youre camping style suites me just fine....even as a mid 40s adult i tent camped...put a motorcycle in the back of my f350, tossed in my tent, coolers etc and off i went (usually to the vintage fest at barber motorsports park) OR i rode my tourer (tent & sleeping bag strapped to the pillion seat)....and in my younger years as a Boy Scout (before they got diluted like they are now), i camped at least once a month and most of my entire summer break (50 mile hikes etc).
BUT....(here it comes & you knew it would).....
I like luxury too (even when i tent camped, i ate & drank well...and as much as my friends who joined me laughed...they too appreciated some luxuries - even if it was only in our belly).
we purchased our coach knowing we would (continue) to make runs back and forth to the northern tip of virginia (from houston)...ours is used more like a station wagon than anything.
my wife is happy, being able to see & spend time w/ her parents more - and im happy being in our own "home" (w/ a cool beer) in FRONT of my mother in laws house on the curb
running our 10k generator can be expensive...and i (too) like my Air Conditioning....if i didnt, id pitch a freekin' tent (again).
even in front of my MIL & FIL's house i can grab some A/C current from the 20a outside receptacle and easily run ONE of my air conditioners, the fridge, my basement cooler & the converter charger, as well as an LCD tv....in those scenarios we use propane for the water heater.
I find (when dry camping at a race track), during the day, i can survive on the batteries for lighting & running my basement (
duel voltage 65qt) cooler....generally (at the tracks) we dont need air conditioning during the day, since we're not usually inside during these events....then in the evenings ill run the generator for air conditioning etc...but primarily to charge the batteries while we sleep.
im considering adding some solar panels on the roof to reduce if not eliminate the need to run the generator (unless we need air conditioning, the microwave, coffee pot or TV).
ive learned to like the 12v lighting - its bright and efficient and for us, it means we dont necessarily need to run the generator, especially if were going down the road (at night)....we tend to travel at night a fair amount & i found it necessary to add some 12v RED LED lighting (at the cabinet toe kick) - so i dont get blinded by the glare while my wife & kids move about in the "house".
the only ISSUE with this is....because there is so much 12v lighting (and a few appliances, like the fridge & water pump) it means you HAVE to have a converter charger. The
converter charger CONVERTS ac current to dc (for the lighting) & recharges the batteries when youre on shore power.
the converter/charger is NOT an inverter. a converter/charger does NOT convert dc to ac.
in fact a converter/charger does the opposite....it converts AC to DC so you can run the 12v powered circuits.