RE: First timers from Queensland Australia

[cfnapier@gmail.com]

We are in the throws of planning our first trip to Oshkosh for 2016. We plan on flying direct from Brisbane to Los Angeles maybe spending a night there, then flying from LA to Milwaukee where we plan on spending a couple of days de jet lagging and catching a Greyhound bus to Oshkosh and renting a motorhome to be placed on site for us through a company called happy Trails RV Rentals LLC. Apparently they do this for customers for a small extra cost & then pick up after the show is finished. which is great for those of us who don't feel comfortable driving on the wrong side of the road. I'd like to know if anyone else has done this and what their opinion is of this service, plus how do we know if we've managed to jag a powered, watered site? Also from what I can make out it looks as though people can book camp sites now at Scholler camp area well in advance of the air show, for a few weeks before hand even from early July, if this is so then are there facilities provided during this time, ie: water, fuel, access to groceries & supplies & bus services to from town?
Any help would be greatly appreciated thank you.

[Jim Hann]

I have friends who have done this with rental trailers, I'm not sure which company because there are several. You can get necessities at the camp store with no vehicle, there are busses to get you to stores off the airport for just about anything you'll need. The stores near the field will sell out of many things long before the end of the week! Making friends with neighbors in Camp Scholler will help too, I've given (and received) rides multiple times over the last 20 years, it is one of the fun parts of Scholler!

As for the details of a camping site, I have never had the need for the water/electric sites so someone else will have to pipe in about them.

Good luck and welcome!

[gbrasch]

The electric sites are great when it is hot and humid and you want to run A/C and don't have a generator. Keep in mind even though you have water, theses sites do not have sewer, so your tanks can fill up pretty fast if you use the on-board shower, etc. Plenty of showers on the grounds, I hardly ever use my camper shower in the 28 years I have camped there. (There are roving trucks that will dump your tanks but sometimes in the past that service has been poor) One last thing, as far as reserving a electric site early (I think they start in June), remember you will be paying from the date you reserve, not arrive. All in all, your going to have a great time! Hope this helps. Glenn

[Hughes]

If I'm reading Happy Trails website correctly they don't book the campsite for you so my advice would be to book your camp site as soon as you can. If I were going to camp close to the main event I would try to get a full hook up site(water, electric, sewer) at Sleepy Hollow Camp ground which is within spitting distance of the front gate of the show. They also have water and electric site and will pump out holding tanks daily if you need it. Of course there is also Camp Scholler and Circle R Campground is just south of the field and has shuttles running to and from the airport.

I have stayed at a campground(Kalbus Country Harbor Campground) near the seaplane base to get away from the crowds. It is about a 20 minute walk to the seaplane base where you can catch shuttles into the main event. Most everyone at the campground is there to attend AirVenture and I'm sure someone would be glad to give you a lift to the seaplane base or even into the main show. They have water and electric sites and pump tanks daily at this campground.

Hope this helps in some way and I hope you enjoy your time at AirVenture. I've been to Australia many times and always enjoyed my visits to your great country.

Kent