To plan or not to plan?

We will begin full-timing in January. We have our general route for 2014 planned out, as there are many places we want to get to during the year. For the entire year, we have exactly one campground reservation for a week. While browsing the area for campgrounds, we noticed that most of them were already booked and the number of sites was dwindling quickly. Because the time and location was important (family and spring training) we booked. Otherwise, we have a general idea of what is available in the areas we want to stay and will hope for the best. We prefer to boondock, so most times it doesn't matter anyway.

We do exactly as tenbear does.

We only make reservations in popular tourist areas, weekends or holidays. Otherwise, we arrive during the week Sunday thru Thursday, arrive early (before 4pm) and haven't had any problems finding campgrounds. We do plan our route and plan our stops. We locate the city, look on www.woodalls.com for a couple of RV parks in the area, then narrow it to 2 on www.rvparkreviews.com. We have a first and second choice ready in case the first one is booked up. During the day enroute we call to make sure they have an opening. So far so good.

Depends too on the type of rig you have...with a TC I would never bother with reservations. Even with our 40' Dynasty we reserved about 50/50...however, with our current rig, we usually go with reservations as our choice of CG and sites within the CGs are limited....This is our fifth year full timing and I saw more campgrounds with ample space this year than in any other year.....Dennis

curlysue321 wrote:
Am considering full-time RVing. Does one plan out their trip in advance making reservations at all the campgrounds? I'd like to come and go as I please. If I don't like a place I want to leave and move on. Does everything have to be planned out in advance? It seems sketchy to just go and hope for a spot without a reservation. How much planning is involved vs. flying by the seat of one's own pants? I always plan my vacations, but it seems daunting to plan every last detail if one is going to be on the road a year.

It seems to me that once one crosses over from recreational to full time RVing, the whole devil-may-care lifestyle of the occasional jaunt must be set aside.

Recreational RVers always know where they're going back to at the end of a trip...if I were a fulltimer, I'd need to have at least some firm go-to plan at all times just in case my spur-of-the-moment plans go awry.

Not full-timing yet - but getting close.

I love to plan. It is a lot of fun to dream. I started planning about the time I was seven or eight and discovered road maps of my parents trip from Arkansas to California. That was before 1960.

Today I seldom make reservations.

Much of our camping at certain times of year - spring and fall - involves meeting with different groups at various campgrounds. For those - reservations are made. But in the days between - we go where we want.

We had a great time this fall on the beach near Corpus Christi - something we had not planned to do, but when we got to San Antonio, we said - the weather on the Gulf sounds nice - lets go.

My wife says I'm never lost - I just don't know where I'm planning to stop.

The only firm reservations I make are Memorial Day weekend - Wed thru Wed - near Dallas at a state or COE park. That is our weekend with the grandchildren - and some recovery time after they go home.

For planning for a year - it is useful to stick some pins in a map - literally or figuratively.

If you want to visit an area with snow and really cold winters - aim to go in the summer. If you want to visit the deserts and southern coasts - aim to go in the late fall or early spring.

Do you want to winter over/ snowbird - pick a location/area.

Then kind of meander between them.

The wife and I have worked with our doctors and now have our appointments setup in the same three or four day window twice a year. So we know when we will want to be near Dallas.

Other than that - we are hoping to visit New England in the summer of 2014, Florida about this time in 2014, Oregon in late summer 2015.

In between.....its a big country - we might go to Oregon via Anchorage.

I prefer to plan my trips well ahead of time, but I do it in steps. First I select the most direct interstates. Then mark "overnight stops" about every 300-350 miles. Second, I look for things near those stops that I might want to see and adjust my route for them. Third, I decide how long at those stops and look for FHU CGs in the area, preferably a KOA as they're usually close to attractions. Finally, I make a reservation, but not until I'm 2 days away. That gives me maximum flexibility to stay a little longer or leave a little earlier from a previous stop. Works for me, and I'm the only one I have to please.

We've full-timed for 16+ years and don't make reservations unless we really need to be somewhere on a specific day; i.e. visiting family.

We travel constantly and public parks are always our first choice. I can't recall ever being turned away.

As full-timers your have the opportunity of getting settled mid-week for the upcoming weekend. Parks don't have reservations on every single site. They always keep some open for those dropping in.

Even for the big 3-day holidays we get a site without reservations. However, we then make it a point not to stay in the holiday 'preferred' areas - no lakes, rivers, theme parks,etc. We find a spot off the main drag and enjoy the quiet.

We even go to the major national parks - Yellowstone, etc. - and get a site in the non-reservation campgrounds. You just need to get there early morning when folks are leaving. It's really never been a problem for us.

It's a different story if you're still working and have limited vacation time.

You may need reservations for Memorial weekend, 4th of July Weekend and Labor Day weekend if in a tourist area. We may only reserve those a week or so in advance if we know where we may be. Otherwise we just float along staying longer if we like a place and moving on if we don't. Some times we will move as little as 30 miles or less. We are not full timers but take extended trips of a couple a months.

We travel extensively in the summer. We never make reservations. Our only learned rule is when we check into a campground on Friday we stay for at least two days. This gets us through the weekend crowd.