how to plan ahead???????

comealong · 10-27-2011, 04:32 PM

i am a newbie. yesterday we wanted to just get in the rv and go. well i discovered that it is not that simple. the good sams club only give 10% off at campgrounds. the camp sites that took passport america club wants $8.75 just to make a reservation, but you get 50% off.
both only gave discounts on sun-wed some discounts are valid til thurs.
this was a big surprise. i thought that the discounts were good all week.
yes i do understand that it is the individual camp that makes these decision.

i spent most of the night trying to find a camp site near where we were going. i had gone back and forth from pa club to gs club checking where and how much.

then i was trying to find places to go when we got there. i had 5 internet pages open at once.
this was a nightmare. there must be an easier way to plan a trip.
it looks like pa is the better club.

we didn't go anywhere today. i need some rest.

comealong

Dixieray53 · 10-27-2011, 04:51 PM

WOW.... You will learn by using the available sites what works best for you

Planning a trip is best.... If it was just a road trip in a car that would be easy

.....Just remember the next time you want to get the "The Hell Out of Dodge" you have to plan

.. Best of Luck... D

Half Dimes · 10-27-2011, 05:08 PM

I have to agree that it would be great to just get up and go. Depending on where you're going and how popular the place is you may or may not get lucky and get a spot. But like Dickson says it's much better to do a little advance planning, especially if a weekend is involved. We're currently doing five state parks in 15 days before the snowbirds flock down. We made reservations ahead of time but really the only times we have needed them have been on Friday and Saturday nights. But it's much less stressful to know you have a site where you're going in our opinion.

Don't get discouraged, just get used to a little advance planning.

Cat320 · 10-27-2011, 05:31 PM

As noted, Passport gives a good discount, but some CGs are very picky about days that they'll accept it, which days of the week, number of days, holidays, cash only, etc.

Fred and Bonnie · 10-27-2011, 06:33 PM

You just sited why I not a fan of Passport America, in addition to not wanting their campgrounds to dictate my travel. We never leave home without reservations, sticking to Good Sam/AAA/FMCA/KOA. I use RV Park Reviews :: Home to research unfamiliar facilities.

fred

Shellback1 · 10-27-2011, 06:47 PM

I mostly use woodalls to see what's around.
Click here: RV Camping, RV Resort Parks, RV Rentals and Campground Ratings - Woodalls

comealong · 10-27-2011, 07:44 PM

does woodalls tell you what club discount is used at what cg?

jzick · 10-27-2011, 08:10 PM

There are several good ways to find campgrounds. Google Maps will show what is available in an area (do a search for campgrounds when you have a map open), MS Streets and Trips has good campground listings, and RV Park Reviews :: Home is an excellent site. We do not use the printed Woodall's, Trailer Life, etc as they are rarely up to date and cumbersome to use compared to on line. Normally we choose campgrounds we want to stay at and then inquire about discounts. Many campgrounds' non discounted rates are better than their competitors' discounted rate.

Sequim Guy · 10-27-2011, 08:25 PM

An RV'er is a person driving a $150,000 rig, pulling a $25,000 toad, and looking for a free place to spend the night. ..........author unknown

comealong · 10-27-2011, 09:12 PM

i don't remember when we met but you sure know me. hahahaha

**RickO** · 10-27-2011, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sequim Guy

An RV'er is a person driving a $150,000 rig, pulling a $25,000 toad, and looking for a free place to spend the night. ..........author unknown

Ain't it the truth? We all travel in different ways that fit our own personal situations, finances, comfort levels, personalities, etc, etc.

More than 90% of the mornings we hit the road we have no reservations.
But, we're retired and almost never have to be in a particular spot at a particular time.

IMHO, for most folks, belonging to PA and GS are good moves. They tend to pay for themselves quickly. Yes, there are a lot of restrictions on PA parks. In many popular spots PA might not be accepted for an entire season spanning several months but it is what it is and at $49/year it pays for itself easily if you travel very much.

It's tough to be able to go anywhere, anytime and find 50% discounts.

Best of luck.

Rick

B Bob · 10-27-2011, 10:06 PM

I like planning trips and tend to plan ahead. For general laying out a trip I have used the Trailer Life software for years. You do not have to be connected to the internet for it to work and at a quick glance it will tell you what commercial parks are in the are you want to go to. If you want to stay at public State, Country, City parks you have to dig deeper. I have a really slick Ipad/Iphone ap called campwhere, which makes finding public RV parks easy. Only cost 5 bucks. Trailer Life has a free Ipad / Iphone ap.

I nearly always refer to rvparkreviews.com to see what other people have said about a place before I go there.

Don't give up. Just chill and things will work out. I have been doing this for 31 years and it gets easier after you get used to it.