corn18
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There are lots of spots open from Sun night through Wednesday around here. Nothing open on the weekends, though. Glad we're retired.
small RV camping?
- Thread starter albireo13
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We retired two years ago this month (yay!) But everything close and good is pretty much booked solid unless you reserve it months out. The fires around here haven't helped, either...sigh...
But maybe when school starts, the kids will all be back at school and spots will open up and we can go during the week (smile!)
You're not alone. We live in a tourist area. Around the time school starts, we see a stream of mini vans heading out of the state, and shortly after, a stream of campers with grey-haired drivers heading in.
As a kid, my parents would take vacations across country, camping (tenting) all the way. We'd pick a campground for the night late in the day. I guess that's a thing of the past!
Same thing is happening on the water. It's getting so marinas need to be scheduled in advance, too. Sort of makes traveling impossible, since you never know where the day's weather will bring you, or even if you can get underway at all.
Exactly! We tent-camped all the way across the country the same way when I was a kid! We'd look at the map around 3:00 and start planning for a campground. I don't ever remember being turned away. You are right - I think that's a thing of the past, too...sigh...
I hadn't even thought about marinas! Sheesh...
Trailwalker
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We have a 16 foot fiberglass Scamp that we take all over. It's a 2001 that I bought about 4 years ago for 9k.
We often camp Sunday through Thursday in state parks. Another trick to finding a site is to find a first come, first serve site in mid-week and stay through the weekend. Those sites are getting rarer; we've had our best luck in national forests and smaller towns/fairgrounds. Takes a little research.
We often camp Sunday through Thursday in state parks. Another trick to finding a site is to find a first come, first serve site in mid-week and stay through the weekend. Those sites are getting rarer; we've had our best luck in national forests and smaller towns/fairgrounds. Takes a little research.
youbet
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
+1
We've been doing a couple of months in Florida the past few winters and it's becoming a real project to get reservations where we want to be, when we want to be there!
Campgrounds have different "booking windows" depending on who is administering them. Florida State Park campgrounds allow you to book 11 months ahead. Federal Parks (Army Corps, National Parks, etc.) are usually 6 months ahead. County and municipal vary, sometimes giving preferential access to residents.
We start by booking the entire two months at state parks. It's not easy, especially if you want waterfront, a site near the washrooms or have other desires. On the date that is 11 months from the first day you want and at 8:00am EST (EXACTLY), you hit the enter key trying to secure your desired and available site. If you're a second early, you're rejected. If you're sipping coffee instead of paying attention when the sweep hand crosses the 12 on the clock, someone else will have the site. Even if you do it just right, lots of other folks are doing the same thing in competition with you. Some state parks are easier, but for beachfront or other desirable amenities, it's really competitive.
If you have Federal parks you'd prefer to some of the state parks you booked, at the six month point you go through the same thing as you did with the state parks at 11 months. For the blocks of time where you are successful in grabbing federal parks sites, you go back and cancel the state park reservations.
For county and municipal parks, repeat again except the lead times vary. They're often 6 months, but do sometimes differ.
We just finished booking for winter, 2022. For most time periods we have more than one site booked. We'll begin the cancellation process in the coming weeks and will wind up absorbing $100+ in cancellation fees, the price you pay for getting in where you want on a nicer site.
Of course, most situations are much easier to book than Florida in the winter! But everywhere we look, it's getting more challenging!
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skyking1
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I'd much rather deal with the black tank, then having to use toilets at campgrounds, or not having a toilet at all.
Not sure if I suffer from coprophobia, but before I bought my class C motorhome, researched thoroughly about the hazards of the black tank, and pitfalls in dealing with it. Yes, ignorance and carelessness can lead to horrifying disasters. I have personally witnessed one such incidence myself.
But if one knows what he is doing, and takes his time, it's not a big deal at all.
Having your own bathroom is really priceless. it it like when you are getting ready to go out, and then stop to use your bathroom, despite of the fact that you are only going 10 minutes away to a place with restrooms. You would not think of doing it any other way, and we call it "home court advantage"
Trailwalker
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Agree that having a bathroom is a huge advantage in so many ways. On the road, I never stop to use a gas station's bathroom when I can use my own just a few steps away. At night, it's priceless to have the toilet three steps away from the bed.
We still take advantage of campground bathrooms when it's convenient especially for number 2. In a small rv or trailer and traveling as a couple, number 2 is for emergencies or boondocking. Agree that black tanks are no big deal. I get a chuckle when I see people treat dumping as though it's minor surgery. Drips are easily cleaned up. Huge spills are stories to remember. It usually only happens to a person once.
We still take advantage of campground bathrooms when it's convenient especially for number 2. In a small rv or trailer and traveling as a couple, number 2 is for emergencies or boondocking. Agree that black tanks are no big deal. I get a chuckle when I see people treat dumping as though it's minor surgery. Drips are easily cleaned up. Huge spills are stories to remember. It usually only happens to a person once.
skyking1
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We are contemplating some compact travel using only the pickup bed and about 2' farther back. That will give us a little over 7' to build a custom camper shell. I will have a notch in there for a portable cassette toilet. It is that important to DW. I get it.
I do fiberglass and epoxy fabrication, dating back to my dad's custom boat in the '80s.
I will make a hard sided pop up camper.
I do fiberglass and epoxy fabrication, dating back to my dad's custom boat in the '80s.
I will make a hard sided pop up camper.
Sounds like a great project. Hope you'll share pictures along the way!
shortstop14
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After 40 years of tent camping, we've been pretty happy with our Four Wheel Camper. Just returned home to Washington state after a three month trip as far east as the Adirondacks and Thousand Islands in upstate NY. Returned home via the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and northern Minnesota. It was a mixture of visiting family and camping. Mostly campgrounds in the east, and dispersed camping in the west.
The truck camper is great for off-road exploration - the vehicle has way more off-road capability than I do as a driver. And it's so much better than a tent in the rain and cold. We can be set up and asleep in ten minutes.
But the lack of a toilet is a problem for many. We don't mind using campground outhouses, and when we're dispersed camping (especially in the west), we just take a walk with a shovel. We do have a cassette toilet and a pop-up tent that we can set up as a shower/bathroom when we're staying in one place for a while.
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teetee
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Nice looking setup you got there! I would have go with the project M model and build interior myself over time to get the maximum space but the bare bone setup costs 10k is just not a good value. I would consider 6k a fair price.
shortstop14
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Thanks. You'd hate the price on my fully rigged out Hawk. But the resale value is pretty good, and I didn't want to spend the time and effort it would take to build it out myself. Not to mention the more than a year lead time for new orders. I figure we've got ten years give or take for really enjoying this type of camping, and having it ready earlier for safe pandemic travel was the priority.
skyking1
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Yes for sure I will. Right now the project is new steps on the current 5th wheel and I will get some photos when they are done.
pb4uski
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We camped for many years when the kids were younger... first tent camping... then sleeping on the ground was not to our liking so we bought a Starcraft pop-up and then later bought a larger Jayco popup. We sold our pop-up camper when we bought our summer home.
Now DW has the itch to camp again... as do I. She doesn't want canvas so pop-ups and expandables are out. There is a Rockwood hardsided pop-up for sale near us for $8k that I could be happy with as a small step up from tent camping.
DW wants a travel trailer that doesn't need to be popped up... just park it, level it and put down the stabilizer jacks and any hookups. That is somewhat appealing but I'm not so sure... more $$$, perhaps even a need for a new, bigger truck, the potential of having to deal with blackwater, etc.
Time will tell, but DW usually gets what she wants.
Well, I called it... DW got what she wanted. A friend of hers had a hardly used 2018 travel trailer that our current truck can easily tow. I was skeptical about the murphy bed, but it does go up or down in only a minute. I suspect that we'll just keep it down most of the time but put it up if it is a rainy day and we are spending a lot of time inside or if we are having visitors. I was willing to trade the minor inconvenience of the murphy bed for the outside kitchen. The power awning and power tongue jack and backup camera that the owners added were also plusses.
street
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Looks great. We just never got into camping but if we did, it would be with a small camper.
OldShooter
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BIL and nephew are building one of these: https://www.clcboats.com/teardrop The kit quality is amazing. Laser cut plywood with epoxy fiberglass over the top, super detailed instructions. Probably not a rig for us old folks, though BIL is maybe 60YO.
pb4uski
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^^^ That looks pretty neat.
CardsFan
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I will make sure DW does NOT see this thread, or I will be building one of those.
skyking1
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clcboats has great boat plans too.
My latest passion is a return to boating and sailing in particular. That shell I want to build will leave the hitch free to tow a boat.
My latest passion is a return to boating and sailing in particular. That shell I want to build will leave the hitch free to tow a boat.
