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Old 01-06-2014, 06:28 AM   #1
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Problems finding a site

We are in the process of getting rid of everything and getting a 40' class a m/h.My wife's biggest concern,is will we have problems finding hook up sites. I have told her as long as we plan ahead(my be join good sams) this should not be much of a problem.I would never go to some place like yellow stone in july hoping to find a site.
We have grand kids in maine,Florida,Arkansas,Texas.
When we take off on a trip we are going to not get in a hurry drive 5 hr stop at a Walmart spend the night take the toad see the sights.
I believe like Maine in July we call ahead should not have a problem,even if we do not get there on the date we told them as long as its paid for should not be a problem. Probley spend winters moving around south Texas.
How do any of you plan your trips(we will be full-time for the most part) is it hard to travel when over morning coffee you decide to go another direction.
We really want to have the freedom to change our minds as we go.Spent most of our life having to be at work at 8 tell 5 want to get out of that mode!
Thanks. Tim
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Old 01-06-2014, 06:31 AM   #2
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I would suggest that is why you have a self contained rig. Once she gets comfortable with the idea she doesn't have to have a camp ground you will be fine. I think you have the right idea other than calling for reservations. Just take it one day at a time....
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Old 01-06-2014, 06:44 AM   #3
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Any tourist areas and holidays should be reserved in advance. We have yet to be without a camp site in our 4 yrs. of Rving.
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Old 01-06-2014, 06:44 AM   #4
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We did our first trip in our new coach last year, six months, FL to ME. We planned our trip in detail, with reservations at campgrounds for both overnight and longer stays. It worked well for us, especially since it was our first experience.
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Old 01-06-2014, 07:09 AM   #5
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Trust me. For Maine in July, get reservations. The bigger sites are gone early.

There are too many apps and online resources that can help you design a trip. We customize our trips and modify them as we travel.

google: visit (city) ie: visit yuma
campgroundreviews.com
http://www.roadsideamerica.com

Free Apps:
GasBuddy
Google Earth
RV Parking
Good Sam
Woodalls
KOA
FunRoads
Recreation.gov

On and on and on.....

Happy Trails
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Old 01-06-2014, 07:21 AM   #6
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I would suggest that is why you have a self contained rig. Once she gets comfortable with the idea she doesn't have to have a camp ground you will be fine. I think you have the right idea other than calling for reservations. Just take it one day at a time....
and always leave the camground with empty holding tanks an full fresh water. some people will not travel with full fresh water tanks, but I say they are to use.
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Old 01-06-2014, 07:30 AM   #7
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Welcome to the forum.

This really depends a lot on one's personality type, IMHO. Some folks want to operate in a spur of the moment fashion while others will be a nervous wreck if they don't plan out every detail of their trip.

We've logged >50,000 miles through 44 states and 5 provinces spending >1400 nights in our coach. We never boondocked. We almost never had reservations, and we never found ourselves without an adequate campsite for our 40DP.

We used common sense and made sure we had reservations when going to DC in the summer or for the Space Shuttle launch, but for the most part we would only call a CG about an hour ahead of our arrival if at all.

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Old 01-06-2014, 07:35 AM   #8
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tagcat, (Tim)

Interesting !!! My DW (dear wife) was born and raised in Maine about 40 miles North of Bangor. We vacationed in Maine every Summer for about the last 40 years. My sister lives in a FL retirement community (Edge Water) 30 miles South of Daytona. My Brother lives in Houston. We moved to AR 30+ years ago and still reside here. Don't come here now though. This morning it was/is -3 degrees.

For the last 4 years we have traveled to FL every March and stay at a decent CG on the ICWW about 6 miles south of Edge Water.

TeJay (Tim) Hello and Welcome to the forum !!!
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Old 01-06-2014, 07:43 AM   #9
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Any tourist areas and holidays should be reserved in advance. We have yet to be without a camp site in our 4 yrs. of Rving.
Ditto, except 7½ years. And that's mostly FULL hookup sites to boot.

We have a self-contained rig, but choose not to boondock. We found the only times we HAVE to make reservations is weekends in summer (especially holiday weekends) and around tourist areas (in or near National Parks for example) or in snowbird areas in winter unless you don't mind moving sites occasionally. Some people almost never make reservations, but we like a little more certainty.
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Old 01-06-2014, 07:45 AM   #10
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Please don't make reservations unless you plan to be there. Its rude and leaves a site tied up for someone who could use it for overnight. If you can't make it on the date you reserved due to an unforeseen issue, please let the campgound/RV park know so they can rent it out.
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Old 01-06-2014, 07:57 AM   #11
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When we go to a festival or a planned gathering where we will be for an extended time (more then 3-4 days) we make reservations. But on the move, we have never had any trouble, there is always a mall, (keep credit cards away from DW) Lowes, Home Depot, Flying J, or just on a city street.

I made a mistake (just one) and pulled into Ft Sumner NM after dark and couldn't find a parking lot big enough for the 34' MH and Mini Van toad so we parked on the street. The next day we found out the we were on the back side of the court house. Another time we parked in the same block as the fire station and we gave them plenty of room to get the trucks out if they needed to.

In seven yrs we've only had one person approach the MH about moving and that was in a mall because we were waiting to his restaurant to open for lunch. Needless to say, after we told him we were going to be his customer he didn't mind us staying, he even let us come in about 20 minutes early.

We don't like to micro plan out journey because we don't know how far we're going to go today. One time I decided that I wanted to take a NAP and we had only driven 90 mi. I pulled into a church parking lot and ask the priest if we could spend the night. He even gave us the password for the church wifi.

If we had had reservations some place then we would have had to keep on going and that's not what our travels are about. We know roughly were we are going but it's always up for change. You never know what adventure lies around the next bend in the road.

THE JOURNEY IS ALWAYS THE DESTINATION.

.
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Old 01-06-2014, 09:57 AM   #12
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We typically call ahead the day before we know we are leaving and we know how far we want to drive, usually 250-300 miles per day. We always call and make reservations for holidays. As stated, weekends can be crowded especially in the seasonal areas, like Maine.

Here is what I do. I pull up a Google or Bing map of where I'm going. In the Google/Bing search line I put in "RV Park" without the quotes. It populates the maps with campgrounds (and some not campgrounds - but it give you options) Then I may look at reviews if we are going to stay a few days. For overnighters it is just a place to stop, but I'll check to see if they have reported any security problems on the RV Park Reviews web site. As you slide the map toward a destination the map will re-populate with the RV Parks. Or, as others have stated use all of the web tools that are convenient.

Over 40,000 miles on this 40' MH and we have never had to stay outside a CG.
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Old 01-06-2014, 11:24 AM   #13
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We left Ohio the 1st of september and the only reservations were for the 2 Rallies that we attended. I planned my stops the day before we left the campgrounds that we were in, usually run the 250 to 300 miles per day, sometimes a little over, sometimes a little under. Heading to Florida for the winter, I did call ahead to make sure there was room for the winter. For overnights, I use Woodalls campground directory and yahoo maps to decide which ones are easy entry and exit off the route I am traveling on. Quit driving by 4, 430 in the afternoon, if not before and leave in the morning between 9 and 10.
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Old 01-06-2014, 11:37 AM   #14
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Bob, you can't find anything in Ft. Sumner NM. I lived there for 7 years and the only thing I found was Billy the Kid's grave. It is one of those little towns where, if your grandmother wasn't born and raised there, you are a new-comer.
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