Camper Travel Trailer. Travel Trailer Pop Up Style Camping in Colorado.
Knowing how to find good RV campgrounds is a crucial skill for RVing. It can determine whether you have a delightful or stressful experience on the road. Finding the right campgrounds is especially important for full-timers and snowbirds who spend long periods of time in one location. Just imagine being stuck at a campground you dislike for 30 days or more. So, what can you do to ensure almost every spot you visit is worth the trip?
1. Create a List
If you are new to RVing, you might not immediately know what to expect from campgrounds and RV parks. Even so, know what your realistic bare minimum expectations are:
Are you looking for an adults-only campground?
Should it have a pool or a hot tub?
Do you need to be close to a large body of accessible water?
Is it necessary to be close to or on a golf course?
Do you prefer to be in the city, suburbs or rural areas?
Do you prefer a location where fires are allowed?
2. Consider the Area
No matter how amazing RV campgrounds are once you get inside, if the surrounding area could use some work, chances are that you won’t like it there. If political affiliations are important to you, you can check this with a quick Google search or via the Niche website or app. For travelers concerned about the crime rate and the types of crime, Niche can help you determine this too.
There are some fun reasons to consider the area as well. Are there national parks nearby? What about national forests, famous restaurants and other attractions?
3. Consider the Season
Some places have excellent weather all year round. San Diego in California is one such location. Then, there are others where seasonal weather changes could make them unpleasant at specific times of the year. For example, the Southwest is a snowbird hotspot, but during the summer, temperatures reach triple digits.
Likewise, Florida has great weather all year round — unless a hurricane batters the coast. In the Midwest, tornadoes occur more frequently at specific times of the year. Note that some RV campgrounds charge cheaper rates during less favorable seasons.
4. Ask Other RVers
Whether they have been full-time RVing across America or only take regular vacations, other RVers can tell you where to go. Keep in mind that you might absolutely love some of the places other people have hated, so take one-off recommendations with a grain of salt.
To better determine whether this is a place that would appeal to you, ask a lot of questions and try to listen without interrupting. Then, refer to your list and see whether it matches up to what you’re looking for.
5. Google RV Campgrounds
Once you have an idea of where you plan to visit, checking online is fairly easy. Google will provide you with a long list of options just for querying “RV Parks in Texas” or another location. You can also rank these according to specific factors, such as the star ratings.
Ideally, you want to choose locations that have at least a four-star rating or higher. The aggregate rating helps to account for varying experiences. Google also provides the operating hours, website and phone number so you can do more digging.
6. Try Campground Apps
There are tons of apps on the market that are dedicated to helping travelers find the perfect RV campgrounds. Most of these are free and allow you to filter for free and paid campgrounds. Some other services might require payment to access premium content.
The downside to this is that most apps are focused on showing travelers free campgrounds on federal land or at parks. These sound appealing until you realize there are usually no hookups. Unless you have a small rig, dry camping for long periods might not be possible or might not appeal to you at all.
7. Join Communities
There are several RV communities available, particularly for long-term and full-time RVers. Common membership clubs include Escapees RV Club and Good Sam. Having access to these memberships makes it easier for you to connect with other RVers who might be able to answer your questions about which RV campgrounds to visit. They might even have extra tips on how to pick the best spots.
In some cases, memberships might also help you get discounts on accommodations. For example, campgrounds that partner with Good Sam sometimes provide 10% discounts.
8. Audit Reviews
When you start to narrow down your options, check reviews on Google and other sources. Be sure to look beyond just the collective numbers to identify what people liked or disliked about the space. You could find some revealing information.
For example, if you find a lot of people are complaining about the Wi-Fi being slow and you need that wireless connection to work, you’ll know ahead of time to find alternative connection options. It’s also important to check as many sources as possible, such as Yelp or TripAdvisor.
9. Check Websites
In the modern business world, you would assume all businesses have a website or at least a Facebook page. Sadly, some RV campgrounds fail to invest in this. This is not to say the campground won’t be a good one, but it usually sets the tone for lower expectations. Here are some things to look for on the website:
Rates
Amenities
Cancellation policy
Pet policy
The tone of the website
10. Look for RV Campgrounds Footage
Campgrounds often do not look like the pictures posted online. In the best-case scenario, they exceed expectations. However, quite often the opposite is true. Look through the photos on the website, but even more important is checking the photos in the reviews or Google image searches.
You might even find a full blog post or drive-through YouTube video. Knowing exactly what the property looks like will help you set realistic expectations.
Are you ready to discover some of the best RV campgrounds in America? The Boston Group manages some of the most beautiful properties in the RV community. Use our portfolio to help you narrow down your choices.
Family RV Road Trip Campsite. Caucasian Family. Father with Daughter Having Fun in Front of Campfire. Recreation Vehicle Traveling.
One of the amazing perks of RVing is the flexibility. You can change your lifestyle in a heartbeat. It’s easy to spend the winter snowbirding in Texas luxury resorts and then go boondocking in New Mexico for the summer. While dry camping is a great way to save money, most RVers are more interested in full hookups. This can require searching for full service RV parks near me.
1. Convenience
Some people enjoy roughing it, but most people buy RVs to ensure a smooth camping experience. Access to sewer, a constant supply of water and shore power makes it easy to enjoy the amenities of being at home while still seeing the world. That means no bothering with portable waste tanks to empty the black or gray water without moving the rig. You also won’t need to go outside every few hours to move the solar panels so they follow the sun.
2. High-Wattage Power
Limited AC power access means a limit to what you can run off it. Many appliances require higher wattages to turn on. Even with big off-grid inverters, battery power can severely limit the length of time certain tools can run for, such as air fryers and blow dryers. When you have full hookups, however, you can run whatever you want, whenever you want.
3. Sanitation
A common sacrifice made by those roughing it in campers is to reduce hygiene standards. This might mean showering less often to conserve water, only flushing the toilet after a number two and not washing hands as often. While these may be possible practices for short-term trips and solo travelers, almost anyone wants full hookups after some time of doing this. With full hookups, you can shower, brush your teeth and flush the toilets as often as you like.
4. Long-Term Stays
If you are a snowbird looking to escape the northern cold, traveling all across the South might not be part of your plans. Instead you may be looking for a nice RV park to settle down at and relax for at least a month at a time. Not all RV parks allow monthly stays. However, RV parks with full hookups tend to be more accommodating of long-term RVers because they have the necessary infrastructure in place to support them.
5. Safety at Full Service Parks Near Me
Dry camping in the wilderness can be free, but it comes with risks. Paid RV parks, such as those that provide full hookups, tend to have security on site. Even when they do not, these locations are less isolated. As the saying goes, there is safety in numbers. You can worry less about leaving your rig to go hiking an hour away when you’re at an RV park versus boondocking in the middle of nowhere.
We are proud to manage many of the campgrounds that may appear in your full service RV parks near me search today. Check out our full portfolio to see all the other amenities we bring to the table.
We’ve all been there, the dreaded feeling associated with the utter lack of space in your RV. Even with a great deal of effort to prioritize and minimize what you pack, it somehow still doesn’t all fit. Obviously, you can’t lug around a trailer from place to place just to store the extra stuff and throwing it away is out of the question – so what are you to do when your camper is full?
Luckily (or maybe not so much}, I’ve been in this position; my RV cabinets were filled to the brim and the drawers over-flowing with miscellaneous items, there was absolutely no more room! That’s when I started getting crafty and began thinking outside the box, quite literally! So, from my experiences I’ve put together a shortlist of all the space saving hacks that changed my life. Hopefully at least one of these just might help you too!
The Bed Lift System
Have empty space underneath your bed but it’s too difficult to access? Say no more. My queen-sized bed had massive storage capabilities, but because of the weight of the bed and frame it was impossible to utilize it. Luckily, my father is an engineer and walked me through an easy installation of a hydraulic system.
I know what you’re probably thinking, “that sounds really difficult,” and contrary to your belief (trust me, I thought so too at first) it was quite simple! All you need is a second person to hold the frame during installation, two trunk door hydraulic bars (which can be purchased at any auto store), and a bar latch to secure the bed when it’s down (like you see in restrooms).
This trick gave me ample space and ease of use. All I had to do was unlatch the lock and raise the frame. Poof, instant storage, endless opportunities!
Stackable Food Containers
Nothing is worse than the tiniest wobble of your camper and everything comes crashing down in your kitchen. Luckily, Tupperware got smart and made stackable containers!
I would store my flour, sugar, breadcrumbs, etc. in individual containers and stack them to make one large tower· the same goes for my rice or various pastas. That way, you’re not having to move your flour out of the way and readjust your whole cabinet when all you needed was a cup of rice.
This way also helps reduce bugs and other unwanted guests from getting into your food because most of these containers come equipped with airtight seals.
Level Up Your Cabinets
In my RV, there were no “closets” to hang items. Everything was folded and went in one long cabinet over the bed. Well, when all your clothes are folded into large piles and you need a shirt that’s towards the bottom of that pile … you can probably guess it causes quite the mess coupled with frustration.
Enter plate racks 1 Plate racks (also referred to as stackable kitchen shelves) are used to stack smaller sections of plates atop one another to maximize the storage while decreasing the probability of breakage.
Well, the same method can help with your clothes. I used the plate racks as separators for my t-shirts, blouses, hoodies, etc. which allowed me easy access to each item without the need to take out and refold every piece of laundry.
You can buy these plate racks at Home Depot or Lowe’s and even Home Goods! They’re an affordable and easy tool to help keep your cabinets tidy without the hassle of large, messy stacks!
