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Milehghcty · 12-25-2014, 05:13 PM

Our fist year motorhoming and traveling the south during a couple of winter months (end of Jan, all of Feb, and most of March). We will be starting around Panama City, FL, and work our ways west ending in southern Texas before heading back home to SD. Would like your experiences on getting a space at FAMCAMPS for a couple of weeks at a time during these months. Are they normally filled with snowbirds and not possible, or can you call ahead and makes reservations a week out and still find a slot? We have the iPhone APP that shows where all the military FAMCAMPS are located and their phone numbers. This will be a learning experience for us. Also, if the FAMCAMPS are on the base/fort/post, is it hard getting your MH and TOAD on the base?

Thanks ... Tom (Retired USAF FMer)

jbprac · 12-25-2014, 05:57 PM

Tom......military campgrounds in the south tend to be fairly busy in the winter, but they all have different policies regarding reservations, some do not take reservations. I would suggest calling the ones you may visit, to find out the conditions of their operations. Some are on base, and some are not. Lots of different situations regarding availability of exchange, commissary, fuel, etc. Getting MH and toad on base is usually not hard, but sometimes a bit confusing as there may be specific gates you have to use.....and so on. So....I would suggest calling to get the latest scoop. Sure hope you have fun........Jim

Milehghcty · 12-26-2014, 10:00 AM

Thanks Jim. Without a schedule of when or where we may be at the begin or our travels makes it difficult to make reservations if the FamCamp takes reservations. I will certainly call and get the scoop after the new year and get an idea of availability (and perhaps make reservations for Feb (if taken) since we'll have a better idea of our itinerary by then). Thought we'd like to do Tyndall AFB, Eglin AFB or Pensacola NAS, Keesler AFB, New Orleans (Aviation Arbor) NAS, some or all as we make our way west towards Mission, Texas. Hopefully our first year of several months of vagabonding is a good experience. The rates at the FamCamps sure are reasonable compared to nearby places not connected to the military.

hogdriver · 12-26-2014, 10:11 AM

Most FAMCAMPS down south in the winter do not take reservations and are first come. Most of the ones we visited in Florida during the peak months Dec-Mar have a waiting list for sites with hookups but have no hookup sites you can rent while waiting for "your turn" with hookups. Key West NAS, for example, has two sites and has probably 100 hookup sites and 200 non hookup sites. We have visited Key West every Jan for the past 5 years and have no problem with using batteries and conserving water and enjoying the sunshine. A lot of folks run the small 1000-2000 watt portable generators during the day to charge batteries and run their appliances.

If Key West has your interest there is no commercial CG as good and none actually on the Key. If the Navy base charged what the sites are worth, they'd rent for $100-$200/day.

MacDill, Pensacola, Patrick, Jacksonville are all fully occupied in the winter but generally each has a few openings for sites without hookups. If you wait 7-14 days you can probably "rotate" onto a hookup site. They let you sit on the hookup site for 2 weeks, then rotate back to the non hookup sites and start all over.

Tetonchief · 12-26-2014, 10:51 AM

Only a handful of military installation campgrounds accept long term reservations. Hog driver has good info. MacDill is a 14 day advance reservation for a 2 week stay during season. Does not mean there will be any openings on the day you call--hit or miss. Most places have a 14 day max stay then have to rotate out a day minimum. Some are 7 days some are 21. Some do have grass sites with no hook ups as an overflow. Most if not all have quiet hours concerning generator operation. There is an Allstays RV Military app which has not only on base/post campgrounds but also private CG that give deals to military active and retired.

Milehghcty · 12-26-2014, 12:42 PM

Great info. If you are able to stay in the overflow waiting for a hookup spot, is there a place near where you can go to after several days to dump and fill up with water? Don't have yet a small generator yet, but was thinking about getting a Honda 1000 or 2000 to save running the bigger coach generator. Do the bases/posts have a place to buy propane or is that an off base excursion?

Milehghcty · 12-26-2014, 01:12 PM

One other quick question I forgot to ask. Do any of the FamCamps have WiFi? If not, can use the hot spot on my phone, but could save a little data if WiFi is available part of the time ....

jpharley · 12-27-2014, 11:30 AM

We are at a military campground in Gulfport, MS now. Lots of empty spaces and they take reservations. This is the Navy campground. We checked out Keesler and did not like it. Kings Bay, GA has a very nice military campground that takes reservations and it is just north of Jacksonville, Florida on I-95. Take Exit 1 or 3 to get to it. Ft Sam Houston in San Antonio takes reservations and is also very nice. Lots of options available. Check out www.militarycampgrounds.us for information and reviews. Most military installations do not use base decals any longer and require military identification for all vehicle occupants to enter. Some gates have barriers that make entering/departing difficult. Here in Gulfport, we planned our arrival/departure on days we know the commercial gate is open because we have a big rig and the commercial gate is just easier for us.

pagosajoe · 12-27-2014, 11:38 AM

If you have a smartphone, the FREE Allstays Military Campgrounds RV Park app is very useful.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...amprvmil&hl=en

Milehghcty · 12-27-2014, 12:21 PM

I have the Allstays C-RV Military iPhone app. It is a great tool with a lot of info. The Gulfport FamCamp is on the list and thanks pagosajoe for the info that you like better than Keesler. Not that far between the two places. The app shows internet available? And thanks for the info they take reservations I'll call and make reservations for the later part of Feburary. How long can you stay? Has anyone stayed at Eglin or Mid Bay Shores Maxwell (they are fairly close together)? One time when I was TDY to Eglin I remember seeing the FamCamp area and it looked nice and very near the water. Might try one of those for the first couple of weeks in Feb (will just skip over Pensacola NAS -- try that another year). In March, would like to try Shield Parks NAS (Corpus Christi) or Nasking Fam Camp (also near Corups Christy). If neither available would go to San Antonio and try Ft Sam Houston or one of the other military camps available in the vicinity.

This is very helpful ... thanks all for the info ...

Tetonchief · 12-27-2014, 06:03 PM

If you Google Military campgrounds or fam camps there should be links like the USAF Recreation Services and the other services have them too. There is also military camp sites that are free or you purchase a subscription. There is a book for sale on base with all base info for camp sites, current prices, wifi yes or no, reservations, guns on base etc etc etc.. The book and the on line version is updated yearly. This might be everything you want and need to know.

Ray,IN · 12-27-2014, 07:36 PM

Use the usmilitarycampgrounds.us website for current driving directions, contact numbers, dates and times, etc. WiFi for Navy famcamps is now provided by the Navy. When you initially sign-up, your user name and password remains the same for ALL Navy installations. https://gowifinavy.nnu.com/ You must be on a Navy installation to set it up. Most famcamp WiFi is at the office, some have repeaters.
Here is an example of Army famcamps: http://www.militarycampgrounds.us/te...n-army-rv-park

Milehghcty · 12-28-2014, 03:36 PM

Thanks all for the great info. We have a better idea of dates and length of stays we want to do on this trip and have the phone #s for 4 or 5 different FamCamps along the gulf coast. Tried to call on Saturday, but couldn't get an answer at the first 3 (to include the NAS at Gulfport) so assume since these are run through MWR (at least on the AF Bases) the offices were closed on Saturday. Will try again on Monday. .. Tom (USAF CMSgt Retired FMer)

Milehghcty · 12-29-2014, 04:51 PM

Quick update. I was able to make reservations through the middle of March at FAMCAMPS to include Pensacola (Blue Angles), Gulfport, and Corpus Christe. Will also start at and stay at Tydall AFB (Panama City) for a couple of weeks ... they don't take reservations but indicated they have not turned anyone away in 10 years. Might be in a holding area for awhile, but their holding area also has water and electric. Thanks all for the help .... looks like our several plus months of staying out of the cold is going to work out well. 3 degrees here now and dropping to -13 tonight with about same temps tomorrow!