Where to park the trailer after check out or early arrival?

[whitebear80]

Hi, guys, we are quite new to RV camping and do have a few basic questions.
1. For short trips like weekend, let's say if we plan to stay the night for Saturday, but arrive early in the morning, where we could park the trailer so that we could go sightseeing and come back to checkin the camp site later in the afternoon?

2. For next day, normally the check out is 12:00pm, if we still need to play around because it might be still too early to head home? where should we park the trailer?

3. If we do not plan to stay at that park, just passing through and heading to another destination, is there a place to park the trailer? Like state parks, do they have parking lots for them except for campsites?

I am a newbie, so bare my too simple questions....

[2milesup]

While reserving the night before you plan to arrive in order to be able to come in before check-in time sounds like a good idea, make sure the rules allow it. The NFS campgrounds I use require that the site is occupied the first night.

We often pay for one more night than we plan on staying. It sure relieves the pressure to get packed up and leave by a certain time.

Happy camping!

[whitebear80]

Thanks for all the good answers.
So the best act is always ask ahead of time and never leave a TT alone at a parking lot except on the site.

And plan ahead for late stays (often on problem for Sunday night) or early arrive (often no problem). Best is to reserve extra nights.

[tatest]

Not one answer. Each campground and RV Park will have its own facilities, policies, answers. I've had very few problems arriving 'early' at the campgrounds and parks I use most.

But having a TT, wanting to drop it, can be a little more complicated. Some of the places where I might temporarily park a motorhome while waiting for a site, like the overflow parking or boat trailer parking areas, may not be welcome to a TT left behind while the owner leaves the premises.

[Gdetrailer]

CavemanCharlie wrote:
I think by some of these responses like the one from Gdetrailer I would find a different campground and not come back.

No, it is a nice campground in a very highly visited beach with something like 2,500 campsites and the farthest site off the beach is a 5 minute walk.

Beach front is private, not public, only the folks camping there have access.

Campground also has several pools (indoor and outdoor), lazy river, mini golf, playground for the kiddies small ponds which can be fished (no license), paddle boats, and a host of daily and nightly activities all for one price.

Also happens to be a few hrs drive from a bunch of my relatives so we make a point to visit them also..

This campground often BOOKS UP FULL in the Summer months, I remember as a kid many years ago when that town was not as well known we often spent HRS on the service road WAITING to get a campsite...

We put our reservations in JANUARY in order to make sure we WILL have a campsite at the dates we want...

Campgrounds this busy TEND to CLOSELY ENFORCE the check out times, they have to, otherwise they will eventually lose repeat business..

Now campground 50 miles off of a paved road with a single pitiful lane unimproved dirt/mud/pothole road may be rather easy going with the checkout times but I would highly doubt that they would "allow" someone to take up a valuable campsite more than an hr. After all private campgrounds COUNT each campsite as income, someone sitting on a site and not paying for it is LOST INCOME.

I would not even think most State/Federal run campgrounds would be very happy to have a "guest" out stay the time that was paid for. Good chance you WILL have an unhappy Ranger knocking on your door...

My point is, if you want to lolly gag around past the checkout time then be PREPARED to PAY another nights stay. MOST campgrounds if your site is not booked WILL allow you go to the office and PAY for another night.

Then you simply can take your time packing or soaking up some site seeing BEFORE pulling your RV out of the campground. If checkout is 11.00 and you paid for Sunday night you can leave ANY TIME SUNDAY up until the gates are closed..

Yes, you pay a little more but in the end it just may be cheaper than a ticket or paying impound fees if you drop your trailer off at a public place like a Mall, restaurant, WM or any other parking lot.

Leaving a trailer unattended in public places can be a very expensive loss... It would not be a gamble I would take unless I had a break down and made FORMAL arrangements with the owner of said lot.

True story, my parents one year on a trip to Vermont broke down on the way home, they were 6 hrs from home and 4 hrs from where they were camping..

They found a auto dealership which ALLOWED them to drop their trailer in the dealer back lot. They were able to drive the vehicle back to where they where camping at a relatives place to fix the vehicle. The problem turned out worse than expected and they found a hauler to haul the trailer back to the relatives place until the vehicle was fixed. This is THE ONLY exception to not dropping a trailer off in a public place I would consider...

[Dog_Folks]

CavemanCharlie wrote:
I think by some of these responses like the one from Gdetrailer I would find a different campground and not come back.

With respect: Some busy campgrounds, like Bahia Honda, in the Keys are very strict about checkout times. Here is why:

Every, and I mean every vacant campsite must be checked, and cleaned if needed, between the "check out time" and the "check in time." This also includes cleaning the grills, which often were full of hot coals.

With a park that it is very busy, this window for cleaning is very tight, and "stragglers" just delay the process for everyone.

When we volunteered at Bahia Honda, a few years ago, the front gate would often call us on the radio regarding a specific site. If it was ready early, they allowed the next camper in. If not, the camper had to wait outside for the "all clear."

Other parks we have been at, without that much turnover, were more lenient with check in and check out times.

Maybe the park Gdetrailer is speaking of has the same problem, and security needs some training in public relations. Often, it is not WHAT was said, but HOW it was said.

Happy camping.

[CavemanCharlie]

I think by some of these responses like the one from Gdetrailer I would find a different campground and not come back.

[clubhouse]

BurbMan wrote:
If you plan on arriving early Sat and staying late Sunday it cn worth it to py for the extra nights....we used to do that with county beach CGs on Long Island where check-ins and check-out times were strictly enforced. Reserve for 3 nites arriving Friday and leaving Monday. This covers you for as early as you want to arrive on Saturday and as late as you want to stay on Sunday.

We frequently do this. Most SP and NP CG around hear are $20-$30 night, paying a couple extra nights to allow us the flexibility to manage our trips as we like. Working full time and kids in school mean we don't get out as much as we like, so the extra $40-$60 to maximize our stay is money well spent.

The more expensive private CGs, we generally save those for longer summer trips and we observe the posted check-in/check-out times.

[Gdetrailer]

A campground I frequent (at a very busy Tourist area)the checkout time is 11 AM SHARP, not 11.01 but 11.00.

They have Security detail which rides golf carts checking EACH site.

One year we specifically asked the campground management if it was OK to leave a bit later.. They said yes it was fine but let me tell you Deputy Dog on the golf cart WAS NOT "amused" or "bending" the rules. Gave me 10 minutes to finish hooking up and vacate the campsite..

That campground also does have "overflow" area, but it is not for dropping off your trailer and site seeing. It is used only when the campgrounds are full and folks are late LEAVING at their checkout time.

My suggestion is if you don't want to leave at the checkout time on Sunday then PAY for SUNDAY NIGHT and leave later after the checkout time AT YOUR LEISURE. It is the only way to ensure you are not hassled..

As far as dropping your trailer anywhere in public.. I would NEVER, EVER consider doing that. A very good chance you will not find it when you return.

[Dog_Folks]

PAThwacker wrote:
I drop trailers on sites and set them up on Thursday. No headaches with family is worth the $35

I know the state park does not approve but they are getting paid!

As long as you are paying for the site, there should be no problems.

You paid for it and that site is yours to use as you see fit within the

However, some parks do require the unit to be occupied.

[CavemanCharlie]

It depends on the campground. The ones I frequent don't care if you show up early as long as no one is in that site. Same way with leaving later. I've been known to decide to stay another day and then just pay for another day. But, like I said it all depends on the campground.

[PAThwacker]

I drop trailers on sites and set them up on Thursday. No headaches with family is worth the $35

I know the state park does not approve but they are getting paid!

[boosTT]

Around here, the campgrounds are empty Monday, Tues, Wens and staying an hour late is not much of an concern.

Parking is ofcourse campground specific. Every campground will have some spots by the office though. Some campgrounds have a storage area that you can park in.

[whitebear80]

Thanks for the tips. Will keep in mind not disturbing anyone and arrive during daylight.
Good to know for Sundays they don't care. We normally need Friday to Saturday.

[opnspaces]

As you can see the answers are extremely varied. The best thing is to contact the park in question and ask how they would treat it. Their answer might be entirely different in the middle of the high season than it is in the low season, so let them know the dates you are considering.

Many campgrounds will not let you reserve a Saturday only during the high season and will require a Fri-Saturday. They may also not care as much on Sunday as the places clear out as people go home to get ready for work on Monday.