RV's too old to park in their campground???

[Cheryl_B]

I bought my motorhome with the intention of leaving CT, and spending quality time with my family who has relocated to the outskirts of Indianapolis this year. I was paying my rent here in CT yesterday and I told them that this would most likely be my last month camping here.

I get back to the rig and find that finally, this IN campground has answered my emails (I sent them 2 and got no response and called them instead.) So that's how I found out that the RV's need to be 15 years old or newer. I called 2 other places (only places open year round there) and they had similar policies. I'm persona non grata.

I've researched RV living for YEARS, accumulating into decades and this is the first I have heard about age limits for RV's. Is this a typical problem that you encounter in your travels?

Do I really have to spend the winter in CT????

[snowdance]

Cheryl_B wrote:
I don't know, but I'm learning as I go. I never saw any age restrictions for RV's posted on the Campground website pages, but if I asked if there was an age restriction, the answer was always yes. I learned not to ask and to just show up. Never been turned away yet and nobody has even looked at me or my rig with a critical eye.

Just want others in my position to know that, and to not be thrown for a loop if they come across this issue. Don't ask! Just go and everything will be fine.

I agree. We have traveled for 47 years on boats, in trailers, van and motorhomes. We always keep our rigs up the best we can and have never been turned away if there was any room. All great trips start the same.. Get off the couch..

[Cheryl_B]

I don't know, but I'm learning as I go. I never saw any age restrictions for RV's posted on the Campground website pages, but if I asked if there was an age restriction, the answer was always yes. I learned not to ask and to just show up. Never been turned away yet and nobody has even looked at me or my rig with a critical eye.

Just want others in my position to know that, and to not be thrown for a loop if they come across this issue. Don't ask! Just go and everything will be fine.

[JamesJudasPries]

Any park that has a strict age rule like that are a bunch of stuck up snobs with no concept of RVing. Like many have said, probably would not enjoy the place anyway.

I guess management has to be busy bodies because they have no life.

How does it work then with a poorly maintained, newer entry level cost RV vs a premium, well kept older RV?

[Cheryl_B]

Thank you. I am! The humidity, not so much. 😉 Merry Christmas to all.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

That's great news!! I've always assumed that as long as an RV is "nice" looking, it will be welcomed? Enjoy the warm weather!

[Cheryl_B]

Hi, fellow RVers. I've been out and about since I started this thread and I've discovered what I came to suspect. That RV age thing is just their back-up law so they can turn folks away if they don't like the rig. I have not had any trouble anywhere, no matter if it was an overnight or a long stay. In fact, there are "rv's" much older or worse than mine in this park. People live here and I feel right at home. (Brunswick, GA.)

Think I'm going to be staying for the winter. Everyone up north is freezing their patooties off and it's almost 80 degrees and humid here today. I have the a/c on. It will cool down after today but it's oppressive humidity at present. I love it here, aside from that.

I'm going to spend Christmas Day on Jekyll Island, doing some beachcombing. Merry Christmas!

[Cheryl_B]

lane hog wrote:

Cheryl_B wrote:
How cold does it really have to get before you have to be concerned with frozen holding tanks and water lines? I mean, does it have to be below freezing for more than just a night?

Yep. If you're living in the coach, and you have tanks inside the insulated area, you probably don't need to worry about the fresh water tank or your supply lines much. They'll be within 10* of your coach temperature.

I don't think about my black or grey holding tanks. They'll eventually thaw.

In storage, that's another story. When we're facing <32F for a couple days, I'll winterize.

Thank you. That's what I was concerned with. The fresh water holding tank is below my bed so I'm sure it will be good. I was more concerned with the supply lines, since they are small in diameter and so will be easier to freeze. I was advised to leave the cabinet doors ajar on the cold nights, to help the warmth circulate through to them. I do that.

[Cheryl_B]

JRS950 wrote:
While we are some time away from this situation, have you been able to get any resolution on the age limit at the CG that you would like to use? Hope they have seen your pictures and said "come on over".
All the more reason for the rest of us to keep up with the maintenance and "look" of our MH. Best of luck to you.

Thank you for asking. No, they are terrible at returning emails (or even reading them, I suspect.) Another member of our esteemed RV group here said he has been calling them to confirm this and they don't even pick up their phones or return the calls! They must be full-up and don't care.

I really wanted to go to IN. Just to see my family before winter arrives. I still might decide to at the last minute and just boondock. I have to accept that I will have no choice at times. It will be a good test for me. We shall see what I actually do when it comes time. I have such a hard time making decisions like that.

[lane_hog]

Cheryl_B wrote:
How cold does it really have to get before you have to be concerned with frozen holding tanks and water lines? I mean, does it have to be below freezing for more than just a night?

Yep. If you're living in the coach, and you have tanks inside the insulated area, you probably don't need to worry about the fresh water tank or your supply lines much. They'll be within 10* of your coach temperature.

I don't think about my black or grey holding tanks. They'll eventually thaw.

In storage, that's another story. When we're facing <32F for a couple days, I'll winterize.

[JRS950]

While we are some time away from this situation, have you been able to get any resolution on the age limit at the CG that you would like to use? Hope they have seen your pictures and said "come on over".
All the more reason for the rest of us to keep up with the maintenance and "look" of our MH. Best of luck to you.

[Cheryl_B]

DutchmenSport wrote:
What dates are you planning on being in Indiana? How long?

I hoped to spend all of Nov/Dec there, but at a campground. The 2 that stay open don't allow RV's that are as old as mine. The homes my family bought this year don't allow RV's to park (or boats, etc) overnight so I can be there at their homes during the day, but have to retreat to somewhere else every single blasted night.

So 2 months of that is out of the question. No spending the holidays with my family in IN this year. If I go now, it will be for no longer than 2 weeks, first half of November.

[Cheryl_B]

Photomike wrote:

Cheryl_B wrote:
How cold does it really have to get before you have to be concerned with frozen holding tanks and water lines? I mean, does it have to be below freezing for more than just a night?

A simple answer is yes, one night with cold temps will not freeze you up, unless it is crazy cold (-25C or colder) !!!

I have actually had water in my tanks when it has gotten cold (-15C or 5F) and never had a problem. This past week have had a few nights at (-9, -7, -4 Celsius) and still not a problem. The big thing is that at this time of the year the daytime temperatures are still high enough (+1 or more) to clear up any ice during the day so it has to start over at night to refreeze. Also as long as you are using water and running the water heater during the next day or night then you will be fine with the lines as the ice will be cleared out.

Now if the daytime temps were in the same range (-10 or -15C) it would worry me that it would start to freeze up and would never truly thaw and it would just get worse and you would have a blockage that would stop the flow altogether in a day or two.

That being said unless you get an insane hard freeze like -25 or - 30 C your system should not have a problem with a single freeze up. The problem happens when you have a freeze and a blockage gets in the line and then it thaws or you have liquid further down the line and then that freezes with ice blockages on both sides of the liquid. Once you get a frozen blockage in the line and the water cannot expand down the pipes then you get pipes that will crack on the next freeze-up. In cold weather I leave my pump off and the taps open to allow any expansion to happen through the pipes and that helps to minimize any blow outs. Also either leave your hot water heater on or if a manual pilot light then leave that on.

As for the storage tank if it is fully inside then it has to get REAL cold to freeze. In temps that are in the -10C range the inside of my camper will only drop to -2 or -3C without the heat on and then will warm up fast in the sun to +6 or 10 even with outside temps that are cooler. If the tank is under the RV and gets no heating it will cool off and in a couple days turn to slush and a day or two later freeze, even in close to freezing temps.

Side note on RV anti freeze - In real cold weather you will see the RV antifreeze turn to slush and this is fine. What it is doing is stopping any hard freezes that cause blockages. Again I leave my tapes open so that air and any expansion can happen without blow outs, just to be safe.

Thank you. I don't expect to do any hard-core winter camping, I just asked the question in case I got caught in a cold snap while visiting family up north. You never know when something will creep out of Canada. I know that if it goes below freezing overnight and then above freezing during the day, I should be fine.

That's all I meant. I was asking if it got below freezing for a full day or two, should I worry. Sounds like if I keep the fluids moving and the tanks full, I can skate by. (No pun intended.)

[Cheryl_B]

Gene in NE wrote:

Cheryl_B wrote:
How cold does it really have to get before you have to be concerned with frozen holding tanks and water lines? I mean, does it have to be below freezing for more than just a night?

This is a question that is very difficult to answer. Here is a story that makes the point.

The answer to your question really depends on three things: how much water you have, how cold it is to start out, and how cold the things around it are. Water actually freezes when it gets to 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius), but the time it takes to get there may be different.

Let's start with the first. If you take two glasses, and fill one with a tiny bit of water, and the other about halfway, then put them both in the freezer, the one with less water will freeze first (you can try this at home, but I recommend using plastic cups and not glass ones).

Now let's move on to the second part. Let's say you have two glasses, and you fill one with really cold water that has been in the refrigerator, and the other with really hot water from the sink. If you put both of them in the freezer, the one that started out colder will freeze first.

For the third part, let's imagine that you have two glasses with the same amount of water in them, and the water is at the same temperature. Imagine putting one outside on a really really cold day in Georgia, and having a friend in Alaska put one outside on the same day. Since it would be so much colder in Alaska, the glass of water there would freeze before yours.

So, if you took a tiny bit of really cold water in a glass, and put it outside on a cold day in Alaska, it would freeze a lot faster than a big glass of hot water outside on a cold day in Georgia.

I'm sorry, but I am not a bonehead.

[DutchmenSport]

What dates are you planning on being in Indiana? How long?