My wife and I are headed to Airventure via land conveyance in July, likely only staying 2 nights. I asked her to research lodging options and what she found was both overwhelming and a little depressing for nightly prices. I joked that we could smuggle our tent onto the field to camp with mtv but she’s worried his opinions about VGs on a Cessna wing is going to be a source of tension.

OSH veterans, what’s the smartest option for staying nearby with a modicum of opulence?

I have stayed Appleton and driven in when it was too late to get a local place, slept in a friend's airbnb that was selling stuff at Oshkosh - maybe somebody will hook you up with an extra room like my friend did for me. And I've brought a tent and slept with friends in the north 40.

Most fun - camping
Best sleep- Airbnb/friend hookup
Appleton - still works

Good luck and it's a blast

How about RV rental and staying at the campground? I am not sure if there's spots left, but it would be a good compromise.
You can do RV rental AirBnB style by owner....
I think we did RVshare.com, but there are others.

And I am 70% sure I am attending this year.
See you there!

Wow, your wife is wise beyond words.....but you're welcome to join me anyway.....let me know, I'll bring a spare tent.

Lodging is tough. Call some of the vendors/sponsors you know. A lot of them rent houses for the week, and may have an extra room. Everything nearby gets booked a year out, so that may be your best bet.

There is at least one outfit that will rent you an RV parked in Scholler. I don't know names, but I knew a guy who rented a trailer, already set up in Camp Scholler. Might need to buy the whole week though....this guy was a vendor.

Call the seaplane guys, they used to rent a house. The one year I went there commercial, I stayed in a room with them, paid part of the rent.

I have a couple different size tents, let me know your preference..... Oh, yeah, and I bring a serious cooler....

Outdoorsy and RVShare are like Airbnb for RVs. Search there for someone who’ll set it up for you. Or rent one close to home and drive it to OSH yourself.

There’s no issue of availability of camping spots at this point. They don’t take reservations except for the electric sites, and they haven’t started that yet.

If you want to get off the grounds, get an Airbnb, etc. Or, you might be surprised by the local hotels. We got something at La Quinta on very short notice several years ago.

I suggest you ditch the wife and bring a tent. Min camp charge is 3 nights. You pay up front for the 7 nights week but get refunded for nights not used, less 3 min stay.

Drop her off on the way, enjoy the show and pickup on way back. Easy greasy. WI loves to gouge and there are no 2 night hotel stays close-by this early to show. Anyone can easily handle two nights. Showers are all pretty good, good food available and it's pure bliss for me. I never miss it.

Now if you have a Helio, you can bring this full setup w full heat pump and comfy accommodations.

48Stinson1083 wrote:I suggest you ditch the wife and bring a tent. Min camp charge is 3 nights. You pay up front for the 7 nights week but get refunded for nights not used, less 3 min stay.

Drop her off on the way, enjoy the show and pickup on way back. Easy greasy. WI loves to gouge and there are no 2 night hotel stays close-by this early to show. Anyone can easily handle two nights. Showers are all pretty good, good food available and it's pure bliss for me. I never miss it.

Now if you have a Helio, you can bring this full setup w full heat pump and comfy accommodations.

Are you friends with a marriage counselor looking for work???

48Stinson1083 wrote:I suggest you ditch the wife and bring a tent.

My wife is the CMO of BCP. She told me about this reply and now I’m concerned for you. RIP your BCP account.

But in all seriousness, she wants to attend and do some glad handing. If it was me I’d prob stay home and fish.

20 or so years ago, I waited until very late in the game to secure a place to stay. Ended up in Fond du Lac at the Stretch Eat and Sleep Motel. I was so excited to be at Airventure that I willingly overlooked the squalid accommodations and the cigarette butt stained furniture. I would probably be wiling to stay there again if there were flooding at the Whitman Field campgrounds or a tornado. My wife likes to use the Stretch Eat and Sleep (she likes to say the entire name of the place for emphasis) in conversations as the second worst place we have ever stayed, anywhere, with the first being a seedy ant infested ramshackle hotel in San Francisco.

I've stayed at the Comfort Suites in Appleton. Probably paid 4x the normal room rate....so Appleton is still considered to be in the strike zone for Oshkosh by the hotels....and attendees.

Moving further out, I have also stayed at Foxfire in Waupaca. It is a 45 min drive in to Wittman Field and not an unpleasant drive.

Im going fishing.

Having done everything other than flying in and camping under my wing, there are many options. I have camped a couple of times and will say that is going to give you the ultimate OSH experience. Unfortunately, my overnighting in a tent days are very limited these days. Hotels can be had if you dig hard enough but if you are willing to drive a bit, say 30 miles, they can be found.

Last couple of times, we were able to find Air BNB's for reasonable, if under $100 plus fees is reasonable. Couple of years ago it was a new Airstream trailer which was located out in the farming community so it was nice and quite. Much better than staying in a tent during the typical Oshkosh torrential downpour/winds that seem to occur during every event.
Last year, we stayed at a very nice couples house about 20 miles south of the event. If you left early enough in the morning (6-7am) and stayed until after the big crowds left, traffic was a non-issue. They were wonderful people and extremely accommodating.

Not attending this year, and really not sure when I will attend again. Love the experience, but the crowds and non-aviation types have changed the overall experience since I first started attending well over 30 years ago.

You want comfortable digs at a reasonable price at Oshkosh? Try going in November. Lodging costs what it does because there are soooo many people attending that they can charge whatever they want and someone will pay it. I always camp next to my plane and just the camping costs $39/night. When you add the cost of admission to the grounds and a couple of meals on the grounds you're talking serious money. That's why I only go once every 5 years or so. It isn't cheap, but there's nothing else like it. If I'm shopping for a goodie for my plane, AirVenture is THE place to comparison shop and to get a good deal on the hardware. Sometimes a big purchase saves enough to lessen the pain of lodging prices - not always. Tell yourself you are buying priceless memories and see if that takes some of the sting away. I usually complain about the food prices like $8.00 for a root beer float, but that price suddenly seems reasonable after walking miles and miles in the Wisconsin heat and humidity and needing a cool-down break. If you want to camp next to me, tell your wife I have NO opinions about VGs on Cessna Wings.

I joked that we could smuggle our tent onto the field to camp with mtv but she’s worried his opinions about VGs on a Cessna wing is going to be a source of tension.

I’d be interested in MTV’s opinion about VGs!!

Oh, yeah, and I bring a serious cooler....

Say I were to show up at OSH, how serious would the cooler need to be to discuss VGs on my Cessna wing? And probably want to pick your brain about Robertson STOL too

Schwarz wrote:

I joked that we could smuggle our tent onto the field to camp with mtv but she’s worried his opinions about VGs on a Cessna wing is going to be a source of tension.

I’d be interested in MTV’s opinion about VGs!!

Oh, yeah, and I bring a serious cooler....

Say I were to show up at OSH, how serious would the cooler need to be to discuss VGs on my Cessna wing? And probably want to pick your brain about Robertson STOL too

Hey, OSH is open season on opinions/off color remarks/political correctness, and most anything that doesn't involve aviation and aircraft.

Well, we ended up just getting an AirBnB with a few other local friends just a few miles from the field. Not cheap but not that bad.

Zzz wrote:Well, we ended up just getting an AirBnB with a few other local friends just a few miles from the field. Not cheap but not that bad.

Drop by for a toddy some evening....

mtv wrote:

Zzz wrote:Well, we ended up just getting an AirBnB with a few other local friends just a few miles from the field. Not cheap but not that bad.

Drop by for a toddy some evening....

Definitely. Text me your location when you get parked.

Drag an RV and stay at New Holstein for the first weekend. Rent one locally if you can. Move the RV over to OSH for a night or two after mid week - there will be no problem getting in to the dirt lots. If you don't have an RV reservation from 2 years ago, you aren't getting a good spot anyway. Two days is all I can take anyway.

Maybe see you there.

soyAnarchisto wrote:Drag an RV and stay at New Holstein for the first weekend. Rent one locally if you can. Move the RV over to OSH for a night or two after mid week - there will be no problem getting in to the dirt lots. If you don't have an RV reservation from 2 years ago, you aren't getting a good spot anyway. Two days is all I can take anyway.

Maybe see you there.

Oh my Heavens, pure blasphemy!!! Two days at OSH is all you can take? Obviously, you need to take better flavors of liquid refreshments....

Look me up, I'll be somewhere in Vintage parking.....with refreshments.

MTV

Seems like I read about a BCP.org meet-up at Oshkosh this year. Or did I dream that?

I'm hoping/planning to attend for a few nights mid-week and will add it to my schedule if possible...

Probably camping in one of the 40s.