Moving to New York

[prevail90]

I am a full-time RVer with a family and we are moving to New York in February. We are going to Fort Drum and I have been having a hellish time finding a year-round campground. Most if not all campgrounds there are seasonal. Does any one know of a campground near Fort Drum that isn't seasonal or another location that I can park and live from?

[RVThere]

My son went to school at Paul Smith near Saranac Lake NY which is the same general weather area as Fort Drum. It gets COLD beyond COLD there. He would regularly go to classes when it was -23 degrees out.

With that said, RV's are not made to withstand that kind of weather. Even if you found a spot, you're burning a ton of propane, you're dealing with a ton of condensation inside, your water hose is frozen and probably your waste tanks too. Plus you're trying to set all that up in February which is the peak of the freeze. That is why the campgrounds close down all winter. Winter there starts about now and goes until May!

You may want to contact some of the campgrounds and see if they need a winter caretaker to be on property and make sure the buildings are secure.

Good luck!

[prevail90]

Yea, I know. They decided to send me in the dead of winter which makes no sense, but hey it's the military for ya. But for what you said, I do understand. I do not use propane to heat my RV anymore as that gets very expensive. I am installing a wood gasifier or a cobic wood stove to heat the RV and hydronic radiant flooring. If that all doesn't work or I cant get it in in time I use electric radiators which have done really well in the past. My hose is a heated hose and my tanks are all heated. I will be installing more insulation to all the outside water lines and ensure to have an extra heater down there as well.

[twogypsies]

Check this site and start calling. Some mobile home parks allow RVs. Fort Drum has Remington Park FamCamp which opens April 1. Perhaps winterize your RV and rent an apartment for a couple months. Or maybe leave your family where they are now and have them meet you April 1 when the FamCamp opens. Good luck!

https://www.campgroundreviews.com/re...york/watertown

[Winemaker2]

I spent 11 years in NY North Country and would not consider living in an RV during the winter. Not saying it can't be done but it will be very challenging at best.
Mobile homes jump through hoops to enclose / skirt and insulate the bottom.
I wish you good luck.
Thank you for your service.

[Hit_the_Rhod]

You DO know that they Army moved a lot of their training from Alaska to Fort Drum so they could train in ARCTIC conditions cheaper than Alaska, don't you? . . .
Good luck with your plan, but I think moving your family in April, after the Famcamp opens up would be a better option . . . but that's just me

[boomersooner]

I spent three years at Fort Drum in the mid 90's. Would not consider living in an RV, PT in -20 degree, feet of snow, blistering winds, and sun up around 0830 and down at 1600 does not leave much light. We once had a "heat wave" where the temperature went from -20 to 29 and people were wearing shorts.

[Toby Dog]

I guess that General overheard you after all.

[Bowtie Jim]

Not far from Fort Drum area, we spent a week near Old Forge snowmobiling a few years ago. It never got above -15F the whole time we were there. Lows at night were -30F to -35F.
Brutal. And you want to live in a RV there? I think you're nuts sorry.

[Indy Glenn]

Originally Posted by Hit_the_Rhod

You DO know that they Army moved a lot of their training from Alaska to Fort Drum so they could train in ARCTIC conditions cheaper than Alaska, don't you? . . .
Good luck with your plan, but I think moving your family in April, after the Famcamp opens up would be a better option . . . but that's just me

You guys are young!!! LOL

I was at "Camp" Drum in the early '70s....not sure what year it became a "Fort", maybe '72 or '73, it became a fort when the 10th Mountain Division was assigned there.

Interesting place Fort Drum. Speaking about having arctic conditions, Camp Drum hosted an annual exercise there called "Empire Glacier". Arctic training at it's finest.....

.........and it was rumored DoD kept Ft Drum in the inventory as it had the nearest climate conditions as Europe. We were still in the "Cold War".

I was going to mention the Famcamp but see it opens in April.

That part of New York State is beautiful - Ft Drum is beautiful.

Hope you like snow.....

Good luck.

g

[GonetoRaces]

You will not find a campground open in February anywhere near Fort Drum and you are right in the middle of a snow belt and when there are lake effect snow storms you would not believe the amount of snow and white outs.

I live in Ontario north of this area and we get storms here and lots of snow but I had the experience in being in one of the lake effect snow storms down there and I couldn’t believe it! Driving in it was like driving in a white tunnel and the only way I knew where I was going was by staying close enough to car in front of me taillights. I couldn’t stop as I was on the interstate and it was safer to keep going for fear of getting rammed into. Now I know the difference between a snow storm and a lake effect snow storm. Yes it is very cold too.

Some years it’s mild in Feb, March but you could also have very cold until middle of April. There are hotels in or near Fort Drum that are like suites and I’m sure they offer healthy monthly discounts for Military members. I personally think you will be better off going this route.

Good Luck!

[Meames1]

Old Forge Campground is open year round as they cater to the snowmobile crowd also. I would expect minimal amenities, possibly even no water due to freezing. Even so, they are an hour and a half from Watertown. We've stayed there a few times and it's right in downtown Old Forge, for food etc. Good luck to you and thanks for your service.

https://www.oldforgecamping.com/acco...ter-seasonals/

[n2zon]

Good grief! Dante's 7th circle sounds warmer than Fort Drum from some descriptions, but the averages are not *that* bad:

https://weatherspark.com/y/147148/Av...tes-Year-Round
https://www.weather-us.com/en/new-yo...climate_text_2

In average winters, it ought to be manageable, I'd think. A skirt would help cut heat loss through the floor. I see them on workers' trailers in CGs that cater to them in colder climates. It sounds like the OP has a good handle on all of this.

[twogypsies]

Wish the OP would return and let us know what he's going to do!