Community Forums

ScenicView · 05-09-2019, 07:55 AM

With the new and bigger TT we're going to start taking longer trips.

On a lark I put a trip from New England to Disney Fort Wilderness into RV Trip Wizard. This isn't going to happen anytime soon, but I wanted to see what it looked like.

One thing I noticed is that it's kind of difficult to find decent camp grounds that are not KOA's to overnight.

There are a lot of poorly rated campgrounds and the ones that are 4+ stars have a minimum stay requirement.

I had this idea that it would be easy to reserve a site in a decent full hookup CG, stay overnight and hit the road in the morning.

Not so much? Not having done anything more than a 1 gas tank trip before, I was wondering what others did for multiday trips (with kids)?

sbleiweiss · 05-09-2019, 08:00 AM

Many in places like AZ and FL in snowbird season have monthly only reservations and that sort of requirement. But I haven't found anything like that in other parts of the country, or in those places outside of snowbird season.

bobbelcher · 05-09-2019, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScenicView

With the new and bigger TT we're going to start taking longer trips.

On a lark I put a trip from New England to Disney Fort Wilderness into RV Trip Wizard. This isn't going to happen anytime soon, but I wanted to see what it looked like.

One thing I noticed is that it's kind of difficult to find decent camp grounds that are not KOA's to overnight.

There are a lot of poorly rated campgrounds and the ones that are 4+ stars have a minimum stay requirement.

I had this idea that it would be easy to reserve a site in a decent full hookup CG, stay overnight and hit the road in the morning.

Not so much? Not having done anything more than a 1 gas tank trip before, I was wondering what others did for multiday trips (with kids)?

I tend to stay at walmart or cracker barrels when i need to stay over night. I am in an RV with a generator so i just make sure they allow me to park there over night and park out of the way. and go to bed. wake up in the morning and head out. if i stay at walmart ill also try and buy gas from there as a thank you for letting me sleep there. its also nice if i need anything walmart is literally in my front "asphalt yard"

You can sometimes contact campgrounds and explain your situation and some campgrounds will accommodate you staying one night. But this is rare. I don't usually worry about full hookups until my destination. I have enough water and bring my own power with the generator, that I can wait until i get to my destination. I have not traveled with kids over 6 hours away so that does make my situation different than yours but I don't know how the situation would differ. if you are just using the destination to sleep then why do you need the full hookups. if you are wanting to dump and add water to the tank, any camp ground would be happy to rent you their dumpstation for a few bucks or pilot stations usually have a dump and fresh water station that you can use for 10 bucks.

Lv2Roam2 · 05-09-2019, 08:20 AM

Many of us snowbirds routinely travel to/from Florida and east coast states and stay one night at a time at CGs in GA, SC, NC, VA, PA. We just did our north bound trip from FL to PA with two single-night stops - no problems. We used Camp Lake Jasper CG in Hardeeville, SC and Fort Chiswell CG in Max Meadows, VA.

I suggest looking again and making a few phone calls once your travel plans firm up. And for kids - any campground with a pool is going to be a huge hit after a day of travel.

ktn1966 · 05-09-2019, 11:40 AM

Try looking up State and federal campgrounds along the routes. These are usually for the outdoor types with kids running loose in a campground. Some have hook ups and others don't so be prepared.

twogypsies · 05-09-2019, 02:41 PM

There are plenty of basic campgrounds, including public parks - state, national forest, city and county.

Read those ratings again. What are people complaining about to give a low rating? Most likely, it's about something that wouldn't affect you; especially for an overnight. Weed out the very best reviews and the worst reviews for a specific campground. People complain about the silliest things.

I think you need to lower your expectations a little for an overnight campsite. You don't need the best one out there. You're only going to be there a few hours. You and the kids will survive!

rk911 · 05-09-2019, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbleiweiss

Many in places like AZ and FL in snowbird season have monthly only reservations and that sort of requirement. But I haven't found anything like that in other parts of the country, or in those places outside of snowbird season.

and even that’s not 100% true. we’ve had no trouble finding parks anywhere during anytime of the year for 1-night stays. suggest you look at the RV Parky app.

ScenicView · 05-09-2019, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twogypsies

There are plenty of basic campgrounds, including public parks - state, national forest, city and county.

Read those ratings again. What are people complaining about to give a low rating? Most likely, it's about something that wouldn't affect you; especially for an overnight. Weed out the very best reviews and the worst reviews for a specific campground. People complain about the silliest things.

I think you need to lower your expectations a little for an overnight campsite. You don't need the best one out there. You're only going to be there a few hours. You and the kids will survive!

That's true

. It is difficult not to go down a rabbit hole once those negative reviews start popping up!

ScenicView · 05-09-2019, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rk911

and even that’s not 100% true. we’ve had no trouble finding parks anywhere during anytime of the year for 1-night stays. suggest you look at the RV Parky app.

I'll check it out.

CT-camper · 05-09-2019, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScenicView

With the new and bigger TT we're going to start taking longer trips.

On a lark I put a trip from New England to Disney Fort Wilderness into RV Trip Wizard. This isn't going to happen anytime soon, but I wanted to see what it looked like.

One thing I noticed is that it's kind of difficult to find decent camp grounds that are not KOA's to overnight.

There are a lot of poorly rated campgrounds and the ones that are 4+ stars have a minimum stay requirement.

I had this idea that it would be easy to reserve a site in a decent full hookup CG, stay overnight and hit the road in the morning.

Not so much? Not having done anything more than a 1 gas tank trip before, I was wondering what others did for multiday trips (with kids)?

So we are mostly new to RV-ing beyond a rental unit - and have booked a family trip for early July from SW Connecticut to central Ohio for a camping gathering with my siblings (we take ownership of our new rig mid-June)....

Long story short, I broke the 750 miles across busy PA and OH, into 2 nights...and with 2 Omnipotent and All-Knowing (and yet Mostly Awesome) Teenagers on board, I booked KOA all the way.

Given that I was spanning the July 4th Holiday, some parks wanted multi-night stays. I had places to be. I said, "Nah." and worked around those parks, found other KOA options, often at lower price.

Ultimately, I got it mapped out, there and back, different KOAs each night before/after 4 nights in Ohio State Parks (30 amp, shared water spigot

)

Bottom line: it's doable, IMHO.

Just be sure to read up on the reviews before booking. Some KOAs are absolute duds - most are not - reviews are your friend and available directly on the KOA site of interest.

cheers
CT-camper

CT-camper · 05-09-2019, 07:41 PM

And can I just add?
We are true Disney Fans - DVC all the way. So yeah, you can do this. And from what I've seen on this forum, the Fort Wilderness RV sites are top notch.

elite wa · 05-09-2019, 11:01 PM

I hate to say it but KOAs are perfect for a quick overnight stop. They aren’t always the resort types there are a lot that are really just perfect for a stay over.

twogypsies · 05-10-2019, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elite wa

I hate to say it but KOAs are perfect for a quick overnight stop. They aren’t always the resort types there are a lot that are really just perfect for a stay over.

Their prices are way too high for a few hours stay.

ScenicView · 05-11-2019, 05:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CT-camper

Ultimately, I got it mapped out, there and back, different KOAs each night before/after 4 nights in Ohio State Parks (30 amp, shared water spigot

)

Bottom line: it's doable, IMHO.

Just be sure to read up on the reviews before booking. Some KOAs are absolute duds - most are not - reviews are your friend and available directly on the KOA site of interest.

cheers
CT-camper

Your trip sounds great!

The KOA's seem to be the most reliable for overnighting and some of them sound very good to visit as destinations. We actually booked a week this summer at a KOA and just bought a membership (value kard).