”.
We plan to go to the State Fair again next year. I don’t know if we’ll stay there again. But here are pictures of the one main issue I had with this campground. The not-so-nice bathroom.
So, the fried chicken and onion rings from the restaurant was meh, there wasn’t a general store for the kids to spend our money, and the bathrooms were….mmmm…let’s go with grimy.
Our camping season is over but to those out there grinding it out…HAPPY CAMPING!!
BlackCampers 
Sorry this happened to you……The final turnout was positive……I’m sure you weren’t the first and will not be the last!
You live and learn….Thank you for positive outlook on camping!
You know what they say about karma being a _____ and so on. So, the people who stole your property will eventually get what they deserve. Glad you were able to locate another one and get your rig home. I am currently building out a cargo van into an rv to start camping as a beginner. Wondering if you have ever gone camping in the late fall or winter. We are vin Southern Calif so we don’t have the extreme weather challenges in the winter.
Hello and nice to me you.
Sorry to hear about your sad incident. Our worst fear as well and I will be purchasing a lock as soon as possible.
We are new to the camper travel trailer / RV world and ownership. We are located in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Canada where there are very little or next to no black owned TT or RV participate of this type of leisure lifestyle. I can literally count on one hand over the years where I have ever bumped into a person of my ethnic camping in luxury style.
My purpose for this post is to reach out to you and find out if there are other community groups of our ethnic culture that participate in this type of travel that my family and I can join and follow?
P.s we enjoyed reviewing your blog 🙂
Look forward to hearing back from you soon!
Miguel Regis
Hello to you black campers out there. I’m brand new to the Camping World, when I say new! I mean new. I bought a new 2019 5th wheel about 2 months ago and I’ve been going through what I call “growing/learning pains.” I’m on my first trip across country and I’m enjoying it, but I’ve had to spend monies that were not in the plan. I busted out my back window, I lost/broken some sentimental items that I hung on the wall, and I was forced to stay in a motel for repairs on my home/5th wheel. I will be heading back to Texas once the repairs are complete. I’m trying to find a travel group that don’t have fees attached. I’m a black heterosexual female that wants to travel when I can to see parts of the U.S.A. Are there any groups out there.? If so contact me at Cindy_rich54@yahoo.com……God bless you all and have a wonderful day.
Posted 25 June 2019
Hey camping friends. I have not been able to log into this site. I created a new home that still uses the http://www.blackcampers.com domain. Hope to see you soon!