Big City RVing

I'dt research on city by city basis posting here and other places looking for RV parks with good transportation access. I'm not acquainted with all cities, but here in CA there are locations favorable to seeing Los Angeles and San Francisco due to location near public transportation.

For example if I was looking to tour LA, I'd stay in Orangeland RV park in Orange CA. It is walking distance to metrolink and Amtrak station.

Much depends on the city. The older citys east were not laid out with todays vehicles in mind. This may be fine for drivers with the local knowledge for getting around. No so easy for the visitor unfamiliar with what is where & how to get there with his home on wheels.

In the new citys west of the Mississippi there is much more room. Streets are wider. Just a whole lot easier getting around.

Finding a CG near downtown in an eastern city is going to be a tough find. Better to find one outside near public transportation.

A western city, especially a smaller one will not have very good public transport but the chances of getting a CG close to the city center are better.

You don't indicate the size of your RV - if it's a B or a small C it will be easier to get around. We have driven our small (25 ft) C in Las Vegas with no problem and camped there. However, for most of your other cities I would rent a car or use your tow or public transport. We don't drive our car to Chicago if we go to Chicago we take the train in and stay in a hotel - there is lots of public transportation to get around and see the sights. Most of the large cities SF, Chicago, etc have good public transporation.
I guess I was never able to find enough things that interested me to want to stay 6 months in one particular large city. :)

Vegas is easily doable in an RV with a few RV parks right on the strip. There is a KOA at Circus Circus that a lot of people don't like, but I like it because it's right on the strip and not a far walk from the monorail station.

In SF there are a couple of choices that are probably real expensive. There is a RV park right on the coast in Pacifica with easy access to SF. There is also an RV park at Candlestick Park but I've never stayed there. With Candlestick now closed I don't know if the RV park stayed open or not. There is also an RV park right next to the Ferry Landing in Larkspur. It's walking distance to the ferry and you can take the ferry right into SF.

I visit cities, mostly not in RV because either they are too big to have RV parks nearby, or I want to be in the middle of things and not have to drive, or the cities I visit are on the other side of an ocean.

Some of the places you list either aren't really all that big, or are extensive sprawl without much center, so you will find urban RV parks, but because of land values they may not be particularly cheap. I know where I've found, or friends have found, RV parks in St Louis, Kansas City, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Little Rock, Houston, Las Vegas et al. Many cities that size, however, lack rapid transit, so getting around is on the streets, by bus or private car, and if private car, parking is sometimes expensive.

Others will be more of a problem, but there are usually solutions. There is often something in a neighboring city (like Liberty Harbor in Jersey City for New York) or in a suburb (like Cherry Hill for D.C.) so you become a commuter to the city, rather than being there, which can be OK for a short visit.

You might just have to tackle your destinations one by one, gathering recent information on the next one before you leave the last.

I tend more to do the long-term room thing if staying for more than a few days, though seldom longer than a month at a time. If often found I can get something like a small suite, or a studio-size single room, for $1500 to $4000 a month depending on where, or about the price of 6-10 days worth of hotel room in a prized location.

Problem with a View for getting around the city will be knowing where it is legal to take a privately-operated vehicle that size, and parking. In many cities, you'll find space only in open lots (won't fit in a garage) and you might be paying for two or three spaces instead of one.

Even if you could find a lot in downtown Chicago with a space to take your RV it would probably run you about $75.00 a day. That would be just for a parking space, no water, no electric, no sewer, no anything. You would have to try to find a CG way outside the city but still close enough where you could catch the Metra to get into the city, or drive a toad in.

We spent some time in San Francisco this summer. We located a good CG across the bay. We drove our truck to a free ferry parking lot and had to take the ferry back and forth to the city each day.

Just keep in mind that a lot of CG's that are close to major cities and have public transportation are probably more expensive.

We just purchased a new C class Forester Expect delivery around the 1st of Jan. Same intention staying close to public transportation and on occasion rent a car. Mostly weekends in the Southeast. My lady friend has 2 small dogs that will travel with us and may limit time away from rv. Anyone else in similar situation.

Is anyone else interested primarily in visiting cities? I bought my RV (2 days ago!) so I could spend time in Las Vegas, San Diego, San Francisco, Austin, New Orleans, New York City, Chicago, and other cities. I thought about renting apartments in each for 6 months, but moving sounded like such a hassle.

If anyone knows of any blogs focused on city RVing, I'd like to check them out. All the blogs I've looked into so far are primarily about state parks and boon-docking.

Thanks,
Carey

What I would do is ask forum members for the best 'closest-in' RV parks in each city you plan to visit. That way you will get a cross spectrum of answers and then you can take it from there. In some places it might be better to stay a few miles outside the city drive in with a car or take public transportation.

Check out some web pages like Escapees, Technomadia, GoneWithTheWynns, NuRvers, LoveYourRV, etc. Ask lots of questions.

6 months would be way to long for us.

You have a good RV for visiting cities however if you want to spend six months in each city you'll probably want to do as Parrothead Mike suggests - stay in a RV park outside the city, then use your car (rent one if you don't tow)or take public transportation to get into the city.

We've visit a lot of cities including all the ones on your list except San Francisco. We don't stay for a long time, maybe a week. We usually stay at Walmart or a casino because they're close to the cities and then we drive our RV into the city for the day. We're interested in history, parks and other attractions but not nightlife.

You'll find information about Las Vegas, New Orleans and a little about Austin on my blog however we visited the other cities before I started blogging so all I can tell you is that finding a place to park can be a challenge but Google maps and street view are a big help. Las Vegas and New Orleans are both super easy. The best way to see New York is to stay at the Liberty Harbor Marina in New Jersey and take the ferry across. The RV park is expensive but worth it if you want to see the city.