Rant about fulltimers

paulcardoza wrote:
Well....... Looking at it from the perspective of one who camps seasonally in New England:

Unfortunately, I have several more years to work and the thought of moving around every week or two throughout the summer was not something we looked forward to. So, we chose a beautiful seasonal site at one of the nicest CG's up here. Certainly not inexpensive, but it cuts my 1hr commute in half for 8 months and has everything we could ask for.

To the CG's credit, they have VERY strict rules for seasonal campers, to the extent that you cannot tell our site from a transient site, other than may the fact that we have a large gas grill on our cement patio. No permanent structures are allowed, nothing can be stored under the campers. Owners must have their campers washed annually and those units over 10 years old must pass visual inspection every year, or be asked to leave.

All items must sit on our patio or be attached to the camper. No lights between trees, clotheslines, lawn ornaments or lighting allowed. We're there from April 1 to December 1. Yes, we receive a bit of a discount from the day rates, but here in the Northeast, the CG is quite empty in April/May then in Oct/Nov, so our site might sit empty for many of those days. The CG does well with our seasonal rate.

If management wants to make seasonal residents work, they certainly can. Solid rules that are enforced is all that's required.

In many states (Montana included) once a person has occupied a site for a specified period of time (6 months in Montana) they fall under tenant/landlord laws instead of Innkeeper/Guest laws. Once this happens, it becomes illegal to enforce many park rules. Things like quiet hours, limits to the number of people in the site, clutter and site keeping, pet rules, outdoor lighting etc. are no longer under the discretion of the park owner, instead state and local laws are the controlling entities. Yet another reason to not allow permanent residents.

'Fulltimer' is often a euphemism for "living in a trailer park."

I wouldn't any more stay in a permanent resident park than rent a cheap hotel.

azdryheat wrote:
I've camped around full-time rv'ers and I've camped around full-timers living in RV's in lieu of a house or apartment and are working fulltime. They are definitely different in how they live.

I agree with this comment. There is a difference between full timers who live in their RV's for the enjoyment of travel and going from place to place, versus people who live permanently in a RV in one spot. In fact I'm hoping to be a full timer before too long and my goal in doing that is that if anybody looks at my RV they'll never know I'm a full timer. I won't be building porches and have potted plants and other things all over the place. Regardless of how long I stay in any one place, I want to be able to be able to pack up and move on 20 minutes notice. Or at least I want it to look like that.

They are not resident campers, their just poor folks living as cheap as they can. Nothing to do with camping at all. The OP just used a poor choice of words.

Naio wrote:
Am I the only one who likes RV parks with a lot of permanent residents?
PS: Is this a regional terminology? I am used to 'fulltimer' meaning someone who travels a lot, usually has a fair amount of money, and 'permie' being someone who lives permanently in one park, often in an RV that is not roadworthy.

Great point, this is a huge issue with the military campgrounds because many allow military folk and contractors to use the parks for long term habitation. This is to the point that some have 75% long term residents, which the military retirees refer to as "Homesteaders". The homesteader term is probably a better choice of terms for the practise. The issue there is that the retirees and active members who wish to use facilities for a week or two, and in some cases as little as a day, cant get in because the rate of $300 to $600 a month including electricity is such a good deal that they become permanent residences.

Well....... Looking at it from the perspective of one who camps seasonally in New England:

Unfortunately, I have several more years to work and the thought of moving around every week or two throughout the summer was not something we looked forward to. So, we chose a beautiful seasonal site at one of the nicest CG's up here. Certainly not inexpensive, but it cuts my 1hr commute in half for 8 months and has everything we could ask for.

To the CG's credit, they have VERY strict rules for seasonal campers, to the extent that you cannot tell our site from a transient site, other than may the fact that we have a large gas grill on our cement patio. No permanent structures are allowed, nothing can be stored under the campers. Owners must have their campers washed annually and those units over 10 years old must pass visual inspection every year, or be asked to leave.

All items must sit on our patio or be attached to the camper. No lights between trees, clotheslines, lawn ornaments or lighting allowed. We're there from April 1 to December 1. Yes, we receive a bit of a discount from the day rates, but here in the Northeast, the CG is quite empty in April/May then in Oct/Nov, so our site might sit empty for many of those days. The CG does well with our seasonal rate.

If management wants to make seasonal residents work, they certainly can. Solid rules that are enforced is all that's required.

Am I the only one who likes RV parks with a lot of permanent residents?

Maybe it's because I grew up very poor and feel comfortable with the culture. Permie parks tend to be very quiet. They don't have a lot of kids or partiers. People tend to be very friendly and helpful, but also keep to themselves. They depend on each other for help and also for privacy, and they extend that to visitors.

The junk doesn't bother me. I recognise it as a practical and logical response to poverty. You keep things that you or a friend might find useful someday, rather than throw it away.

I love state and FS campgrounds for their natural settings, but they are a cr*p shoot as far as occupants. Especially on a weekends, they tend to be targeted by drunk and rowdy locals. When I travel alone those guys scare me a bit. At a permie park, I know things will be calm.

PS: Is this a regional terminology? I am used to 'fulltimer' meaning someone who travels a lot, usually has a fair amount of money, and 'permie' being someone who lives permanently in one park, often in an RV that is not roadworthy.

Honestly, we stay away from any campground that has "full time resident folks living in RV's". I have NEVER seen a campground that has a full time resident section that didn't end up looking like heck!! My husband went on a group fly fishing trip and the coordinator booked them at campground, and it was HORRIBLE. They charged $40 a night for campers.... if you want to see what I'm talking about. Check out my review on yelp for: River Bend & Kings Canyon Rv Park Inc

FloridaReLoaded wrote:
Well let me throw more fuel into the fire, I'm ranting about the ones that take over the Florida Keys state campgrounds in the winter. They have a monopoly on them and I've about had it! We also own a Condo in Florida and Florida is my permanent residence. I'm trying to set something up where I can go speak in Tallahassee explaining to them what's going on. I'm going to suggest that they use Ft Desoto in Pinellas County as a model. Where county residents can reserve sites up to 6 months in advance but in this case Florida residents would be able to reserve early. I don't think they are aware that campers are staying two weeks then move for a night then stay another two weeks so on and so on. The Florida Keys is the only campgrounds that needs this sort of thing implemented. So now your saying you would boycott, I don't think it would work. If you want to spend the winter in the Florida Keys do so in a private campground, state parks are not made for long term stays!!!

As a Floridian who loves our parks, I have some strong feelings on that topic, too...probably too many to share here without hijacking the thread. So, if you want opinions on this, perhaps start another thread.
Edit: I see somebody else already has started such a thread.

Full Timer...a person who resides in their RV
Resident...a person who full times in an RV

Kinda like the WM camping vs. overnighting SEMANTICS.