Newbie wondering about advance planning
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Topic: Newbie wondering about advance planning
Posted By: Rob179
Subject: Newbie wondering about advance planning
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2016 at 6:06pm
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Hi Folks My wife and i are new to the RV world and in my short time of perusing the Forum I am really impressed with the wealth of information here. Thanks! We have a 179 which we love and we have used it about 6 mostly short trips. I will start with a most basic question: We are leaving for Florida in a couple weeks driving our 179 from Wisconsin to Florida. As newbies we aren't quite sure how far we might drive on any given day. I am wondering how much advance planning we need to do to find places to stay. Can we wing it and just look for places when we have a good idea of when we might want to stop? Or do we need to call ahead and book something one or more days in advance? We are pretty flexible but would prefer not to have to stay in a Walmart lot or truck stop. We have plans to visit relatives in the Ft. Myers/ Naples area but have considerable freedom going to and from. If we were to stay a five days in the Naples area do we need to book something before we even leave? Thanks for any advice you veterans may have. |
Replies:
Posted By: CharlieM
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2016 at 6:40pm
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I admit to being a bit obsessive, but I like to have a reserved place waiting when I stop. As a beginner you should plan ahead and confirm reservations where you plan to stop. As you gain experience you’ll learn when you need reservations and when you can wing it, depending on locations, times, and seasons. Longer stays are harder to secure, especially in Florida this time of year, as we are maxed out with snowbirds. We usually plan to drive 6 hours a day and that’s at 60 MPH, not Google time. Commercial campgrounds tend to be more available than national or state facilities, but nowhere near as nice. Campgrounds tend to fill up early. It’s easier to drive longer if you have a guaranteed reservation ahead. You DO NOT want to end up at Walmart. ------------- Charlie Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
Posted By: Tars Tarkas
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2016 at 6:53pm
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We just went from Nashville to Nova Scotia and back. Stayed at covenient Walmarts coming and going. Very easy, free, seemed perfectly safe. I admit to going into Pod camping with misgivings about spending nights in Walmart parking lots, but there are a lot of advantages, and other than being slightly wierd, there's not much downside. To eac his own.
TT ------------- 2010 176 FJ Cruiser |
Posted By: Camper Bob
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2016 at 7:37pm
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We usually book our destination park before leaving. Most of our travel has been in the "high season" read summer. On the in between destinations, we usually look for a place about 3 P. M. Any later than that during the summer becomes more of a problem. We also travel with the Good Sam travel guide and Campground directory. It lists all campgrounds by amenities, price and most important a phone number to contact the park. We travel about 200-300 miles a day including rest stops. Traveling at 55 mph is comfortable for us. Hope that will give you a little insight. Safe Travels. ------------- Camper Bob and Camper Sue Gracie the Wonder Dog (12 LB. Mini Dachshund) 2013 Rpod 171HRE(ORPod) 2016 Lance 1685 2015 Nissan Pathfinder |
Posted By: Podster
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2016 at 7:47pm
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If you have a smart phone, 2 of the great free apps: RVParky and ALLstays. If you can, download the two and check them out...these tools can be very helpful when on the road and winging it. You can find places to stay that you didn't know about. ------------- Cliff & Raelynn Ranger 4.0/178 (1/2 ton 5,800lb tow capacity) |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2016 at 8:02pm
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Welcome. We've planned multiple long-distance trips, currently planning another 4-week trip for this summer. Here are some tips we've learned. If you are on a tight schedule, you will want reservations. For a night in the middle of two long days on the road, the free options are also usually closer to the interstate than a campground and you don't need to spend time to check in. We prefer truck stops to Wal-Marts. We've had a few issues over the years at Wal-Marts. There are other options like some Cracker Barrels, Camping World. Always go inside to ask if it is ok and where they want you. When you are planning your trip, if you use Google multiply the time it gives you by 1.3. On all-day drives add another hour on top of it for meal stops. Don't plan on going more than 9-10 hours unless you are still feeling really good at the 10 hour mark - towing is much harder on you than driving a car the same distance. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual 
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Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2016 at 8:45am
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Another thing, 'cause these guys already covered most of it.. this time of year, the farther north you are, the more CG's there are that aren't open... Make sure to call ahead just in case. But if they are open, it's probable getting a space won't be an issue, until you get farther south..
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Posted By: Leo B
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2016 at 9:47am
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Welcome to the group! ------------- Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171 |
Posted By: Capt Kidd
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2016 at 11:48am
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I did a 10,000+ mile trip around the US last year in my teardrop. Mostly stayed in KOAs. Never made a reservation except on the 3 day memorial day weekend.
I left Chico, CA on April 15 and arrived back on June 10th. I was not traveling in the heart of the season so did not need reservations. What I would do was to sit down with the KOA directory and plan out 3 or 4 days drives so that I had a KOA to stay at. Mostly did not have to drive over 200 to 250 miles a day. There are lots of alternatives to KOA however. I used RV park reviews on my laptop also. Picked the city I wanted to stay near then looked to see what was in the area. In as much as the teardrop was not self contained (no bathroom) I stayed away from Walmart etc. |
Posted By: Rob179
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2016 at 5:15pm
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Thank you all for the warm welcome and helpful advice. Now i have to get to work and do some planning for the upcoming trip. Thanks to you all I won't be completely winging it. Glad to have you all as a resource. Rob
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Posted By: ronahue
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2016 at 5:32pm
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I also will endorse Allstays we use it on an iPad or iPhone. As for camping while on the road to your destination we have had good luck with KOA's along the Interstates make a reservation about 4 hours out, in and out quick and pretty consistent product. Sort of like Motel 6 nothing to write home about but OK. My wife will not try Walmart or the other free places but if I were traveling alone I would. When driving my car I think nothing of 12 to 14 hours but with the trailer 8 to 10 and I'm more than ready to stop. ------------- Ron & Sharon 2015 R-Pod 179 2022 Nissan Frontier No trees were harmed in the sending of this message but a billion electrons were really agitated |
Posted By: CozyPod
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2016 at 6:44pm
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Welcome to the forum! ------------- David & Suzanne |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2016 at 8:14pm
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We completed a trip of about 6,000 miles recently. While we were enroute to our daughters' houses in Nevada and Arizona, we stayed at truckstops. Flying J and Pilot were mostly where we stayed. We had no issues with either. We stayed at one TA (Truckstops of America) also with no issues. The only place we had a problem was a Petro station. The clerk at the register originally said it was okay for us to stay but then another person (her manager, I guess) said it was not okay and that we could not stay. Petro lost a customer that night. We considered Wal-Mart also, but the truck stops were much more convenient for us. We usually needed to stop for gas anyway (small tank, low mileage). In any case, I concur with the RV Parky app. We did not use Allstays, except for the CRV Military version. While in Nevada, we stayed at the Family Camp on Nellis Air Force Base. While in Arizona, we stayed in the best of free spots--our daugther's yard.  That made it really convenient to see our grandchildren there.------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |