Living full time in our motor home allows us to be Ready To Go. . .on to the next adventure!

Golden Gate Bridge - San Francisco Skyline as seen from the Marin Headlands - California

Saturday, June 4, 2011

RV Parking - Budget Buster Campgrounds Vs a Resort - Full Time Recreational Vehicle Living

From Blog Posts


Living full time in our RV--Recreational Vehicle, we find parking to be our biggest budget buster.

A RV Resort offers the most amenities, so if we are work camping for the season, of course, that is where we choose to stay. In our opinion, minimum amenities must include a pool, hot tub, meeting or conference room, library, and planned activities. I would prefer a resort to be a one stop destination where your entertainment, such as a lake, is only a few steps away, preferably with a restaurant and gift shop on premise. Once your rig is parked, you are all set, with everything you need readily available. If you are staying in a tourist area, hopefully any place that labels itself as a resort will offer transportation or be within walking distance of area attractions.

RV Resorts are the most expensive parking option, because, of course you must be willing to pay for all those goodies.

RV Campgrounds are much more basic, and while they may or may not offer a swimming pool, they should at the very least have full hookups, including sewer. Although campgrounds are more median priced, depending on location, they can still be budget busters if you are paying daily rates.

State Parks, Forest Service Campgrounds, and Corp of Engineer Parks are somewhat less expensive, however they usually have only electric and water hookups. If you are staying more than a couple of days, that can quickly become a problem with your holding tanks.

Full time RVers often do their overnight Recreational Vehicle parking in a Walmart parking lot, or a Flying J Truck Stop. Although this could save a few bucks, we enjoy our creature comforts, so this has not yet been an option for us. Motorhome owners usually have a generator onboard, which allows them more flexibility for out of the way overnight stops.

By researching, you can often find city parks and fairgrounds that provide basic hookups for an overnight stay at a very reasonable cost. Members of Elk Lodges or VFW's can usually hook up on the premises for a nominal fee.

We have found the easiest, and most economical way to lower RV parking costs is to work camp. One winter, we were the Activities Directors for a large RV Resort. We exchanged an parking space for 24 work hours per week. The following summer, we worked at a gift shop in a popular tourist town near a National Park. Our employer provided our private parking site in exchange for 14 work hours per week. Considering the fact that the only Resort Style Campground in the area charged $60 per night, we were thrilled to barter for our site rent.

Volunteering as a camp host at State and National Parks in exchange for an RV parking site is also a very popular solution to saving on RV parking expenses.

These are just a few of the ways we cut parking costs when we are in travel mode. . .check back often as we begin our summer trip. We will share any deals we may find. . .

Living Stingy: The Future of RVing?

And then there are the RV park costs. Even a basic State Park can run $25 a night, and some "RV Resorts" can run $50 to $75 a night. If you add this all up, even for our tiny 17-foot travel trailer (the cheapest .... So, while we like to look at all the pretty pictures of the Airstreams and Wanderlodges on the Internet, the reality of paying so much for an unnecessary expense, at a time in our life when we need to conserve cash, just doesn't make sense. ...

Publish Date: 05/23/2011 9:00

http://livingstingy.blogspot.com/2011/05/future-of-rving.html



Full Time RV'er Jobs - You can find work on the Road | READY TO GO ...

For us, covering the cost of RV parking is more than sufficient to make working on the road worth it. We can then free up the funds we had budgeted for parking expenses, and use that for doing touristy stuff, ...

Publish Date: 05/13/2011 23:17

http://readytogofulltimerving.com/full-time-rver-jobs-you-can-find-work-on-the-road/



10 Ways To Cut Camping Costs » Gypsy Journal RV Travel Newspaper

4. Casinos – Many casinos offer RVers free overnight parking, others have low cost RV parks, and some offer both. We have spent many nights in casinos over the years, and saved a bundle. Two good resources are our RVers Guide To Casino ...

Publish Date: 04/13/2011 3:09

http://gypsyjournalrv.com/2011/04/10-ways-to-cut-camping-costs/

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