Starting in January 2025
Hey folks! My name is Chad. My husband, Jon, and I will be beginning our full time RVing adventure toward the end of January. We are currently in San Francisco and will be chasing the sun. We are sti...
Forum Discussion
Hi Chad, what's your and your husbands experience level? It will possibly help us with advice and suggestions. Do you already have an RV and experience using RV's and just looking for ideas where to go? Or are you complete newbies in the RV world?
Hi! We are completely brand new to this whole thing. We just bought a 95 Winnebago (Ford E350) last week but we won't be going out in it just yet. So we are just preparing for it now and trying to find community so we don't feel alone on the road.
We are hoping to take it on a couple short trips before we go full time in it so we can test it out. But how do you guys find campsites to use or BLM land? Is Thousand Trails and KOA good options so are there better ones? Our whole goal is to find peaceful, quiet places to be. The city life has destroyed us, which is why we are turning to RV life. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 🙂
Oh and money is an issue too, so we can't just stay anywhere- we are still trying to figure out remote income options- remote jobs have been become harder to get these days.
One of the apps that I tend to use a lot to find locations is Campendium. It’s free and you can filter by price if you’re looking to boondock. It’s also helpful for finding dump stations, and the reviews by other campers can give you insights into how safe or reliable the camping areas are. You can also link to campsite web pages from the app. I also tried RVLife app, but didn’t like that one as much.
As far as potential work, if you’re physically capable look up temp services in the towns you plan to go through. They are usually pretty easy to get set up with, and sometimes you can find a few days work to get you through. My husband does this in between construction jobs. You can google what towns have these type of offices. A couple of the more well known ones are PeopleReady, Labor Systems, and Allied Forces. So if you are planning on staying somewhere for a little while to get money to move on, something like that could be an option to help you out.
Also, if you are starting in January, Sedona might not be an option. Always check the weather in the area you are driving through. Even Sedona can get snow in the winter, and the campgrounds may not be year round. Also, while going through AZ, coconino natl forest is very picky about people staying on the land. They make up their own interpretation to the federal rules for disbursed camping, so if you’re staying longer then a night or two don’t be surprised if you are approached by a forest ranger and questioned about the length and reason for your stay. Keep your site clean, and “we’re here for recreation” is always the answer.
