Heading south for the first time

[retiredtraveler]

My wife and I had a 27" gasser for a year. This spring we upgraded to a 38" Holiday Rambler DP.
So since we just retired we plan to spend the winter out of the snow belt. The plan is to leave around Dec.1 and return around March 1.
We are thinking spending 2-3 weeks at every destination. Places that come to mind is GA, Northern FL, Al, LA, MS.
We are not into using the facilities at campgrounds so we are looking for water, electric (30 Amp should do in the winter), cable and WIFI. Full hook-ups would be nice, but driving 5 min's to dump now and again is no big deal.
So learned ones tell me about places you have experience with!
Thank you in advance.

[retiredtraveler]

djgarcia wrote:
Regarding the weather. We took a couple of 2 week trips in New England this fall. Several mornings were 40-45 degrees. We used the furnace while sleeping and a small space heater while awake. The electric heater kept us toasty without the furnace ever kicking in.
Can anyone give me a clue of how much LP the furnace uses? I believe we have a 30 gallon tank.
Again, thanks to all for the information.

I assume you meant to say that you have two 30 gal. propane tanks. All things being equal, weather temp., length of time heater actually used, I can get about 2 weeks on 1 30 gal. tank. In Ariz. during what they call their winter months, 32 deg. to about 45 deg. in the early mornings and evenings I run the furnace for about 3 hrs. in the AM and appox. 2 hrs. in the evening. The rest of the time I use the ocsillating elec. heater. I don't use the furnance once I go to bed. Hope this gives you some general idea of propance usuage.

Thanks for the info. According to my motor homes owner's manual we have one 30 gallon tank. I think you may be confusing a 30 lb tank with a 30 gallon tank, big difference.
Thank you for the input in any case.

Yes you are right, I was thinking of my 5th. wheel where I have to 2 30lb. tanks. But the approx. user LP times should be close to the estimates I sent you.

Thanks you again for the info. I looked up pounds vs. gallons. It looks like we have 126 pounds of propane on board. I would think that should get us pretty far. We also use the electric water heater when hooked up.

[MarkTwain]

Regarding the weather. We took a couple of 2 week trips in New England this fall. Several mornings were 40-45 degrees. We used the furnace while sleeping and a small space heater while awake. The electric heater kept us toasty without the furnace ever kicking in.
Can anyone give me a clue of how much LP the furnace uses? I believe we have a 30 gallon tank.
Again, thanks to all for the information.

I assume you meant to say that you have two 30 gal. propane tanks. All things being equal, weather temp., length of time heater actually used, I can get about 2 weeks on 1 30 gal. tank. In Ariz. during what they call their winter months, 32 deg. to about 45 deg. in the early mornings and evenings I run the furnace for about 3 hrs. in the AM and appox. 2 hrs. in the evening. The rest of the time I use the ocsillating elec. heater. I don't use the furnance once I go to bed. Hope this gives you some general idea of propance usuage.

Thanks for the info. According to my motor homes owner's manual we have one 30 gallon tank. I think you may be confusing a 30 lb tank with a 30 gallon tank, big difference.
Thank you for the input in any case.

Yes you are right, I was thinking of my 5th. wheel where I have to 2 30lb. tanks. But the approx. user LP times should be close to the estimates I sent you.

[ontheroad101]

Good luck with your journey. All great trips, but if you only join one "membership" join Passport America. For 40 bucks you can't go wrong. But be aware in FL there are many restriction's. But use it two night's and it pays for the year subscription. Click on our blog in our signature below for a list of parks we stayed in.

[retiredtraveler]

djgarcia wrote:
Regarding the weather. We took a couple of 2 week trips in New England this fall. Several mornings were 40-45 degrees. We used the furnace while sleeping and a small space heater while awake. The electric heater kept us toasty without the furnace ever kicking in.
Can anyone give me a clue of how much LP the furnace uses? I believe we have a 30 gallon tank.
Again, thanks to all for the information.

I assume you meant to say that you have two 30 gal. propane tanks. All things being equal, weather temp., length of time heater actually used, I can get about 2 weeks on 1 30 gal. tank. In Ariz. during what they call their winter months, 32 deg. to about 45 deg. in the early mornings and evenings I run the furnace for about 3 hrs. in the AM and appox. 2 hrs. in the evening. The rest of the time I use the ocsillating elec. heater. I don't use the furnance once I go to bed. Hope this gives you some general idea of propance usuage.

Thanks for the info. According to my motor homes owner's manual we have one 30 gallon tank. I think you may be confusing a 30 lb tank with a 30 gallon tank, big difference.
Thank you for the input in any case.

[MarkTwain]

Regarding the weather. We took a couple of 2 week trips in New England this fall. Several mornings were 40-45 degrees. We used the furnace while sleeping and a small space heater while awake. The electric heater kept us toasty without the furnace ever kicking in.
Can anyone give me a clue of how much LP the furnace uses? I believe we have a 30 gallon tank.
Again, thanks to all for the information.

I assume you meant to say that you have two 30 gal. propane tanks. All things being equal, weather temp., length of time heater actually used, I can get about 2 weeks on 1 30 gal. tank. In Ariz. during what they call their winter months, 32 deg. to about 45 deg. in the early mornings and evenings I run the furnace for about 3 hrs. in the AM and appox. 2 hrs. in the evening. The rest of the time I use the ocsillating elec. heater. I don't use the furnance once I go to bed. Hope this gives you some general idea of propance usuage.

[retiredtraveler]

doxiemom11 wrote:
I would join Passport America and use some of their campgrounds for just overnight stops. You get 50% off the regular rate. Sometimes you run across one that you want to stay at awhile. We are at one now with FHU and $12 per day in Mississippi. We spent our 1st 2 winters in central AL -- too cold. We are at the gulf coast in MS hoping it's a little warmer here. We don't know though as locals think it's cold at 70 so when they say it gets cold, you can never tell.
It gets cold in the AZ desert, can get cold in FL, can be cold in TX - not sure where to go for warmth that we can afford. Florida is expensive the further south you co (so we have been told) and the further south the better chance for warmth. Also remember that on the way down, many campground will be closed in December.

Thanks to all. We are members of Good Sam. I spent a little time on Passport America's web site and it looks like a good deal. On a trip of this length camping rates play a big role.
Regarding the weather. We took a couple of 2 week trips in New England this fall. Several mornings were 40-45 degrees. We used the furnace while sleeping and a small space heater while awake. The electric heater kept us toasty without the furnace ever kicking in.
Can anyone give me a clue of how much LP the furnace uses? I believe we have a 30 gallon tank.
Again, thanks to all for the information.

[Devonm2012]

Advice.....stay at least 5 miles from salt water. Your RV will thank you.

Bella Terra in Foley, AL (Gulf Shores) is amazing and they always have a spot for you! Our favorite resort in the U.S. in the 26 states we have traveled to date!

[Us_out_West]

Not only Fla. but any PA participating CG will have limits during their peak times of the year.

Still use PA traveling when available...great membership sometimes better than Good Sam's which we also use.

[67Cutlass]

OK second hand information here. I've heard on a certain podcast that it's almost impossible to get a Passport America discount in Florida in the winter months. Typically January through March.

[doxiemom11]

I would join Passport America and use some of their campgrounds for just overnight stops. You get 50% off the regular rate. Sometimes you run across one that you want to stay at awhile. We are at one now with FHU and $12 per day in Mississippi. We spent our 1st 2 winters in central AL -- too cold. We are at the gulf coast in MS hoping it's a little warmer here. We don't know though as locals think it's cold at 70 so when they say it gets cold, you can never tell.
It gets cold in the AZ desert, can get cold in FL, can be cold in TX - not sure where to go for warmth that we can afford. Florida is expensive the further south you co (so we have been told) and the further south the better chance for warmth. Also remember that on the way down, many campground will be closed in December.

[67Cutlass]

Since we live in Marietta I can tell you it ain't gonna be all that warm in Georgia in the winter, even in southern Georgia. I don't know your budget but Florida is not exactly cheap to RV in the winter.

I too recommend 'Go west'. Southern Texas will be warmer than Georgia and cheaper than Florida. There are so many beautiful things to see out west. Florida's OK, but once you've seen one palm tree, the rest are pretty much the same.

OK , I'm biased on the west. I grew up in the west and can't wait to return. In fact it's less than a from now I retire and we're gone! We can't get out of Georgia quick enough.

OK so this is an extreme example of the cost of a winter site here in Florida. We are currently here now. The daily summer rate is about $96, the daily winter rate is between $115 and $125 PER day. Some sites here are even higher. There are no weekly or monthly rates.

[MacManOne]

I would agree with others that say "go west young man" because we love it out there, but Summer-Fall is our Western swing and we live in Florida in the winter (actually year round now since we're off the road for a while but that's another story).

If you stick with the Southeast, when you're sure of the locations you want to visit start calling and make reservations. Good parks fill up fast. Also remember that it can be fairly chilly in FL in Dec/Jan/Feb. We live in the Tampa area and Christmas day might just as easily be 40 low 50 high and raining as 50 low 80 high and sunny!

Are you members of anything that will get you into parks that are "members only" For example, military retiree? Escapees club member? other camping clubs?

Flexibility will help you enjoy the trip.

Good luck and happy travels!

[retiredtraveler]

Thank you for the suggestions thus far. Keep them coming. Also thank you for the 8 point list. Some are already in place, I will look at the others.
Keep ideas coming.
Thanks.

[retiredtraveler]

WyoTraveler wrote:
JMHO. I am originally from Michigan. Get out of the east coast crowd. Head west. Get away from all those people in the east. AZ,CA,NV. Check out parks. However, between paks camp in the desert in the winter for free. When you need a dump or hook up go to Rv park. then pull off nto the desert. Millions of miles of vacant land just wating for you. Run your dog, shoot your guns, kick back, no people. I just don't get living in the east.

We definitely plan to go out west, just not quite yet. We plan to see every square mile of this beautiful country. For this first trip we feel better staying a bit closer to home.