The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1922-07-05
THE CALL OF THE HIGH
ROAD auto CAMPING
Some Facts About the Fastest Grow.
ing Sport in the World.
IBy George w. Sutton, Jr.)

VI Ciio Populatlon 10 90 u llCCle lnVeSCl-
eating to discover, if possible, the
lure which attracted the original mil
lion. This is exactly what the rest Of
the population is doing-with most
gratifying results. The sport under
the microscope of public inspection is
automobile camping and the thousands
of converts to it's pleasure this year
present ample proof, if any were
needed, that here is something new,
something wholesome and something
practical in the way of recreation.
Back in Robin Hoods day, the
gypsy was picturesque sort Of indi-
often he had to behanged by the neck
until dead before he was properly i'm
pressed with the desirability of cicili-
zation. This was q shame, because,
after all, he had the right idea There
is hardly one of us who has not in
herited from the wanderer of the gilt
terlng wagons a yearning for adyen-
ture and freedom; desire to roam
fthe world at our own sweet pleasure,
with no time clocks to punch, no do
mestic calls to answer.
Formerly, when citizen and his
family desired to go camping, he was
surrounded with inconceivable guam
titles of red tape, inconvenience, ex-
pense and lost time. He had to de-
pend upon rail ads and horsedrawn
vehicles to get MIN to his chosen
camp site. And with his tests set up
in certain spot, it was there that he
had to remain during his limited stay
in the wilds because moving to an
other location called for more energy
than he was willing to exert and more
loss of time than he could afford.
The. whole proposition became
Herculean task, not to be repeated
except by the most adventurous, most
hardy and most persistent, of nature
lovers. To go camping by the old
methods now, with railroad fares sky
high, would call for the outlay of more
time and money than the average man
can afford. Therein lies the great
advantage of motor camping. It is
distinctly sport for the average man
and his family.
The great growth of this new
method of vacationing is due entire
~ to its two main characteristics it
is practical and it is cheap. In other
words, it has been proved by hundreds
of thousands of gasoline gypsies dur
ing the, past two or three years that
automobile camping produces the ut
minimum expenditure of money. That
is why increasing hordes of us, who
previously got most of our adventure
from fiction magazines or wandered
the world through the medium of the
outing pictures in the movies, are
taking to the highways and carrying
our own hotels with us. We have dis
covered, suddenly, if we are in mod
erately good circumstances, that we
can do better globe trotting than the
millionaire with his private car and
Stn oI, o,,l &l,D4 L,
OF the sum he spends we acn take
trip as long as his and get more out
of it spiritually, physically and men,
tally than he does. For the only re-
quirements for successful motor camp
ing are little money, little time,
dislike for crowded cities, love for
fishing and good air, desire to roam,
some brains, a good deal Of natural
dc ency and courtesy, and car not
matter how small and cheap, or even
a motorcycle and side car We can
do proper and profitable motor camp
ing with remarkable ease and lack of
fuss, whether our available time is
weekend or a couple of years.
There are four ways Of going motor
camping. A majority Of gasoline
wanderers pile a miscellaneous assort-
ment of equipment into touring car
or sedan and set up and take down
their tents, beds, stoves and so on, at
each stop. With this method great
care must be used in packing to secure
the best balance. Most beginners
carry infinitely too much equipment.
There is happy medium, only learn
ed by experience. The only disad-
vantage in carrying passengers and
luggage in the same car are that
there is not much room to move
around in and it means all the labor
of making and breaking camp at each
jump. The trailer presents two other
methods of camping. There is the lit
tile commercial trailer in which tents
and other duffle may be carried so
that the leg room of passengers is not
taken up. This, likewise, calls for
But there is another kind of trailer
which obviates this difficulty. This is
the newly conceived camping trailer
which is now being made in as many
different styles by about 20 compa-
MES. These trailers differ in details.
Some collapse, when travelling, to
size not much greater than child's
express wagon; others follow along
behind the car with their roofs fully
expanded and tower above the ton
neau Of the car. All, however, provide
comfortable sleeping accommodations
for from four to six persons and many
of them have, built integrally, eab-
crate cooking and eating facilities,
folding tables and chairs, full-length
clothes closets, tanks for hot and cold
water and other aids to comfort on
the road. A loaded trailer, contrary
to the opinions Of the uninitiated, does