To Plan or not to Plan

[holstein13]

That is the dilemma. In the past, I worked full time and could only travel on weekends, vacations or holidays -- the most crowded times of the year with the least time to waste. I planned the major details like where we are going and where we are staying. Sometimes, I planned 9 months in advance just to get into a popular campground. But the downside to planning was A) the work involved and B) the commitment to the plan.

Now we are fulltiming and I find that long term planning is becoming a hinderance. Things come up that don't fit into the plan such as maintenance, chance meetings, discovering new things, etc.

So, what can I do? I still need to have some idea where I'll be so that I can receive my mail and schedule appointments, but when is enough, enough?

[dahkota]

What is long term planning?
We plan on crossing the Canadian Border around the middle of May to head to Alaska for the summer. We have no reservations, just a plan.
We are in DC right now but plan to leave around December 28. Don't know where we are leaving to, but we should figure it out.
We plan on heading west from DC, west enough that we wind up in Tucson by March 8 for the Escapees Escapade. We do have reservations for that.
We also have a week's worth of reservations in Yosemite because I lucked out and managed to snag a site when the reservations opened.

The thing about a plan is you are the one making it. You can also change it. I'm not sure how it could be a hindrance if it is something you control.

[JAXFL]

I am not full-timing yet so this is just my thoughts about the mail issue.. do you really need all those coupons forwarded to you? Every bill I owe (currently)is sent to my bank E-Billing address on the web and I pay them from online banking. Any forms from any company that I need in hard copy (insurance papers, bank statements, etc..)can be printed off from my computer/printer, I can't think of any hard copy mail that I would need to sent to me while on the road. JMHO.

If you are not worried about mail then "Plan A" is not to plan and to go with the follow, relax and stop rushing like you are in vacation mode.

[2gypsies1]

In 16 years of full-timing we rarely made definite plans except if we were to meet up with someone at a particular time or wanted to go to a particular function. We had a general idea for 3-4 months out and headed that direction but no reservations. For instance, in summer we'd normally cover 3-4 states.

90% of our stays are at public parks and even with our 40' motorhome we rarely make reservations. We've been to all the major ones in the west. We get there early in the week and early in the day, many times spending the previous night outside the park but nearby so we can grab a site as folks are leaving in the morning.

For mail, we use Escapees RV Club mail forwarding service. We email or call them and our mail has always been received in 2-3 days as a small-town post office - general delivery - even in Alaska. We've never found a post office that wouldn't accept it. The key is to pick a small town. If we're heading toward a particular area that's the post office we'll pick. We've never made advance preparations with a post office.

For appointments, such as doctors, we make them when we'll be in an area a longer period of time. Winter months have worked the best for us as we usually stayed in the same winter area year after year so that's where we established doctors. Knowing that's where we'd be, we'd call for appts. approximately 3 months prior.

Everything is doable for full-timers with minimal planning.

[SDcampowneroper]

for definite destinations, dates, in a desirable location during an event or season, make reservations.
Its regrettable to us all to see the uninformed/ miseducated at a destination having to settle for, if it can be found, lesser quality accommodation at inflated price.
Do yourself a favor.

[Old-Biscuit]

holstein13 wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:
If the CG didn't accept visitor mail we would find local PO that accepted 'General Delivery' and have it sent there.

What the what? There are Campgrounds that don't accept visitor mail? I hope there aren't very many of them. I do most of my non perishable shopping on Amazon and have been sending my packages ahead to the campgrounds as I knew where I'd be.

If there are campgrounds that don't accept mail, I'll be in real trouble because I don't even bother to check if they do or not. I just send my mail and packages there and assume they will accept it.

7 yrs. of FTng.
YES there are CGs that don't accept visitor mail.
We came across quite a few in our travels.
Same with Post Offices.....not all accept 'General Delivery'

Best to ALWAYS check/verify FIRST

[sdianel_-acct_c]

We plan the route and stops but not in stone or dates. We stop Sun-Thurs nights and stay put over the weekend. In popular areas we make reservations. We also make reservations for weekends. This loose planning keeps us flexible.
Our daughter sends our mail about once a month. We look ahead decide where we want to spend a week, make reservations for the week and provide our daughter with the address and tell her when to mail them. We usually get our mail in 5-7 days. Sometimes we have to stay a couple extra days if it falls on a weekend to get the mail. We schedule our appointments when we're at home base every 6 months.

[time2roll]

Relax, there is always a plan B.

[holstein13]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
If the CG didn't accept visitor mail we would find local PO that accepted 'General Delivery' and have it sent there.

What the what? There are Campgrounds that don't accept visitor mail? I hope there aren't very many of them. I do most of my non perishable shopping on Amazon and have been sending my packages ahead to the campgrounds as I knew where I'd be.

If there are campgrounds that don't accept mail, I'll be in real trouble because I don't even bother to check if they do or not. I just send my mail and packages there and assume they will accept it.

[Old-Biscuit]

We had very little snail mail.......bills were via on-line banking/E-billing.

Did as much as possible via on-line.

So when we got some where and knew we would be there for at least a week we would then request mail forwarded. Used USPS Priority and got it usually within 2 days---3 at the most.
If the CG didn't accept visitor mail we would find local PO that accepted 'General Delivery' and have it sent there.

Do to very little snail mail we wouldn't request mail for several months.

Having very little snail mail mades it sooooooooo much easier to just follow the front end of truck and go where/when we wanted

[korbe]

Well, force yourself to take off without a plan. If it works, do it again.

[Ivylog]

It's common for new FTers to run around the country a couple of times... lots of miles and then settle down and do areas of the country in more detail and fewer miles. Try and pick a section of the country on a three month basis. The longer you stay in one place the less planning it takes.
We will do three month out West with only a general idea of the areas we want to visit... usually boondocking during the week and traveling and resupplying on the weekends. If you show up at a USFS CG on Friday with a big rig and no reservations you are in trouble but show up Sunday afternoon or Monday... no problem.
You will be surprised how easy it is to boondock with a big rig. With plenty of water, plenty of power, and a little planning it's lets you stay longer if you want because you do not have reservations. Now in the winter with fewer CGs to choose from you need some planing. This is the best time for those doctor visits/appointments.
Do a search on "" on here as that will solve the mail thing.

[doxiemom11]

We workamp, so plan about 6 months ahead. We do not make reservations when we travel, but in 4 years, we have not travelled on holidays or to large touristy locations where they would be required. We just plan about how many miles we want to drive and research campgrounds for our stop, then the next and next until we would be at our destination.

[Rollnhome]

We scheduled Dr appointments a 6 mo/year in advance. Only takes a few days to have mail send to what ever location we are staying. Billing and payments are electronic as much as they can be. Other than that we just roll along. Main thing is don't worry about the plan and sticking to "The Plan". The Plan is going to change, that's guaranteed.

[imgoin4it]

We don't plan much of anything. If we have an "appointment" someplace we leave enough in advance to not have to plan on how to to get there other than to be close enough to arrive on or before the appointed time. If we are to visit kids / grandkids we tell them an approximate date and call them as we travel. We usually visit them on and over weekends so we may arrive early in the week and not tell we are there until later. In other words we plan as little as possible. If we encounter wind or rain and want to hold up until it stops we can. We think that is the beauty of the RV lifestyle.