Hey folks. Have something of a general question. Did a search on Travel Prep and I was reading one of the forums and it seemed to deal mostly with travel times and distance traveled in a day (or couple days). And I certainly do like the concept of going about 150-250 miles in a day and staying a week or two to cut down on fuel costs.
Kim and I plan on going full time after next July 2015. Our plans are to camp locally in Colorado in August and then start heading south to be in Albuquerque for the balloon fest in the beginning of October. Make our way south again and be in Parker AZ for the Winter (Nov through March or April), to save up some money, that kind of thing.
THEN, we hit the road but not sure yet in what direction. Just the sound of that is awesome.
My questions is this, probably mostly from the FTers, but certainly all input welcome. How often is there a need to make prior reservations at a park or RV resort going cross country? Are there any folks that are just wingin' it and how successful is it doing it that way?
I will be 62 in Feb of next year. First on the agenda is getting the America the Beautiful pass. Also looking at Escapees and Passport America to help things along.
Any thoughts?
Thanks.
Barbaraok said
11:17 PM Jul 22, 2014
Two thoughts for you. Get reservations 6 months or more ahead for snowbird areas like FL, TX, AZ. When you leave Parker next spring head west and slowly go up the west coast. Until this summer we haven't really worried about reservations more than 1-2 weeks ahead. But the Seattle area has been horrible for getting reservations this summer! Even with several memberships, we've not gotten in our favorite places easily. We don't look at state parks for the summer, they are all reserved in January. Did find some good King County parks not to far from Seattle, expensive, but that is Seattle. Get outside of metro area and it is a lot easier.
Barb
Terry and Jo said
11:40 PM Jul 22, 2014
While we've not done a lot of traveling, I can't answer to your specific questions. However, I did notice something in one place we stayed in our 9-day trek from Oklahoma to the Colorado Springs area. Most of the places we were going to stop were either in spots where I knew there were a lot of spaces or they were in places where a lot of RV traffic might not be, so we didn't reserve anything for those two spots. The third stop before actually arriving in our new home was a smaller RV park at the summit of Raton Pass at the border of New Mexico and Colorado. We kind of wanted to be on the summit and be able to see good scenery, even if it was for only one night. For that one, we did reserve a spot.
With the small park on the summit, we arrived somewhere around 1:30 to 2:00 pm and there was a lot of space, so we really didn't need to reserve. But, as the day went on, more RV's arrived and the park began to fill up. As for the overnight was concerned, not all spots were used, but I was still glad we reserved because we could choose a drive-through spot. With our truck and fifth wheel being about 55-feet and the second Ford F150 vehicle, we needed all the space we could get. And, as small as the park was, I wasn't sure I wanted to mess with backing into a spot.
So, with no real answer for you, I'd just say to let common sense be your guide. Mostly, I think that I'd rather "take the chances" and have the opportunity to follow up on unexpected options without the fear of having to pay a cancellation fee because we chose to go a different route.
Terry
Jim01 said
06:22 AM Jul 23, 2014
The only time we have made reservations during our 12+ years of full-timing, is when we'll be staying in a touristy area, (Florida for the winter), need to be sure to be close to family, (Portland Oregon area for example), or we're approaching a Holiday weekend.
We only travel about 3 or 4 hours a day so it's early afternoon when we arrive at a park. If the park should happen to be full, we still have time to go on down the road and find another one. At times, we do call ahead, on the same day or the day before, to see if the park we want to stay at has sites available, but very seldom make a reservation unless they tell us they're just about booked up and we know there's no other parks in the area.
We've always believed that Full-Timing means freedom, and we don't feel that making reservations allows us that freedom to stop where and when we want.
I can only remember one time when we couldn't find a park with a site of some kind, and then we just boon-docked that night.
Jim
Dave Buck said
07:09 AM Jul 23, 2014
I agree with Jim, We never make reservations for nightly stops when traveling ahead of time especially on a week day. When we're close to stopping for the night my wife may find a campground and call just to make sure they have a space. Have never had a problem finding a place for the night.
blijil said
07:41 AM Jul 23, 2014
For events like the balloon festival definitely get reservations. We also get reservations for major holidays especially in the summer months. Otherwise following the 200 mile rule we scout out an area if we plan to stay a month and wing it most of the time. No real problems yet but the scouting and reviewing has come from being booked for a month in rv residentials that were run down and sometimes downright trashy even though the had a nice web page and even good reviews.
Technomadia said
09:15 AM Jul 23, 2014
We make advanced reservations when there's some place we absolutely want/need to be - such as attending an event, or over holiday weekends. And for last winter, we did reserve a 2 month spot well in advance - because we knew the park we wanted to be in would fill up.
That's rare for us however.
Other times, we mix it up. For the past month we've been exploring Michigan in prime summer vacation time, and wanted to be mainly in pretty state parks along the coast. So, I'd look online to see how full up the campgrounds where. If there were lots of options, we'd just show up and pick a site when we felt like getting there. If the options were scant, I'd made a reservation, usually no more than a few days in advance.
When doing a long repositioning, we'll play it by ear. If there are looking to be limited options up ahead, we may call ahead and reserve a spot for that night. But, we often wing it and just show up.
We like to leave lots of room for serendipity to interject with our routing and planning. And we're super comfortable adapting to where we end up. In 8 years on the road, we've never not found someplace we felt safe at for the night.
WestWardHo said
09:53 AM Jul 23, 2014
Make your reservations NOW for the Balloon Festival and bring money. 😄
We mix it up, rarely make reservations unless it's a major holiday in a tourist area or unless we're going to stay a long time in a popular park during tourist season as we did in NH. We just look where we want to go and call the day before or that morning. The only place we had to make a few calls was around Carlsbad as many parks were full of oil workers.
Don't forget Passport America membership, great rates and as we all say, it pays for itself in 1st week.
Sherry
igotjam said
01:13 PM Jul 23, 2014
In our 7+ years fulltime, we only make reservations if staying a month or so. We have done 38 states and 5 provinces and the only time you need to reserve is long weekends, long stays in the south (TX, FL, Ca) and perhaps Canada in July & Aug. We have occasionally been turned away from places we wanted to stay but very rarely. The morning we depart we often call the park we want to stay at that night to see if they think we should book it...usually they say "no reservation needed".
pkhalin said
05:40 PM Jul 23, 2014
Thank you everyone for your thoughts and insights. Much to ponder. Perhaps I worry too much, and it may cause a few extra sleepless nights. This may be way too early to worry about as we won't cross the 'aimless traveling' bridge until Spring of 2016. But I figure it's best to get an idea sooner that later.
We do actually have reservations for Parker AZ for Nov 2015. And if I read the Balloon Fest info correctly, for 2014, they started taking reservations in Oct 2013. So, I have mid-Oct of this year marked on my calendar to start checking for reservations for 2015. This is another one of those things we've always talked about but never got around to doing.
Again, thanks for all the info!
cejones4210 said
08:36 AM Jul 24, 2014
This last winter was our first time going south (AZ & CA), and as I also like to play it day to day, I did not make reservations but would call in the morning for a place in the late afternoon. Along our route from IA to AZ, it was not a problem but once we got to NM and into AZ, it became difficult some days to find a spot. Usually I would call 2-4 campgrounds before I found availability. Once near Mesa, I had to call 7 "resorts" before I found a site.
We also found that PA was a waste during Dec - Apr in AZ and CA. We spent a good deal of our time at Escapee parks as they always had a site or we could boon dock for a night until a site opened up. State parks and Federal areas fill up quickly from what I experienced though we prefer them. We used RV Parks reviews to find campgrounds that met "our" criteria. Everyones criteria is different. We like spacious sites with great views, close to things to do in the city, but not in the cities, preferably. Also, dog friendly with dog parks if possible, but in Federal and state campgrounds one is not needed because walking is so enjoyable and areas spacious.
So what I am recommending is call a few days ahead and make reservations as it will make your life easier. That is what I did after a few weeks experience of searching for a site when we decided to enjoy another area.
pkhalin said
12:18 PM Jul 24, 2014
CE,
Thanks. Great info. Couple questions. PA = Passport America? And when folks refer to boondocking, is it specifically referring Public Use or BLM lands (and the like)? Or is it being used in a more general way?
Thanks again.
cejones4210 said
08:43 PM Jul 24, 2014
Yes I was referring to Passport America, sorry. I found many parks would not honor it during those months, which is their busiest season.
Many others have more experience boon docking, I.e., Linda and Howard. But to me, it represents staying in a location for more than one night without water, electric or sewer hook-ups. I don't count Wally World as boon docking, it is just a place to sleep for the night. (We generally stop if we have had a late start and drive until 9 or 10 pm and leave early in the am, before 8.). I also always buy something there to give them my business for the opportunity to park.
We boon docked at Quartzite this last winter for a week. Personally I do not see the attraction. But, we have boon docked by a nice trout stream in some locations in the Midwest and out west and that is beautiful and totally enjoyable. Also, on some BLM lands out west.
As we are just 7 months into full timing, we are still "learning". But we have been campers and RVers for most of our married lives and I camped with my parents growing up. Full timing is a totally different experience. It is a new lifestyle, not vacation as in our past live. Loving it! You will too!
Hdrider said
10:40 PM Jul 24, 2014
We have been traveling for close to 2 years now and almost never make reservations far in advance. Most times we reserve a spot 2, maybe 3 days in advance and have had pretty good luck. The only time it normally catches us off guard is when a holiday creeps up on us and we didn't plan for it. That has happened more than I care o admit. You would think we would learn after the first time, but Ohhhhh no we don't.
But we don't tend to go towards what might be considered highly desirable vacation areas.
pkhalin said
07:48 PM Jul 25, 2014
This is great information. Y'all are actually calming my nerves a bit. At times I envisioned slaving over the laptop and plotting out courses (I could still do this for the fun of it) and making reservations out the ying yang. Appears, with a few exceptions, that this isn't necessarily the case. I really like the approaches many of you have and are taking.
If there is no objection, I'd like to expand the conversation. Also in one of the older threads (2011 I think), folks were talking about various maps, trucker maps, and the like. What are folks using these days to navigate? More technology, or still hard copy maps? I'm also assuming maps of BLM lands and such? Folks insight to this would also be appreciated.
Thanks.
pkhalin said
08:00 PM Jul 25, 2014
On a side note, and I hope this isn't too far out of line, but I kind of have a hankering to find craft breweries. Going FT RVing could either enhance this or make it problematic. Not sure yet. And I'm not saying that will be the primary focus, but...
I've worked for the government for a little over 28 years and have had the opportunity go TDY to a few places. Always try to find the micros. My wife started telling people that the government paid me to go drink beer. If only that were the case. What a job THAT would be.
Thank goodness I've lived in Colorado for quite some time. I'd never get out of the state!
Neil and Connie said
10:08 AM Jul 26, 2014
As you can see there are as many opinions on this as there are RVers. We mostly make reservations, but usually only a month or two out…we have a basic plan with CGs picked out for the whole travel season but unless we have some must-be-there's make reservations as we go except for holidays. Holidays book up early so it's nice to have a guaranteed spot, much less angst on Connie's part that way.
That at said, our current spot we had none, but did call a couple of days before to make sure there were spots and had a backup another 30 miles up the road, we would have called for a reservation before we headed that way. This park has 28 sites and turned t to be almost full of rigs but they've obviously parked for the summer as we have seen few to no people until Friday PM, and they'll likely be gone Sunday PM.
cejones4210 said
07:38 PM Jul 26, 2014
PK,
We have both the east and west mountain directories. We highly recommend them. Using them to plan your route or at least make you aware of the passes involved along the way can save some stress and headaches.
Terry and Jo said
07:59 PM Jul 26, 2014
The Junkman wrote:
Has anyone been booted from the spot they where in because someone else had reservations for that spot ?
Steve,
We had reservations for our current site. When we arrived on the scheduled day, "someone" was still in our reserved site. He knew in advance that he would have to move to another site in the park, but he forgot what day to do so. They put us up overnight in an unreserved site, and the next morning, "someone" had moved to his new site and we moved into our reserved site.
Now, all that said, we will be in our current location for some time to come, that amount of time to be determined at a later date. Our site is normally for long-term guests anyway.
Terry
DoubleG said
07:03 AM Aug 10, 2014
What a great topic! One of the best threads I have ever read. We are looking at getting started FT down the road.
Thanks
Barbaraok said
09:49 AM Aug 10, 2014
The Junkman wrote:
Has anyone been booted from the spot they where in because someone else had reservations for that spot ?
We were once in Bangor, Maine. The park had a reservation system that locked people into specific sites and they were left with lots of sites with 2-3 days in a row empty, so those who didn't reserve months in advance ended up having to move.
Barb
Talensnana said
06:40 PM Aug 10, 2014
I am not sure if this is too far North, but we have stayed at this RV Park in Titusville several times. They are very courteous. it is very close to Cape Canaveral and within driving distance of many other areas. I haven't checked prices for other places so I am not sure how it compares. http://www.willowlakes.com/rentals
NWescapee said
07:26 PM Aug 13, 2014
BarbaraOK - would love to know where you found places in Seattle, this last summer was so frustrating for us on that front.
Now, all the comments about not making reservations had me chuckling because I almost always have reservations. We follow the outdoor art show circuit. For those art shows that do not provide free RV parking, I look for the closest, most reasonably priced RV park near the art show. Proximity is important to us when we're working 10-12 hour days and we love finding a facility with a good laundry room for the Monday AM after the show before we head out to a more remote location.
We tend to move frequently on the weekends, arriving on Saturday if we can. Guess what? You want to arrive at a popular state park in AZ in the winter or the NW in the summer on a Saturday, you better have reservations. If you want a 2 week stay in a popular time of year, you better have reservations. Of course, we also much prefer state and county parks, aren't big fans of RV resorts. Maybe if we weren't so picky it would be easier.
I also like to make reservations for specific sites if we can, I like to know that I'll have a water view or a nice secluded, quiet site or a site that is along a creek or river. Those sites book up fast but having a site like that adds contentment for us. Just made some reservations in AZ in Nov over Thanksgiving, same place we stayed last year so I knew exactly which sites were most interesting and which ones I wanted to avoid.
I read the cancellation policy before making reservations and as long as it's not too onerous (like WA state new policy), I don't mind making plans in advance. We're already planning our travel schedule around art shows and family events so I might as well find somewhere nice to stay that we'll look forward to, or at least that's my philosophy.
Barbaraok said
09:07 PM Aug 13, 2014
We spent time at Lake Pleasant, but that is rather expensive. Spent a week at Lakeside in Everett, not as nice as Lake Pleasant, but at $14 less per night, not a bad deal, and they do weekly and monthly during the summer. It is tight getting in and out, and some sites were pretty undeveloped, but certainly you can make it work and it is easy to get every where from there. We spent several weeks at Thunderbird (Thousand Trails) in Monroe, several at Tall Chief in Fall city and also Snoqualmie River Park in Fall City. Worst place is Lake Sawyer in Black Diamond, down by Auburn. Horrible place, has really gone downhill. We also spent some time up at Birch Bay and also in La Conner.
Barb
jt said
03:35 PM Aug 14, 2014
We are going full timing next may. We have TT, C 2 C, RPI, ESCAPEES, AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL PASS, ENJOY AMERICA AND GOOD NEIGHBOR PARKS AND CORPS OF ENGINEERS. This will help you a lot when full timing. Also pick up a book call (rvers best public campgrounds). I never pay over $15.00 a night. Check out county parks because some off them offer free camping up to 14 days.
Hey folks. Have something of a general question. Did a search on Travel Prep and I was reading one of the forums and it seemed to deal mostly with travel times and distance traveled in a day (or couple days). And I certainly do like the concept of going about 150-250 miles in a day and staying a week or two to cut down on fuel costs.
Kim and I plan on going full time after next July 2015. Our plans are to camp locally in Colorado in August and then start heading south to be in Albuquerque for the balloon fest in the beginning of October. Make our way south again and be in Parker AZ for the Winter (Nov through March or April), to save up some money, that kind of thing.
THEN, we hit the road but not sure yet in what direction. Just the sound of that is awesome.
My questions is this, probably mostly from the FTers, but certainly all input welcome. How often is there a need to make prior reservations at a park or RV resort going cross country? Are there any folks that are just wingin' it and how successful is it doing it that way?
I will be 62 in Feb of next year. First on the agenda is getting the America the Beautiful pass. Also looking at Escapees and Passport America to help things along.
Any thoughts?
Thanks.
Barb
While we've not done a lot of traveling, I can't answer to your specific questions. However, I did notice something in one place we stayed in our 9-day trek from Oklahoma to the Colorado Springs area. Most of the places we were going to stop were either in spots where I knew there were a lot of spaces or they were in places where a lot of RV traffic might not be, so we didn't reserve anything for those two spots. The third stop before actually arriving in our new home was a smaller RV park at the summit of Raton Pass at the border of New Mexico and Colorado. We kind of wanted to be on the summit and be able to see good scenery, even if it was for only one night. For that one, we did reserve a spot.
With the small park on the summit, we arrived somewhere around 1:30 to 2:00 pm and there was a lot of space, so we really didn't need to reserve. But, as the day went on, more RV's arrived and the park began to fill up. As for the overnight was concerned, not all spots were used, but I was still glad we reserved because we could choose a drive-through spot. With our truck and fifth wheel being about 55-feet and the second Ford F150 vehicle, we needed all the space we could get. And, as small as the park was, I wasn't sure I wanted to mess with backing into a spot.
So, with no real answer for you, I'd just say to let common sense be your guide. Mostly, I think that I'd rather "take the chances" and have the opportunity to follow up on unexpected options without the fear of having to pay a cancellation fee because we chose to go a different route.
Terry
The only time we have made reservations during our 12+ years of full-timing, is when we'll be staying in a touristy area, (Florida for the winter), need to be sure to be close to family, (Portland Oregon area for example), or we're approaching a Holiday weekend.
We only travel about 3 or 4 hours a day so it's early afternoon when we arrive at a park. If the park should happen to be full, we still have time to go on down the road and find another one. At times, we do call ahead, on the same day or the day before, to see if the park we want to stay at has sites available, but very seldom make a reservation unless they tell us they're just about booked up and we know there's no other parks in the area.
We've always believed that Full-Timing means freedom, and we don't feel that making reservations allows us that freedom to stop where and when we want.
I can only remember one time when we couldn't find a park with a site of some kind, and then we just boon-docked that night.
Jim
For events like the balloon festival definitely get reservations. We also get reservations for major holidays especially in the summer months. Otherwise following the 200 mile rule we scout out an area if we plan to stay a month and wing it most of the time. No real problems yet but the scouting and reviewing has come from being booked for a month in rv residentials that were run down and sometimes downright trashy even though the had a nice web page and even good reviews.
That's rare for us however.
Other times, we mix it up. For the past month we've been exploring Michigan in prime summer vacation time, and wanted to be mainly in pretty state parks along the coast. So, I'd look online to see how full up the campgrounds where. If there were lots of options, we'd just show up and pick a site when we felt like getting there. If the options were scant, I'd made a reservation, usually no more than a few days in advance.
When doing a long repositioning, we'll play it by ear. If there are looking to be limited options up ahead, we may call ahead and reserve a spot for that night. But, we often wing it and just show up.
We like to leave lots of room for serendipity to interject with our routing and planning. And we're super comfortable adapting to where we end up. In 8 years on the road, we've never not found someplace we felt safe at for the night.
We mix it up, rarely make reservations unless it's a major holiday in a tourist area or unless we're going to stay a long time in a popular park during tourist season as we did in NH. We just look where we want to go and call the day before or that morning. The only place we had to make a few calls was around Carlsbad as many parks were full of oil workers.
Don't forget Passport America membership, great rates and as we all say, it pays for itself in 1st week.
Sherry
Thank you everyone for your thoughts and insights. Much to ponder. Perhaps I worry too much, and it may cause a few extra sleepless nights. This may be way too early to worry about as we won't cross the 'aimless traveling' bridge until Spring of 2016. But I figure it's best to get an idea sooner that later.
We do actually have reservations for Parker AZ for Nov 2015. And if I read the Balloon Fest info correctly, for 2014, they started taking reservations in Oct 2013. So, I have mid-Oct of this year marked on my calendar to start checking for reservations for 2015. This is another one of those things we've always talked about but never got around to doing.
Again, thanks for all the info!
We also found that PA was a waste during Dec - Apr in AZ and CA. We spent a good deal of our time at Escapee parks as they always had a site or we could boon dock for a night until a site opened up. State parks and Federal areas fill up quickly from what I experienced though we prefer them. We used RV Parks reviews to find campgrounds that met "our" criteria. Everyones criteria is different. We like spacious sites with great views, close to things to do in the city, but not in the cities, preferably. Also, dog friendly with dog parks if possible, but in Federal and state campgrounds one is not needed because walking is so enjoyable and areas spacious.
So what I am recommending is call a few days ahead and make reservations as it will make your life easier. That is what I did after a few weeks experience of searching for a site when we decided to enjoy another area.
CE,
Thanks. Great info. Couple questions. PA = Passport America? And when folks refer to boondocking, is it specifically referring Public Use or BLM lands (and the like)? Or is it being used in a more general way?
Thanks again.
Many others have more experience boon docking, I.e., Linda and Howard. But to me, it represents staying in a location for more than one night without water, electric or sewer hook-ups. I don't count Wally World as boon docking, it is just a place to sleep for the night. (We generally stop if we have had a late start and drive until 9 or 10 pm and leave early in the am, before 8.). I also always buy something there to give them my business for the opportunity to park.
We boon docked at Quartzite this last winter for a week. Personally I do not see the attraction. But, we have boon docked by a nice trout stream in some locations in the Midwest and out west and that is beautiful and totally enjoyable. Also, on some BLM lands out west.
As we are just 7 months into full timing, we are still "learning". But we have been campers and RVers for most of our married lives and I camped with my parents growing up. Full timing is a totally different experience. It is a new lifestyle, not vacation as in our past live. Loving it! You will too!
But we don't tend to go towards what might be considered highly desirable vacation areas.
This is great information. Y'all are actually calming my nerves a bit. At times I envisioned slaving over the laptop and plotting out courses (I could still do this for the fun of it) and making reservations out the ying yang. Appears, with a few exceptions, that this isn't necessarily the case. I really like the approaches many of you have and are taking.
If there is no objection, I'd like to expand the conversation. Also in one of the older threads (2011 I think), folks were talking about various maps, trucker maps, and the like. What are folks using these days to navigate? More technology, or still hard copy maps? I'm also assuming maps of BLM lands and such? Folks insight to this would also be appreciated.
Thanks.
On a side note, and I hope this isn't too far out of line, but I kind of have a hankering to find craft breweries. Going FT RVing could either enhance this or make it problematic. Not sure yet. And I'm not saying that will be the primary focus, but...
I've worked for the government for a little over 28 years and have had the opportunity go TDY to a few places. Always try to find the micros. My wife started telling people that the government paid me to go drink beer. If only that were the case. What a job THAT would be.
Thank goodness I've lived in Colorado for quite some time. I'd never get out of the state!
As you can see there are as many opinions on this as there are RVers. We mostly make reservations, but usually only a month or two out…we have a basic plan with CGs picked out for the whole travel season but unless we have some must-be-there's make reservations as we go except for holidays. Holidays book up early so it's nice to have a guaranteed spot, much less angst on Connie's part that way.
That at said, our current spot we had none, but did call a couple of days before to make sure there were spots and had a backup another 30 miles up the road, we would have called for a reservation before we headed that way. This park has 28 sites and turned t to be almost full of rigs but they've obviously parked for the summer as we have seen few to no people until Friday PM, and they'll likely be gone Sunday PM.
We have both the east and west mountain directories. We highly recommend them. Using them to plan your route or at least make you aware of the passes involved along the way can save some stress and headaches.
Steve,
We had reservations for our current site. When we arrived on the scheduled day, "someone" was still in our reserved site. He knew in advance that he would have to move to another site in the park, but he forgot what day to do so. They put us up overnight in an unreserved site, and the next morning, "someone" had moved to his new site and we moved into our reserved site.
Now, all that said, we will be in our current location for some time to come, that amount of time to be determined at a later date. Our site is normally for long-term guests anyway.
Terry
What a great topic! One of the best threads I have ever read. We are looking at getting started FT down the road.
Thanks
We were once in Bangor, Maine. The park had a reservation system that locked people into specific sites and they were left with lots of sites with 2-3 days in a row empty, so those who didn't reserve months in advance ended up having to move.
Barb
I am not sure if this is too far North, but we have stayed at this RV Park in Titusville several times. They are very courteous. it is very close to Cape Canaveral and within driving distance of many other areas. I haven't checked prices for other places so I am not sure how it compares. http://www.willowlakes.com/rentals
Now, all the comments about not making reservations had me chuckling because I almost always have reservations. We follow the outdoor art show circuit. For those art shows that do not provide free RV parking, I look for the closest, most reasonably priced RV park near the art show. Proximity is important to us when we're working 10-12 hour days and we love finding a facility with a good laundry room for the Monday AM after the show before we head out to a more remote location.
We tend to move frequently on the weekends, arriving on Saturday if we can. Guess what? You want to arrive at a popular state park in AZ in the winter or the NW in the summer on a Saturday, you better have reservations. If you want a 2 week stay in a popular time of year, you better have reservations. Of course, we also much prefer state and county parks, aren't big fans of RV resorts. Maybe if we weren't so picky it would be easier.
I also like to make reservations for specific sites if we can, I like to know that I'll have a water view or a nice secluded, quiet site or a site that is along a creek or river. Those sites book up fast but having a site like that adds contentment for us. Just made some reservations in AZ in Nov over Thanksgiving, same place we stayed last year so I knew exactly which sites were most interesting and which ones I wanted to avoid.
I read the cancellation policy before making reservations and as long as it's not too onerous (like WA state new policy), I don't mind making plans in advance. We're already planning our travel schedule around art shows and family events so I might as well find somewhere nice to stay that we'll look forward to, or at least that's my philosophy.
Barb
We are going full timing next may. We have TT, C 2 C, RPI, ESCAPEES, AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL PASS, ENJOY AMERICA AND GOOD NEIGHBOR PARKS AND CORPS OF ENGINEERS. This will help you a lot when full timing. Also pick up a book call (rvers best public campgrounds). I never pay over $15.00 a night. Check out county parks because some off them offer free camping up to 14 days.
jt