Which part of campground should I park in

[jarata1]

Me and my wife are new to camping.We just bought a 15 ft travel trailer,I would think we need electric,and water hookup at the very least.
My question is being such a small trailer do we want to be with the pop ups and tents,or the big Class A and 5th wheels and how looking at map would we know which usually go where,also which are more wilder louder

[Dano1955]

As a new RV'er, I find that I'm mostly choosing the pull throughs or the ones with a straight shot at the back in, LOL:)

[tpi]

Generally you'll learn this from experience. You can often drive the campground and pick a site. Or ask..if quiet is important ask for that. Scenic that too. Or maybe you're just stopping for a night and a pull through fits the bill so you don't have to disconnect. Moving is always an option in your stay if you see something you like.

In general big class A RVs are pretty quiet. Families in tents can be outside longer and make more noise. But that's all generalizing. Frequently campers go to bed at fairly reasonable hours.

[NYCgrrl]

DutchmenSport wrote:
Been there, done that. Even when we had our pop-up, we had no problem parking right beside the 40 foot motor home. Over time, you begin to choose your sites, not based on who parks where, but on the amenities available first. That might be "the view", and it might be how close you can get to a bath house or if you want to park under trees or in the open sun.

For us, it's always been to be within 200 feet of a water source. Of course as the trailers got longer for us, and then we went through the satellite television phase, we started parking in open areas, pull through, but always as close to a water source as we could get. I have a blue tote, so dumping is no problem, full hook or dump station, no difference there. It's all about access to drinking water for us.

This.

Mixed with NCWriter's input which basically states a level site is your friend.

At the regular state parks I visit I already know pretty much what to expect in the non level portions of the place. Lots of late night partying reserved late people who are hoping the good weather holds up and they don't wind up in or near soon to be found lakefront camp sites like this:



Oh and I first picked a site in a state we don't live in by using Google Earth. Worthy site.

[RRinNFla]

With that size rig, you can put it in any site that is not "Tent Only". You are certainly entitled to the electric and water hookups. Unless you use the bathhouse for EVERYTHING toilet related, you will eventually have to connect to sewer, but that could be a dump station as you exit the campground.

Having said all of that, common courtesy would suggest that you leave the larger spaces for the larger rigs, unless here is absolutely nothing left. That is not usually the case. Usually the larger sites are reserved first and the smaller sites are often available at the last minute.

[2gypsies1]

We like to have as much privacy as possible and choose public parks for that reason. For the sites, we usually use backins against the outer edges and try for the rear of the park. Sometimes at a curve gives you a bigger 'yard'. We never park near a path to the bathrooms or office.

[dave54]

Google Earth is your friend. Gives you a better idea of the layout than the sketch map usually provided on most websites. Also look at a sunrise/sunset table for the area (not only exact times, but many also show the exact azimuth throughout the day. A little math then tells you exactly when you will be in the shade or sun).

We do not like to be in the sites closest to the highway or main driveways in the CG. Just the two of us, no kids, so being close to the playground or pool is not a big deal.

Google earth will show you where the large trees are. They provide shade from afternoon sun, or may shade a rooftop solar panel. They may obstruct your view of the adjacent area (which may be good or bad, depending on the view). They may block your view of the sunrise or sunset, or prevent you from staring into the sun while indoors and near a window. Shading the outside wall next to your refrigerator makes it run more efficiently. We like birdwatching, so large trees are a benefit there.

Even though many places advertise wifi, unless you are right next to the main office the wifi will most likely unusable anywhere in the CG. We use an aircard, so we do not care about wifi.

In short, there are many factors that are important to you, and many less important. Someone else will have different preferences.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

You'll learn what is important to you 🙂 I tend to ask to be closer to the dog-walk area, for example. But my recommendation would be to practice backing up - because the more private/pretty/quiet spaces are often back-ins on the outer edges? You'll probably NOT be parked next to the babbling brook if you need a pull-through. Sometimes the pretty spots near the water don't have sewer available, so plan on using the dump station (easy-peasy; and sometimes less $$)

[Flapper]

jarata1 wrote:
Me and my wife are new to camping.We just bought a 15 ft travel trailer,I would think we need electric,and water hookup at the very least.
My question is being such a small trailer do we want to be with the pop ups and tents,or the big Class A and 5th wheels and how looking at map would we know which usually go where,also which are more wilder louder

With water and electric comes RV's the same or bigger than you. Add in sewer, and then the even bigger boys are in the neighborhood. Then add pull through sites which attract bigger still, capping with the 50amp pull throughs tending toward the largest.
Wilder/Louder is the luck of the draw, and doesn't seem to correlate with the size of the camping equipment at all.

[Sandia_Man]

Wherever you want as long as it has the hookups you require. The good thing about your rig is you have more choices than the bigger rigs in most cases.

[Jebby14]

as secluded as I can get as deep in the bush as possible. I tend to stick to provincial parks and usually look for the thickest bush possible via photos reviews and Google earth. I have a 19 footer that is very basic and come from tents and popups. I get where your coming from

[2oldman]

The farther you are from others, the less problems you are likely to have.

[DutchmenSport]

Been there, done that. Even when we had our pop-up, we had no problem parking right beside the 40 foot motor home. Over time, you begin to choose your sites, not based on who parks where, but on the amenities available first. That might be "the view", and it might be how close you can get to a bath house or if you want to park under trees or in the open sun.

For us, it's always been to be within 200 feet of a water source. Of course as the trailers got longer for us, and then we went through the satellite television phase, we started parking in open areas, pull through, but always as close to a water source as we could get. I have a blue tote, so dumping is no problem, full hook or dump station, no difference there. It's all about access to drinking water for us.

[NCWriter]

If there's a choice, I like level site with a great view and trees between our site and others. I've seen some sites that took a LOT of time and effort to get level.

[Houston_Remodel]

We've parked in sites we thought would be a disaster and turned out quite nicely.

Normally we avoid poorly behaved children as Amazon has trouble keeping us well stocked with duct tape.

If we need wifi, we use it at night when they have gone to bed.