need a little help in finding and choosing an rv park

Megadesertdiesel wrote:
I might have an opportunity to work out of state and want to be ready if everything works out this way. I would be staying for 6-12 months

The first place to ask about RV parks is the potential employer - who will probably have to get you in touch with some other short-term employees.

Then research on RVPark Reviews.

For temporary workers - do some web searches in the area for mobile home parks. Your 'lifestyle' while working will be much closer to those folks than to RV park folks.

But it varies greatly by area.

Megadesertdiesel wrote:
what kind of questions should i ask when i call parks?
size of space, electric included, cellular service, cable, internet avalible?????

First question is do they have monthly / semi-annual rates for workers. Almost certainly electricity will be metered and billed separately. There will be a deposit for electricity.

Space size is normally set. You are going to be packed in pretty close together. Just the nature of the lifestyle. All the park has to sell (rent) is space. Any space not used is not producing income.

The park won't know about cell service other than the carrier of the person you are talking too. Be sure to check your cell company service area maps.

Cable is a good question to ask. If you have Direct TV at home - you can take one of your cable boxes with you - you only need an antenna. If you have Dish, you can talk to them and get service.

Internet - better to do it yourself rather than rely on a park Wi-Fi. Usually those cannot support heavy usage and are not secure for things such as e-mail and banking. Best case is a direct to site phone capability - and the ability to get a phone hookup with DSL. That way your internet connection is secure, fast and usually not subject to bandwidth limits.

My wife says look for a laundry at the RV park, or nearby laundry mats.

This is an RV park which I know, and visit with my Good Sam group each year. They really focus on monthly residents - preferring retirees not workers - but look at their monthly rates section to get some ideas of what questions to ask. Bluebonnet Ridge

Megadesertdiesel wrote:
what should i do or check on my trailer to be ready for fulltime hook ups?

I strongly recommend you have a high quality protection for your rig electrical connections - something like this - SurgeGuard or this Voltage Regulator

Surging/ bad electricity is the greatest threat to your rig.

Have a good water pressure regulator. RV park / campground water pressures can vary greatly. The plumbing in your rig cannot handle 100 PSI. Most folks prefer to keep theirs below 50 PSI. Pressure regulator There are many variations and sources for these.

If you are going to be where it might freeze - look for heat tape on-line - Heat Tape

You also might want to turn the water off if you are going to be gone for days.

If your rig has a black tank flush - use it at least once a month.

Put the app RVParky on your phone, great resource.

Jim

I start with www.woodalls.com and make note of a few in the area (you can change the search results to distance from the city you entered). Then I check them out on www.rvparkreviews.com and make the final decisions. I look at their individual websites for amenities and rates and contact info.

If you give us the area where you will be staying in then we may be able to help you better.

I just looked at RV PARK REVIEWS and they only have about half of the parks in my area listed.

They may be a place to start but, it looks to me like you are still going to have to do it the hard way by doing a lot or internet searching to get all the parks in a area located.

Keep in mind that rvparkreview does NOT list ALL the CG's within a given area.

Do a simple search on Google for CG's in the town you want to stay at.

Then go and stay for just one or two days BEFORE you pay for a monthly rate. You certainly don't want to be stuck in a CG where you are not happy.

I don't stay any where long term with out first just staying there for one or two days to see if I like it. Sometimes I find it's so bad I'm outta there in one night and on to the next CG. Ya I pay the higher price per night for one night but it sure beats being stuck in a crappy CG for a month that I paid for upfront.

Also I would make sure the CG you choose has laundry facilities. Nothing worse than having to go and sit in a nasty city laundromat to do your laundry. Remember the wife is not going to be with you to do it for you!!

IMHO the ONLY way to do laundry is AT the CG. Throw the clothes in the washer and go back to your RV and have a cold one. And repeat process for drying them! :W

What State are you looking at? Winter temps may be a factor...Alternate heat source. I use RV Park Review plus will google the park and use google earth to check it out...

Alot of parks look good on the website but in reality they have become trailer parks and not RV parks...

A park's website should tell you what you need to know.

I use RV Park Reviews also. Great resource. You can use Google maps by centering on a town and typing "RV parks" or "campgrounds" in the search box.

Ask the RV park if they allow a multi-month stay. Some don't. After you tell them the size of your RV, they should know which sites your RV will fit in, but ask if there will also be room to park your truck at the site. Make sure your sewer hose has the end-piece that makes a secure and sealed connection to the hole in the ground. You cannot just leave your sewer hose dangling in the hole for 6 months. So get something like this if you don't already have it:
Sewer hose adapter

When you know the town you are going to be staying in, just ask in this forum (in the RV Parks section) for suggestions of good parks.

Rvparkreviews is a good place to start. Also the state you are going to most likely has a campground association that puts out a book with all the campgrounds in the state. Once you determine the time frame and whether it is a monthly rate or seasonal you will need you can pick a place. Read the reviews about wifi as just because they say they have it, does not mean it works well.