How Many Camprgrounds Do You Stay At During a Year?

[eddie1261]

On 7/27/2017 at 6:00 PM, Kirk Wood said:

You will be an uncommon fellow if you can last a full month on the tanks before dumping waste and filling water. A week or even two isn't that uncommon, but a month....?

Are you aware of the fact that most RV parks have weekly and monthly rates that are much less than a single night's price? Such parks are also more than just a place to park with utility connections. Most of them also have laundry areas, recreation facilities, swimming pools, socials, and assorted other attractions. There are many reasons that so many of us choose to spend significant time in such parks. We also spend time in state and federal campgrounds which are usually less expensive than commercial parks and if you are past the age of 62 you can get an America the Beautiful Senior Pass that makes campsites in federal parks 1/2 price. 

There are also RV park discount groups, with Escapees RV Club having some of them and the Passport America card or the Happy Camper card will get you half price stays in many commercial RV parks around the country. In addition, there are many members of these forums who do as we have and spend a month or more in an area where they volunteer to help in return for an RV site and amenities for several days each week. Many of us find that gives a great deal of satisfaction and purpose to our lives as well as an opportunity to learn many new things and to have many new experiences. 

For us, living in parking lots is not a lifestyle that we would enjoy. We do spend an occasional night in one while in route between locations, but usually, that is due to a lack of other accommodations or to a need for shopping. True "boondocking" where you stay in a remote, undeveloped area has many attractions, but just dry camping in parking lots to save money just isn't attractive for us. 

 

Being so new to this, I have no idea how big tanks are. I will find that out as I do my "test drive" nights at a nearby campground. My plan is to perform my "morning duties" anywhere BUT inside the RV. We'll have to see how that goes. 

See. my thing is that I am not a "camper". I am more of a "town see-er". There will be times when I want to have a home base of sorts and stay a week or so in a formal campground, but for the most part those parking lots are going to work for me because it's the town in am interested in. Being a bit of a misanthrope and curmudgeon, I am not overly interested in going to a town and trying to become everybody's new best friend, but my goal (at least at the start of the adventure) is to move every 2 or 3 days, and not very far (50-60-75 miles) to another spot. I'll need to be aware of Planet Fitness locations, as I want to use them for showers as often as I can rather than fill my gray water tank with shower water. That would fill quickly with the amount of body I have to wash. LOL!

I have the America The Beautiful, which I first found out about as a disabled veteran perk. I haven't started the adventure yet, and am still living in my house, but I plan to take advantage of that pass quite a bit.

This reply from you was full of great info, and I copied it for my files as a reference. Thanks for all this enlightenment about weekly rates. My outlook may change after the first year, but the big picture for me is that barring a MAJOR malfunction with the RV I will be saving enough money that I can look at settling into a city I like for 6 months or so and head back out. That plan may be dripping with newbie naivete, but after working the numbers here many times comparing home ownership vs RV living, RV living is far and away the better choice. It's just me and a dog in a 4 bedroom 2 bathroom house of 1100 sq ft, and I can only be in one room at a time. The Happy Camper and Passport America cards are already on my spreadsheet of things to do before I leave my home, and your reply solidified that they are things I really need. I just don't need them quite yet as I still have a house to sell. 

At some point I might become a "camper", but part of why I am doing this is to leave the mortgage behind, and trading mortgage payments for monthly camp fees is kind of the antithesis of that. We'll see how the learning curve goes once I get out there, and in the ramp up phase that I am in, this web site has already been very informative. Veterans like yourself are a great source and I will heed your words.

Thanks again for the information. Really good info and I really appreciate it.

PS. Barring purchasing a TV service with NFL Sunday Ticket, my biggest concern for 16 Sundays in fall is finding a Browns Backers club that meets at a place with a patio so my dog and I can watch the Browns games.

 

[Barbaraok]

Maybe you find them full because others, like us, follow some variation of the 2-2-2 scheme.  200 miles a day, in the park by 2:00 pm, stay 2 days.  We're retired, 200 miles if more than enough of a day's travel for us.  Getting off the road early means we get a good site, and are set up and enjoying a beverage when others finally stop and try to squeeze into what is left. 

[trailertraveler]

13 hours ago, eddie1261 said:

...The Happy Camper and Passport America cards are already on my spreadsheet of things to do before I leave my home, and your reply solidified that they are things I really need...

In my experience, Happy Camper and Passport America have many, many of the same parks. The restrictions for a given park are usually the same in both systems. There are some regional differences in the member parks. I would suggest that you look at the websites of each and look at the areas that you will start your travels the first year. Pick the membership that seems to best fit your plans. I don't think you will need both.

[eddie1261]

This was the first card I got. Avoided a processing fee by going to the State Park near me. I don't know if there is any value add to being a disabled veteran, but I do notice that some of the cards have the handicap symbol and some don't. I am trying to imagine a parking lot with handicap parking for RVs... It would have to be the size of the Astrodome! LOL!

 

 

[JimK]

15 hours ago, Barbaraok said:

Maybe you find them full because others, like us, follow some variation of the 2-2-2 scheme.  200 miles a day, in the park by 2:00 pm, stay 2 days.  We're retired, 200 miles if more than enough of a day's travel for us.  Getting off the road early means we get a good site, and are set up and enjoying a beverage when others finally stop and try to squeeze into what is left. 

I cannot imagine wanting to stop in the fields of Iowa, or Kansas, or Nebraska.  There are reasons this is called "fly over" country.  I would more typically drive from 9am to noon or so, have lunch, take a nap, drive from 1pm to 4pm, stop again for another meal and nap, and likely continue driving a couple more hours.  So a pretty leisurely 8 hours or so of driving and about 500 miles of travel.  Another day of the same and I have a 1000 miles behind me.  With 2, 2, 2 that drive would take a week and a half or longer. 

[trailertraveler]

3 hours ago, eddie1261 said:

...I am trying to imagine a parking lot with handicap parking for RVs... It would have to be the size of the Astrodome! LOL!...

At many of the state and federal parks that we have stayed at, the accessible RV spaces in the campground are located next to or nearest to the restroom/bath house facility that is also accessible. There is usually an accessible path from the RV site to the restroom/bath house. They may be the only sites with paved pads and wide enough to park another vehicle next to the RV. They may be the only sites with full hookups.

You also need to realize that the pass is an entrance pass, not just a camping pass. Lots of folks use them just for day visits and there are usually accessible parking spaces at facilities such as visitor centers and scenic overlooks.

[Zulu]

3 hours ago, JimK said:

I cannot imagine wanting to stop in the fields of Iowa, or Kansas, or Nebraska.  There are reasons this is called "fly over" country. 

Depends. If you're driving major slabs, like I70 through Kansas, then it's pretty boring. However, we were pleasantly surprised when we crossed Kansas on Highway 36 -- Seneca and Norton.

[eddie1261]

On 7/28/2017 at 2:13 PM, JimK said:

I cannot imagine wanting to stop in the fields of Iowa, or Kansas, or Nebraska.  There are reasons this is called "fly over" country.  I would more typically drive from 9am to noon or so, have lunch, take a nap, drive from 1pm to 4pm, stop again for another meal and nap, and likely continue driving a couple more hours.  So a pretty leisurely 8 hours or so of driving and about 500 miles of travel.  Another day of the same and I have a 1000 miles behind me.  With 2, 2, 2 that drive would take a week and a half or longer. 

Those states have cities too!  

I can't imagine me not finding something to see in Lincoln or Omaha. Kansas City, Topeka, Wichita,  Dodge City... drive by and check out the college.... Remember, as I stated somewhere, I am not looking to "camp". I am looking to see cities. Every city in the country has something to see. I told someone I wanted to go to Macedon NY. And they said WTH do you want to go there for? Well, the have locks there and I like watching ships go through locks. Others may not enjoy that, but I love it.I am not looking to just sit and stare straight ahead in a desert somewhere like SO many youtubes I have seen. Men with t-shirts tied around their foreheads like something from Lord of the Flies....  This is a sightseeing adventure for me.

And I would like to address the part about driving 500 miles. I will NEVER drive 500 miles. Even now if a place is further than 2 hours away I either don't go or fly. I plan to move 50-75 miles a day at most. With the proper planning and research I can find places to stop within an hour from wherever I start. It may not be what some people think is ideal, but the whole thought process for me is that I have to stop living a life based on GO GO GO GO  GO!!! CAN WE JUST GO???? WE HAVE TO GET THERE!! No more. No more meetings, no more phones ringing, nobody depending on me to fix their computer, no place to go and no time I have to be there. And I should have learned how to jump off that hamster wheel LONG ago. A move of 500 miles? I may as well get a part time job as a truck driver. I plan for my first trip down the east coast to take me 85-90 days. If not more. 

But, the standard disclaimer applies. This is just me. 

Would it bum you out to stay here along the Mississippi River for a couple of days? 96 spots there according to freecampsites.net

 

[Barbaraok]

4 hours ago, JimK said:

I cannot imagine wanting to stop in the fields of Iowa, or Kansas, or Nebraska.  There are reasons this is called "fly over" country.  I would more typically drive from 9am to noon or so, have lunch, take a nap, drive from 1pm to 4pm, stop again for another meal and nap, and likely continue driving a couple more hours.  So a pretty leisurely 8 hours or so of driving and about 500 miles of travel.  Another day of the same and I have a 1000 miles behind me.  With 2, 2, 2 that drive would take a week and a half or longer. 

But then you would miss the "Fields of Dreams" where Dave literally 'walked into the cornfield'.  He said he called out, but no one answered. 

Why would you want to drive 8 hours during the day?  We're retired, there is no "must get there today' destination for us.  The journey is what is important - enjoying everywhere we go and enjoying being together doing it.  1000 miles could take us a month to do.  Do you get a price for all those miles driven, besides tired eyes?    I really feel sorry for you missing out on so much of what there is to see all over the country.

[eddie1261]

5 minutes ago, Barbaraok said:

But then you would miss the "Fields of Dreams" where Dave literally 'walked into the cornfield'.  He said he called out, but no one answered. 

I'd be way more concerned if someone HAD answered!!!

Especially Ty Cobb! He was mean!

[Al F]

There are some people who primarily want to see the things at their final destination, or perhaps just to get to that place to socialize with the other people there.  History, people and  scenic sights in between just doesn't matter to them. 

To each their own. 

I have almost always found something interesting to do or see every where I have been over the last 70 or so years. 

[Yarome]

I'm with Barb and Al. Some of the most interesting/cool places I've seen, people I've met, and the experiences I've enjoyed were never planned on or appear on any map or road guide... just "happened" upon or word of mouth from a local. I would never want to do 1000 miles in ONE month if I could avoid it, though. You would miss too much.  Although... to be fair... during storm season I might put on that many getting pushed around keeping ahead of the weather.

There is definately something to be said for having absolutely no plan or destination in mind whatsoever and just see where the road takes you.

Want to see the Grand Canyon or the Pacific ocean? Do you need to see it NOW? It's not going anywhere and you'll eventually run across it. Get the idea? Enjoy the journey! 

[JimK]

2 hours ago, Barbaraok said:

....... 

Why would you want to drive 8 hours during the day?  We're retired, there is no "must get there today' destination for us.  .....

I am also retired.  When not in school, I worked all my life starting at age 17 until I retired at age 64.  I am hoping to have half that many years in active retirement.  I have things to do, places to go.  This year I am getting a late start.  I wanted to go to Yellowstone, Glacier, Olympic and then to a wedding in Washington State at the beginning of September.  Now I don't have enough time.  I have two more months of travel I want to do after the wedding including southern Utah, Mojave, Death Valley, Great Sand Dunes.  Unfortunately I am not able to leave Long Island until next week.  It causes me plenty of stress just to make it past NYC to the middle of PA.  I make a short day of it and stop at Cabelas in Hamburg.  After that 3 long days, most of it through monoculture and destroyed landscapes, will bring me to the Rockies and then I start to smile. 

I may be retired but I am busier than ever.  I only have about 3 months to travel.   By the time I get back to NY it will be the holiday season.  My wife has big doings in January.  We are hoping for Hawaii in February and I want to be back out West early in March.  I have all sorts of other things I am giving up for these trips.  I will be missing all of my University courses.  Will not be able to train or compete in archery.  Will have great difficulty completing any serious artwork or applying for galleries and other art exhibitions.  I will probably be cut or need to drop out of the elite photography group I was accepted into last year.  The last thing I want to do is sit in a cornfield driving 200 miles every other day just to see more corn.

[Kirk W]

10 hours ago, JimK said:

I am hoping to have half that many years in active retirement.  I have things to do, places to go..................

I may be retired but I am busier than ever.  I only have about 3 months to travel.....

The last thing I want to do is sit in a cornfield driving 200 miles every other day just to see more corn.

1

Why do you need to get everything done in one year? RV travel takes time and this post leaves me wondering if you have enough time to make the lifestyle work for you? There is beauty in everything and every place, even a corn field. Finding that beauty takes time and RV life is very compatible with slow travel. But that doesn't mean that most fulltimers are not active people. What it does mean is that most of us do not want to see the countryside through a windshield but rather park the rig, walk, bike, or participate in local activities at every stop. We see & learn things which those who rush about never even know are there. 

[Pat & Pete]

13 hours ago, JimK said:

I am also retired.  When not in school, I worked all my life starting at age 17 until I retired at age 64.  I am hoping to have half that many years in active retirement.  I have things to do, places to go.  This year I am getting a late start.  I wanted to go to Yellowstone, Glacier, Olympic and then to a wedding in Washington State at the beginning of September.  Now I don't have enough time.  I have two more months of travel I want to do after the wedding including southern Utah, Mojave, Death Valley, Great Sand Dunes.  Unfortunately I am not able to leave Long Island until next week.  It causes me plenty of stress just to make it past NYC to the middle of PA.  I make a short day of it and stop at Cabelas in Hamburg.  After that 3 long days, most of it through monoculture and destroyed landscapes, will bring me to the Rockies and then I start to smile. 

I may be retired but I am busier than ever.  I only have about 3 months to travel.   By the time I get back to NY it will be the holiday season.  My wife has big doings in January.  We are hoping for Hawaii in February and I want to be back out West early in March.  I have all sorts of other things I am giving up for these trips.  I will be missing all of my University courses.  Will not be able to train or compete in archery.  Will have great difficulty completing any serious artwork or applying for galleries and other art exhibitions.  I will probably be cut or need to drop out of the elite photography group I was accepted into last year.  The last thing I want to do is sit in a cornfield driving 200 miles every other day just to see more corn.

We'll wave as you blow by .

[JimK]

3 hours ago, Kirk Wood said:

Why do you need to get everything done in one year? RV travel takes time and this post leaves me wondering if you have enough time to make the lifestyle work for you? There is beauty in everything and every place, even a corn field. Finding that beauty takes time and RV life is very compatible with slow travel. But that doesn't mean that most fulltimers are not active people. What it does mean is that most of us do not want to see the countryside through a windshield but rather park the rig, walk, bike, or participate in local activities at every stop. We see & learn things which those who rush about never even know are there. 

I don't get everything done in a year.  In fact I have been so busy I have not been on the road in almost 2 years.  I am more than ready to set out.  When traveling, it is clear that not all places are created equal.  In addition man has wrecked lots of places.  I like to eat but monoculture agricultural fields are a horrible ruination to the prairies that were once there.  I would rather spend my time in the areas of truly spectacular beauty and interest.  Many are national parks for that reason and those areas are now somewhat protected.  My first 4 years of travel, I spent at least 2 months in Yellowstone.  I have barely scratched the surface and still can hardly pull myself away from the heavily visited thermals.  Sorry but I see little comparison between Yellowstone, Glacier, Olympic, Arches, Canyonlands and the cornfields of Iowa.  I will drive past the cornfields in order to have more time elsewhere.  To me that is part of the attraction of RV living. 

[2gypsies]

We've met folks in our full-timing days who love staying in the prairie areas and surrounding countrysides, still others who like big cities and some who need constant planned entertainmen  and only seek out popular attractions - concerts, amusement parks, fine dining, some who only go to public campgrounds or boondocking areas, others who will only stay in full hookup sites. . We're all different and that's great. Otherwise our favorite quiet places would be too crowded.  However you travel - enjoy!

[JimK]

2gypsies, absolutely!!  We are all different.  That is why something like 2-2-2 makes no sense to me.

Unfortunately some of my favorite areas are very crowded.  Fortunately the vast majority of visitors never stray more than a few feet from parking lots and paved walkways.  In fact I heard from one ranger that the NPS did a survey and found 97 percent of visitors fall into that category.  Another positive is that most visitors have to follow a typical 9-5 schedule.  I don't.  The best part of my day starts when others are leaving to go eat dinner. 

 

[sandsys]

On 7/28/2017 at 11:16 AM, eddie1261 said:

I am trying to imagine a parking lot with handicap parking for RVs... It would have to be the size of the Astrodome! LOL!

Some Walmarts have an oversized spot or three for a handicapped van. My Class B would fit in one just fine. Then I could walk inside to get one of their carts instead of parking in the back forty and using my own cart. Their's holds a lot more stuff that mine so I could do a bigger shop when I managed to find one of those spots empty. It was irritating to me when small vehicles would use that spot--I once saw a VW Bug parked there; it could have parked in any of the other handicapped spots but it chose to use the one big one. Ugh!

Linda Sand

[eddie1261]

1 hour ago, sandsys said:

It was irritating to me when small vehicles would use that spot--I once saw a VW Bug parked there; it could have parked in any of the other handicapped spots but it chose to use the one big one.

I used to carry a folder with prepared pages for people who did things like that. Most of them contained phrases like "selfish prick" and "insensitive bastard", and I was NOT timid about leaving one of the windshield. And for those people who do not have a handicap placard and park there anyway, your special place in hell includes my taking a picture of the car from an angle where the handicap sign is in frame with the license plate, then parking my car across the back of their car while the police are en route. I have gotten at least a dozen people a $250 fine. (I got an Escalade once at the UPS depot where there is exactly ONE handicap space and he took it, denying me and my placard the opportunity. That did not go well for him.) One particularly aggressive punk at the grocery store went into his trunk and grabbed his tire iron and started toward me with it in an aggressive manner to where I feared for my life, but what I carry 24/7 beats his tire iron every time. I ordered him to the ground and held him there until the police arrived, told them the story, corroborated by several witnesses, HE was arrested for assault, his car was towed, and on top of it all, he also got the $250 parking ticket. All because he wouldn't walk 20 more feet and park in a non handicap space. So I share your enmity for people who disobey the handicap laws completely, as well as those who are insensitive to where they use an expanded space for their Smart Car.

You can probably tell from my posts that I have never been called a Shrinking Violet.... 

[Kirk W]

The National Park Service operates 417 properties around the US and 4 of those are in Iowa as are 6 national wildlife refuges. Another 3 are in Indiana with 9 national wildlife refuges and 12 more are in Ohio along with 3 wildlife refuges. There are things worth the time to see in every state and for those of us who enjoy museums, the list is far longer. No question that we don't all enjoy the same things, but there are things worth some time in every state.  For those who choose not to slow down you do have to set some priorities, but to me, the main benefit of RV travel is being able to see everything along the way. 

 

[Zulu]

2 hours ago, eddie1261 said:

You can probably tell from my posts that I have never been called a Shrinking Violet.... 

On the contrary, I was thinking Thread Hijacker.

[JimK]

4 hours ago, Kirk Wood said:

The National Park Service operates 417 properties around the US and 4 of those are in Iowa as are 6 national wildlife refuges. Another 3 are in Indiana with 9 national wildlife refuges and 12 more are in Ohio along with 3 wildlife refuges. There are things worth the time to see in every state and for those of us who enjoy museums, the list is far longer. No question that we don't all enjoy the same things, but there are things worth some time in every state.  For those who choose not to slow down you do have to set some priorities, but to me, the main benefit of RV travel is being able to see everything along the way. 

 

Have you seen any of those wildlife refuges?  Which would you recommend as worth spending some time to visit? 

BTW, a "refuge" is often not what you think it should be.  Many I have visited allow hunting and in fact that is the main reason for them.  https://www.fws.gov/refuges/hunting/

[Kirk W]

On 7/28/2017 at 1:13 PM, JimK said:

I cannot imagine wanting to stop in the fields of Iowa, or Kansas, or Nebraska.  There are reasons this is called "fly over" country. 

If you have never been there, then how do you know what is or isn't there?

7 hours ago, JimK said:

Have you seen any of those wildlife refuges?  

 

As a matter of fact, I have seen several of them and plan to see more. I have lived and volunteered on 9 different national wildlife refuges and one state refuge. I am well aware that we don't all have the same interests, but I was only attempting to explain the reason that so many of us choose to travel slowly take the time to see and learn about everything along the way. With your busy schedule, you probably don't have time to see the things that you will miss. I hope you enjoy your lifestyle as we do enjoy ours. 

[TCW]

8 hours ago, JimK said:

...BTW, a "refuge" is often not what you think it should be.  Many I have visited allow hunting and in fact that is the main reason for them...

The National Wildlife Refuges may not be what some think they should be, however many do not know that the refuge system was created by the founder and first president of the Boone and Crocket Club (Theodore Roosevelt) with the support of its members. The Boone and Crocket Club also supported the elimination of "market hunting" and the creation of the National Park Service and National Forest Service. Notable members of the Club include Gifford Pinchot (First Chief of the Forest Service) and Aldo Leopold. Many also do not know that hundreds of thousands of acres of National Wildlife Refuge lands have been purchased with the proceeds from the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp (The Duck Stamp). Unlike many other outdoor user groups which cry bloody murder every time a fee or a fee increase is proposed, hunters have supported every increase in the Stamp's cost from the original $2 to the current $25.