Online reservations

IBcarguy wrote:
Ok, I'm a little frustrated. We just bought a brand new 5th wheel and late model Duramax GMC to tow with. We're not totally new to the RV scene, but now have made a pretty big investment in our new hobby. We're ready to go. We live in northern CA and have discovered that there are very few places to go that aren't already booked up for the next 3 months...or more. All of the beach front or lake front sites are booked solid into the summer already. There are still other places to go, but a fairgrounds or some of the trashy inland private RV places aren't what we've been dreaming of. My DW has had 3 computers primed to click onto the reservation sites the moment they open up but they always seem to beat her to the reservations before she can make a reservation. I don't get it, other people seem to be getting the reservations....all of them it seems so there must be a way of doing this that we're not privy to. Maybe a special web site that does it automatically, or sending goodies to the webmaster of the reservation site, or SOMETHING! I want to be part of the privileged group that always seems to get ALL the weekend reservations at ALL the beach and lakefront RV sites. OK, someone knows the secret so who do I connect with to become one of the privileged RVers that gets all the prime reservations?

Yes, we know the secrets. Very easy if you're somewhat retired and have lots of times to roam around. You have to plan your trips 1-2 years ahead of time, know exactly where you're going, and pretty much know something about the campground you want to stay at. Simple, huh? I know- real easy to say. OR- you can do what a lot of people do. Just head out and plan on maybe doing a little boondocking if need be. There are LOTS of Forest Service campgrounds that don't take reservations. There are LOTS of people traveling the country who have never made a reservation in their life. Good luck and don't get discouraged.

IBcarguy wrote:
Ok, I'm a little frustrated. We just bought a brand new 5th wheel and late model Duramax GMC to tow with. We're not totally new to the RV scene, but now have made a pretty big investment in our new hobby. We're ready to go. We live in northern CA and have discovered that there are very few places to go that aren't already booked up for the next 3 months...or more. All of the beach front or lake front sites are booked solid into the summer already. There are still other places to go, but a fairgrounds or some of the trashy inland private RV places aren't what we've been dreaming of. My DW has had 3 computers primed to click onto the reservation sites the moment they open up but they always seem to beat her to the reservations before she can make a reservation. I don't get it, other people seem to be getting the reservations....all of them it seems so there must be a way of doing this that we're not privy to. Maybe a special web site that does it automatically, or sending goodies to the webmaster of the reservation site, or SOMETHING! I want to be part of the privileged group that always seems to get ALL the weekend reservations at ALL the beach and lakefront RV sites. OK, someone knows the secret so who do I connect with to become one of the privileged RVers that gets all the prime reservations?

Don't we ALL want to be part of that group of "privileged RVers"? :W I haven't yet forged through all 3 pages of discussion so far but my first observation is that your "pretty big investment" is irrelevant to your argument, those who have but a fraction invested also deserve the same right to reserve campsites as do you. :R Secondly, if we told you "the secret" it would no longer be a secret. :p

What you're experiencing is really no different anywhere else including here in Ontario which has the second largest park system in N America. Sites here open for reservation at 7am 5 months in advance of your chosen date of arrival - but if someone beats you in clicking the reservation tab, even by nanoseconds, you're out of luck. :M Frustrating to be sure, but not uncommon at all. About the only "trick" I know of to get around this is to book your preferred site days or weeks before you actually want it, then later cancel the days you don't want, paying whatever penalty there may be. Here in Ontario that penalty can be severe, up to 50% of the original cost of the site, so along with being somewhat "unethical" it's just not something I do myself. Plenty do though so that may be your only realistic solution for getting the site you really want. ;)

travelnutz wrote:
Are you always going to get the exact site in a particular CG that you want? Nope! You are only renting the site for a short time (day or week, etc) Not owning it or buying it so you are just a number like everyone else. Be flexible and suddenly you will be winning more than adequately! You can't take a particular CG or site with you! Just pay to use it!

Bingo! :B

Which also includes being prepared to camp on a dry site rather than the electric site you'd prefer, along with having a shorter trailer that will fit on far more available sites than will a longer one. The more services you insist on, the larger your rig, the fewer options you'll have ... that's "the secret". :W

nevadanick wrote:
If there is a phone number for the place you want to go then call them. Easiest way to get a spot that was cancelled.

Every system has it's own rules & regulations ... here in Ontario calling the park won't solve anything as all reservations, even those made by local staff, have to be done through the reservation system, meaning there's no advantage over just doing it yourself.

You need to plan a head to get good spots, you need to be planing for next year now, so you can be making your reservations as soon as they open up for that time 9 months down the road.
Until then try some less desirable spots, and look at Fall and Spring camping, could add winter to that also. Family's fill the summer, as kids are out of school.

It's not limited to California. Try getting a reservation in south Florida on short notice. We were reserving 2-3 weeks ahead on last winter's trip and that stopped south of Ft Myers. Oh, if we wanted to pay $125 a night there were sites available, but anything public, COE or reasonably priced was booked a year out. Some beach sites were so tight that you couldn't put your slides out. At that point we turned back to the north.

The 'secret' down there is to make your reservations for next year when you leave this year. However, there are some public parks that don't allow this, and you need to play the Southwest Airlines reservation game.

So I guess CA has this problem because the regulatory process to open a $125 a night beach front campground is too ominous. Life in a blue state...

One part of the problem is that 400,000+ RVs are sold in the US each year according to RVIA. Second is very few new CGs are being built. The only new one I've seen was at a casino. Many older CGs were built on land that has since become too valuable to use for a CG and wouldn't be viable today. How many new ones are being built near the ocean, at a lake or other desireable location? Is building a new CG financially feasible today?

We camped in California last August. One large CG was nearly empty, but that was in Bakersfield. The other was a Thousand Trails near Gilroy & Monterey which we booked waay in advance. Very hard to find a site there. It was so hot that everyone was inside - like a ghost town. I've been hearing for years that it is hard to get into CGs in Ca. It's only going to get worse over time.

We used to have a membership in a CG org. in Wa. Their flagship CG (near Can. border) was extremely busy in the summer due to them overselling memberships. If we ever tried to change dates less than 60 days out, we were SOL. We spent thousands of $$ on a membership only to find that getting a site there was almost impossible in the summer. We are now Thousand Trails members and can camp up and down the US west coast but still need to book as far in advance as poss. in the high season.

bikendan wrote:
We gave up on summer camping in California, years ago.
As former long time California residents, we went to camping in the spring and fall.
After all, you can camp in California year round so why fight the summer crowds.

Summer reservations, especially for state beaches, are booked up in a few minutes, months before.

Even though we moved to Washington, we still camp in California. We just continue doing it in the spring and fall.

This has been the case, for California summer camping, for many years.

I agree completely. Just go in the off-season, and where the weather's good.