How Anal Must I Be?

[obiwan_canoli]

As a relative newbie to the lifestyle, I'm now retired, and looking forward to some travelling... and it occurs to me there are far too many places to see, roads to travel, mountains to cross, it boggles the mind to think I must plan each step, each mile, according to plan... and that's not especially appealing to me... wherever the wind blows is more like it... so, here's my query...

If you've RV'd over a long period, to many varied places, did you plan each step (RV Wizard?), or simply start the engine, and follow the wind? What was your experience, what was harder than you expected, and easier than you'd hoped?

Did you semi-plan a route, allowing for diversions? Was it difficult finding a place to camp?

Thanks... about to start the adventure...

[kaypsmith]

1 hour ago, OBIWAN_CANOLI said:

Was it difficult finding a place to camp?

Yes, in many cases it is very hard to find a place to camp if you really prefer staying in a campground. But if you don't mind dry camping, Walmart, Sams club, and many others don't mind in most cases you staying overnight if local ordinances will allow it. Many times if you get to a campground, it is already booked full and you will find it hard to get a campsite without reservations. I personally hate the fact that I must make reservations 6 months to a year in advance, but that is the way it is in many cases. Good luck in your quest's, and hope you will have many tales to share with us.

 

 

[txiceman]

Campgrounds have gotten harder to get.  Unless you booked 6 months or more for state or Federal parks, you can forget about getting in on weekends or holidays.  It has forced us to do more planning and not any freestyle traveling and we are about at the point of coming off the road full time.  RVing is not as much fun as it was just a few years ago.

Ken

[wildebill308]

3 hours ago, OBIWAN_CANOLI said:

it boggles the mind to think I must plan each step, each mile, according to plan... and that's not especially appealing to me... wherever the wind blows is more like it... so, here's my query...

No, No you don't need to plan every step. You also need to travel in "Retired mode" not  "Vacation mode". People on vacation need to get somewhere and get back in a fixed time frame. I like to be on the road by 9 and off by happy hour. 300 miles is a long day. I use a average speed/distance of 50 mph when planing. It has worked out pretty close weather on major roads or going croslots on secondary roads.300 miles will take you at least 6 hours.

I think you will find that it pays to make plans when visiting major attractions. For example if you wanted to go to the Grand Canyon next May. I would be trying to get reservations for the time you want to be there starting today. I love staying in Trailer Village. You can catch the free shuttle that stops in the RV park and go places you can't drive your toad.

How long you take and where you stay getting to the GC is up to you. We have it so much better now with the internet and cell phones.  

Bill

[wayne77590]

Right now there is a boom in RV sales, which means there are going to be more people reserving and staying in campgrounds.

Remember that the journey is the destination and enjoy the journey.  We pick a point 250 miles down the road. In the past it worked well to find a place within that range give or take 25 miles or more than 25 miles on the low side. Stay in that place for a week or more and enjoy the surrounding area attractions or just sight seeing.  Summer time is going to be the worse because kids are out of school and everyone wants to go camping.  When they are in school it is 3 day weekends or just weekends that can get booked up.  Holidays are always booked so if you know the direction you want to go, reserve the Holiday ahead of time. Using KOA web site for that had been extremely beneficial for us.  Yes, KOA is more expensive than other campground but hey,, it is a holiday and the other ones are full. With KOA you can see what is available without leaving your chair or using your phone. If you join KOA you get a 10% discount and rack up reward points where you can sometimes use they and stay free.

Last year we wanted to go to Flagstaff for a month during the Summer.  I called about 5 months before and the said everything is full and mostly permanent oil field workers. One CG I called said that I wouldn't find anything with 90 miles of Flagstaff. We cancelled that trip and went East and North but we did make reservations ahead of time.  

Remember when traveling from point A to B to C to D that if you do that in 4 days it is two tanks of fuel or thereabout.  If you travel to point A to B to C to D in 4 weeks with a week at each stop it is still 2 tanks of fuel but over the month the retirement funds have caught up with you.

With this COVID-19 going around everyone is camping, and some campgrounds are closed or limiting occupancy so my next trip will be making reservations ahead of time.

[dbenoit]

I looked at the topic title and already had a list for me? But that wasn't being asked.

CG in NH are packed also. We are still in vacation mode so we kinda sorta plan oua longa  trips.

This yeaa all our CGing has been in NH. 

"Rememba that the journey is the destination and enjoy the journey."- Wayne

[urbanhermit]

On ‎8‎/‎6‎/‎2020 at 8:10 PM, TXiceman said:

Campgrounds have gotten harder to get.  Unless you booked 6 months or more for state or Federal parks, you can forget about getting in on weekends or holidays.  It has forced us to do more planning and not any freestyle traveling and we are about at the point of coming off the road full time.  RVing is not as much fun as it was just a few years ago.

Ken

 My limited experience is that state and Corps parks/campsites are generally booked solid months in advance, but not always, at least in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia.  We've had luck reserving less than a week in advance in state parks, particularly, in those states.  Florida is a problem from Pensacola east and south.  Our preference of out-of-the-way, very rural campgrounds with only basic amenities is probably helping us find berths.

[txiceman]

Hermit, we can on occasion find a cancellation open, but many never bother to cancel.  They just do not show up.  

When we were hosting at state parks, we often saw people turned away as the park was booked full.  The next morning, several sites were open as the folks never showed or cancelled.  The cancellation fee was the same as the deposit...$10.00, so why bother.  If the parks would charge a higher deposit and then still only $10.00 if you cancelled the folks might have more consideration for the other people wanting to camp.

[wildebill308]

Yes I  have experienced this. We were at Fort Stevenson State Park in ND and had to dry camp overnight because there were no open spaces. The next day we got a spot that had been empty the whole time because it had been reserved.

Bill

[kaypsmith]

8 hours ago, UrbanHermit said:

My limited experience is that state and Corps parks/campsites are generally booked solid months in advanc

Reserve America is the worst thing that has happened in the South Parks, too many from other places have learned how to beat the system. The misfits sign in and reserve 4 or more sites months in advance, when they arrive at the CG, they will in turn tour the CG and decide which campsite they would rather stay on and settle on that one. They in turn cancel the others and are only charged for one day stay on the cancelled ones, leaving partial week vacancies on those. I used to stay at StGeorge island in Florida every spring, then RA came into the picture and we can only reserve eleven months in advance, and as soon as the window opens, all sites are already taken, such a shame. I know this is true because the park attendants whom I know well have explained to me what is happening.

[rayin]

One reason for the shortage of FHU RV sites is the practice of long-term renting.  I stopped at a favorite RV park on our intended trip to Mayo Clinic. It had changed hands, now about 5/6 of the sites were long-term rentals, leaving only about 1/6 for short-term/ overnight rentals.

This insures an income stream for the owner but removes those sites from the pool of short-term site available.

[rsbilledwards]

Arrg to some of the above, agree, For those reasons when heading East we wing it. It certainly can be frustrating to difficult. Heading West not nearly as such. Many places to dry camp unless at places like the Grand Canyon, near impossible, you must use your imagination. We rarely plan the trips and head which ever direction we wish, like a moth. We have found some amazing off the beaten path sites close to little towns most would never find and most of the time dry camp oriented. Janet has becom pretty good at finding these. Her biggest question” is do you think this road is OK?” 99% of the time we try them and have rarely had a miss. Like has been said it is the journey, the route taken, forget the time frame thing some days are a long drive some a short one.  We have stopped many times in really crazy places with no adverse consequences. This spring we were on our way to Asheville from Pensacola. We had planned to visit Montgomery Alabama and ended up in Selma as a result of a conversation with a Black couple at dinner in Pensacola.  The reason, to see where Martain Luther King and his entourage planned the initial Civil Rights movement. We spent the night at a Walmart and slept soundly.

I should add, one of the things Janet does that has become very valuable later has been creating a journal of the general route and places we fueled, visited and wished we had. Part of the return home will be followed again this year so we can take more time and have a better longer look, Ozark mountains in Arkansas, oh my gosh was it pretty, skinny little US 65  hiway some of it was around Eureka Springs. Really no problem driving a 42.5 foot pusher just had to keep my eyes on the road.

Edited August 9, 2020 by RSBILLEDWARDS
Added thoughts

[wayne77590]

I have to plan our routes but I will take roads other than Interstate Highways.  My biggest problem is not really able to boondock. In order to use the bed I have to extend the bedroom slide. It is a small slide and sits up a little higher than the  other two slides. Extending a slide in a Walmart parking lot is not a good RV practice.  Yes, I know that you can position the MH so the slide is over a grassy area.

My other problem is residential refrigerator.  I can set the generator auto-start but then again, not a good RV'er in the parking lot.

So, we have to plan ahead a little to get a CG space.  That has been harder and harder each year.  Back in '08 when things went belly up you could just pull into a CG and get a space. Not so anymore, in most cases. We know where we want to go so we will try and find a campground near where we want to be. We don't care if it is short of where we would like to be or past it a little ways. Just nice to know we have a place for the night. If we have to be somewhere at a specific date we will make reservations ahead of time for the entire distance.

[rls7201]

When traveling West of the Mississippi river we just follow our nose and make no reservations.
Due to the increased population density East of the Mississippi we seldom travel East. When we do travel East we make reservations.

Richard

Edited August 9, 2020 by RLS7201

[akadeadeye]

6 hours ago, RLS7201 said:

When traveling West of the Mississippi river we just follow our nose and make no reservations.
Due to the increased population density East of the Mississippi we seldom travel East. When we do travel East we make reservations.

Richard

I have to agree with Richard.  We have never had a problem in the West.  We have had numerous problems in the East, along with attitude problems with Eastern RV Parks and Campgrounds.  Just too many people there.

[txiceman]

Population density east of the Mississippi is definitely more dense and campgrounds are more crowded.  But even west of the Mississippi, it is getting impossible to get a state of Federal park for a weekend or a week or more unless you have booked 6 months out.  Just too many campers and not enough spaces.

If you are not full time, the best time to camp is Sunday afternoon through Friday morning.

Ken 

[richard5933]

Might not work everywhere, but one thing I've noticed with private campgrounds is the advantage to developing a relationship with the owner/management. There are a couple of places we've been to numerous times, and if I call on short notice they will do their best to accommodate. There often seems to be a way to find space - for example, one time they put us in a seasonal site for a weekend. (Sounded like they checked with the seasonal renter to know it was okay.)

Things like this are not always possible, but having a relationship sometimes opens up a few doors which are otherwise closed.

[manholt]

Don C.  Good to know, your still alive!

The Ball Game has changed this year, most State Parks are open to residents only or closed, NP's are mostly open.  We are in West View RV Resort, Cortez, Colorado for 3 weeks!  We called to extend our 7 day reservation, a week, before we got here.  Everything is open on a 50% capacity, all NP and BLM 4x4 trails are open!  We'll be back in Ruidoso Downs, NM, for the Labor Day horse races!

[akadeadeye]

47 minutes ago, manholt said:

Don C.  Good to know, your still alive!

The Ball Game has changed this year, most State Parks are open to residents only or closed, NP's are mostly open.  We are in West View RV Resort, Cortez, Colorado for 3 weeks!  We called to extend our 7 day reservation, a week, before we got here.  Everything is open on a 50% capacity, all NP and BLM 4x4 trails are open!  We'll be back in Ruidoso Downs, NM, for the Labor Day horse races!

You bet I am!!  But very jealous that I'm still in Texas in August and a lot of my friends are in Colorado!  We have all but given up on getting to CO this year although we may sneak up there in late September and maybe to Davis Mountains and Lajitas, TX.  It depends on RV park availability and completing a bunch of things I have going on here.  We're planning a trip to Banff and Vancouver next Spring but that, too, may be put on hold because of campground availability there and along the way.  Hey, I'm not getting any younger.  This virus stuff needs to be contained so we can all get on with traveling.  Are you going to Telluride?

Don

[wayne77590]

On 8/9/2020 at 9:15 PM, akadeadeye said:

I have to agree with Richard.  We have never had a problem in the West.  We have had numerous problems in the East, along with attitude problems with Eastern RV Parks and Campgrounds.  Just too many people there.

Try the North East for disappointment.  They are very seasonal and make all their money between May and October.  Forget weekends if you have not gotten reservations 6 months to a year ahead of schedule.

Don, I'm near Galveston. Hot, humid, did I say hot - yep - hot.  We typically are out of here sometime in June and don't return until October but the virus has put us at a no-go risk because of age, and DW's past bouts with ARDS.

[jleamont]

7 hours ago, wayne77590 said:

Try the North East for disappointment. 

Don't forget the cost over here. Anything nice will set you back $150.00 per night. The Jellystone near us is almost at $200.00 per night. 

[wildebill308]

I must be lucky then as I have found plenty of places under what Joe found. But then we arn't looking for kids parks. Yes on the coast if you don't have reservations don't bother. Heck if you are along the coast near Moody Beach you may not be able to get on the road because of the traffic on the weekends. We were in the area for a rally a few years back and if you wanted to leave the campground in the toad it took over 15-20 minutes sometimes to find a hole in the slow moving line of cars going both ways. 

So I can't recommend the US-1 that time of year.

Joe, that place I stayed near Lancaster,  Country Acres Campground was $50-60 a  night and a nice place.

Well still no response back from the OP.

Bill 

 

[wayne77590]

6 hours ago, jleamont said:

Don't forget the cost over here. Anything nice will set you back $150.00 per night. The Jellystone near us is almost at $200.00 per night. 

My brother and lots of cousins live in Central Mass. (East Brookfield) and Normandy Farms is about 60 miles away and Minute Man is about 45. Those are the only two places I would stay to see family. Everything, and I mean everything anywhere close to him I would not let a dog stay at. They are all terrible and run down. I have visited them all trying to find a place to stay.  My previous MH I could run the front up on boards in his driveway and get level - only 40 ft MH.  To try and do that again the back of the 43 footer would scrape the driveway. To much of a slope, and getting out of the driveway with the 40 footer he had to remove the mailbox.

That area is terrible for anyone wanting to stay in an RV.

[jleamont]

40 minutes ago, wayne77590 said:

They are all terrible and run down.

That's what you get up here for $50.00 per night TYPICALLY, if you want amenities and location its going to shoot up from there. If the campground offers more than the basics like close to the beach, Large well kept pool, water park or in the heart of the action, hold onto your wallet. 

Look at Texas as an example, you can get lake waterfront, huge site for $45.00, triple that in eastern PA. 

 

3 hours ago, WILDEBILL308 said:

Country Acres Campground was $50-60 a  night and a nice place.

That's an exception and Amish owned, they use the campground to drive customers into the tourist traps they own. I believe the'll bus you over to them for free also , Great marketing strategy! 

Edited August 11, 2020 by jleamont

[wayne77590]

Joe, you missed it. In Central Mass you are correct about the prices but there are not upscale rvparks in the area. They all are ones that I, and possibly you, would not stay at.