How much planning do you do??

[nightmission]

I'm still on the outside looking in re:RV travel. irv2 is a great resource for a lot of things hardware related but my questions now relate more to the travel and destinations, rather than the means getting there. More directed to part timers, what pre departure planning do you feel is required regarding the actual camp ground(s) you intend to stop at? I know there are planning websites and software (one I understand is closely related to this forum). A quick look around and it seems, at first blush, that a lot of RV parks lack a very complete website with decent information regarding camp sites. Few seem to offer anyway to book a particular site, most seem pretty vague about most details. Many doesn't even mention costs or date ranges in relation to costs. So is one to assume that when traveling to somewhere new that hope and a prayer are required before arriving as to what you can expect??

In another, related topic; when moving, do you decide stops often (or ever?) on the fly?? I'm guessing there will be a varied response, but I'm curious how much forethought and planning goes into most peoples RV adventures while on the road moving.

[Unplanned Tourist]

We just load up and go. No planning needed. The "Allstays" app on our phones will usually find a campground for us. Phone ahead around noon or so and ALLWAYS use the gps coordinates to find you place for the night.
There's a reason I call myself "Unplanned" It's so much more enjoyable to not have to stress about getting to a reservation someplace.
Happy Glamping.

[Unplanned Tourist]

We just did a 7 week, 15,000 km trip to the East coast with zero reservations. Had a blast!
Happy Glamping.

[Sue46]

We have a general destination in mind and then head out. For overnights we don't really care what kind of a campground or boondocking location we have. We live in our RV and use its facilities. Just plug in the electricity if available. We generally stop by 2 PM and start calling CGs around noon, sometimes.




There are numerous CGs along the road that aren't in any books or websites. At our destination we will make a reservation if we feel it is needed. Depends on the time of year if a reservation is needed or not, also the location. As you gain experience you have a feel for what to do.



We are planning on going to Alaska this year and I will work that a bit harder. No reservations but need an awareness of when CGs open and close. We do plan to boondock most of the time but need to visit a CG once a week for laundry, dumping, water, groceries.



Allstays and campgroundreviews.com are both good beginning resources until you figure out what you really need.

[Excesses]

This past summer we did a trip from Vancouver Island to Spooner Wisconsin and back. Because we were travelling through the US prairies during the summer, we decided to book some stays on our way home. We booked several KOAs (never again) and had an unexpected breakdown in South Dakota that delayed us a few days.
KOA requires that you give 24 hours notice on a cancellation booking. We understood that the first couple campgrounds would not refund our (full) deposits because of the time frame. However, one KOA did not answer their phone and did not check their voice mail until well within the 24 hours required (or so they said). Despite our complaints to KOA head office, they said refunds were ultimately up to the Spokane KOA. It wasn't so much the money lost, it was the principle....
Our point is, there is a big difference between planning and reserving ahead, and we will never reserve more than 1 day ahead because the unexpected will happen from time to time.
And there are operators out there who will take your money and never let go of it, consequences be darned. We will never use KOA again because of the inaction of head office and the greed of one operator.

[winniman]

I preplan a general route, and do research on area attractions we would want to see. Other than that, we just load up and go. I will search each night for possible campsites for the next day. I will call ahead to rv parks around two oclock, once we know for sure where we will get to. I have never made a reservation in many tens of thousands of rv miles. I prefer to have flexibility to change my mind, or stay longer or shorter depending on what I find in each area of interest.

[McGarrett50]

Here’s the other side of the coin with the caveat “to each their own” and we respect those who like to “just go”.

We plan the entire itinerary and book 95% of the campgrounds in advance, typically months ahead. Currently we planning out a 4-month trip to the Western Canadian Rockies and Oregon Coast this summer and we’ll be all booked up by April. We find trying to search and hope to get a cg on the fly to be more stressful than planning ahead and working within the cancellation policies of the cgs, which for the most part, are typically reasonable.

We’ve found most cgs to have “good enough” to excellent websites and finding rates are never a problem, although sometimes they are not current. A quick phone call confirms the rate and answers basic questions that may not appear on the site. Sometimes check in/check out times are missing. Also cancellation policies sometimes aren’t found until you go thru their online reservation process. Typically you don’t find what the deposit amount is (1 night, full payment, or just a cc to “hold” the reservation) so that can be a pleasant or unfortunate surprise. You can look for the cg's "rules" or FAQ to typically find these details.

We are part timers, retired, with the time to dig deep for info and plan our itinerary, plus we enjoy the process (some don’t) and this has worked well for us over the past 4 years. We’ve only had to change a couple of reservations at the last minute and found the cgs to typically be flexible and only found ourselves wishing we had allotted more time to a destination, just a few times.

We have never used the prepackaged destination software preferring a homegrown process using primarily Allstays, RV Park Reviews and Google Maps. So do we sound like control freaks?

Whichever way you decide to roll, if you want some choice (location, amenities, etc), I’d suggest that you at least book popular destinations and holiday weekends in advance. I'm sure you'll get more feedback on this.

One of the many wonderful things about this lifestyle, is everyone can enjoy it the way they want to!

Safe travels...

[lrsses]

Last year planned for three months all loaded up and ready to go fall off a ladder day prior didn’t get out the drive way this year no planning just get in set down buckle up and hold on see y’all

[vsheetz]

We are half timers. Tyoucally travel 2 to 4 months at vcc a time. We have various events we want to attend - hobby related, off roading the jeep, RV rallys, visiting relatives. etc. We put all candidates on Google calendar then see which align date and area / travel wise. Usually a week or two in between events.

For the events usually make reservations because they are hosted at a particular venue or area. When traveling between events we make no plan or reservations.

When traveling we typically only go 200-250 miles a day max. No more than two days back to back travel, then land somewhere for a couple three days.

[Vw triker]

Currently on a non planned trip, VA to tx, no problem as yet finding a place to stay. One place was filled up but found another easily. Found a few I would not use again, most I liked. Stayed in a few truck stops, couple of Walmarts. Found I prefer campgrounds, but in a pinch, will use what I can find. Currently in a campground I was only planning to overnight in, been here four days. One campground, planned two days stayed two weeks.

[rarebear.nm]

We do short trips and four month long trips. We plot our general route and major attractions and then go. Like others we figure out a destination starting around noon for that day. Sometimes my not have cell service until sometime later. Other times we just stop without any reservations. may be a CG or some boon dock site- don't really care. We do not like the "stress" of having to make some preset schedule. Being able to stay longer or shorter at some site is much better to us.

That said, there are a few locations and seasons when we will get a reservation months in advance for major attraction destination. But we still have plenty of time to vary the trip in getting there and back. Oh, we are retired and that does make a difference.

[BCam]

We're pretty much of like minds with Fred and Denise although our long trip so far has "only" been about a month and a half. We have friends who blanch at the thought of not knowing where they're going to be when and pretty much have a 10-day limit to things. They're also a big fan of organized tours (general travel, not RV).

We've had one form of RV most of the time since 1972, starting with a 1967 Ford Econoline DIY van conversion, then two VW "pop-tops", followed by two travel trailers, and now a 35' MH. I don't think we've ever not found a reasonably good spot for the night. Keeping track of Indian casinos with RV accommodations near your route is always a good idea. Most of our most memorable (in a good way) times have been unplanned.

It all boils down to whether or not you're a wanderer at heart.

[rarebear.nm]

My previous post was in direct response to the OP's question. However, I do understand some people greatly prefer to either let someone else to plan their trip via RV tours or at least find some comfort in planning every detail they can leaving little to real time chance. I've heard of some folks not only planning their overnights but even their fuel and rest stops ahead of time.

I just have no interest in that kind of planning. Just too many unknowns and variables creep into the equation in my opinion. To me the journey is the destination. It amazes us to watch people arriving at some attraction run up to a vantage point snap a posed picture and run off to the next bucket list attraction. Glad they bagged that one, just wonder if they ever really looked at it?

People enjoy different aspects of RVing and their RV life styles- just get out to enjoy the experience and be safe.

[NLOVNIT]

I'm in the camp with McGarrett50. It stresses me out not to have a plan of we're going or if we'll have a spot to fit our coach when we get there. I'm just not a spur of the moment type of gal. I admire those who can though. I use RV Park Reviews, Google Maps, AllStays & The Next Exit. I plan gas stops/back up gas stops, boondocking spots, make park reservations months in advance, plan things to do/places to shop/where to eat....etc. I'll usually leave a day or 2 to do nothing but hang out at the campground to enjoy its facilities during every trip, just so there's some down time. But I like having a plan in place. If something goes awry, it goes awry. I can deal with that.

Lori-