Community Forums

dallas121469 · 01-11-2022, 02:07 PM

This is a two fold thread.

1. As a nurse doing travel assignments in my RV it has become nearly impossible to find an RV site when I need housing for a job. I generally only know where my next assignment is 2-4 weeks in advance and parks are booked out months in advance or they tell me they won't know until closer to my start date if something will be available. I can't accept a job without knowing a spot will be available. So does anyone know any other way to find spots such as private land owners etc?

2. I'm starting to get a bit depressed. It has been my goal for 10 years to work and travel full-time now everyone is clogging up the RV parks and I've read that things are only going to get worse with the millions of people who purchased RVs. I made a $95k investment in a nice Motorhome just before the pandemic and now I can't even use it as I intended.

So if anyone knows other camping options please let me know

dizcom · 01-11-2022, 02:25 PM

Sorry to hear about your troubles! There are some different sites out there to find a spot. What we've found is that by casting a wider net, we have better luck. We look for spots in the area, rather than set our sites on one specific campground. We haven't had any problems staying where we want to go, but we rarely camp for more than a week in one spot. If you don't mind moving, you'll probably have more luck than if you try to reserve long stretches of time. I would also just explain your situation to the campgrounds and see if they can accommodate you. I think you'll find a lot of very helpful campground owners out there.

There are boon docking sites, but a lot of them allow only a night or two. There are also memberships like Thousand Trails, but they have length of stay restrictions too.

Any National Forest will let you stay two weeks at a time. There are tons of state and county parks that have camping spots too. Recreation.gov is a good place to start looking for them. Again, explain your situation to the staff and I would bet that if they can help you, they will.

Campendium is a useful site, as is Camp Spot and RV Parky. Whichever one you use, use the others too. A lot of times they have the same campgrounds, but a lot of times they don't. KOA also has a website and app, a lot of them allow longer stays, and you earn points on your stays to apply on future stays. KOA campgrounds have consistent quality also, so we've been able to rely on them to be of decent quality everywhere we've stayed at them.

Although your adventure seems to have gotten complicated, please know that your work is greatly appreciated. Thank you for what you do and good luck!

dallas121469 · 01-11-2022, 02:53 PM

Thanks for the replies but many of those are not options for me. I generally need to stay for at least 13 weeks and also need to be relatively close to the hospital where I am working.

arcaguy · 01-11-2022, 03:10 PM

You might try local trailer parks. I have no idea how their hookups work but it might be worth a try. Also, have you talked to the hospital where you are going to work. They may be able to let you stay on-site or my have some connection to a local county fairground. Lots of county parks have hookups but don't market them too heavily. I know that Wayne County in Michigan has a county 4-H fairgrounds that has a park, I believe year-round, but if you don't know it's there you probably couldn't find it. I would also second the idea of talking to the local parks and explain your situation. They may be able to accommodate you or let you jump the wait list. Good luck.

rvbiker45 · 01-11-2022, 03:11 PM

As your current contract is coming to a close and a transfer in imminent, seek the help of your booking company/agent for possible new locations. With that information, do a search for available parking places/rv parks. When you find accommodations, tell the agent that you will accept that location. Another option is to contact the new hospital and seek their help in locating a suitable parking place. You might find that there is another nurse that is leaving your new hospital and you can take over their parking place.

You are not the only traveling nurse that has been faced with finding suitable accommodations.

Thank you for what you do and good luck in your search.

wolfe10 · 01-11-2022, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arcaguy

You might try local trailer parks.

I was thinking the same thing.

Unplanned Tourist · 01-11-2022, 03:20 PM

I suspect you will have more luck checking trailer parks that have full time spots.

RV parks that offer long stays are mostly in holiday or warm winter areas. AKA snowbird areas.

That said, don't you have the option to have housing included in your contract? The travel nurses I know have that option.

Then you could use your rig for what it's really good for- camping.

DavidEM · 01-11-2022, 03:51 PM

I suspect you travel to work in areas that snowbirds also like- winter in the south, Florida particularly, and summer in the northeast or northwest. The recent Covid pandemic that has boosted travel nurse opportunities has also pushed others into buying RVs who follow the snowbird lifestyle. Campgrounds are now crowded.

I would first ask the hospital where you are considering working if they have any ideas. This may not be the first time it has come up and maybe they know places that will accommodate you.

I just looked on Allstays, a nice app that shows almost all commercial and public campgrounds. It does not show permanent living park RV sites though. If you wanted to work in downtown Atlanta or nearby suburbs of Atlanta, there is nothing inside the I85 loop. The closest is in Marrietta which is 20 miles from downtown. I suspect all large cities are the same.

So, you are going to have to search hard, or do some driving to work.

David

johnhicks · 01-11-2022, 04:09 PM

Allstays.com (the free version online) can show you quite a bit; the paid pc program is easier to use. Also use campgroundreviews.com and campendium.com

Many fairgrounds offer campgrounds with long-term options. It all depends on the area of the country, weather etc. Allstays can help you find them.

As much as I dislike KOA, they are everywhere and many KOAs offer monthly sites even though they're not advertised.

mrboyer · 01-11-2022, 04:39 PM

Previously 4H fairgrounds were mentioned. There are many counties in the Midwest that have those. In Indiana, the county agent has the information for those. Some in Indiana have full hook ups. Many have power with or without water, but water and dump stations are on site.

TXiceman · 01-11-2022, 06:16 PM

Dallas, welcome to the new world of RVing. We liked to travel and stay monthly to get to see an area. With the big rush on RVing and so many permanent RVers (never move), we are giving up full time travel for now.

Ken

Dutch Star Don · 01-11-2022, 06:42 PM

I would post on here, asking for information about sites in the area where you need to go. As an example, I know campgrounds around my City that wouldn't necessarily come up in a search.

So, next time you have an opportunity to work, post on here and ask if anyone, in the area where you need to go, has any suggestions for local parks.

MtCamper · 01-11-2022, 07:42 PM

Our local hospital offers several RV sites for patients. Maybe you next job offers something similar. Put an add in the local craigslist. Many fairgrounds have a few sites available. Call mobile home parks they may do monthly rentals but don't advertise for RVs. Dry camp in the hospital parking lot until they tell you to move.

Dutch Star Don · 01-11-2022, 08:35 PM

I forgot to mention that most Elks Lodges have camping. You have to be an Elk member, but in your situation, you might find a Lodge that would exempt you from the procedure to become a member and then you could camp at any Lodge around the country.

Again, because of your job, they may let you stay longer than normal.