gulf coast camping

[hasti14]

we would like to camp on the gulf coast for a while. should we be concerned with the salt air or fog?

[2gypsies]

Yes, you should be concerned.  We had to hose down everything every day to prevent rust and still got it on our bikes.

[docj]

It all depends on where you are relative to the sea breeze.  For example, we stayed at Port Aransas for 4 years at a waterfront park where the sea breeze was almost always strong.  Rust and salt scum were a serious problem.  But at our current property in Rockport we are ~2 miles from the water and there's enough of break in the wind that we have far fewer problems.  So I think the answer to the OP's question is that it depends on how far from the coast he's planning on camping.

[chirakawa]

Like docj says, it depends.  Houston is considered on the Gulf Coast, yet is 40+ miles inland and sees no effect from salt. 

If you stay within a mile of the beach for any time at all, you will see corrosion from salt, five miles inland minimal effect, 20 miles will have no effect.

[hasti14]

we were thinking of mustang island state park or padre island national seashore. i'm a bit concerned about corrosion to the electrical systems. living in a Monaco mh, and I don't want to create problems.

[docj]

Not sure why electrical problems would be a big concern. The electrical system is not directly exposed to the salt air. But the undercarriage and all outside surfaces are vulnerable. My rooftop satellite dish is almost entirely rusted. 

[TXiceman]

Last winter we spent 3 months on the Texas coast in a city surrounded on 3 sides by salt water and salt marshes.  We rinsed and washed the RV every week or two and still had corrosion issues.  Key locks corroded and took lots of oil, some other aluminum and chrome suffered some minor pitting.  We had to replace the Winegard antenna at it suffered corrosion on the internal circuit board.

We have stayed south of Houston several winter and no issues as we were far enough from the salt air.   We are not spending any more time on the coast again.  My RV cost too much and suffered damage due to just 3 months.  You get to looking at other RVs that are on the coast often or long term and you will not like the damage.

Ken

[hasti14]

good info. as far as why i'm worried about the potential electrical system problems, the fog and mists create humidity and moisture. I'm concerned about all chassis and interior contact points. is there any way to protect these other than staying several miles inland?

[chirakawa]

41 minutes ago, hasti14 said:

good info. as far as why i'm worried about the potential electrical system problems, the fog and mists create humidity and moisture. I'm concerned about all chassis and interior contact points. is there any way to protect these other than staying several miles inland?

If you're concerned about humidity, you don't need to be staying anywhere in the eastern half of Texas in any season.

[Barbaraok]

It isn’t humidity, per se, but the salt in the excess moisture clinging to surfaces when near salt water.  Staying even a half/mile from beach can make a big difference.

[Ray,IN]

We once boondocked for a few days on S. Padre Island, the free beach parking on sand. Even the sand contains salt, I still have our old 2 bikes sitting behind our RV garage, eaten up be salt, must haul them  to the dump some day. The Dually frame corroded badly, undercoat slowly flaked off ever since, almost all gone when I sold the truck(spray paint covered it enough to look good). Our 5er required a lot of touch-up paint for the visible  steel too.

We will NEVER purposely camp on a beach again.

We used to winter at Ft. Myers Beach(ironic), 2 miles inland, never had a corrosion issue.

Edited December 16, 2019 by Ray,IN

[Kirk W]

7 hours ago, hasti14 said:

we were thinking of mustang island state park or padre island national seashore.

Mustang Island has been a favorite of ours too and if you stop there, the length of time that you stay also plays a major part. I never spent more than a week there at one stop and only once a year. We did wash everything about the RV which was exposed to the weather as soon as we would leave each time and didn't suffer as a result. Many people spend extended time on beaches and consider it worth the extra effort required. Obviously, most of us here are not part of that group. 

[hasti14]

yep- we figured on a week max time. we're leaning towards mustang island for the electric. at least I can run a/c or heat pump when needed to draw out internal moisture. thanks for the info folks. keep it coming

[pissed off]

.

Edited August 13, 2020 by Jeff and Shelly Modesitt

[TXiceman]

We spent 3 months at Port O'Connor, TX and won't do that again.  We had salt water or salt water marshes on 3 sides of us.  I rinsed the 5er off every other week and still we had problems with the salt.  Metal pitted and locks required lubrication.  The Winegard antenna had to be replaced.  When I replace it, I opened up the head on it, the board had severe corrosion.  I guess if you are a few miles  from the coast, the salt will not be such an issue, buy we won't have the RV back that close to salt water again.

Ken

[Pat & Pete]

Just to support the special things salt does , what was chrome on my bikes is now rust . 

That after a few months in Rockport , about a mile or so from salt water . 

Everything has a price .

[Bill&Anneli]

We first off had the coach professionally waxed before we went to the Gulf Coast.

We spent one month near South Padres. Because we were cautioned about the salt, we stayed at Tropical Trails RV resort in Brownsville. Took about 20 mins or so to drive out to SPI. We didn't have any problems with rust. (Tropical Trails was by the way one of the nicest places we stayed this year).

We then stayed in Galveston TX for a month, this time just across SanLouis Pass Rd, so walking distance to the beach. We washed with baking soda solution as recommended on various blogs and hosed things off. We also sprayed T9 liberally in certain spots. Had to scrub off a few rust spots on our bikes and Jeep, but nothing serious.

After that we stayed in Gulf Shores Alabama for 3 months. Same procedure there, and we chose campgrounds about 1 mile from the beach.

When we finally left after a total of 5 months on the Gulf Coast we didn't have any significant rust issues. We never did the "on the beach camping" though. It looks cool, but we feel that will have to wait for another chapter in our lives when we don't have so much (and expensive) equipment with us to take care of :-)

Enjoy your trip !

[Steven@146]

We have visited Galveston Island many times from the Austin area, as we could get there in 3.5-4 hours for a 4 day weekend. Love it there. Have stayed at Dellanera right off the beach for a week or so, Jamaica Beach and Galveston Island Rv Resort 1/2 mile or so from the beach. Kept the RV and Truck washed at least once a week, saw no signs of excessive corrosion, but it is a concern and you have to be aware of it.  

Yes I have seen vehicles and RVs parked right on the beach, not a good idea.