New to truck camping ...

[Super_Duty_Mark]

Hi all, just picked up a nice 2014 camplite 6.8 to sit on our 2022 F350. My wife is not sure camping is for her so I'm looking for some good sites and advice on places to book or check out to get the family into it. We love being near water and want to avoid large busy campgrounds. Also LOVE state parks. Are there any sites I should check out or parks I should be sure not to miss? Just returned from a trip to the keys (hotel) and really liked the look of Bahia Honda State Park ... definitely looks like a special place. Any help getting started is much appreciated.

PS. we are near Niagara Falls and will start out on the East Coast and South East next winter. Thank you.

[LMHS]

A few possible alternatives to the Keys although I don't consider Stuart to be a "Cute Small Town". Perhaps a case of familiarity breeds contempt? I used to live there.

https://floridatrippers.com/small-towns-in-florida/

The Florida Trippers website leans towards staying in rental houses but they are still a good resource. There's a lot more to Florida than the Keys, beaches and the idiot Mouse.

Onlyinyourstate.com has a lot of places that you often don't see advertised.

[LMHS]

To be honest, I find you can spend as much or as little as you choose. You can stay nearby or you drive for days. I prefer playing "tourist" nearby. I find it it is easier to start exploring close to home and slowly move farther out. It allows me to find neat "local" festivals and events that I otherwise may have not heard about. I also lived most of my life in three locations that many people drive hundreds of miles to visit (east coast beach in FL, Southern Appalachian Mtns of NC and Chattanooga area of TN). Most people never visit what is within a few hours of their homes, mostly because they don't know.

Lubbock, TX is about 3 hours away. That is a comfortable drive for 2 to 4 nights. And uses about 2 tanks of gas (there and back).

I'm currently sitting in a little private park in Lubbock. Spending two nights here on a 30amp hookup. We are here to shop a little and go to the Science Spectrum & Omni Theatre.

We are paying $30 ($3 cash discount per night) and the combo tickets for both the museum and the theatre is $14.50 per adult. While it's not a "destination park", I didn't expect nor want a "destination park". It's a decent and clean little park with fairly level pads that accepts pets. It's in town. The town is the "destination".

We treat the truck camper as our personal mobile motel room... with a kitchen. We had lunch at Cracker Barrel (4% off the meal by using gift cards we buy from Sam's Club) when we first got into town. Supper is a huge (12 servings) chicken pot pie ($19.24) which is pretty tasty and smells wonderful as it cooks in the oven. We will probably have leftovers for supper tomorrow night. The oven is doing double duty in keeping the camper warm (it's currently 62F and dropping to an overnight low of 33F). We do have a working furnace. We're gonna need it.

We are on a full hookup site but I filled the fresh tank with water before leaving (Lubbock's water is nasty tasting and smells "off"). We also left with empty waste tanks. I may just wait until we get back to our home park to dump the tanks. It depends on how I feel the day we leave as I'm not dragging the sewer hose out to hookup overnight because we don't take the camper off the back of the truck. We leave the dog in the camper while we shop and visit places.

[srschang]

Yep, even Harvest Hosts are mostly full. Tried to book a couple for our trip down to Florida in a month. 2 of the 3 we tried to book are full. And one of those that are full we've stayed before - they can fit more than a dozen rigs.

[mbloof]

Super Duty Mark wrote:
Hi all, just picked up a nice 2014 camplite 6.8 to sit on our 2022 F350. My wife is not sure camping is for her so I'm looking for some good sites and advice on places to book or check out to get the family into it. We love being near water and want to avoid large busy campgrounds. Also LOVE state parks. Are there any sites I should check out or parks I should be sure not to miss? Just returned from a trip to the keys (hotel) and really liked the look of Bahia Honda State Park ... definitely looks like a special place. Any help getting started is much appreciated.

PS. we are near Niagara Falls and will start out on the East Coast and South East next winter. Thank you.

Sorry I have not read through the thread so much of what I'm going to say might of been already mentioned...

First off - Welcome to the wonderful world of Truck Camper camping! While the camper ought to keep the family warm+dry if the weather goes south while your on your trips, IDK if it includes a toilet or not (the little women usually like the indoor features) camping WITH a RV is surely easier to get "the other halfs" into then camping without.

Now for a bit of bad news... being it is March already you better getting surfing ONLINE and do it quickly!! Why? Because around where I live ALL campgrounds are booked solid 6 MONTHS OUT!!! Getting any kind of reservation on a weekend is nearly impossible!

Best of luck!


- Mark0.

[notsobigjoe]

jimh406 wrote:
For a different kind of camping at farms, wineries, museums, attractions, etc. You want to try Harvest Hosts. https://harvesthosts.com/?utm_source=HH-Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=HHI-Members-MemberB...

I never saw this before and this is pretty cool.
Thanks, Jim

[s1214]

You might want to hook up with one of the groups in the Northeast. TruckCamping.net has a number of get togethers a year.

[Super_Duty_Mark]

Thank you all very much for the suggestions. Some really great resources there. We are working on a booking at Bahia Honda State Park and are looking forward to giving this a try. Nice suggestion on the 1000 islands and finger lakes. Thank you.

[jimh406]

For a different kind of camping at farms, wineries, museums, attractions, etc. You want to try Harvest Hosts. https://harvesthosts.com/?utm_source=HH-Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=HHI-Members-MemberB...

[notsobigjoe]

I live in central Florida and travel and camp in the keys pretty regularly. The Keys can be a tricky place. Most people love it or hate it.

https://jrtp.com/ - Nice park all around, especially if your a boater which we are. The seven mile bridge pilons are tremendous fishing spots and if the weather is rough on one side of the island you can launch on the other side of the island. You can catch 50 pounders around those pilons. all deep water.

https://newbook.rvonthego.com/search/?search_type=region&show_parks_near=Florida+Keys+-+Key+West - Fiesta Key is the best water I've seen, but a little too touristy for my likes. Sunshine is my usual go to in Marathon. Not touristy but very, very Hispanic which means they all go home to Miami during the week and you have the place to yourself.

I don't go south of Marathon because I don't like to camp and resort in the southern keys. Personal preference. But if you are interested...

There is one place a little further south called Big pine key campground and Marina. No pets because of the key deer and although beautiful the water it is rough.

If drinking and partying is your thing then go to Geiger key marina campground and local bar in key west. Beautiful water but little access to calmer seas.

Beverly Beach campground in Flagler beach up here by me is the nicest ocean view you'll get in the state of Florida.
If your into bass fishing and camping any lake and river will do at 5 am. the water is really nasty inland.
I know it's a little more than you asked for but that's where I usually go.

Any state campground in Florida is a year out unless your the luckiest person on earth.

I lived in Binghamton NY for half my life and the finger lakes have tremendous opportunity for camping. 1000 Islands up by you is gorgeous summer and winter. Also have you considered a small tow behind? they are cheap super light these days and you can leave them and travel around. All the storage you'll ever need. Not trying to talk you out of a truck camper.

[JimK-NY]

Florida in the winter months gets crowded. You are going to have to preplan your trip and make reservations. Depending on the area you need to act immediately. For example, some of the most popular camping areas are in the Keys. People often book for the next year as they complete their stay.

I suggest starting your plans by deciding on the areas you want to visit such as the Everglades, Keys, inland lakes, etc. Searching Google maps for campgrounds in those areas would be my next step. If you are having trouble getting started, contact tourism departments for the State and local communities.

Kids, 4 bikes, 1 or more kyacks and a small truck camper... you are taking on a lot to start your TC experiences. I hope you are not also trying to take dogs or other pets.

[monkey44]

Might try www.allstays.com ... lots of info.

[markchengr]

You might try the following websites:

campendium
rv parky
the dyrt.com
SYKR
ioverlander.com
BLM.gov
freecampsites.net
rvdumpsites
gasbuddy
Florida State parks

[Super_Duty_Mark]

Thanks for the response JimK-NY, re-reading my late night post I realize it was rather vague. 🙂 We love travel of all types and are transitioning from the family that stays in hotels to one that leaves with our home on our back. We did two hotel trips to Florida from Canada in the past few years one to Disney and one simply exploring the FL State Parks ... ironically we have way better family memories from exploring State Parks (and price of admission was nearly free).

So we enjoy doing all the things mentioned in the post above and love having the freedom to venture into town (with or without the camper), also we love hiking, we travel with 4 bikes and at least one kayak. Yes beautiful natural settings are always the goal. We also try to organize activities to engage the kids. I will be setting up the rig so we can boon dock but I think parks and campgrounds will be more the norm as we get started and ease into it.

I guess my main question is where to get info on state parks and camping areas. Are there some websites that people commonly use to narrow their search and plan? This summer we are planning a trip to Cape Breton ... and then hoping to venture south next winter. In the past I would search on Expedia for hotels. Where do y'all start when planning a trip with a truck camper? What web resources do you use? Again, I'm sorry, I'm a noob with this. Any advice on best practice to plan and book a trip would be great. I think generally speaking we will be heading out with a destination park booked and wing it for the trip out there. However, while winging it it would be great to stop in some other provincial/state parks and nice campgrounds instead of just truck stops and Walmart parking areas.

Any website suggestions etc are greatly welcomed and appreciated. We live on a farm and are outdoors oriented people ... however this is our first experience camping as a family. Just looking to be pointed in the right direction so my wife and I can nail this and make it a special experience. Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

[JimK-NY]

You mentioned avoiding busy areas but also wanting to be near water. I avoid staying around water because I don't boat and water attracts people making for crowded campgrounds.

Loving state parks really doesn't give much of an idea of what you are looking for when you camp. How do you want to spend your time when camping? Are you looking for scenic areas? Enjoy hiking? Looking for photo ops? Enjoy relaxing at the campground (and watching water)? What do you plan to do when the weather turns bad? Dress appropriately and venture forth or stay in the RV or under the awning? Do you want to visit urban areas, museums, attractions, restaurants? Do you want/need hookups? Shower facilities? Do you want to travel with reservations or be more spontaneous and flexible? Do you need cellphone/internet access? Do you want to camp in one area for an extended time or do lots of traveling?

Before asking campground advice you probably need to be more specific. You also need to have agreement with your spouse as to what you are looking for when you go camping. If not in total agreeement there needs to be some compromise.