Is it worth while listing campgrounds with difficult access.

[silvercorvette]

In a week or two I am headed up north with what I hope will be my last trip to Long Island with my camper, I may drop off my camper at my cousins house and drive over with my truck every few years.

One thing I had a problem with on my last trip were a couple beautiful campgrounds that were at the end of roads with low overhanging tree branches. One particular place was perfect, I was right next to a little river stream where a few camper brought along fishing poles and appeared to be doing well. The problem was you had to go thru a small town with narrow streets and a lot of twisty curves, and all the while as I am driving up I kept on worrying over something hooking on to my antenna satellite dish or anything else on my roof. I really loved the site but getting there had me worried I just started back up 3 years ago after taking a 25 year break from camping and was wondering if others have encountered this problem.

If things work out I hope to head west to AZ to visit a childhood friend and north to Utah to visit a cousin I haven't seen in a long time.

[silvercorvette]

tpi wrote:

Although I do prefer smaller out of the way sites my longer higher camper s going to make it close to impossible and I am worried about getting into a situation where I will rip of parts of my camper if I go forward, but there is no room to turn around and it is too far to try to back up.

Bottom line is all RVs are a compromise. In your position you'll just have to do some scouting before you commit to a place. Either drop the trailer and drive in to look. Look at maps to see if big rigs are using the nearby roads for anything. Or check out google earth to see what kind of RVs are in the campground and the type of roads in/near the campground.

After trying this for a while, you may need to make adjustment in the type of RV you have. You may not need a popup, but there are many levels of lower profile RVs between what you have and a popup.

Considering the fact I have purchased 3 RVs within 3 years and the last one was acquired on 4/30/13 and each one requiring a higher clearance I do not foresee and changes in the near future.

[tpi]

Although I do prefer smaller out of the way sites my longer higher camper s going to make it close to impossible and I am worried about getting into a situation where I will rip of parts of my camper if I go forward, but there is no room to turn around and it is too far to try to back up.

Bottom line is all RVs are a compromise. In your position you'll just have to do some scouting before you commit to a place. Either drop the trailer and drive in to look. Look at maps to see if big rigs are using the nearby roads for anything. Or check out google earth to see what kind of RVs are in the campground and the type of roads in/near the campground.

After trying this for a while, you may need to make adjustment in the type of RV you have. You may not need a popup, but there are many levels of lower profile RVs between what you have and a popup.

[silvercorvette]

wbwood wrote:
I think pnichols is on the right track. Have you thought about a pop up camper? Maybe just get a used one for a couple thousand dollars for those places that you like to go to. Kind of what we did. Our TT was too big and not rigged for some of the campgrounds here in the mountains of NC (and around). So I looked around and found a used pop up that was in decent shape for those trips.

I am on my third camper in 3 years. I started out with a truck camper because of it's maneuverability, I needed something to get me between NY and SC when I drove up to visit my mother.

My mother is now living in a care facility in SC and now I have to clear out the house in NY. I traded my truck camper for a Jayco 5th wheel (the Jayco seemed huge compared to my T/C but I realized I wanted something bigger) and spent most of last summer living in the camper while I worked on the house. Last year I wasted over 3 weeks barely able to move lying in bed in my camper after taking a bad fall that aggravated my old back injury. The stops I have been making are all in camp grounds between SC & NY. I started with an 11 1/2 foot clearance, then a 12 1/2 clearance and just picked up a trade in 4 days ago that I haven't measured yet but I am guessing the new one has to be 13 1/2 feet or more. I doubt that I will be able to go back to 2 of of the sites I visited last year without ripping off my satellite dish.

Getting a pop up would serve no purpose for a couple reasons, one is I am not allowed to keep my camper on my property and need to pay $40 a month for storage and would have to double that to store another camper, Also a smaller popup would alloy me to get in and out of tight spaces between SC & NY but I would not want to live in it for a couple months. The house in NY has water but not heat and hot water (I have the heating system winterized) so that means no showers for 2 months.

When I finish things up in NY I plan on visiting a childhood friend in Tucson AZ, and a cousins in Utah, California, & Oregon. Maybe I'll even make it to Alaska.

Although I do prefer smaller out of the way sites my longer higher camper s going to make it close to impossible and I am worried about getting into a situation where I will rip of parts of my camper if I go forward, but there is no room to turn around and it is too far to try to back up.

[Go_Dogs]

We frequently go to a KOA campground, as it is close to out-of-town family. It's one of those CGs that tell you to ignore the GPS,and follow their instructions, (Red Flag). We just have a 24ft TT, so no problem. Several times we have left the CG, and upon return see a Giant bus conversion or TH. I swear they must have been dropped by helicopter as the roads to the CG were so narrow and twisty! I salute those drivers!

[tpi]

If I research a campground on rvparkreviews or other sites, I like as much info as possible. Difficult access due to low clearances, narrow overgrown roads or other reasons would be something I'd like to know. Verizon service another.

[ryegatevt]

We live on a dirt road with difficult access as well as having a summer cottage with the same. Both places are great for privacy. That's why we love our Class B and have been very happy for almost 10 years. Of course it is worth
while listing places with difficult access, but perhaps it could be mentioned. Let the customer decide!

[wbwood]

I think pnichols is on the right track. Have you thought about a pop up camper? Maybe just get a used one for a couple thousand dollars for those places that you like to go to. Kind of what we did. Our TT was too big and not rigged for some of the campgrounds here in the mountains of NC (and around). So I looked around and found a used pop up that was in decent shape for those trips.

[silvercorvette]

beemerphile1 wrote:

silvercorvette wrote:

...my main concern were low overhanging obstacles such as tree branches...You may be the worlds best driver but if your height is 12 feet and there is something along the route that is only 11 1/2 feet high you are going to arrive at the camp grounds with a few less things on your roof than when you started off.

Must be really tough for all the semi drivers that make deliveries every day. They are usually 13'6"

I am guessing the my camper is 13'6" or more but there are probably 12 to 18 inches of breakable stuff on the to of my camper that the semis trailer does not have to worry about.

First of all semis do not have A/Cs, TV antennas, and a satellite dish on top that would cost $1,800 to replace not including installation and the cost of repairs. If a semi ran into a low branch it would probably just snap off the branch without damaging the truck

Secondly I seriously doubt a semi would have any reason to drive into the two campgrounds I had in mind when I started this thread.

I have been to a lot of campsites when I first stared this back in the late 60s and early 70s with a small camper that I have serious doubts about attempt this what I am pulling today. Back in the 70's I took what I thought would be a short break for camping but the short break turn into over 30 years. In the three years since I restarted I made it a point to go to out of the way places, But on my last trip to NY there were two places I was sure I was going to rip something off the top. I was in one of those situations where I did not like what I was seeing ahead of me but there was not much of an option to turn back.

[full_mosey]

I have a little trouble with walk-in sites. 🙂

[beemerphile1]

silvercorvette wrote:

...my main concern were low overhanging obstacles such as tree branches...You may be the worlds best driver but if your height is 12 feet and there is something along the route that is only 11 1/2 feet high you are going to arrive at the camp grounds with a few less things on your roof than when you started off.

Must be really tough for all the semi drivers that make deliveries every day. They are usually 13'6"

[tsetsaf]

ol Bombero-JC wrote:
~

To reply to the thread question (title),

"Is it worth while listing campgrounds with difficult access" (?)..:@

Answer = NO.

.

Agreed it is all relative. It is amazing what some folks consider as difficult.

[ol_Bombero-JC]

~

To reply to the thread question (title),

"Is it worth while listing campgrounds with difficult access" (?)..:@

Answer = NO.

.

[silvercorvette]

pnichols wrote:
I hear ya on getting frustrated with having to sometimes pass up beautiful campgrounds because of rig size - and I have a small (even though 11'3" tall) RV and STILL have to pass some up.

That's why - if we were a few years younger so comfort could be compromised a bit - we'd have one of these to get us into just about any campsite:



(These are no longer made, though.)

I have measured yet but I think I just got taller.

I traded my 2006 jayco for a 2009 Alumascape. I am only 6' tall and could not stand up in the Jayco bedroom, it was not a big deal when I first got it but it got tiring after a while. I can stand in this bedroom with inches to spare so I am sure it will have an effect on my bridge clearances. The first thing I do when I change campers is measure the clearance then I use a label maker to post the label on my rear view mirror

[pnichols]

I hear ya on getting frustrated with having to sometimes pass up beautiful campgrounds because of rig size - and I have a small RV (even though it's still 11'3" tall) and STILL have to pass some up.

That's why - if we were a few years younger so comfort could be compromised a bit - we'd have one of these to get us into just about any campsite:



(These are no longer made, though.)

Back to the OP's question .... YES, it is worthwhile listing campgrounds with difficult access if there's a reward in store for the lucky RV'ers who can get to them. In other words, there may be some real jewel campgrounds out there - IF and ONLY IF you have the right kind of RV - so why not know where they are and what the access considerations are just in case your rig can get to them without safety or damage issues.