One of the first times Kristy and I ever actually spent the night in an RV, we were staying in a friend’s travel trailer. These friends cleverly use their RV as a guest house. The advantages are obvious: increased privacy on both sides, for the host and the guest. We loved the experience. I suppose it sold us on the RV concept. Within a month we owned our Airstream.

Airstreams have reportedly been serving duty as chic guest houses in upscale places as ritzy as the Hamptons. There’s something timeless about the design, especially with regard to the vintage ones. Park an Airstream in a posh neighborhood, and you just MIGHT get away with it.

If my wife and I ever build our long discussed “dream house,” I will lobby hard for an Airstream parking pad by the pool. The trailer will make an ideal cabana. We’ll either use our “honeymoon suite” or we’ll locate a vintage unit for the job.

When parking your RV at a friend’s house, there are a couple of considerations. The city water hookup is of course standard. If heat or air-conditioning are desired, you’ll want to plug in to your host’s electrical power (or else run your generator all night and risk alienating the entire neighborhood).

We’ve had a few problems when powering our RV with home electricity. If using a power-sucking appliance like an air-conditioning unit, it’s not that unusual to overload a breaker in the house. Conversely, if you connect using long extension cords, your RV may not get enough power, which will trip a breaker inside your camper. Just don’t be surprised if, on your first guest house camping experience, you encounter a few power issues.

This happened to us on one frigid January evening. With temperatures outside dipping into the 30s, Kristy and I slept overnight in our camper WITHOUT HEAT. When we awoke the next morning, we could see our own breath in the Airstream. Temperatures inside the camper were probably in the 50s. Believe it or not, we loved it! Not only did we enjoy a great night of sleep, we chalked up another memorable RV experience. Here’s to extra thick goosedown comforters.