Truthfully, Is RV'in becoming less enjoyable

[nonrev321]

Need truthful opinions based on experience.

My wife and I have been investigating traveling after I retire in two years. We were about ready to pull the trigger on a travel trailer than my wife got talking to some folks in her church who travel a lot with a travel trailer.

Seems they are not as happy with the experience as they used to be. Too hard to find nice places to stay, RV parts are too crowded. You have to make reservations 6 months in advance for the nice places in good locations. The ability to just pick up and go and/ or stop anyplace and stay awhile is becoming increasingly difficult due to the demand for spaces.

Truthfully this kind of freedom was one of the major attractions for myself and my wife. We recognized that some parks would likely be crowded and there would be some need to make reservations in advance... but 6 months ? Also a RV park that is packed to the gills really isn’t too appealing to me, especially if there is nothing like a line of shrubs or other divider to keep me from looking into my neighbors window.

Can people comment? Is it becoming less enjoyable due to
overcrowding?

Thanks
nonrev

[beemerphile1]

nonrev321 wrote:
...my wife got talking to some folks in her church who travel a lot with a travel trailer.

Seems they are not as happy with the experience as they used to be. Too hard to find nice places to stay, RV parts are too crowded. You have to make reservations 6 months in advance...

Short answer, push negative people out of your life. Rving is as good as you want it to be depending on your attitude.

[Farmboy666]

Travelnutz, you wrote: Personally, for us in all those years of extensive RV'ing. only one night was ever spent in a Walmart parking lot as there are so many other better options.: Wondering what they are, maybe I'm missing something?

[JAC1982]

Just a bit of input from a mid-30s vacationer RVer.... it's been my experience that it's still very easy to find a nice spot to camp on weekdays. Then, on weekends, if you go off the beaten path a bit... meaning nothing within a couple hour drive from a major metro area, you'll still find plenty of spots.

In my experience here in Colorado, anything within a 2 hour drive of Denver is very hard to get a spot on a weekend without reserving well in advance. But for places more than 2 hours, it's much easier, and campgrounds are rarely full, even on weekends.

The country is huge, there's plenty of places to see and stay.

[FULLTIMEWANABE]

@Farmboy666.

FWIW: We used to O/N quickly often at WMs, HDs, Lowes, Cracker Barrels etc. Now we prefer for the most part Casino's with security. Also a restaurant, church, Elks/Moose Club, Boat Ramp areas, City CG's, in small town with their permission often given and use www.Freecampsites.net Campendium Casinocamper.org and various others for a quick look up when travelling. There are also some areas that will give you a 3 night parking permit FOC such as Texas Gulf areas. Tomball Tx offers Free O/N's and very nice for eg!

We rarely stay in an organized CG unless it's an area we wish to experience for more than a brief visit, such as Bryce, Capitol Reef, and many other Southern Utah Parks. Heck we did Lower Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend & Lake Powell staying O/N at WM in Page AZ, and it was totally awesome for that particular section. Even when we did Yosemite, Joshua Tree and many others, we've Boondocked/dry camped outside the organized CG's.

Hope some of the above give you some ideas to look into.

[Grit_dog]

Let me guess. You’re in crowded S FL and the people your wife were talking to were senior citizens. First, old people will b!tsch about anything. Complain about the clouds on a cloudy day and the sun on a sunny day.
Get out of the city and ditch the rv parks and there’s plenty of space to stretch out.
Enjoy the country!

[FULLTIMEWANABE]

Reading this thread and the very interesting and many sound advice posts, certain expressions come to mind!

Whenever I would say to my negative mother as a child (she passed when I was 19), "Life Is What You Make It". She would invariably retort "Or What Others Make It For You". Folks are who they are personality/outlook wise, and only we as individuals can decide who we are - "misery loves company, but they ain't getting mine"!

We love RVing of many types, from visiting highly desired, destination places through to the remotest of remote places/mountains/lakes/rivers etc. With the exception of places such as say LA, San Fran, NYC and the likes, we rarely ever book anything, and even those only a very short time in advance now we are on our own schedule and not that of being weekend warrior types. Whilst we like to have somewhat of a "jello plan" of where we want to go & visit, we love the flexibility of not booking much in advance so drycamp/boondock extensively (90%+) on most trips.

"Attitude is Latitude - Keep Yours" = everyone perceives things differently, indicated in life by the many choices we have today for absolutely everything compared to the pre-60s/70's. Sure things have changed and some of us don't like change, but it's done that since time began - it is what it is. RVing popularity, types of commercial CG's, even how privatizing the running of many provincial parks has changed things immensely from when we seriously started RVing in the 90's, and heck we don't like some of it, but "it is what it is", and we've adjusted our expectations or found alternatives to meet our wants.

If life gives us Lemons we make lemonade - not everything goes to plan and we've had more than our fair share of breakdowns, one needing a new engine, but with a deep breath, and saying "tis wot tis", we've still enjoyed ourselves immensely on every trip. Health issues/deaths/family issues affect many, ourselves included but we've found ways to compromise/adjust and continue our love of travelling in an RV. "if it's to be it's up to me"

Take whatever one individual tells you with a pinch of salt - try it you might like it, and there's tons of good advice/ideas from many here in this thread for you now to "consider/research"! However you are who you are, you know what phases you and what doesn't - maybe now isn't the right time for you or maybe "just maybe" it is!

[toedtoes]

FunnyCamper wrote:

toedtoes wrote:
Most folks have narrowed in nicely on the reservation issue.

One thing that I think gets confusing is that people use camping and RVing interchangeably to mean different things.

For some folks it's about the travel while maintaining a full-amenity "home". This means staying at full hookup sites near restaurants, stores, and sightseeing locations.

For others, it's about traditional camping.

For others, it's a mix between the two.

Understanding how you define it and finding others who define it the same way will help you figure out if it's right for you, as well as finding ways to improve it.

I am a traditional camper. I don't need or want hookups. I don't want to be in a populated area. I use my RV to get out in nature. As such, I have learned how to best work it. There are a few favorite campgrounds that are open only seasonly and I need to reserve early and the campground will be full. There are others that are open year round and I can enjoy off season in almost total seclusion. However, the campsites are set up to provide privacy and enhance the sense of "being in the wild". There may be a boat ramp nearby. People go there to swim, fish, boat, and kick back with friends or family around the campfire.

When I go to our clipper rallies, it reminds me why I prefer camping in the traditional sense. They are always held at "RV parks" with full hookups. These parks are usually located in or very near to a town and often have a shopping center within walking distance. The sites are close together with no privacy. Manicured lawns, few trees, swimming pools, clubhouses, and very little scenic interest. For the club members, the rally is about socializing, so their priorities are different than mine.

By knowing my definition of "camping", I am much more able to enjoy it.

some people must label it down to a T and a dotted i. Live and let live and if you must 'tell what you love and enjoy' but still say let others do as the please, then why bother LOL in that who cares? not me, you guys do what suits you and we people will do what suits us. and never does it have to be labeled or confined to such narrow straights as you see fit 🙂 🙂 not combating here, just saying. And well duh you got your lifstyle out there as known, but in the end we all do what we want as we want.

That was my point. Everyone does it their own way. Which is wonderful. But it can make it difficult when people offer their opinions regarding "is it worth it", "is it enjoyable", etc. What one person sees as a downside, another sees as a positive. Figuring out what you want out of the experience and getting opinions from others with similar viewpoints will go a long way.

For example, when I look for information about campgrounds, I am not going to be happy with recommendations from folks who always do full hookups and want a Walmart nearby. Doesn't make their opinion wrong, just not right for me.

[jmtandem]

My wife and I have been investigating traveling after I retire in two years. We were about ready to pull the trigger on a travel trailer than my wife got talking to some folks in her church who travel a lot with a travel trailer.

Seems they are not as happy with the experience as they used to be.

Since you are looking for truthful experiences, RVing is in many ways better than it was twenty or thirty years ago. Been at it with three truck campers and a 31 foot travel trailer since around 1987. What is better is that the tow vehicles, especially pick up trucks are waaaaay better than before. They now come ready to tow from the factory instead of the owner having to add transmission coolers, hitches, wiring, brake controllers, etc. The tow vehicles are more reliable, more powerful, much better ergonomics, and more fun to drive. As far as campsites or RV parks availability, when you retire the whole world opens to you and you can get a site mid week and often without reservation or just a reservation made a few days in advance. There are very popular and very busy summer places where you can visit and find the campground half empty in winter. For example, Yosemite in California is incredibly busy in summer yet easy to find a campsite in winter especially mid week. So, in retirement, pick and choose where you want to be and make it happen. If not convinced, purchase a pre-owned RV and give it a try.

[jim1521]

@jplante4: Looking at your signature: How did you get to/from Florida without going through Georgia or Alabama? 🙂

[FunnyCamper]

toedtoes wrote:
Most folks have narrowed in nicely on the reservation issue.

One thing that I think gets confusing is that people use camping and RVing interchangeably to mean different things.

For some folks it's about the travel while maintaining a full-amenity "home". This means staying at full hookup sites near restaurants, stores, and sightseeing locations.

For others, it's about traditional camping.

For others, it's a mix between the two.

Understanding how you define it and finding others who define it the same way will help you figure out if it's right for you, as well as finding ways to improve it.

I am a traditional camper. I don't need or want hookups. I don't want to be in a populated area. I use my RV to get out in nature. As such, I have learned how to best work it. There are a few favorite campgrounds that are open only seasonly and I need to reserve early and the campground will be full. There are others that are open year round and I can enjoy off season in almost total seclusion. However, the campsites are set up to provide privacy and enhance the sense of "being in the wild". There may be a boat ramp nearby. People go there to swim, fish, boat, and kick back with friends or family around the campfire.

When I go to our clipper rallies, it reminds me why I prefer camping in the traditional sense. They are always held at "RV parks" with full hookups. These parks are usually located in or very near to a town and often have a shopping center within walking distance. The sites are close together with no privacy. Manicured lawns, few trees, swimming pools, clubhouses, and very little scenic interest. For the club members, the rally is about socializing, so their priorities are different than mine.

By knowing my definition of "camping", I am much more able to enjoy it.

some people must label it down to a T and a dotted i. Live and let live and if you must 'tell what you love and enjoy' but still say let others do as the please, then why bother LOL in that who cares? not me, you guys do what suits you and we people will do what suits us. and never does it have to be labeled or confined to such narrow straights as you see fit 🙂 🙂 not combating here, just saying. And well duh you got your lifstyle out there as known, but in the end we all do what we want as we want.

[jplante4]

memtb wrote:
Farmboy666, Camping at Cabela’s is a viable option....though can be quite expensive! :B

I found this out about Harvest Hosts. A free night at a winery costs more than a night at an "RV resort".

[drmopar]

Living in California we have had some issues as well with Camping with our Rv. The popular Resorts/Campgrounds are full all the time. With our schedule, it's hard to make reservations 4-7 months ahead of time. What is appealing to us with our schedule, is to just go and find a spot. Well, it's not that easy. I spend tons of time doing research only to find out that nothing close is available. We have found some local lakes with Camping with first come-first served policies, and that works sometimes. We may be spoiled a bit, as we also own a Boat, and at 60 feet, it is fully self contained including Sat TV. We will find a protected area and drop anchor and spend a week by ourselves. Very relaxing. No fees of course. We don't stay at Marinas. We have our own private dock at our home.
With the increase of RV sales, will the problem only get worse?

[jplante4]

I can see how people would be down on the RV experience doing 2 weeks a summer and holiday weekends at popular parks. But that's a very small part of the experience and what's left is marvelous.

Our first retirement trip was 6 months and 16 states across the southeast. We had a ball. The best part was being able to move mid-week and not have to fight the crowds. Nearly every place we stopped was empty when we pulled in and filled up on Friday night.

We did realize, as did DEBishop, that we needed to stay and see the places we were staying at. The trouble was we weren't towing and needed to rent cars to get around. Next trip we'll be towing the Equinox so we should have time to go exploring.

Bottom line; if or when it stops being fun, stop. Find something else to do - like flying.

[ScottG]

We enjoy camping as much as ever but it's more work to secure a site now. All CG's in Wa. State are busy all the time, not just weekends. The better ones are 100% booked all season long. One must book 9 mos in advance to get almost any site with hookups but it's still worth it to us.

[toedtoes]

Most folks have narrowed in nicely on the reservation issue.

One thing that I think gets confusing is that people use camping and RVing interchangeably to mean different things.

For some folks it's about the travel while maintaining a full-amenity "home". This means staying at full hookup sites near restaurants, stores, and sightseeing locations.

For others, it's about traditional camping.

For others, it's a mix between the two.

Understanding how you define it and finding others who define it the same way will help you figure out if it's right for you, as well as finding ways to improve it.

I am a traditional camper. I don't need or want hookups. I don't want to be in a populated area. I use my RV to get out in nature. As such, I have learned how to best work it. There are a few favorite campgrounds that are open only seasonly and I need to reserve early and the campground will be full. There are others that are open year round and I can enjoy off season in almost total seclusion. However, the campsites are set up to provide privacy and enhance the sense of "being in the wild". There may be a boat ramp nearby. People go there to swim, fish, boat, and kick back with friends or family around the campfire.

When I go to our clipper rallies, it reminds me why I prefer camping in the traditional sense. They are always held at "RV parks" with full hookups. These parks are usually located in or very near to a town and often have a shopping center within walking distance. The sites are close together with no privacy. Manicured lawns, few trees, swimming pools, clubhouses, and very little scenic interest. For the club members, the rally is about socializing, so their priorities are different than mine.

By knowing my definition of "camping", I am much more able to enjoy it.