Availability

[NDBirdman]

We are looking to purchase another RV this year to replace our last one.  It's been a little bit since we've been in a campground so I'm curious.  It was getting harder in alot of areas, even around here to find a place to go without making reservations far out.  Has the *pandemic rush* to campgrounds calmed down, or are the campgrounds still full/booking way out?  From what little looking I've done, it does seem the past 1 -1.5 yrs the price went up considerable so we expect a bigger expense.  We do miss being able to easily call/find a spot to land when in transit mode.  So I guess this leads to my question, is this possible?

What we like to do is boon-dock when staying more than a few days but use campgrounds when in transit.  We're not into the expensive resort type campgrounds, not our cup of tea but we won't stay in a dumpy place either.  During our travels we like to seek out town/city parks with camping sites and look around for a few hours, depending on what's there to do/see.  As to type of RV and size, we are looking.  5th wheel toy hauler (35-40', tow vehicle is still on hand) or class A (32-34') with a 20' cargo trailer to haul motorcycle and other toys.  I understand that length is an issue with some of the older state parks can't accommodate something in the length we will end up being but state parks are usually not where we go.  We are not going to be full timers as we have a perfect for us SnB out in the sticks we love, not willing to part with.  Snow birding for 2-3 months is highly probable with many week long trips during good, warm, motorcycle riding weather.  Well, enough of my babbling, the question above is what I'm curious about.  Thanks for looking!!

 

[Kirk W]

For the past 2 years we have made advance reservations for campgrounds. This past summer I paid close attention to see if the RV parks were full and most of them did have at least a few empty sites but not many. There is a large, new RV park not far from where we live in TX and watching it, I am guessing that it is running between 60% & 80% capacity but I have not seen it at 100%. 

[trailertraveler]

8 hours ago, NDBirdman said:

Has the *pandemic rush* to campgrounds calmed down, or are the campgrounds still full/booking way out? 

In our travels from the East Coast to New Mexico and return last August through November, things seemed to have eased a little bit, but much depends on the area in which you are traveling. Major highway and other infrastructure construction projects can fill all the commercial campgrounds for miles. Public campgrounds that do not allow long term stays are often the best option in such situations. We found that a number of Corps of Engineers and state park campgrounds have eliminated all first come first serve options. Some do retain some sites with a 2-4 day reservation window which worked well for us. The most common reason given was an inability to get camp hosts.

In planning for a trip South to Florida starting in February, one nighters do not look like they will be much of a problem. In Florida, multiple night stays appear to be harder to find. One other thing that I have noticed is that even small parks are starting to implement online reservations. This allows you to check availability as your travel dates approach and book a reservation when it looks necessary.

In the past couple of years, we have noticed some areas being closed to boondocking. In the Cottonwood AZ area, the roads in some areas were graded such that there was a significant ditch that would prevent most RVs from exiting the roadway. Specific areas were left where vehicles could exit the roadway and these were often occupied by one or more RVs.

Edited January 5, 2023 by trailertraveler

[agesilaus]

We stopped at over 40 spots this last year. We rarely had a problem finding a place but we did normally call ahead the night before. We started this when we cut the day's travel down to 250 miles, or less and had a defined area that we wanted to stop in. We do boondock when we can, mainly west of the Mississippi. But we also try to Famcamp or use COE parks. We stay at city/county parks when we find them but they are often first-come no-reservation.

A long rig like you describe could be tough to take boondocking down moderately rough and twisty roads. Make sure you have good ground clearance. And being out on one of those roads could spell trouble if you don't have 4WD and it rains

Edited January 5, 2023 by agesilaus

[rickeieio]

We travel pretty much as you describe.  We rarely make reservations, but call ahead an hour or two to be sure we have a spot.  Getting off the interstate a few miles and avoiding touristy areas increases you odds of success.

We're heading out in a couple weeks for 10 weeks on the road.  As of now, we have a 5 week reservation in Texas, and one week in Alabama.  Other than that, we're just wing'n it.

BTW, our rig is 71' long and we rarely have any trouble finding a spot.  That said, we mostly roam west of the Mississippi River.

[aknavy]

We rarely make reservations when we're traveling.  We do reservations for long term stays at popular places, but don't do those well in advance.  If we have a place that we want to go, I've found that if I can't get reservations the first attempt, if I keep trying, I'll catch a cancellation.  In 5 years of full timing, I've only failed a couple of times. 

[NDBirdman]

Sounds like it won't be a problem most the time, cool.  Thanks for the replies.  Now to find another RV.  Watching craig's lists and RVTrader, we're not having much luck finding within 500 miles of us.  Might be possible when the snow stops sometime around may/june.  Doing most my searches for a (used) Momentum 5th wheel but a class A is still an option. 

We'll be hauling our Tri-Glide and astronomy gear/scopes with us so toy hauler/trailer with ramp is required.  This is why we will be mostly boon-docking, to stay away from light pollution.