Getting RV sites on the road

I would call ahead of time and at least ask if they expect to be full that night. Most of the time, there is no need to make a reservation. However, we have been surprised and were glad we called. For destination RV parks, we reserve well ahead of time. If we are traveling and need an overnight spot, we call when we are on the road in the morning.

A couple of things are in my favor. First I seek out FHU RV parks. WIFI and cable are a bonus. Second, I'm a retired solo RVer. So I stop at my next planned stop no later than 3PM. That's enough driving for me in a day. I've only been faced with a "Full" sign once and that was for a group that had the RV park reserved. I had a secondary CG already picked out and was able to get a spot there.

DSDP Don wrote:
No offense, but you really can't take advice from people who are full timing because they camp differently. They have time to decide and book where they will stay or will typically stay quite a distance from things like National Parks.

We, as full-timers, have stayed inside of Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Glacier, Bryce, Zion and yes, even Grand Canyon at Trailer Village and many more parks without reservations. Some national parks even have campgrounds that don't accept reservations.

We've also traveled the Oregon coast state parks without reservations - a few times.

So, yes, it can be done.

Things are changing.....the RV industry is booming and people are traveling because of cheap fuel. If you're going on a trip that includes National Parks, that means you'll be camping in or near them. That's going to REQUIRE some planning. We just went to the Grand Canyon last week, school was back in, the weather was cold, yet everything was booked already, months in advance.

No offense, but you really can't take advice from people who are full timing because they camp differently. They have time to decide and book where they will stay or will typically stay quite a distance from things like National Parks.

Anything that's going to be near a park on a weekend, you should probably call and make a reservation. If it's a week day and not a popular area, we like to pick the town where we will be staying and then look it up in RV Park Reviews. We copy down the two best places and then call them the morning that we are heading there to make a reservation.

Keep in mind, many who are telling you that it's no problem, are not doing the type of trip you are....visiting National Parks. You also need to decide if you're willing to take a chance and stay at some meth lab campground, because that's all that will be left if you don't do some planning.

stickdog wrote:
In six years of fulltime RVing we rarely make reservations unless we want to be in a certain place during holidays. The one thing we have noticed was while we normally stop around 3:00 PM to near empty RV parks they are usually packed several hours later. So if you plan to push the miles and hours on the road I suggest calling in mid afternoon to ensure a site when you arrive.

X2
Same thing here.

I found out real quick the drawbacks of CG reservations while 'on' the road. I called to reserve a site and they asked for my credit card to hold the site.

Fast forward within a couple of hours I was stuck on the interstate due to a several car/semi pile up. There was no way I was going to make that CG that night. I called to cancel and all I got was "sorry we have already charged your card, no refunds". :R

7 years full time and I have never made another CG reservation since that day. :C

I prefer to plan my trip and drive about 5 hrs. per day. I make a reservation and know where I am going. Just a preference not a must.

Depends on when you are traveling. July-4, Memorial Day, And a few other days I would recommend reservations... Other times not as important..

I have one campground where reservations are required due to the way they do their paperwork.. Been known to "call it in" on the way to the campground.

We never had reservations over a day ahead during our cross country in 2014. Usually, DW would call ahead the day of our arrival to secure a site.

The biggest reason for this was our route and travel times were always subject to change. I didn't want to be tied to being in a particular place at such and such a date.

The only time we called ahead a week in advance was when we were staying in Los Angeles. There is a state owned, LA county run RV park right on the beach in LA called Dockweiler. This is one of two RV parks in LA that we made advance reservations. The other was Balboa RV Park in Van Nuys.

Otherwise, it was the day of arrival when we called ahead to make reservations.

The one thing we have noticed was while we normally stop around 3:00 PM to near empty RV parks they are usually packed several hours later. So if you plan to push the miles and hours on the road I suggest calling in mid afternoon to ensure a site when you arrive.

Good advice.

I do tend to prefer reservations, but even given that preference, I'd still suggest reserving a spot for Devils Tower. The KOA there has an amazing view, just beneath the tower itself, and tends to be popular. Devils Tower is a bit off the beaten path, so there's not much choice in that area. The national park has a CG but most sites aren't too RV-friendly, unless you have a small rig, and it has no hookups.

The drive from Devils Tower to Mt Rushmore isn't long; an easy trip so you shouldn't need an overnight there. You do have a long day ahead of you from Vegas to Yellowstone, though. I doubt you'd need a reservation between those spots unless you'll be there on Memorial Day weekend. Depending what you are looking for, there are several private CGs in the Salt Lake and Provo areas, plus at least one SP (Utah Lake - sites may be smallish) along I-15, so you do have some choice.

In six years of fulltime RVing we rarely make reservations unless we want to be in a certain place during holidays. The one thing we have noticed was while we normally stop around 3:00 PM to near empty RV parks they are usually packed several hours later. So if you plan to push the miles and hours on the road I suggest calling in mid afternoon to ensure a site when you arrive.