Community Forums

JFXG · 07-29-2017, 01:04 AM

Bethere..... It's simple supply and demand. If you insist on, or are required to travel when everyone else travels, then you'll encounter high demand. If you can travel off season, there'll be plenty of space. I bet it's easy to find spots right now in south Florida or southern Arizona. Campground's in New England in January are rare. They're mostly all closed for the winter and the owners are in Florida.

We do most of our traveling in Oct-Nov and Apr-May. No probs.

nothermark · 07-29-2017, 05:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saddlesore

The biggest deterrent to building new RV parks is the NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) attitude of many many locales..That combined with the absolutely obscene amount of studies & planning let alone trying to get permits issued prevents most new parks from even being considered, let alone built.

That is probably true in any existing tourist area. The only thing that gets approvals is taking out low cost places to put in higher cost one's because it increases the tax revenue.

If you get away from the established places there are probably a lot of places with empty acres but the problem becomes infrastructure. The power company and cable company are not readily available to supply big seasonal loads unless you can tap unused summer capacity like a public school. Water and sewer can equally be a problem if catering to the folks who all want their 4 GPM hot showers at the same time in their RV's. Big difference from the old 2 or 3 bay shower house.

azpete · 07-29-2017, 08:16 AM

i travel on my job for hwh. i seldom make reservations. if i cant get a campsite, i stay at one of the free overnight parking sites, like walmart, flying j, sams, cracker barrel, cabelas, any many others. i dont stay at destination campgrounds like koa.
i had my first experience at a full campground in el reno oklahoma the middle of july. the oil field and fracking industry has picked up, and campsites in the states that have these industries are rare. call ahead a few hours in advance and then decide on one of the free sites if the campground is full.in the midwest, there are also city parks that allow overnight parking.
you just have to be inventive. i have in a pinch, stopped at a small town police station and pleaded being tired. they let me park out back of the station.

fluffyms · 07-29-2017, 08:51 AM

What an interesting topic !

I would guess most of the replys to this subject are right on the money....suggesting more RV's being sold, everyone seemingly traveling at the same time of year (summer when kids are out of school), relatively cheap fuel prices, stays at the RV parks being longer, low interest rates on financing, more people willing to get into debt buying the RV's, etc. etc.

One of the big factors is that a lot of "nicer" RV facilities are converting to "permanent sites" with modular homes being put on them taking away from the rentable sites for overnite or weekend stayers.

One the subject of new parks being built, I believe that the biggest factor in the lack of newly developed parks is the investment......which is huge !!! Not to mention all the permits required today.

Guess we "old timers" just have to grin and bear it...Especially the ones ( like me ) that have larger units.

Get used to it guys - it's not going to get better. At least not in the foreseeable future anyway.

hohenwald48 · 07-29-2017, 10:52 AM

When I was a kid the population of the US was around 175M. Now it's around 330M. Ther'ya go.

Scottybdivin · 07-29-2017, 12:30 PM

For starters, we never travel when school's out and we try not to stay in RV parks more than necessary. We still have to make reservations some of the time due to maximizing our vacation time and having a large RV. The last couple years we have made reservations for a destination, then scouted the area for nice NF or BLM parks that do not take reservations. We have been very lucky at finding outstanding camp sites with lots of room and privacy. We just pitch a tent, pay the fee, and post the receipt on the post. Then we return for the RV.

We have reservations in Oct at two hard to get places, Grand Canyon and Dead Horse Point SP in Utah. The rest of the nights on the two week trip are undetermined.

road glide · 07-29-2017, 05:48 PM

Driving down central California on 99 near Turlock an RV dealer must have 500 trailers for sale....I told my wife several years ago when this terrorist thing got more heated that Americans for the most part would be more inclined to stay in the states and vacation/travel. Thereby contributing to the congestion.
We have a wedding to go to outside in Portland, Oregon 8-12 but normally try to travel off season....
We have an ownership in Oregon on the coast and we made reservations 3 months ago as "owners". I called a few days ago to confirm our stay in a week. And was told we have a confirmation even if we can't get a full hook up site. LOL so glad we paid $3000 four years ago and $300 annual dues....

ThePowells · 07-29-2017, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by biggcrisp

We tried stopping for one night at a NC state park back in April. They require a 24 hour in-advance reservation. Without, you are not getting in to camp. Needless to say, we did not get to camp there.

Every time we go back into a NCSP they have a list posted at the gate of available spaces for those showing up unannounced. Sometimes they may not have all of the sites available early in the season but I have never seen a 24 hour policy. I have seen people sit at the gate and reserve a spot them walk over to the gate.

ralphie · 07-29-2017, 06:51 PM

We've noticed more shortages over the past five years. Of course, if you're traveling north in the summer, as we just did, its high season there so even worse. We didn't make reservations more than two days out and we were out of luck for a couple of places, but we never had to use a Wal-Mart. Come to FL in the winter and you might be out of luck, too.

boyland · 07-29-2017, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arch Hoagland

Have you been out in the past two months?

Just got back last Sunday and leave again in a couple weeks we travel often every 2-3 weeks for our jobs. Usually stay at least week often more.

So yes.

Like i said we use Good Sams/KOA Apps when traveling they work well.

John Boy · 07-29-2017, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stripe34

We had a lot of trouble finding large-enough, available campsites near the popular locations we want to visit. We are planning & booking WAY out (6-12 months). We have gotten caught with change/cancellation fees more than I'd like. We have also gotten stuck staying at the worst park in an area, and also some really expensive ones.

We are also looking to buy a pad in the north and/or the south. Just have to find the perfect spots :-)

Check out Wagons West in Tucson. Very nice co-op. Google!

jonesdg · 07-29-2017, 08:48 PM

Americans like trends. We have a new and improved mentality. The past few years it has been RV' s and tiny houses(trendy name for trailer). When this fad goes away. People will settle in the "burbs" again and own 3000 square ft homes. Then you will have the campgrounds back. Think about it. I am 52 years old. If I had kept my clothes from the 70's I wouldn't have to go shopping. What's old is new and vice versa. So relax and enjoy this life style you have chosen. God bless and enjoy the road.[emoji2] [emoji2]

chindog · 07-29-2017, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonesdg

Americans like trends. We have a new and improved mentality. The past few years it has been RV' s and tiny houses(trendy name for trailer). When this fad goes away. People will settle in the "burbs" again and own 3000 square ft homes. Then you will have the campgrounds back. Think about it. I am 52 years old. If I had kept my clothes from the 70's I wouldn't have to go shopping. What's old is new and vice versa. So relax and enjoy this life style you have chosen. God bless and enjoy the road.[emoji2] [emoji2]

If I had kept my clothes from the 70's, I wouldn't fit in them.

boyland · 07-29-2017, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pbac

We just finished a month long trip covering 18 states out west, and I can attest to the lack of GOOD RV parks that are available on the fly. Parking 8' from another rig on each side in a field (or parking lot) is not my idea of a good experience. As an entrepreneur, my brain was constantly churning about how to provide a great camping (motorhoming) experience in interesting locations.

As an informal poll, what are the top 5 things to that would make your camping experience great? Space and privacy? A natural surrounding? Shade trees? Fire pits? A centrally-located evening gathering place with fire pits?

What would your wish list include? I would love to hear from you!

overnight stay mostly we care if there is power full hookups are nice but not must haves. Staying 8 foot or 20 foot really makes no difference to us on an overnight. Staying someplace for a week we like patio sites if they are available.