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The Ranch


rynosback

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This is my first visit to an Escapees park.  Nice quite friendly park.  The only bad thing is the smell if the wind blows in a certain direction.  Are all of the other parks a first come first serve?  In talking with another member he said that some parks like ones in CA can be hard to go to visit unless you know the owner of that lot.  Is this true?

thanks

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2016 Mobile Suites 38RSB3

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We've been to all of the Escapees parks, both Co-ops and Rainbow, from Texas westward except for Jojoba Hills in Temecula, CA.  We've never had a problem getting a lot for our visit.  Some of the parks, like North Ranch in Congress, AZ have an actual RV park for visiting members.

LindaH
2014 Winnebago Aspect 27K
2011 Kia Soul

 

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That has not been our experience. Many of the parks now accept reservations and we always found that a call to the office would let us know just how busy the park is. I believe that all parks in either the co-op group or the Rainbow Parks will provide you with a place to dry camp if you should arrive when no spots are available. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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18 hours ago, rynosback said:

 In talking with another member he said that some parks like ones in CA can be hard to go to visit unless you know the owner of that lot.  Is this true?

I'm not sure about the comment "unless you know the owner of that lot".  I don't recall that the lot owner can let you get in easier.  You have to go through the front office to see if a lot is available..... unless things have changed.

Full-timed for 16 Years
Traveled 8 yr in a 2004 Newmar Dutch Star 40' Motorhome
and 8 yr in a 33' Travel Supreme 5th Wheel

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rIt has been so long since I stayed there I may be wrong but the CAL park up at Coursgold when I stayed there was full and I stayed in the "dry camp" area and it was on an asphalt parking lot but it was the nicest asphalt I ever stayed on I think.  It was convienent to the club house with the showers and laundry and the people there were great.  I stayed at Yuma once for several days and got one of the few spots available.  In both cases it was kind of at the end of the season when the majority of  site holders tend to be there.  I have never been to JoJoba but I seem to recall at one time they had a one week limit. I don't know if that is still true.

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43 minutes ago, GlennWest said:

Last 3 times we tried to get in at Rainbows End, we couldn't. But it was when the snowbirds were here.

There are quite a few snowbirds here, even though the days have been in the 30’s and nights in the high teens.

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2016 Mobile Suites 38RSB3

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We just stayed 4 nights in Park Of The Sierras  in Coarsegold, CA. We made a reservation a couple of months ago. It all went to plan. $26 a night for 50amp and the Best Wifi I've ever experienced in an RV park.  Super friendly people. The clubhouse is very nice with a Boutique, Pool room, laundry, restrooms/showers, and a huge library, etc... We really enjoyed our visit there. The New Years eve bash was pretty good as well. Lots of planned activities.

There is a casino a few miles away with fuel prices well below the California average. Grocery stores not far away. Lots of restaurants.

The sites are big and level. The only issue is the windy roads if you have a long rig. Also I never seen so many golf carts outside of a golf course. LOL.

We will definitely go back but probably in a warmer time of the year.

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2019 Keystone Avalanche 396BH

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On 12/31/2018 at 10:53 PM, rynosback said:

Nice quite friendly park.  The only bad thing is the smell if the wind blows in a certain direction.

Yes! We found this park to be very friendly. So much so that we extended our first (cheap) week to another week. Also that smell you smell when then wind blows a certain direction is "the smell of money" since that is what beef on the hoof is in reality.

We have also stayed at a couple of other Escapees parks and have found them all to be friendly and we have never had a problem getting into one, even in the one that took no reservations.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We really liked The Ranch, and actually talked about getting a lot there, but opted for Hondo instead. We only got to stay at Hondo for a few nights last year, and when we tried to get in this year we were told that there were few open lots as all of the owners were there for the winter. Hondo does NOT take reservations. If they are full you can either boondock or go elsewhere.

David Lininger, kb0zke
1993 Foretravel U300 40' (sold)
2022 Grand Design Reflection 315RLTS

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The no reservations makes no sense to me.  With reservations they can keep the park much fuller of setting the costs.  I HATE traveling hours not knowing that I have a spot.  It really makes me look at other CGs that I can get a spot held for me.  I full time so I need a spot every night of the year.

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2016 Mobile Suites 38RSB3

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7 hours ago, rynosback said:

I HATE traveling hours not knowing that I have a spot.

If you have a cell phone, just call ahead when you are an hour or two away and they will tell you. There are many reasons why Escapee parks never used to accept reservations but the Rainbow parks have gone to accepting reservations. Since that change, the cost has also been increased to offset the work involved in tracking them. Each co-op park makes its own rules which come from the board of directors that is elected by the member/lot owners. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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I never used Escapees RV parks prior to reservations because I like to know where I am going to stay well in advance. I always thought that it was a bit primitive to not accept reservations. Taking and tracking reservation is part of the RV park business. I need to know where we will stay before we leave because we don't do boondocking, have a large fiver and don't want to drive much more the 300 miles per day.

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As much as we like having a reservation so we're sure we will have the hookups we need for my wife's medical equipment, we don't appreciate being told a requested site will be available, only to arrive and find we've been switched to a less desirable site. They do say specific sites are not guaranteed, and we are aware of that, but then why tell us a specific site will be available? After that happened three times in a row, we've pretty much left the Escapees parks out of our itineraries for more than overnight stops in favor of state parks that do honor specific site reservations.

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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33 minutes ago, whj469 said:

There are many RV parks that will not honor specific spot reservations. Most of the ones that I use will give you a pull thru if you reserve one but not the one you may have wanted.

Yup, they say they will try to accommodate requests but can not guarantee it.  

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2016 Mobile Suites 38RSB3

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13 hours ago, Kirk W said:

If you have a cell phone, just call ahead when you are an hour or two away and they will tell you. There are many reasons why Escapee parks never used to accept reservations but the Rainbow parks have gone to accepting reservations. Since that change, the cost has also been increased to offset the work involved in tracking them. Each co-op park makes its own rules which come from the board of directors that is elected by the member/lot owners. 

Kirk,

Are you really asking me if I have a cell phone?  Of coarse I have a cellphone as dragging a corded landline when traveling is a pain in the arse and a hazard for other people. <sarcasm>  How hard can it be to track sites?  I have 10 open, the list can not exceede 10 people.  Someone is staffed at the office everyday, would that not be one of there duties?  How would that cost extra?  When I leave a site I have the next one planned and booked.  Nothing worse then traveling 5 hours and then try to scramble to find a place to stay.  Plus as being a fultimer I have mail or packages sent ahead of me.  Maybe it is just me...

2015 Ram 3500 RC DRW CTD AISIN 410 rear

2016 Mobile Suites 38RSB3

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Geez… we full-timed 16 years are rarely made reservations, traveling constantly - even the summer in Alaska. It's not difficult to find spots. We just look ahead on a map and figure about where we'd be in 4 or 5 hours and then look for a place around there. We didn't spend hours looking for a place.  I guess we're not as particular as some.  If we would have had to make reservations for every night in 16 years we would have never RVd.

Full-timed for 16 Years
Traveled 8 yr in a 2004 Newmar Dutch Star 40' Motorhome
and 8 yr in a 33' Travel Supreme 5th Wheel

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2 hours ago, 2gypsies said:

Geez… we full-timed 16 years are rarely made reservations, traveling constantly - even the summer in Alaska. It's not difficult to find spots. We just look ahead on a map and figure about where we'd be in 4 or 5 hours and then look for a place around there. We didn't spend hours looking for a place.  I guess we're not as particular as some.  If we would have had to make reservations for every night in 16 years we would have never RVd.

We just like FHU as places with tons of amenities are usually busier and have more kids running around.  I have only gone to one or two CGs and left as it was a DUMP!  And some I could not get to as I was to big or tall.  With out scratching the crap out of my rig.  I guess you never fulltimed in an area in a busy season if you always found a CG site with ease all the time.  I can not search and call CGs while I am driving.  And my wife following me in the daily driver can not do that either while following me.  Well it is good to know that I have not been full time RVing for 3 1/2 years.

Edited by rynosback

2015 Ram 3500 RC DRW CTD AISIN 410 rear

2016 Mobile Suites 38RSB3

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Yeah, I won't stay at your park without a reservation.  It never occurred to me that any place would be so backwards as to not be able to reserve a spot.  My only stay at an Escapees park was in Congress two years ago, and we had a reservation.  It was an awesome place.

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10 hours ago, rynosback said:

Yup, they say they will try to accommodate requests but can not guarantee it.  

Of course we're aware of that, but when the park staff tells you the requested site will be available as late as a week before arrival, it's very disappointing to find that's not the case when we do arrive. This winter we would normally be at Sumter Oaks near Bushnell, FL for at least a couple of weeks, but instead we've switched that time to Salt Springs Recreation Area in the Ocala National Forest for about the same price and a site selection that has always been honored in our experience.

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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7 hours ago, 2gypsies said:

Geez… we full-timed 16 years are rarely made reservations, traveling constantly - even the summer in Alaska. It's not difficult to find spots. We just look ahead on a map and figure about where we'd be in 4 or 5 hours and then look for a place around there. We didn't spend hours looking for a place.  I guess we're not as particular as some.  If we would have had to make reservations for every night in 16 years we would have never RVd.

How many of those stops were for more than a couple of days? We typically don't make reservations more than a day ahead for overnight stops while in transit, but many of our other stops, such as our current winter season stops, are mostly for 2 weeks. The southern GA state park we're currently in has some sites available for 1-2 days, but nothing for contiguous longer stays until mid-April. If you don't mind playing campsite hopscotch, you would be ok coming here without an advance reservation. And yes, we do remember a few years back when we could easily wing it with no reservations, even in winter in FL, but those days are gone.

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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Planning a trip right now, and finding some parks are totally full, or only have huge pull-through premium spots at $81(!) per night, or have three-night minimums (we're doing 1-2 night stops only).  The last thing I need after nine hours of driving is a few hours of stress driving around parks to see who has a spot.  Or making calls while on the road.

 

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42 minutes ago, Carlos said:

Planning a trip right now, and finding some parks are totally full, or only have huge pull-through premium spots at $81(!) per night, or have three-night minimums (we're doing 1-2 night stops only).  The last thing I need after nine hours of driving is a few hours of stress driving around parks to see who has a spot.  Or making calls while on the road.

 

There's a big part of your problem . 

Are you getting paid for that ? Or are you just trying to cram too much into a 5 pound bag ?

Goes around , comes around .

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Getting paid to drive?   I don't understand that question.  Doing shorter days would take too long, and there aren't that many interesting things to see/do on I-10 in the West.  I'll do Austin in two days (I've done it in one before, so I'm slowing down).  Either way, we could say that I'm still not interested in stressing and shopping for a place to stay after...five hours?  I don't know what everyone thinks is "normal."  I've driven straight through from Phoenix to Florida.

 

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