Permanent residents at the parks?

[AKP]

As a newcomer I am intrigued by the variety of ideas and experiences each member has expressed. I’m just glad that I am FREE to choose and there are a lot of choices. Apparently the RV lifestyle has a niche for everyone. I would never be able to travel if I had to spend 70-80 bucks a night anywhere. As a retired civil servant, I am going to travel and live within my means so I can enjoy what is left of our countries natural areas. It is nice to know that there are options for longer term stays without a “permanent “ commitment to real estate.

I do have a question about how full timers manage residency for licensing, voting etc. any ideas ?

[nothermark]

Originally Posted by AKP

As a newcomer I am intrigued by the variety of ideas and experiences each member has expressed. I’m just glad that I am FREE to choose and there are a lot of choices. Apparently the RV lifestyle has a niche for everyone. I would never be able to travel if I had to spend 70-80 bucks a night anywhere. As a retired civil servant, I am going to travel and live within my means so I can enjoy what is left of our countries natural areas. It is nice to know that there are options for longer term stays without a “permanent “ commitment to real estate.

I do have a question about how full timers manage residency for licensing, voting etc. any ideas ?

Residency requirements vary by state. A couple of states are known to be RV friendly. They are Florida, South Dakota and Texas. The main issue is having a permanent mail box location so you can use it to register vehicles, vote and handle other assorted business. If you have another state you want to use because you have someone to handle your mail then check the state laws there. You may be required to be there part of the year or to be available for certain things. There are many threads about where to go or who is better but that is the quick answer.

[ThePowells]

Originally Posted by AKP

As a newcomer I am intrigued by the variety of ideas and experiences each member has expressed. I’m just glad that I am FREE to choose and there are a lot of choices. Apparently the RV lifestyle has a niche for everyone. I would never be able to travel if I had to spend 70-80 bucks a night anywhere. As a retired civil servant, I am going to travel and live within my means so I can enjoy what is left of our countries natural areas. It is nice to know that there are options for longer term stays without a “permanent “ commitment to real estate.

I do have a question about how full timers manage residency for licensing, voting etc. any ideas ?

The answers to most of your questions will be on the Fulltimers forum below.



Full-Timers - iRV2 Forums


Also, the search feature in the green box at the top of the page is a great resource and is set to only IRV2 by default. It is a Google powered search so the key wording is the same.

[photobob]

Originally Posted by AKP

As a newcomer I am intrigued by the variety of ideas and experiences each member has expressed. I’m just glad that I am FREE to choose and there are a lot of choices. Apparently the RV lifestyle has a niche for everyone. I would never be able to travel if I had to spend 70-80 bucks a night anywhere. As a retired civil servant, I am going to travel and live within my means so I can enjoy what is left of our countries natural areas. It is nice to know that there are options for longer term stays without a “permanent “ commitment to real estate.

I do have a question about how full timers manage residency for licensing, voting etc. any ideas ?

I could go through and give a answer to all of your questions but as you mentioned there are lots of choices. And a lot of opinions.
In the West & South West there are many RV parks that cost less than $500 per month . Some much less for a yearly stay.

State Parks & Corp of Engineer Parks are good too, many provide full hookups for less than $20 per night.
Residency is a common topic with the preferred places are Florida, Texas and South Dakota.
The choice of residence is made based on your Income (Tax Reasons) , the cost of your Licensing & registration.

Some states ,you only need a mailing address , Some states don't require vehicle inspections . For example South Dakota requires you to return every 5 years to renew your license.
Our daughter lived not far from us so when we sold our house we adopted her address. We can renew our RV registration once out of state ( designed for students & military) but we will need to go back east in 2020. A long trip from Arizona but worth it to see the grandkids.

Stay on Irv2 and do a lot of YouTube.....welcome to the RV lifestyle.

2011 Newmar Bay Star 2901 towing 2016 Nissan Versa on Acme Dolly

[MrZip]

I'll add one other situation that came up. We spend part of the Winter Months in a small seasonal rated RV Park. Rates are based on size of site, view, and proximity to the water. The owners really love the snowbirds as generally it makes their life easy once we're set up on a site anywhere from 4 to 1 month. The RV park is 100% full with snowbirds until April. Summer rates start in April and all the snowbirds leave so then the sites become weekly rentals but pay a lot higher rate. Quite a few visitors pull into the RV park to inquire and look around, invariably some rich guy with a big Class A will pull in and want to try and get a prime spot to permanently place his big Class A. Luckily the owners will have nothing to do with these people and keep their sites open for their snowbirds and weekly customers. I bring this up because I can see where all the prime sites could be taken up in a RV park from these rich predators. I think this is already the case in Florida, and if this trend continues then the "little" guy will be left to State Parks and other public facilities.

[creativepart]

Originally Posted by MrZip

all the prime sites could be taken up in a RV park from these rich predators.

Great attitude. Sheesh!

[Eastham]

Its funny.
Nobody wants permanent RV ,s in the parks But have you ever looked at the waiting list to get a seasonal site in some of the more desirable parks? Ten year waiting list is not unusual. I know of people who have tried to get on the list and couldn't. Then they complain about it not fair to have the seasonal campers.You can't please everyone so dont even try.

[UFO Pilot]

Originally Posted by MrZip

I'll add one other situation that came up. We spend part of the Winter Months in a small seasonal rated RV Park. Rates are based on size of site, view, and proximity to the water. The owners really love the snowbirds as generally it makes their life easy once we're set up on a site anywhere from 4 to 1 month. The RV park is 100% full with snowbirds until April. Summer rates start in April and all the snowbirds leave so then the sites become weekly rentals but pay a lot higher rate. Quite a few visitors pull into the RV park to inquire and look around, invariably some rich guy with a big Class A will pull in and want to try and get a prime spot to permanently place his big Class A. Luckily the owners will have nothing to do with these people and keep their sites open for their snowbirds and weekly customers. I bring this up because I can see where all the prime sites could be taken up in a RV park from these rich predators. I think this is already the case in Florida, and if this trend continues then the "little" guy will be left to State Parks and other public facilities.

WOW!!

[RickNC]

Originally Posted by Eastham

Its funny.
Nobody wants permanent RV ,s in the parks But have you ever looked at the waiting list to get a seasonal site in some of the more desirable parks? Ten year waiting list is not unusual. I know of people who have tried to get on the list and couldn't. Then they complain about it not fair to have the seasonal campers.You can't please everyone so dont even try.

Wow, 10 year waiting list! I guess the good spots are getting to be like fishing holes, If you find a good one keep it to yourself! I already do that to some degree with some of my favorite campgrounds.

[Mikanjoy]

It’s all about return on the investment, folks. A landowner is going to set up the area so it pulls in the most $$$, over the long haul. It’s no secret that high...and going higher from the observations of previous writers...demand and fixed or limited supply equals higher prices. This will never change._

[momdoc]

Originally Posted by MrZip

I'll add one other situation that came up. We spend part of the Winter Months in a small seasonal rated RV Park. Rates are based on size of site, view, and proximity to the water. The owners really love the snowbirds as generally it makes their life easy once we're set up on a site anywhere from 4 to 1 month. The RV park is 100% full with snowbirds until April. Summer rates start in April and all the snowbirds leave so then the sites become weekly rentals but pay a lot higher rate. Quite a few visitors pull into the RV park to inquire and look around, invariably some rich guy with a big Class A will pull in and want to try and get a prime spot to permanently place his big Class A. Luckily the owners will have nothing to do with these people and keep their sites open for their snowbirds and weekly customers. I bring this up because I can see where all the prime sites could be taken up in a RV park from these rich predators. I think this is already the case in Florida, and if this trend continues then the "little" guy will be left to State Parks and other public facilities.

Wonderful attitude. I bet you don't have many friends

[Durango382]

"rich predators"? Come on - this is getting ridiculous. I am going to unsubscribe from this thread so I don't have to see [mod edit] comments like that.

[AKP]

Thanks for the responses I do appreciate getting a variety of opinions from so many different viewpoints. It is helpful to understand what others are experiencing.

[nothermark]

Originally Posted by Durango382

"rich predators"? Come on - this is getting ridiculous. I am going to unsubscribe from this thread so I don't have to see [mod edit] comments like that.

I would not call it a [mod edit]. It's how he runs his business. Not everyone is after maximizing profits or catering to the most demanding folks. If I owned a park I would ban anything over 26,000 lbs. Easier, lower cost roads and pads for the lighter stuff. Less damage when they manage to get stuck.