StreetRodderTom
South Western CT.
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Joined: 12/29/2008
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Trying to make plans for next summer (2010) & need input from you guys. We've done more then our share of traveling with Hotels/Motels BUT this is going to be our first camping venture. Our major question is how you plan the daily schedule to arrive at the CG? I already know that we need to plan on an early arrival so as to not kill ourselves or each other with the set ups! Our biggest concern is how do you guys pick the CG to stay at? What are the tried and proven ways to pick a CG? What books, web sites , etc. should we use? I'm sure even with the best of plans there are going to be some CG's that are going to be  . I'm sure we will survive and trudge on. The country side is littered with Hotels/Motels, not so for CG. At all the car shows we plan to attend there seems to be good supplies of CG availability but the other areas give me cause for concern. I'm sure it's unfounded but for a beginner it is somewhat of a challenge/unknown.
I posted in "Folding Trailers" as there may be some unique things that I have to watch out for vs the bigger campers??
Thanks for your help.
Hope to see you on the road!!!
Soon to be retired Gunsmith (35+ years)
Wife is retired RN (VA Hospital 37 years)
2005 Starcraft Model 2409
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Chuck&Gail
In the Colorado Mountains
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Joined: 06/16/2004
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IMO get a copy of Trailer Life. We've found it to be the best resource for campgrounds (mostly private).
Look at the Passport America website to see how many of them you might use. We sure like their 50% discounts! Been members for many years.
We have found there are CG's all over the USA and Canada. In over 180,000 RV miles, we've never had trouble finding one near us when we wanted to stop for the night.
Chuck
Wonderful Wife
Lovely German Shepherd.
1999 Mercedes ML320 TV
2003 Wanderer 187TB Toybox (3620# UVW, 4800# loaded)
Not yet camped in Hawaii, 2 Canada Provinces, & 2 Territories.
I can't be lost because I don't care where this lovely road is going
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johnrbd
Hanford CA
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Joined: 09/12/2005
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One of the first things you need to consider is how many days will you be traveling and how many miles total. We like to travel about 5 hrs a day or approx 250 miles.
When we did our trip around the US in 07, it totaled 12,000 miles and 94 days. We prefer full hookups so we can use a/c and sat tv. We did about half at KOA's (we had discount card 10% disc up to 20 nites, 15% thereafter).
Using TL CD, I put in starting place (home) and first major stop (relative in OK). Using their map I looked for rv parks that were approx 250 miles apart. Made adjustments for areas that we wanted to stop enroute and the number of nites in each. Then extend trip to next major stop, etc.
Trust me, 94 days to see a loop of the US is nowhere enough time, but DW knew she would be homesick for grandkids by then (as she was, in spite of Verizon connection).
Next time, we might try Passport America if there are campgrounds enroute to our destinations ($45 + or - for 50% disc with restrictions).
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big dave
Soldotna, Alaska, USA
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Joined: 12/15/2001
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StreetRodderTom wrote:
I posted in "Folding Trailers" as there may be some unique things that I have to watch out for vs the bigger campers??
Thanks for your help. A lot of us in bigger rigs started out in folding trailers.
Dave & Rose C
90 Safari Ivory 34' DP
04 Saturn VUE V6
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EgorKC
Kansas
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Joined: 01/13/2007
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Rodder: Congrats on joining the crazy group of RVers out here. My wife and I have always followed a simple plan to choose a CG or RV park. Once we determine where we are going (including overnight stops) we search the Trailer Life CG directory for that locale. We pick the CG that has the highest Bathroom rating 1st with Facilities rating 2nd. If they care enough to keep their bathrooms clean the rest is easy. We have stayed in some that were in beautiful locations and others downtown. The ones close in town have often been cleaner and better run. They just did not have the VIEW. We use the tow vehicle to tour the area for views. We prefer to overnight in well run clean places. Woodalls has a good directory too. rvparkreviews.com is another great rating service to reference. Just remember that if the bathrooms and showers are kept spotless you will be happy. Most GC's and RV parks have some sort of small store so if you forgot the ketchup don't worry.
Greg
Chef/Pilot
DW/Navigator
Kids too old to go, no G-kids yet
2006 Expedition
2007 Niagra
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Eycom
Fl to NY
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Joined: 09/12/2004
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Dry-camping aside, my two main resources for campgrounds are the web and Passport America. I use the internet to locate government parks almost exclusively. My interests lies in the more natural surroundings with larger sites and more privacy. So... city, county, State and National parks, along with COE parks are more my style. I'm quite at home with dispersed camping in State and National forests. When I need to replenish supplies and do laundry, I use a PA affiliated park for a night or two. 1/2 price camping.
I generally travel Mon. thru Wed., find non-reservable sites (Walk-Ups), and explore the area for up to 10-12 days. I just don't do reservations. Too confining. But, what works for me doesn't work for everyone else.
F-350 PSD
Lance 1121
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dodgebob08
Mississippi
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Joined: 07/30/2009
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your best be will be to pick some places you like and just go. it'll be trial and error at first, but that's part of the fun in my opinion. figure out where you want to go, then gather all the info you can, when you get there it may or may not be what you like, but you'll increase the odds.
i've seen that most people in pop-ups tend to stay in the state park, but the parks vary from state to state as much as the people do. last year we stayed a week in Carter Caves State park in KY, we really liked it. we also stayed in Topsail Hill State Park in FL, also liked it but these 2 parks are the extemes. topsail has full hook-ups, cable TV, resturants & shopping near-by and the beach. carter caves didn't have full hook-ups, bath houses nothing to brag about and not much of anything close by, we spent the days crawling around in caves and hiking. totally different but not any way to tell ALL the differences until you go. i liked both and would recomend them but could see that not everybody would like both.
try not to be too picky when you get there and have a good time. we try to go with the attitude of "it's all good!!!" as long as we're camping. that's not to say we liked every where we went, but at least we can say we been there and don't have to go back.
have fun!!!! and report back here so the rest of us can learn about where you've been.
2008 Dodge 2500 MegaCab CTD
2006 Copper Canyon 295RLS
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aeohio
New Mexico
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Joined: 09/20/2007
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When we had our pup we went from Ohio to the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Bryce, Zion, Durango and a couple of other stops mixed in, this was our first trip out. We did not have any set reservations except for the Grand Canyon. What we did and still do is drive for a while and then towards the end of the day we get out the Woodall CG directory and look for a place an hour or so down the road. You can also do this with Trailer Life CG directories. As I said we had a pup and no toilet or shower so we as well looked for the higher rated CG so we did not have issues with using the CG bathrooms. Granted these can sometimes cost more, not always but sometimes. We find one in the book that meets our needs and call and get a site. We have found this works well for us and 5 years later we still do the same thing. We have found some really nice CG doing it this way.
Dont worry about the set up of a pup, give it a few times and you will be able to set it up in no time at all. There were many of times we were setting it up at midnight with no issues.
I think you will be surprised at the number of CG that are out there.
2010 Passport UL 290BH
2006 Ford Expedition Limited
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StreetRodderTom
South Western CT.
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Joined: 12/29/2008
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THANKS for the great replies! I forgot to say that we want to have at least elec. hook ups (A/C etc. a must) water & yes I agree that clean bathrooms are at the top of the list. Elec. & clean baths are our main "must haves" with water a close second. We plan on going to car shows BUT also seeing the country side at the same time. Really don't want to stay in an area for 2 days and then move on, would rather make a week of it, at least and then move on. Thanks again guys , you are a wealth of experience & knowledge!!!!!!
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junmy3
Warner Robins GA
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Joined: 02/03/2004
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When we took a 7000 mile trip in our PUP, we used our Walmart Atlas and the internet. We knew the major parks that we wanted to visit, Badlands, Black Hills, Theodore Roosevelt NP, Yellowstone, and Rocky Mountain NP. We just had to fill in the rest. We did mostly by staying at State Parks. The only exception was a KOA in Wyoming because there were not any State Parks, where we would be staying that night.
We also use rvparkreviews.com to check out campground ratings, knowing that some folks only post their bad experiences. Use it as a guide.
Have a great trip.
Jim & Junnie
2005 Sunline Solaris T-2553
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