Camping prices!!!

This thread leads me to an idea I've been considering: starting my own RV park. With prices like they are I think I could make more money putting my savings in an RV park than leaving it in CDs. I'm probably not thinking of 100 spaces, but even 10 or 20 spaces might bring in some decent "scratch". I think the biggest headache is being near a city and getting the zoning right. If anyone knows about that feel free to shoot arrows at my balloon. Maybe I'll start a thread about it.

Groundhogy hasn't been back since the original troll. Tell you anything? :) Many, if not most, should know better.

We volunteer with state parks, USFWS and USACE about 8 months a year. for 20-30 hours a week you usually get a FHU campsite for the hours you volunteer. great way to extend your income and give back a little as well. Been doing it for 6 years all over the country. Volunteered at Janes Island State Park in Crisfield MD. They only have water and electric but if you're in the area its a great place to stay for a couple months.

2gypsies wrote:

JimK-NY wrote:

I have visited Maryland locations several times and never had any cost issues. State Parks including great areas like Cunningham Falls (Thurmont) and Patapsco Valley are around $20/night. Other choices can be found that are much cheaper. I have stayed at the Maryland House rest area several times for no cost. I visited Baltimore and stayed at the Walmart supercenter....both the one in town and the one on the north side of Baltimore....again for no cost. I have visited Washington, D.C., numerous times. I usually stay at Evergreen National Park, which is next to the beltway, about 2 miles from the metro station and a quick ride into the heart of the city. Senior cost is $8, full fee is $16.

I am still guessing the OP has a big rig that needs lots of space and hookup fees. RV parks, especially on the east or west coasts can get expensive...way over $30/night.

The OP was inquiring about a site for a month. The state parks have a two-week limit and you wouldn't stay at a WalMart of rest area for a month...and least you shouldn't.

I was hoping the OP would return to let us know what he found out.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh a site for a month? Not sure that any state parks offer that rate on the east coast. And around me senior rates are only for state residents.

I'm budgeting the same amt of money I pay daily in NYC for our cross country trip. Figure it'll cover all bases.

groundhogy wrote:
I am really getting sick of this.
I have to come to Maryland for family and I still have some chores to do in the area in summer.

I live aboard and dont have an income.

Who the hell can aford $30 freaking dollars a night?? Its a parking spot for $900 a month. I should just get an apartment.

Is there any other way?

I thought I had a brilliant idea and started contacting people selling land to see if they would temporarily rent me a spot and I find out they cant do it because the local governments have zoning laws that prevent land owners from doing this. Someone mentioned farms or agriculturral land might be ok, but Im not sure.

Are there any other options?

groundhogy

I pay about $48.00 nightly to camp at a full hook up site in CT as a non resident. Conversely, I pay approx $100.00 daily for "full hook up" in my NYC residence; seems inexpensive to me in comparison. The man gets SS so that gives him some regular income but I still work and prolly will continue for at least another 10-15 years.

Can your MD family help you in your search? Any luck on CL? Any federal primitive lands available in MD or nearby states?

We just got off of a 40 day trip and we averaged just under $20 a night. Of course, that includes 4-5 free nights and we had power for only 15 of those nights. Worked for us, but boy did we enjoy the one night of full hookups at $70!

MN has a campground host program that provides you with a free site and electricity. (Some have W+S). They require that you apply at least 30 days before start date.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/volunteering/stateparks/campgroundhost.html

We find casinos and get some free nights and keep our average cost per night down.

You can get senior apartments in MN for a max of 30% of your income.

Try a state park I think they are cheaper.

Interesting thread ... the only way to economically stay is to stay a month, however when traveling this is next to impossible. One year we did buy one of the Camp "Clubs" which had a non-rsvp listing of places to stay Mon-Thurs on a "show up night rate" for one rate .. it did help one year, but we did not sign back up.

Since we travel with a schedule it is just one of those things .. of course we also volunteer 6-7 months a year or more. And have already chosen an RV Park for our "off the road life-style" possibly next year.

Since some have already brought it up ... yes, during the Summer Season we do not Volunteer, but have done our research to stay at an rv park near our daughters while the grand-kiddos are out of school in the Summer - so we can spend time with the families and participate in their get-togethers too. At $450 month divided by 30 = $15 per night full hook-up with cable, pool, rec hall, etc. in Washington State. But we do pay Electric which runs around $30-40 per month. So we are ok.

Just Sharing.

JimK-NY wrote:

2gypsies wrote:
.......There are many ways to do it with low cost. Yes JimK-NY :) even with our 40' motorhome and slides we did not utilize RV parks with full hookups. We didn't need them so I don't know where you got the idea that big rigs do. You keep repeating that statement.

.........

True, not all big rigs need hook ups. A smaller rig does provide way more opportunities. First my small rig does not require much electricity and my 270 watts of solar and 300 AH battery bank are more than sufficient. Also I find I have lots of opportunities that would not work for a big rig. Except for some very restrictive communities or resort areas, I can "park" almost anywhere overnight. But "camping" is not allowed and a big rig with slide outs and a big foot print is likely to attract attention.

You're going to wear me down on this! :) :)

You have 270w on your small RV and we had 300w on our big one. Big deal.

Even if we had a small van we would not consider parking on a residential street for the night. That's not how we enjoy the lifestyle. Also, slide-outs aren't necessary. You can easily spend the night or two without opening the slides. The end. :)