Community Forums

Abnmarine · 06-08-2010, 04:34 PM

I've always been someone who plans things out. Probably due to my military background. Same with a vacation. Not each day but an overall plan with reservations.

Next week we along with another couple of friends are taking our RV's up to Maine for 12-14 days. We will travel secondary highways, through PA taking our time. No reservations or plans have been made. We have places of interests in mind but we will just go where we like, when we like.

This is new to me but I'm excited to try it out this way. My only concerns are if we can't find a CG with openings. We intend to use a CG every 2-3 days to rest/relax. My only guideline was not to spend everyday driving all day. We both are bringing our toads too.

Is this a good idea or are we setting ourselves up for dissappointment?

skipwil · 06-08-2010, 04:47 PM

Sounds like a good plan to me. IMHO I'd get a Woodalls Rv camping book and see which campgrounds are available along some of the routes you all will travel. Something else to consider are bridges and underpasses-(too narrow-too low). Also I figure total distance vs. distance per day and plan that way. Make a driving plan - then drive the plan.
Safe travels and keep us posted on your success...

HD4Mark · 06-08-2010, 04:50 PM

Guess I an like you are. I like to have a plan before departing so there are no surprises. The "wing it and see what happens" approach sounds like fun but can be a disaster if you get caught with nowhere to stay. I might try researching CGs along the route then either check availability online or better yet call some to see what your chances are to get sites last minute..

Abnmarine · 06-08-2010, 04:53 PM

Joe, I have that catalog and also an app on my iPhone that works with google maps. He also has similar references. State or National parks is our prefference. I like not being stuck to a timeline too.

Chuck 1935 · 06-08-2010, 05:06 PM

Abnmarine, Thats the way we do it. I have Trailer Life Campground Directory on my Laptop with a GPS plugged into the Laptop. It tracks where we are and shows all the campgrounds and their information near where we are.. Now that I'm retired I don't need a schedule.

Bill Adams · 06-08-2010, 05:19 PM

I almost never make advance travel plans when we have time in between the various shows that we attend. We know generally where we want to go and when we get there (or land somewhere else) we either find a campground or dry camp if there is nothing convenient and/or affordable nearby. The weather has a large bearing on whether we "need" a campground as I am not one to suffer through a hot night with the windows open hoping for a nice breeze. Even when we know we must find hookups, we very rarely make campground reservations days in advance but are often heading down the road when we figure out what we want to do and call to see if we can get a reservation in that town. We use Woodall's book and on-line to do a search and if we are concerned about trees (the enemy of satellite users) we will use Google Earth to take a look at the campground as well.
We love traveling without a firm plan and highly recommend it to everyone (at least once or twice)! Last year we drove from Colorado Springs, CO up the mountain to Cripple Creek. We knew there were a couple of campgrounds up there but we knew nothing of the area or the camping or if we would even like the place. When we arrived we found a fairly rustic campground (I had to search for a nice word for crappy) but with an excellent location. We signed up for 3 nights which we later extended to the weekly rate. We finally left after 2 weeks and we hope to go back again this Summer if our travels allow. Life is good. Life without a plan is better!

AFChap · 06-08-2010, 05:24 PM

I am a detailed planner also, BUT we rarely make RV park reservations and have NEVER been turned away. If I think they might be full, I will sometimes call when we are less than an hour away when I have other options in mind. We normally make reservations only if we were planning to be arriving in a popular area during a holiday period, OR if we HAD to be in a particular area and there were limited options there.

I have found that if I call ahead and ask if it looks like they will have openings, about 90% of the time they will say I need to make reservations. And most of the time when we arrive we find the place is nowhere near full...

Vegasdan · 06-08-2010, 05:45 PM

We sometimes will make reservations in advance and other times we will just find a CG and check in early to make sure we can fit in. I don't advise driving till late in the day and trusting to luck.

wa8yxm · 06-08-2010, 06:37 PM

I have done it both ways.. Now in the old days I'd plan out every detail of a 2-week vacation and it always seemed I was rushed, gotta hurry to get to the next targeted site.

Then I decided to "plan" about 10 days, but squeeze the trip into 14... And that was nice.

Now.. I plan, perhaps, 10 days a year,, Easter, Christmas, That kind of thing.

GaryKD · 06-08-2010, 07:05 PM

Hi Abnmarine,
For me, it all depends. If it is just the wife and me, I make reservations for our next stop a day or two before we leave our current CG. During the summer trip with the Gkids, I am required to have the trip planned out in advance. Ya see there is an intermediate layer of management called parents (especially mommies). The schedule planned out is pretty light so there is not normally a rush.

Abnmarine · 06-08-2010, 08:58 PM

I appreciate the replies. I'm looking forward to this. Who knows, I might learn that I would enjoy a vacation more by not planning it completely.

Ray,IN · 06-08-2010, 09:02 PM

I do as AFChap. I drive about 300 miles/day max. or until we see something interesting. I get off the road about 3PM if we are staying in a CG that night and have never had to move on because everything was full. This also allows us time to relax, swim, grill our dinner, and take a walk to relieve our bodies of the tension built-up sitting for prolonged periods.

Wayne M · 06-09-2010, 12:39 AM

Hey Marine!
I also plan as I go. I use any one of the many on-line mapping programs, and Microsoft Streets & Trips. An example: We are sitting in Junction City, OR, right now awaiting repairs. I cannot call for a reservation or availability until I know we will be leaving here. We will spend one extra night here at the repair facility with electrical hook up only after we are fixed. I'll take that time to scout the mapping system for a CG about 250-300 miles from here. I'll be looking at Ft Lewis, WA, first, but if they are full up I'll start looking at other CG's in the area of Ft Lewis. Once we are settled in I'll let DW decide how long we are staying, and I'll call ahead to Whidbey Island NAS to see if I can get a site there. If not, I'll look at the area for other CG. The only time I plan far ahead is for a Holiday weekend. With the 4th coming up we need to look ahead to where we want to be and see if we can find a CG for that weekend. If not, I'll have to boondock, and I don't like doing that (personal preference)

Happy trails.

Semper Fi!

JWatkins · 06-09-2010, 01:22 AM

The last MOHO trip we took wasn't planned at all. When folks would ask "Where are you going?" my reply was "north". That was the extent of the plan. We drove until we saw something we wanted to investigate and stopped as often as we liked. Never made any reservations beyond calling a little ahead to see if a particular listed TV park has space, but we took pot luck on several occasions and were pleasantly surprised at what we discovered. In fact we probably saw more and did more than any "planned" vacation that I have ever taken. I liked winging it and will do it again for sure.
Joe