rallies

[markwho40]

im looking for rallies that start in oregon in oct. because oct. 25 im going to start traveling in my rv and going towards califonia then through parts of nevada until i get to arkansas and so on so please let me know and let me know if i have to be a member of any thing first please thanks

[deSanford]

The next "Rally" Linda and I will be attending will be the "Date Festival" in Indio, Ca. this coming January. It is a FMCA member's only rally. deSanford PS we will also be heading out to Quartzsite, Az for the Good Sam Hams get together and the Monaco group's camp-out. (also in January)

[tedgard01]

People probably don't realize your limited budget. If you are looking to stay in your $2k budget, I'd recommend that you not try to go to rally's a lot. They are generally more expensive and filled with marketing things to buy, etc.

I would recommend that you look into staying at very nice but low cost alternatives like staying at State Parks, Army Corp of Eng parks, National Forest parks, BLM parks, etc. You don't need to join any clubs or groups. You will meet a lot of people along the way that are generally open and friendly. Just be friendly to them and they will be friendly back. Don't forget that you can also stay at Wal-Mart, Flying J/Pilot stations and other places for free as you are going along and/or run low on funds.

Joining groups will cost you dues and eat up your budget real fast.

That is my opinion anyway.

[markwho40]

ok thank you so how long stays at the parks you said i can stay at and are they full hookups

[tedgard01]

Originally Posted by markwho40

ok thank you so how long stays at the parks you said i can stay at and are they full hookups

Usually you can stay for 14 days at a time, sometimes 21 days. At the Wall-Marts, Flying J, etc, that would only be for the night. It is not uncommon for those parks to only have E/W. But you also generally have access to a dump station. Meaning that you simply have to go to the dump station after your grey and/or black water tanks are full. You dump the tanks and go back to your site until they fill up again. An alternative is to get a tote tank that allows you to dump your tank(s) into. Then you simply pull the tote tank over to the dump station versus the rig. You can buy that on Amazon or at Camping World.

Now, if you can get a volunteer position as a Park Host, then you can stay for months (or even years in some cases). The park host gets full hook ups and don't pay for their site. Another benefit is that after something like 250 hrs of volunteer duty, you can get a discount card for other parks that can save you a lot on future site cost for a year.

[markwho40]

thanks so much for the good info

[tedgard01]

Recognize that you will need to budget for those ACE, NF, SP, etc. about $20 - $26 per night. But the independent parks can cost $40, $50, or more per night.

A good investment would be a GPS.

If you have a smart phone and/or PC, get the Allstays Camp and RVs app. It is very useful to see all the parks along the way and provides phone numbers, reviews, rates, site ammonites, etc. That is very helpful in finding parks that fit your needs. There are a number of good books that provide good information on camping on a budget, etc.

If you don't have a smart phone and/or PC, go to the book store and pick up a current RV guide book. Good Sams Club and others publish them and they provide a lot of good information for finding camps, cost, etc.

I would also recommend that you look into a Flying J/Pilot Credit Card. You can set it up for direct debit from your checking account, then you can get a $.06 / gal discount on gas, or $.08 discount on diesel fuel.

[tedgard01]

Is your RV a gasser or is it diesel? If it is a gasser, then if you have a Costco Card or a Sams Club card, you will find their gas is generally cheaper as well. Also, many Wall-Marts have gas pumps, and if you get a prepaid card I think you can save something like $.10 / gal. Gasser's are about $.40 / gal cheaper on rule than diesel and the maintenance cost is a lot cheaper.

[markwho40]

i do have a smart phone so what are the best android apps that would help me on rv parks and ones that take a 17 year old mint condition rv but gas cost me about 300 dollars to fill but can go about 800 hundred miles on one tank of gas

[tedgard01]

Originally Posted by markwho40

i do have a smart phone so what are the best android apps that would help me on rv parks and ones that take a 17 year old mint condition rv but gas cost me about 300 dollars to fill but can go about 800 hundred miles on one tank of gas

I find that the Allstays Camp and RVs app is very useful. It even allows you to filter for park types, Costco, Sams Club, Wall-Marts, etc

The way that I do this planning is to look at the map and determine my days route. Then I use the Allstays app to find all the parks along the route. Then I start reviewing the parks based in cost, amenities, etc. Then you can use Recreation.gov make reservations. There are other sights for SP reservations, etc. one great thing about the Allstays app is that it will provide a lot of detail about the park, have the park contact info and phone numbers, reviews, the web sight link, etc.

[tedgard01]

Another trick I use to help pay for my park sight cost is to drive slower.

It sounds like you get about 8 mpg. I don't know your driving style, but if you can force yourself to drive 55 mph vs 65 or faster, you can get as much as 1 to 3 mpg better in fuel consumption. I try to drive between 300 to 400 max miles per day. If you drive slower, by making 9 to 10 mpg, vs 7 to 8 mpg , that can save you $25 to $40 in gas if you travel 300 to 400 miles. Therefore, you can pay for the nights sight cost out of what you saved on your fuel cost. That is a great reason to simply slow down.

On top of that, the wear and tear cost on the RV is better. You are also safer if you have a blow out at 55 vs 75, etc.

[markwho40]

thank you im going to have do that and i have cruise contral on my rv

[tedgard01]

Be sure to get Emergency Roadside Assistance service. If you have an issue, they can at least tow you to the next service place.

An example;

I was driving back from a trip to NM a week ago when my serpentine belt broke. I was stranded at the side of the road. I was only 30 miles from home (after a 3,200 mile trek).

It was 8:00 PM on a Friday night, raining, and without a serpentine belt, I could not even make it to the next exit.

I had to call for a tow service. To get a tower large enough to handle my RV and tow me to the next service shop, it cost $800.00. The tow service I have is a rider on my insurance. They pay $750.00 per occurrence, so that was $50.00 out of pocket.

There ate a lot of other tow services out there, so research them and get one that meets your needs. Make sure that you know what they do, or don't do. That means things like; fuel delivery, tow service, tire delivery, tire repair, and what will they pay per service call. It could run far more that $800.00 if you are stuck out somewhere and maybe need to be towed a long distance. So be prepared and have some cash reserves to draw on and/or plastic (most will take cards).

[markwho40]

what are good road side assistence to get