Hi,
If you like wandering around the swap meets, or driving around in the dirt washes with a 4X4 or dune buggy, then you might enjoy Quartzsite. However it is not for everyone.
I like to stay in the cleaner free camping area that is 5 miles north of town. I guess I really hate having another RV within 200 feet of mine, and a couple of the camping areas have a lot of dust, so they are out. One is just east of town, and south of the freeway. It is about 3/4 miles east to west, and anywhere from 100' to about 800 feet south of I 10, so if you are a light sleeper, it might get noisy. . . But it is a great place to spend one night dry camping, until you find a place to park for real.
You can take the truck and tour the town, it should only take about 1 hour, and you can see most of it. From the main street that runs north of the freeway between exit 17 and to the east exit #19, you can see many swap meets on both sides of the road. There is a traffic signal at highway 95. To the north about 3 miles is the 'dusty' free camping area, with a central road that is dirt running through the center of it, and several campers each year think that driving a truck through at 35 MPH is not only "OK" but not going to annoy everyone with the dust they kick up.
5 miles north of town is a paved roadway to the east Polomosa - or something like that. Take that road, and in the first few hundred feet is a 'registration area' where many will sign up for 2 weeks in that camping area and actually get a permit. I never have had one, but I hear they have them. .. For the next 3/4 mile, on both sides of this road, there is free camping. Pretty hard packed gravel, it is best to arrive in the daytime, so you can find a good parking spot, near the pavement, but not to close, or close to others. There are signs that say 'end of camping area' to the north, south and east. I would guess that over 15,000 RV's will fit in this large area.
For a larger area, south of town on both sides of highway 95 is the LTVA where you can buy a 2 week permit or 6 month permit to allow you use of the camping area, dump station and dumpsters. It has plenty of room for well over 40,000 RV's and in prior years well over 20,000 have shown up for at least part of the winter.
In town, there are several RV parks. One offered $12 a night 10 years ago. I passed, as the sites are really small, but if you need fresh water, or to dump, it would be a great deal, get a night of free electric too! I usually planned on spending one night every 2-3 weeks in a place where I could do laundry and fill the fresh water tanks. Then I would live on solar power for another 2-3 weeks.
If you really want to stay in town, there are many RV parks. I would drop the trailer, then go explore a few. Ask the prices, check out the size of the lots, and see if they charge extra for electric, ect. You might find something that you like. If you will be exploring by bicycle, you might want to stay in town more than out the outskirts.
Do you have solar panels? They charge the RV battery in complete silence, and offer the ability to park near a lake or some national park - many times dry camping for free or less than $20 a night. I figure that the $3,000 I spent on solar, extra batteries, inverter, and such to have been paid back many times over at just saving $10 a night in camping frees. . . I full timed for about 3 years while traveling, and lived in the RV from 2005 - 13 full time.
If you will be coming down I 15, you might consider stopping at Zion NP. You will want to enter through the south end (to avoid going over a 10,000' elevation pass).
When I stay at Las Vegas, I like to stay at the Silverton RV park. It is south of town, and to the west of the freeway, fairly quiet, and easy enough to get to everything. From there, highway 95 is great towards Laughlin, and there Riverside Casino is a great place to stay. Cross into AZ there, and take that highway 95 south to Quartzsite. You might also enjoy Lake Havasu?
There might be a military base RV park to take advantage of near Las Vegas. It should be very cheap, and in good shape.
Fred.
Good luck with your travels. ..
Fred.
