Community Forums

hotdog2 · 03-26-2018, 10:26 PM

Does anyone do it anymore? Over thirty years of RVing and we don't boon dock so a campground is a must. Back in the day we used to just go with our truck and trailer and drive till we wanted to stop.Then look at the ole Camping World book to find a campground. But now with a bigger motor home needing full 50 Amp hook up we always make reservations. Plus I believe RVing is more popular today. I would think you may not find a spot later in the day. But I do miss the ole days and not being on a time schedule.

FIRE UP · 03-26-2018, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hotdog2

Does anyone do it anymore? Over thirty years of RVing and we don't boon dock so a campground is a must. Back in the day we used to just go with our truck and trailer and drive till we wanted to stop.Then look at the ole Camping World book to find a campground. But now with a bigger motor home needing full 50 Amp hook up we always make reservations. Plus I believe RVing is more popular today. I would think you may not find a spot later in the day. But I do miss the ole days and not being on a time schedule.

Hotdog,
Yes, it's done all the time. And you are correct in the fact that RVing is far more popular than even a couple of years ago. Not only that but, there's a whole ton of what we call "Live-ins" out there. Those are the ones that have full wheel covers on, potted plants hanging all over the place, fenced (or not fenced) dog runs, and a whole lot more "stuff" hanging around their place than any mobile traveler would have. They're taking up a ton of space in campgrounds and RV parks all over the U.S.

But, we too have traveled for years without making reservations and, it's generally worked out pretty good for quite some time. But, as things get more populated, we changed our "M.O." as the cops refer to. And that is, we might get up in the morning, get ready to go and, start traveling. We calculate just about how long we want to drive and how far we might get. We then consult "the big book" of camping sites. We try and find campgrounds and RV parks rated "10". In that particular book, they're rated with THREE scores.

We'll see a 10-10-10 and, if it's in the area we're headed to, we'll give them a call early in the A.M. And, quite often they have a space or more available. But, this gives us a guarantee that we'll have a safe (supposedly) and secure place to stay for the night, a couple of days, whatever. Sometimes we only find a rating of say, 6-6-5 or, 7-4-4. Obviously the lower the ratings, the less quality of a place to stay.

Sometimes, if we really know our route and, predetermined stopping points, we'll make reservations way ahead of time, if we know the campgrounds/RV parks in the areas intended. But, that's more rare. We just finished, last summer, a 6,500 mile trip around the U.S. and, for the most part, right in the middle of July and August, we had zero problems securing reservations the day we called. And, for the most part, if all we could find was lower than the 10-10-10 rating, we were ok with it as long as we could tolerate the "live-ins".

There were just a few times when, it was closer to a weekend that we were shut out in our calls. Once we learned about situations like that, we'd call more in advance. We survived. As much as we don't mind it, we actually never had to stay in a Walmart parking lot for that whole 6,500 mile trip.
Scott

vsheetz · 03-27-2018, 01:09 AM

We typically only make reservations for busy destination locations or high time seasonal / holidays.

Turnerp · 03-27-2018, 06:09 AM

We never know where we might be when we travel. We might stop at a museum or some attraction. We rarely have a set schedule. What we do is this; About 2 hours before we anticipate stopping, we start looking for CGs, either on-line or in a CG directory. We have an app on our phone for Good Sam Campgrounds and we can also do searches.

We stop at Welcome Centers and pick up CG brochures for the areas that we expect to be in or near. That might give us a target destination.

This works for us but it may not work for others.

Blessings,

MisterT · 03-27-2018, 06:24 AM

two months last year from GA to MN, from Manitoba thru the Yukon, around Alaska, back thru MT, ID, and CO before returning to GA.... 13,000 miles in June and July

not a single advance reservation, and never had any issue finding one...

MisterT · 03-27-2018, 06:27 AM

also, why would the 'size' of your rig make anything any different? it can use 15a or 30a service just like smaller ones do... don't limit yourself - your rig is self contained and I presume can just as easily also 'dry camp' with your generator!

Isaac-1 · 03-27-2018, 06:27 AM

I spent about a month on the road last summer, with 4200 miles of driving from Louisiana to Wyoming and back to do Yellowstone and the big solar eclipse. 5 nights on the road going, and 9 nights driving back (dodging a hurricane that was in the way). Of those travel nights I only made 2 reservations, one was a couple of days in advance for night number 1 of the trip at a state park, and the second was about an hour in advance for night number 2 as I approached a fork in the road and needed to choose between two possible routes. The rest of the nights were at no reservation municipal park, state park, road side commercial rv parks, etc. Only 2 nights were without hookups, though that was at a high elevation at a very popular forest service campground, the rest were a mix of water and electric, or full hookup, though 1 night was 30 amp only. In general as long as I managed to get off the road at least 2-3 hours before sunset I had no problem finding a spot. Then as I settled in some nights I would watch the hoards of people showing up looking for a spot around sunset.

A couple of these places were mostly full, but on this trip I never failed to find a spot at my first attempted location for the night. Others were nearly empty, others were nearly empty, such as municipal rv park behind the town recreation center in a town in central Kansas. 14 water and electric hookups on the edge of a parking lot, and only 3 in use on a Friday night.

YC1 · 03-27-2018, 06:36 AM

We call ahead as the day progresses to see if there is a space. Normally about three hours ahead of our arrival. Often much less.

My Rand Mcnally is terrific in telling me where campgrounds are along my route. The wife does the checking and calling.

MisterT · 03-27-2018, 08:14 AM

some folks are 'planners', they just won't leave without knowing exactly where they are going, what time they will arrive, and have advanced reservations - like my parents.

some of us others are 'travelers', we just travel along the way, maybe to a destination, but enjoy the ride and the sights and don't want to hinder ourselves by 'having' to be somewhere at 'some' specific date or time. Most of us have found out the same - it's not as hard to find places as some would assume, it's actually quite easy. I don't, therefore, buy into this negative thought that somehow RVing today is 'harder', or different, than it used to be - you've got SO MANY resources now than ever before to find and contact places to overnight - and so many RVs are totally self-contained and able to almost 'park' themselves!

**CountryFit** · 03-27-2018, 05:14 PM

i don't plan ahead. the only "plan" i do is looking up https://freecampsites.net/ at half way

.

winniman · 03-27-2018, 06:37 PM

25000 miles of travel in the last five years, and never an advanced reservation. The only trouble we had this year, is one night in northern Florida we had to Walmart as it got too late in the day, and the spring break people had everything booked. No problem. We just went a different way. We dont want to have to follow a schedule. I only call to see if they have space just before we reach an area. Otherwise, they always want a credit card number, which I hate giving out. As stated, we are self sufficient and can boondock for many days without needing anything. I we cant find something, its not the end of the world, but as stated, has only happened once in many miles of travel. If you book too far ahead, and you have mechanical problems, or decide you want to stay longer in one area, you will lose your deposit or pay for nights you are not there. You may have to skip important parts of your trip to get back on schedule. No schedule for me.

DegoRed · 04-01-2018, 12:12 PM

We never ever make reservations, just like others have said 2-3 hours prior to stopping we start calling around, never had a problem yet, and we are every bit of 65ft with our trailer. Have we stayed at some so less than perfect spots, sure but so far so good.

JaguarAZ · 04-01-2018, 12:21 PM

Like others on here, I’ve traveled thousands of miles for up to two months at a time without making advance reservations. Living in the West, it is easier to boondock though. I have noticed over the years that the number of RV/State/Federal parks have not kept up with the number of RV’s. Even a few years ago, we never had to call ahead to an RV park to see if they had space- we just drove to it and they always seemed to accommodate us. Now that is not the case, especially in big tourist areas. Usually on weekends or holidays, we call ahead while on the road now to make sure we can find a space.

Honwing · 04-01-2018, 09:37 PM

We travel like YC1. Travel between Seattle and the Florida Panhandle the last 3 years without reservations. Currently at Cherry Hill Park in Maryland for 18 days seeing the DC sights. We did book this park back in October but due to weather this park has only been around half full. Then off to Seattle making reservations around noon for 3 to 4pm arrival. Traveling in the Spring and Fall has made it easy for us and our 40’ DP to find an RV Park for the night. In the last 30,000 miles we have neither boondocked or Wallyparked.