Tom & Marilyn Clark
[Part IV of a Series on Full Timing]
Just like purchasing an RV that's right for you, choosing where you want to camp is a personal decision, based on at least four major considerations. Here's what we think about when deciding where we'll go as fulltimers:
Full hookups vs. boondocking?
Seasonal sites vs. frequent moves?
Working vs. leisure?
Social vs. loner?
Although we're technically fulltimers now, we haven't begun our cross-country travel adventure yet . So here's our disclaimer: "Anything we think is a good idea right now is subject to change after experiencing the real life." We'll let you know what we've discovered after six months or so.
Tom : Marilyn and I have never been particularly fond of really roughing it. Pit toilets and cold showers have long ago lost their rustic charm for us. We feel that since we've paid for all the conveniences in our 5W, we should be able to use them most of the time. Right now, we're looking at spending most of our time on the road with full hookups (FHU). We have investigated
boondocking, and are intrigued by the notion of camping for extended periods "in the wild." From what we've read so far, though, it seems most of the boondocking spots are located in the west, except for the ubiquitous Wal-Mart.
We've joined the SKP "Boondockers" birds-of-a-feather (BOF) group, and have been accumulating info on boondocking spots for future use. We're looking forward to our first major boondocking experience at Quartzsite, AZ, probably in 1999. We have overnighted at Wal-Mart (our first experience boondocking, but neither of us could sleep!) and found the rest stops on the Ohio Turnpike to be excellent overnight spots. This is the sum total of our boondocking experience. Overnighting, of course, hardly qualifies, but it did save us needless campground fees when all we did was park and sleep. We look forward to learning more about real boondocking soon, and will probably extend our boondocking stays by adding solar panels to our rig.
Marilyn : We've met some fulltimers who move around constantly, staying only a day or two at any location. Personally, I couldn't take setting up and breaking camp that often! We plan to stay long enough at most locations to really get to know the area, see the sights, and relax. We don't feel any need to log miles or destinations within a set time period. Originally, we had planned to scope out potential retirement places during our first year or two, then settle down. Now, however, we're going to leave our plans open-ended. As Boomer (another BOF) SKP's say, "Our plans are in Jell-O" and subject to change.
Moving frequently will result in increased costs for campground fees and fuel, too. Weekly or monthly rates at a campground will save us money, and seasonal rates are the lowest of all, if you can stay put that long!
Tom: For the first few years of our fulltiming adventure, we will be workamping most of the time, to supplement our newly-downsized budget. Because I'll be taking early retirement, I won't be able to tap my 401(k) or Social Security for several years. So our first few fulltiming years will be the tightest, financially. By workamping part-time in exchange for our site, we'll reduce expenses substantially while still having plenty of time to play. We have lined up a state park in Texas for August (yes, I know it's HOT), and will spend the winter season at a private Florida campground. Both positions were easy to obtain, using the Workamper News . Some positions
offer salary in addition to site, for extra hours. If you don't need to work or workamp to supplement your income, your choice of campsites is virtually unrestricted.
Marilyn : Are you a social animal or do you prefer to enjoy the great outdoors in quiet solitude? We are both types. From what we've seen so far, state and national parks seem to offer the quiet and solitude, while resorts and privately owned campgrounds are bustling with activities. Tom and I have never camped in a state or national park, and are looking forward to our time at Pedernales Falls State Park, near Johnson City, TX. We also anticipate a full winter calendar in Florida, enjoying potlucks, square dancing, swimming, hiking, bingo, line dancing (that one may be a little one-sided), and bicycling. So, once again, whatever lifestyle you prefer, you can live it at
the campground of your choice. Freedom! Two more months!
Tom : Now that you have thought about what you'd like to do once you hit the road, how do you find out where to go? Here's what we frequently use for campground info:
Trailer Life's Campground Directory. It lists and rates private campgrounds as well as some state, local, and national cgs. It also lists, by state, towing info and rest stop rules for overnighting.
AAA campground guides (by region). This is a nice supplement, often listing city parks that are not listed in TL.
State visitor centers. You can pick up lots of individual campground info and sometimes whole state guides to camping at these visitor centers, usually found on Interstate highways. Sometimes you can get other goodies that hide behind the counter, if you ask the attendant.
State tourism bureaus. This is where you can get info about state parks.
Internet. This resource grows daily. There are so many sites and links to sites, just start clicking. One of our favorite links (besides here, of course) is on the Midwest Connection. We've recently discovered a mailing list called RV-L. You can subscribe to it thru the Trailer Life site. You'll get daily batches of emails from RVers about RVing. Pose any RV-related question and you will get lots of responses.
Marilyn : Tom and I have spent many hours studying the advertisements in our Trailer Life and Highways magazines that list campground membership resales. This gave us a general idea of what campground memberships cost, both new and "used." There is a huge range in prices, depending upon the network, the home park, the dues structure (frozen or adjustable), and, probably, how gullible the original purchaser was when he bought. There are many things to consider before buying into membership campgrounds, and several other Net authors have done an excellent job describing these considerations, so I won't repeat them. You can begin by reading Robert Muessig's article elsewhere here at RVers Online.
We have purchased a Camp Coast to Coast (C2C or CCC) Resorts membership at a Texas park. We found out about SunCountry Resort from "Tim and Deanna's Home Page" on the Net. They had lots to say about it that sounded good. We'd already been investigating membership campgrounds, and C2C looked like an organization that was fairly stable financially, had lots of parks, etc. We'd already decided we'd buy only a resale membership to save money. We'd inquired about and gotten written information (and blank contracts) from two other C2C parks, comparison shopping. Hadn't yet decided to buy...
Tom : Then when we attended the SKP's Fall 96 Escapade in Goshen, IN, we found a campground membership resale booth in the vendor area. Lo and behold, there in the salesman's book of resales, was one from SunCountry. The dues were frozen at a good rate and the membership purchase price was the best we'd found that far, so we signed right up. The only drawback to doing it right then was that we had to pay full C2C fees ($59.95) for 1996, then pay
again three months later for '97. We also joined RPI at this time (they renew on your purchase anniversary date).
We also joined CCA (Camper Clubs of America) over a year ago. This outfit has fewer parks across the US, but you only pay $5/nite, and they have a free reservations system. Our dues are frozen, too, and the initial buy-in fee was quite low. This network does not have "home parks" per se. This dues issue is something for you to consider -- will your annual dues, if frozen, continue to adequately support your home park's maintenance needs? Frozen dues can be a detriment to campgrounds with a high overhead.
Marilyn : Other things to think about when purchasing resales: some networks or home parks want to keep you forever. With CCA, when your year's membership is up, if you don't want to renew, no big deal, you're not on the hook with a contract. You don't have to try to resell your membership to prevent default. Also, some memberships can only be resold 3 or 4 times. If
you purchase the "last" resale, you will be stuck with that membership and its annual dues forever. These things should be made clear to you (in writing) before you sign anything.
Since we haven't begun our mobile adventure yet (2 more months!) we can't tell you if our choices were the best ones. We can tell you that we don't regret anything yet. We'll just have to see if we will get sufficient use out of our three campground networks to keep them.
Next time: Communications