Potential Snowbirds - LOTS of questions!
Hi. We're Canadians who have never been to Florida but are seriously contemplating spending next winter down there - Dec to Mar. We spent 2 months travelling in a Class B in 2015 but now have a TT - Hideout 25RKS. I think we could do the 4 months in it as far as size goes, although through the winter we'll be mostly stationary while in the Class B we were travelling and changing locations almost daily.
Our TT has a "Cold Weather Package". I'm not sure what that entails. I know it has ducting to take heat from the furnace to keep the tanks from freezing, at least in moderate cold. I don't know if it has extra insulation. I do know the windows are single pane. So I suspect while travelling down in Dec we'll have to leave the plumbing winterized till we get far enough south. I know at times they get cold snaps in FLorida. I assume there are many that have similarly-weather-capable rigs as ours that survive them???
We know people that head south in the winter but they all either own/rent trailers in mobile home parks or stay in other rental accommodation. Most people from this area head to the Tampa/Zephyrhills area. So we're aiming at that area as well.
We have been Googling campgrounds in that general area and are really blinded from seeing the forest for the trees. A lot of "campgrounds" seem to be more full-time units with row upon row of permanent setups. Others seem to cater to 1/2Mil$ rigs. We'd like to find somewhere where we wouldn't feel out-of-place with our unit - with other TT or 5W similar to ours. We don't need luxury - ie we don't need a golf course but would like a pool and the ability to keep active outside. We want to feel secure. Costs seem to range from $300-$1500US/Mo for a pad to put our trailer on. There must be BIG differences in what you get for your money.
So we're looking to you experts for advice:
1) Do many others with TT head south or are rigs our size a rarety? Are there considerations we may not have contemplated in staying months in a home this size? Are we nuts?
2) How do we find a campground that meets our needs? Find one that caters to setups like ours? What price range per month should we expect? Some have electricity included in the rate; others have added costs for stays longer than a month. How much would monthly electricity cost be on average?
3) Should we book one place for 4 months and take day trips from there or should we move around - a month at a time in different locations? If the latter, would we have trouble if we book the first month from here and then wait until we're down there to decide where we want to go next? Would we have problems finding a place to stay on short notice like that?
4) Are there any specific campgrounds you could recommend, considering the above info?
5) Is it necessary to book in advance or are there always sites available? If we have to book in advance, how far ahead should we do it?
6) When travelling down and back, do you recommend booking camgrounds along the route or would there be little trouble finding some with available sites?
7) Finally, for Canadians, what is the best option to obtain cell and Internet service? Purchase a disposable pay-as-you-go phone at Walmart?
Sorry for the long post. As you can see, we need LOTS of advice.
Keith & Linda
Our TT has a "Cold Weather Package". I'm not sure what that entails. I know it has ducting to take heat from the furnace to keep the tanks from freezing, at least in moderate cold. I don't know if it has extra insulation. I do know the windows are single pane. So I suspect while travelling down in Dec we'll have to leave the plumbing winterized till we get far enough south. I know at times they get cold snaps in FLorida. I assume there are many that have similarly-weather-capable rigs as ours that survive them???
We know people that head south in the winter but they all either own/rent trailers in mobile home parks or stay in other rental accommodation. Most people from this area head to the Tampa/Zephyrhills area. So we're aiming at that area as well.
We have been Googling campgrounds in that general area and are really blinded from seeing the forest for the trees. A lot of "campgrounds" seem to be more full-time units with row upon row of permanent setups. Others seem to cater to 1/2Mil$ rigs. We'd like to find somewhere where we wouldn't feel out-of-place with our unit - with other TT or 5W similar to ours. We don't need luxury - ie we don't need a golf course but would like a pool and the ability to keep active outside. We want to feel secure. Costs seem to range from $300-$1500US/Mo for a pad to put our trailer on. There must be BIG differences in what you get for your money.
So we're looking to you experts for advice:
1) Do many others with TT head south or are rigs our size a rarety? Are there considerations we may not have contemplated in staying months in a home this size? Are we nuts?
2) How do we find a campground that meets our needs? Find one that caters to setups like ours? What price range per month should we expect? Some have electricity included in the rate; others have added costs for stays longer than a month. How much would monthly electricity cost be on average?
3) Should we book one place for 4 months and take day trips from there or should we move around - a month at a time in different locations? If the latter, would we have trouble if we book the first month from here and then wait until we're down there to decide where we want to go next? Would we have problems finding a place to stay on short notice like that?
4) Are there any specific campgrounds you could recommend, considering the above info?
5) Is it necessary to book in advance or are there always sites available? If we have to book in advance, how far ahead should we do it?
6) When travelling down and back, do you recommend booking camgrounds along the route or would there be little trouble finding some with available sites?
7) Finally, for Canadians, what is the best option to obtain cell and Internet service? Purchase a disposable pay-as-you-go phone at Walmart?
Sorry for the long post. As you can see, we need LOTS of advice.
Keith & Linda
