This post is sponsored by Wheel Estate
Over the past couple of years, you may have seen me write posts about the benefits of glamping. And while the idea of “glamping” at first seems silly, what it really comes down to is giving people a chance to try camping who might not otherwise be able to afford it or think it’s for them. I know some people thinking camping is cheap, and it is…after you buy all the equipment. And for lots of people who don’t know if they’ll even like it, camping is an expensive guess.
That idea of trying things out to see if you like them, before investing in them, is one of the reasons I’ve been keeping my eye on Wheel Estate, a Calgary-based website that works similar to Airbnb, but instead of people’s homes, you rent their trailers.  And trailer camping is something I’ve always wanted to try, but to me there seemed like there would be an almost insurmountable learning curve, and that’s if you can even find one that’s affordable to rent.
So to me, the idea of Wheel Estate is very attractive. It gives me an opportunity to experience camping in a way that I haven’t been able to afford, and for owners of RVs, it gives them a chance to make some extra money during the time they aren’t using their home on wheels.
In partnering with Wheel Estate, we got set up for a fantastic weekend at the Mount Kidd RV Park, which is just over an hour from Calgary. The campground is truly fantastic. Nice big lots, lots of trees and instead of the hum of a highway, you fall asleep to the sounds of a peacefully flowing river, and you can’t really beat that.  Not to mention that above the entire campground looms the impressive Mount Kidd. It really was one of my favourite places that I had ever camped.
One of the coolest features of Wheel Estate is that if the owner wants to, there’s an option to pay an additional fee for them to set the trailer up for you. Depending on what kind of car you drive, it can definitely be a barrier to trying RV camping. And our car can definitely not tow an RV, so this was a perfect option. After booking and making the arrangement with the RV’s owner Tim, we pulled up to our camping set and our trailer was already there waiting for us and fully set up! Even if it was just a tent, I gotta admit, it doesn’t get much better than someone setting up your camp for you.
If you do have a vehicle that can tow the trailer of your choosing, you can also simply meet up with the owner at a set location, usually their home and take the trailer from there. It’s all about whatever is easy for you!
The website offers you a variety of trailers depending on what you’re looking for, and I guess, how many people you want to camp with. Some of your options include: Fifth Wheel Travel Trailers, Toy Hauler Travel Trailer, Expandable Travel Trailer, Folding Travel Trailer and my personal favourite: Vintage Travel Trailer.
Actually, I’ll be honest. We had a pretty luxurious trailer and I got used to that kind of camping really fast. I like to think I’m the kind of guy that would love to take a vintage travel trailer out on the open road, but I think I might miss the heated shower, USB ports and nearly full sized refrigerator that came with ours.
Another perk to camping with Wheel Estate was how easy it was in terms of what you had to bring with you. Based on our reservation, the only thing we had to bring was food, and our clothes, towels and sheets/sleeping bag. That’s it. To pack for the trip, it only took us a few minutes and after our trip, we came back with even less stuff because we basically ate everything we brought with us. I don’t care how often you camp, no one likes all the effort it takes to unpack from camping once you get home. This was the easiest and quickest it’s ever been.
One of the things I think I noticed was how quickly this trailer, and really lifestyle felt like home. For the two of us, our trailer had more than enough room. Because the weather was pretty much perfect, we spent a lot of time exploring the area or sitting by the campfire, but even if it had been raining, we would have totally felt fine relaxing inside, but also not feeling like we were squished together.
We only went camping two days, and for someone who doesn’t camp often, I can tell you it wasn’t enough. I sorta felt like it took me two days to get used to the idea of sorta doing nothing. Not worrying about your lawn, laundry, email or whatever else you’d worry about on the weekend. Nope, instead we worried about marshmallows and who was going to put another log on the fire.  In a go go go world, it felt nice to take some time off and just relax.
And that to me is what camping is all about. Camping die-hards might scoff at things like yurts, otentiks, comfort camping or Wheel Estate, but these types of innovations are making camping easier and more fun for more types of people. And because our trailer had some promotional materials for Wheel Estate on it, we had quite a few people pop over to our site and ask us about how they could list their trailers. Plus, I think they were curious how such a tiny car was seemingly able to transport such a big trailer. We had a good laugh about that!
Since returning from our trip, I’ll admit I’ve spent a lot of time checking out the Wheel Estate website, dreaming about different trailers and thinking about what adventure we could go on next.  I mean, I’ll pretty much go anywhere if I can stay in a place that’s as comfy and fun as my own home.
