Full Time Retired Military

A few years ago our travels led us to Las Vegas and the Nellis Famcamp was convenient and affordable. I have used Famcamps a few other times and while it is not always the first option it is a good one. The great thing is that there is generally one near or at every military base.

The only place that did not have one at or near the base was Sheppard in Wichita Falls. Back when I was sill active duty I had to go TDY there and instead of flying out DW and I took the RV. We stayed the week at the city camp ground which was only a short drive and a virtual straight shot to the base. I have a class C toy hauler so we took the motorcycles so we did not need to drag the car. That way we both had transportation when I was in class.

Worked out great and my travel allowance paid for it all and then some!

Out here on the west coast service-connected veterans can camp free for 20-days at each State Park, and California has about 300-State Parks. Oregon also allows disabled veterans to camp for free. I would check various state recreation websites along your route to see if they have camping discounts for military veterans.

You might also be able to get a Golden Access Pass to camp for half price at National Parks. I think you have to be 62 or over, but lots of States also have Senior Citizen camping passes.

As far as military base camping is concerned, at Travis AFB in California you can stay up to 6-months (180-days) each calendar year. Beale AFB in California allows up to 4-months each calendar year. So it varies. According to the military campgrounds website California has more military bases than any other state and most of them have excellent Famcamps with free wifi, cable TV hookup at each site, etc. The Navy Famcamps are usually right next to the ocean.

Lots of good information here. First, thank your husband for his service. Personally I retired after 29 yrs. and now full time all over the US. I used Tricare standard until I got For Life and Medicare, never had a problem ANYWHERE getting service. Meds come via Express Scripts to our South Dakota mail service t?en general delivery where ever we are.

We use MWR's to get up todate info after looking at Military Campgrounds and if non available then we use Passport America (1/2 price campgrounds), KOA, GS and often COE (Corps of Engineers) sites. Also there are lots of county and state campgrounds that are cheaper.

Good luck and don't worry too much about making the transition to this life style. Once you do it you'll wonder why more people don't do this!

If you plan your travels around military campgrounds, you will miss lots. We stay at a variety of campgrounds, including military. It just depends where we want to be and what is available. Most military campgrounds allow no more that 14 day stays so if you want to be in an area longer than that and want a good monthly rate, private parks are the answer. We love COE campgrounds too. If you have a military disability, you can get the Access Card for free and use it in the same manner as the Senior Pass.

We've stayed at and used mil. rv parks for years all across the country. Some are really nice, some are more basic. We dry camped at Trumbo on Key West,stayed in Pensacola, Fort Huachuca, AZ & in Charleston, SC. We have the dining facilities in some locations and shopped at exchanges at the bases.

I'm a DD Form 2 holder too, but unfortuantely, I can 't FT just yet. However, I go to Joint Base San Antonio Recreation Area on Canyon Lake as often as I can. There are several retirees that stay long periods of time there. Some volunteer as camp host, others are just there. They even let me join them in their gatherings each evening...:-)

As Michigan Traveler said, it's a great benenfit. Use it--you earned it.

OH--the picture in my sig was taken at JBSA Rec Area!

Ditto on Militarycampgrounds.us It is a great resource and kept up to date. Most military campgrounds have weekly and monthly rates, but also have rules against "homesteading" meaning you generally cannot stay there forever.

Any National Park can sell you an Interagency Senior Pass (used to be Golden Age Passport) for a one-time fee of $10 and it will let you into National Parks for free and discounted camping fees, some as much as 50%.

You may want to consider volunteering or camp hosting at state or national parks to hold your costs down and to be able to stay for a longer period of time.

Military retirees have the benefit of military campgrounds and RV parks that our civilian brothers and sister don't enjoy. For example the ONLY campgrounds on Key West are part of NAS Key West and you can dry camp for $12/night. The nearest commercial campground is on Stock Island and is over $100/night. America's way of saying, "Thank you for your service!"

http://michigantraveler.org/2012/03/31/key-west-fl/

If you're in Kentucky, try Camp Carlson, the FamCamp for Ft. Knox. Extremely clean, nice level sites, new dog park facility. Cell phone coverage very spotty, free wi-fi. Just a few miles from the post. Nice commissary, exchange, and class6 store on post.

Card carrier (DD Form 2) here also....

We are heavy users of Fam Camps and Morale Support facilities.
Will actually go out of our way to use them.... kind of feel
like, if we don't use it, we'll lose it.

You want remote.... check out the Barry Goldwater bombing range
in the Arizona desert (Ajo).... awesome ! Be aware, there are places there
they don't want you to go ! ha !

Full time ? do it if you can !

Charles

We've been retire FT military for 7 years now. If we plan on being in an area for a couple of weeks we try to use a military CG by looking at http://www.militarycampgrounds.us/ and then the base MWR (where you get the updated information as to length of stay and requirements to stay). If we aren't going to be able to get close then we use Good Sam, KOA's or Woodalls to find a nice place. You'll find that even using all the guides, it's hit or miss as to whether the guide actually matches what you get!