I've been working on going full time for a while and now I'm getting close. I'm winding down clearing out the house and just put it up for sale. I may very well move out of the house while it's being sold, so may buy an RV very soon so I can clean it up and get it ready for full time living. I was just wondering... for those of you who are full time, what is the first thing you did after you moved out of your sticks and bricks? Did you boondock? Did you stay at an RV Park? Did you stay local or did you travel somewhere? Did you stay in a friends driveway? I'll be traveling with my pooch and I have to admit, I'm a little nervous about all of this. I can stay at my neighbors house for a few days, but I don't have plans after that. It feels like a free-fall in a way; good but a little unsettling.
What did you do your first night as a full time rver?
Thanks...
Mimi
I acquired my Lazy Daze RV at the same time my house sold. The house was nearly empty, so I moved into the rig in my driveway; just using the bathroom in the house. When the house closed, I arranged to park in a friends yard locally. I alternated between his yard, boondocking, and state parks for three months until I retired and hit the road. Towns and neighborhoods have different rules about staying in an RV, so check to be sure you can do as planned.
I alternated between his yard, boondocking, and state parks for three months until I retired and hit the road.
Now that you've been on the road awhile, where do you "camp" or park most of the time? In the summer, do you find your way north and vice versa in the winter? Thank you.
Mimi,
You did not mention what your plans were for Domicile and mail.
In my case, I bought the RV first and lived in it in my driveway for a couple of months while fixing up the house for sale. I had decided to use Escapees for mail and to use a Texas Domicile.
So during this period, I set up the Mail service and changed my address with the Post Office and on as many bills as I had. If you are getting a new Drivers License this is important since most States require a Bank Statement and some other mail showing the new address. In my case when I went to get my Texas License, I had Bank Statements and other bills
showing the new address. Don't have the new mail service send the mail back to your address you just changed because it will just get into an endless loop. (ask me how I know this)
Living in my driveway allowed me to "move-in" gradually and I had time to properly load the RV and figure out where everything went. I left while the house was for sale and went to Texas to establish Domicile i.e. License, Tags, Insurance, etc. Once I was "Legal" and obviously living in the RV, I was free to start exploring.
I did find an interesting transition time between starting out sort of as a tourist/vacation mindset and the eventual living in the RV mindset I have now.
So I guess the best thing is to make sure you have a plan for legal Domicile, Mail, Insurance and, if necessary, build the details you will need beforehand. This takes time.
You might benefit from the Graduating to Fulltime discussions on the Escapees Forum.
Stay where you feel comfortable at first.
Good Luck, it's worth it.
Hi Bob,
Well, I have to maintain residency here in order to keep prop 13, so I'm going to use my son's address until I buy another place here a couple of years down the road (if I end up doing it at all), then I plan to rent it out. I can still use a PO Box/mail forwarding for my mail, but I need to keep a physical address here.
I did find an interesting transition time between starting out sort of as a tourist/vacation mindset and the eventual living in the RV mindset I have now.
You might benefit from the Graduating to Fulltime discussions on the Escapees Forum.
Stay where you feel comfortable at first.
Good Luck, it's worth it.
The tourist/vacation mindset is so right! Along with that, I worry a little about having a longing for a familiar place to go, like a sticks and bricks. I camped in an RV one time in my life when I was 15. That was a looong time ago. :-) How long did it take for you to move into the full time mindset? Did you do anything special to get yourself there?
I'll read the Graduating to Fulltime discussions at Escapees. Thank you. That sounds just like what I need. I can't wait to feel the freedom I can only feel traveling in my RV.
Thanks..
Mimi
I acquired my Lazy Daze RV at the same time my house sold. The house was nearly empty, so I moved into the rig in my driveway; just using the bathroom in the house. When the house closed, I arranged to park in a friends yard locally. I alternated between his yard, boondocking, and state parks for three months until I retired and hit the road. Towns and neighborhoods have different rules about staying in an RV, so check to be sure you can do as planned.
That's perfect. I'd like to do just that; live in my driveway and get the RV ready for when the house sells. The three months you were boondocking and staying in state parks, did you stay near to where your house was? How did you decide where to go that first day after you retired? It's a strange concept for me, this being totally free to come and go when and where you please. I can't wait! I have read about different areas having different rules for full time folks, but I have to do a little more study in that area.
Thanks for your insight.
Mimi
How long did it take for you to move into the full time mindset? Did you do anything special to get yourself there?
Mimi
Well when I started out the goal seemed to be to see everything, eat out, generally behave like I was on a week vacation and had to pack everything in. This was expensive and a bit stressful. I got out of cities and did more Parks and boondocking and just generally relaxed. Eventually finding laundry, propane, or an oil change replaced concerts and dining. I still do and can do those things as a vacationeer, but it's seldom. I find I like sitting in a local diner in a small town reading their weekly paper. Being a solo I don't have any pressure to see or do stuff, so I take it easy, see what I want to and relax.
For example I visited the McDonald Observatory in Texas for a star party. I stayed in a State Park down the mountain. I had time to study and learn about what I was going to be looking at beforehand. This was one of the best things I've done and if I had been in vacation mode, I would have simply checked it off a list.
In Tucson I stayed a month to learn the area, visit the Air Museum and the Desert Museum and the Missile Silo and other sights, but staying a month allowed me to feel more a part of the place.
Now I tend to spend longer time when I get somewhere. What's the rush? I have no schedule. I only have a vague notion of what day it is generally.
Travel around the US for a year. Not usually staying more than a week and mostly public campgrounds. After hanging around near home, the Pacific NW last summer we have moved to the southwest, and are slowing down and staying for a month at a couple RV parks.
Well when I started out the goal seemed to be to see everything, eat out, generally behave like I was on a week vacation and had to pack everything in. This was expensive and a bit stressful. I got out of cities and did more Parks and boondocking and just generally relaxed. Eventually finding laundry, propane, or an oil change replaced concerts and dining. I still do and can do those things as a vacationeer, but it's seldom. I find I like sitting in a local diner in a small town reading their weekly paper. Being a solo I don't have any pressure to see or do stuff, so I take it easy, see what I want to and relax.
For example I visited the McDonald Observatory in Texas for a star party. I stayed in a State Park down the mountain. I had time to study and learn about what I was going to be looking at beforehand. This was one of the best things I've done and if I had been in vacation mode, I would have simply checked it off a list.
In Tucson I stayed a month to learn the area, visit the Air Museum and the Desert Museum and the Missile Silo and other sights, but staying a month allowed me to feel more a part of the place.
Now I tend to spend longer time when I get somewhere. What's the rush? I have no schedule. I only have a vague notion of what day it is generally.
What a lovely description of a perfect life; sitting in a local diner, relaxing and reading the local rag as if you've been there all your life. I can understand how being solo made it more enjoyable to experience that. At the same time, I can also see myself driving all over the place trying to experience everything as quickly as possible, yes, like I was on a two week vacation. Thank you for bringing that to my attention. I'll have to shut that part of my brain down. Do you travel the country or do you have a favorite route you take? How often do you boondock on BLM land or National Parks?
The McDonald Observatory star party? There is another example of a wonderful event that I would never experience if I stayed here, nailed down to this house. How lucky you are to have known about it and been able to attend the event. Staying there for a while made that possible. This is one of the reasons I decided to full time. I don't think I could build memories speeding from one place to the next. I hope I can achieve date vagueness.:-)
Mimi
Travel around the US for a year. Not usually staying more than a week and mostly public campgrounds. After hanging around near home, the Pacific NW last summer we have moved to the southwest, and are slowing down and staying for a month at a couple RV parks.
Are public campgrounds the National Parks? When you traveled around the US, how did you pick where you were going to stay? I'm a little overwhelmed I think by all the choices of places to see and stay. I don't want to miss a nice place because I went off in the wrong direction. How do you decide where you're going to go?
Thanks...
Mimi
"Are public campgrounds the National Parks?"
----
"Public campgrounds" may be found in town, county, district or regional parks, in state parks, in national and state forests, in national parks and monuments, in Corps of Engineers parks, on BLM lands, in campgrounds managed by a "public" entity, e.g., PG&E in northern CA, in county or area fairgrounds, in wildlife refuges, and more......
Attractions, facilities, amenities, and costs of public campgrounds vary widely, ranging from free, open, no designated sites (and few, if any, amenities) to pricey, crowded, jammed-together sites that may offer at least partial hookups.
Private "campgrounds" are usually RV parks; facilities, amenities, and costs vary within this group, too, but these places are owned by individuals or corporations/entities.
Additional overnight locations may be a Walmart or other parking lot (where permitted), a casino lot, a truck stop, a rest area, a business that offers campsites for a one or two-night stay, e.g., Harvest Hosts members, "driveway" or property stays, e.g., Escapees "Day's End", "Sno-parks", occasionally a hospital or church parking lot, and/or other "lot squat" places; these are not campgrounds, just convenient (maybe!) overnight "in late, out early" locations, usually when one is en route to somewhere else.
Many towns and cities have very strictly-enforced regulations against RV overnight street parking; prohibitions have definitely increased in recent years, and a 2 a.m. "roust" is not uncommon. Know the local rules and protocols.
HTH.
Joan
If you are age 62 or older, you may want to get your Senior Pass NOW! The Congress has just passed an increase in the price and, once the President signs it, the price increase will be immediate. It's going from $10 lifetime to $80 lifetime, or you can buy an annual Senior Pass for $20.
"If you are age 62 or older, you may want to get your Senior Pass NOW!"
---
And, if you already have a Senior Pass, don't lose it! (It's a good idea for each eligible person in your "travel family" to get his/her own Senior Pass.)
All the "passes" info is here:
America the Beautiful Passes (U.S. National Park Service) (https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm)
Joan
"Are public campgrounds the National Parks?"
----
"Public campgrounds" may be found in town, county, district or regional parks, in state parks, in national and state forests, in national parks and monuments, in Corps of Engineers parks, on BLM lands, in campgrounds managed by a "public" entity, e.g., PG&E in northern CA, in county or area fairgrounds, in wildlife refuges, and more......
HTH.
Joan
Wow Joan! Thank you for all that great information! I've been reading this forum, IRV2, Andy's blog and many other Internet sites, but I can see now that I never really understood all that. I don't want to stay on a street in a town somewhere where I might have to try to hide from folks. I guess if I get caught and it's late, I can see having to park in a town, but I plan to do everything I can to avoid that. My dog awakens me at 3 am to go to the bathroom. I don't want another surprise in the wee hours of the morning! I was planning to find boondocking locations, or maybe some places with at least electrical hookups and then driving my toad into the local town to explore. That brings me to my next question. With all those choices of places to park and/or stay, is there anywhere on the Internet where these locations are reviewed? If I can avoid pulling into a place with a reputation I'm unaware of, I'd like to do that! My dog can be pretty fierce, but I'd rather avoid the whole thing to begin with.
I can't thank you enough for all that great information! I've copied it to my mobile boondocking folder for future reference!
Mimi
"If you are age 62 or older, you may want to get your Senior Pass NOW!"
---
And, if you already have a Senior Pass, don't lose it! (It's a good idea for each eligible person in your "travel family" to get his/her own Senior Pass.)
All the "passes" info is here:
America the Beautiful Passes (U.S. National Park Service) (https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm)
lic par
Joan
Thank you! I forgot about that! I remember reading about that somewhere. I'm not quite there yet, but it's the first thing I'll do when I get there!
<edit>It looks like I can use the America the Beautiful pass in the meantime. The NPS site is a great resource. Thank you!
Mimi
To answer your question about reviews etc.. there are a ton of places where campgrounds are reviewed (even on Yelp). Personally I use the ALLSTAYS app to find my next place to stay. I'm not saying that its the best, its just the one that I use the most. It will give you all kids of information about places to stay, including amenities, reviews, when they are open, their websites (if they have) etc... good luck on your adventures. :)
Thanks Rebecca. I'll check out Allstays. I didn't know they were on Yelp. I did a search and there are a lot of sites with reviews.
Is there an issue with staying in places in an older LD? I read some places won't let you stay if your rig is over 10 years old.
Mimi
Mimi, here is another resource for your perusing pleasure, Bob Wells' Cheap RV Living site and You Tube channel. Very entertaining and informative if you are interested in boondocking:
Cheap RV Living.com-Home (http://www.cheaprvliving.com/)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFr5LUX8Fts
Is there an issue with staying in places in an older LD? I read some places won't let you stay if your rig is over 10 years old
Some high-end RV Resorts have such rules.
The nice thing about an LD, with the heritage paint job, ishtar it is tough to figure our how old it is.
Keep the paint in good shape and you can 'sneak' in.
Our LD is 14 years old and I have, on occasion, fudged the model year when checking in at parks where I'm concerned they have an age limit.
If your rig looks old and shabby, expect issues with this..
Larry
Larry
If you are age 62 or older, you may want to get your Senior Pass NOW! The Congress has just passed an increase in the price and, once the President signs it, the price increase will be immediate. It's going from $10 lifetime to $80 lifetime, or you can buy an annual Senior Pass for $20.
Thanks. I never thought I'd wish to be a little older! lol
Is there an issue with staying in places in an older LD? I read some places won't let you stay if your rig is over 10 years old
Some high-end RV Resorts have such rules.
The nice thing about an LD, with the heritage paint job, ishtar it is tough to figure our how old it is.
Keep the paint in good shape and you can 'sneak' in.
Our LD is 14 years old and I have, on occasion, fudged the model year when checking in at parks where I'm concerned they have an age limit.
If your rig looks old and shabby, expect issues with this..
Larry
Very short "starter list":
US AND CANADA CAMPGROUNDS - FORMAL AND DISPERSED PUBLIC CAMPING LOCATIONS - Home (http://www.ultimatecampgrounds.com/)
Allstays Camp and RV | RV Parks Campgrounds App (http://www.allstays.com/apps/camprv.htm)
Oh, Ranger! ParkFinder Mobile App | Oh, Ranger! (http://www.ohranger.com/app/parkfinder)
RV Park Reviews - Trusted Reviews of Campgrounds & RV Parks (http://www.rvparkreviews.com/)
Campsite Photos, Camping Pictures, and Campground Reviews - campsitephotos.com (http://www.campsitephotos.com/)
Individual national forest websites; also try www.forestcamping.com
Individual state's park system websites
https://www.blm.gov/locations BLM state websites; search each state of interest for camping/recreation.
Mimi, here is another resource for your perusing pleasure, Bob Wells' Cheap RV Living site and You Tube channel. Very entertaining and informative if you are interested in boondocking:
Yes! I've been watching his videos along with others! He's very informative, a lot of fun and a great resource for a newbie like me! RV Sue and her Canine Crew is a wonderful blog filled with great information and park reviews, which is really important to me. I've been watching a lot of Kirsten Dirksen's videos and Living Big in a Tiny House. I love watching Nelson Tiny Houses too. I really love the idea of living in a small space, off the grid, without a mortgage. That's my dream. Bob and the others and everyone in here and IRV2 have been an inspiration to me. I can't thank everyone enough for sharing such great information!
Some high-end RV Resorts have such rules.
The nice thing about an LD, with the heritage paint job, ishtar it is tough to figure our how old it is.
Keep the paint in good shape and you can 'sneak' in.
Our LD is 14 years old and I have, on occasion, fudged the model year when checking in at parks where I'm concerned they have an age limit.
If your rig looks old and shabby, expect issues with this..
Larry
Larry
I don't plan to stay in RV Resorts because I want to be in nature as much as I can but, that said, I will want to be in a campground off and on so, I am a little concerned about that. Once I find my LD, if the paint isn't great, I'd planned to have it painted/restored at the factory because I want it to look shiny and new. I don't know if the factory does that or not but, if not, there must be someone out there who can do it.
Thanks Larry,
Mimi
Very short "starter list":
Wow! I'd found the BLM site, but not the others. This is a tremendous list. I can't imagine needing anything else along with the NPS site. Does the rvparkreviews.com website offer pretty accurate reviews? I guess in combination with Yelp and some of the others, I can get a good idea of good places to camp.
Thank you!
Mimi
One more good resource for finding campgrounds or boondocking sites is Campendium.
RV Parks, Caravan Parks and unique RV Camping locations - Campendium (https://www.campendium.com/)
Found this longer post that disappeared on me last night in "Drafts"
We bought our LD in February 2014. We had been looking for something larger than our 19 foot weekend warrior with the idea of full timing for a few years. And looking at LD's on the yahoo forum to get an idea of price and looking at adds for 9 months or so.
We moved into the LD where it was stored in a neighbors driveway a few days before we put our house on the market for the final clean out. After that we only used the house to shower. We lived in the driveway for less than a month total I think, and could have left Seattle before the house sale closed, but it happened pretty fast and we were still tying up loose ends....
We then travelled around the US for most of a year. South to Reno, through the the Rockies to the visit relatives in the Midwest. More Midwest (enjoyed the UP in Michigan, and for that matter south of the mackinaw bridge too). All the way to the coast of Main and down to Florida. We generally did not stay anywhere for over a week-except at relatives 11 days twice, and 3 weeks once. There were a few places we stayed longer. 16 days at Sands of time-outer banks NC, plus short stays at a couple other places. We only stayed at free informal places a very few times. I can only remember three wayside or near highway free campsites and one trailhead with 4 free campsites. We did not look for this type of camping and I doubt it is as easy to find in the eastern states.
We made our way back to the Pacific Northwest for the last part of March. We moved around Washington and Oregon until about the start of October, and headed south. Our plan is to stay in the southwest for winter and try longer stays at a couple places, and eventually move northward.
We stayed a whole month for the first time late October to November in Huricane, Utah. After a few stops along the way we are now at our second month or more stay near Tucson.
We have not generally stayed in as many private as publicly owned RV parks/camp grounds. There are pros and cons to either. Private RV parks tend to not give you a very big space, but are about half the per night price if you stay at least a month. We also like the communities that exist for the winter months with many folks returning to the same RV park for many months each winter for years. I haven't slowed down that much yet, but moving in that direction.
Joan gave a good description of "public campgrounds". We stayed in those more often than privately owned ones. We did occasionally use Passport America to get half price, or just stay at privately owned places because they were handy.
Our agenda was to visit midwest relatives, Niagara Falls, eat Lobster in Maine, Outer Banks in North Carlolina, maybe one or two other spots. We figured we would head south as winter approaches. We had to spend quite a bit of time planning usually a couple locations down the road from where we were. We occasionally made reservations at campgrounds (Labor Day weekend), and sometimes just looked at the campground's reservation system to get an idea how busy they would be. We avoided traveling on Friday and Saturday. In late November we made reservations for the whole month of December because it is very busy especially on weekends that time of year.
We eventually got the Ultimate CG app after months of travel. We later got the Allstays app which has private as well as public campgrounds and places to get propane and gas etc. I think the Allstays has most of the same places as the Ultimate CG plus much more, though it costs more too.
"Once I find my LD, if the paint isn't great, I'd planned to have it painted/restored at the factory because I want it to look shiny and new."
---
"Shiny" is nice, but be aware that a factory paint job is several thousand dollars. Depending on the "wart count" of what you find to buy, a paint job may not be the first priority!
IMO, "guts" are a LOT more important than "feathers"; you might want to look for the latest year, best overall condition LD that you can find and afford, and be prepared to spend additional cash on repairs and replacements to ensure that the rig is in good, safe mechanical condition before starting on the adventure. According to your stated plans, the rig will be your home , not just a vacation rig; choose carefully. :)
Joan
One more good resource for finding campgrounds or boondocking sites is Campendium.
RV Parks, Caravan Parks and unique RV Camping locations - Campendium (https://www.campendium.com/)
Wow, that's a great site and with reviews too! Thank you so much:-)
Mimi
Found this longer post that disappeared on me last night in "Drafts"
We moved into the LD where it was stored in a neighbors driveway a few days before we put our house on the market for the final clean out. After that we only used the house to shower. We lived in the driveway for less than a month total I think, and could have left Seattle before the house sale closed, but it happened pretty fast and we were still tying up loose ends....
We then travelled around the US for most of a year. South to Reno, through the the Rockies to the visit relatives in the Midwest. More Midwest (enjoyed the UP in Michigan, and for that matter south of the mackinaw bridge too). All the way to the coast of Main and down to Florida.
What a great way to set out! It must have been exciting to be able to visit family while being at home! Did you go to places like Reno and Michigan to see anything in particular or were they on your way to see family? I'm wondering how folks decide where to go because there are so many great places to see!
Thank you..
Mimi
"Once I find my LD, if the paint isn't great, I'd planned to have it painted/restored at the factory because I want it to look shiny and new."
---
"Shiny" is nice, but be aware that a factory paint job is several thousand dollars. Depending on the "wart count" of what you find to buy, a paint job may not be the first priority!
IMO, "guts" are a LOT more important than "feathers"; you might want to look for the latest year, best overall condition LD that you can find and afford, and be prepared to spend additional cash on repairs and replacements to ensure that the rig is in good, safe mechanical condition before starting on the adventure. According to your stated plans, the rig will be your home , not just a vacation rig; choose carefully. :)
Joan
Oh, I agree 100% Joan. If the mechanics aren't good, the paint doesn't matter. I was just thinking that, if I buy an older LD and the engine and everything are good, I should get it painted somewhere, so that age may not be a problem for me when I want to stay in a campground or National Park. It's the only way I can think of that might mitigate issues with staying in National Parks or campgrounds.
I anticipate having to spend money on the rig I buy because I'm looking at older ones. I worry most about the engine and leaks. Any seller can paint over stains from a leak. What can you do? I may not be able to find anyone to look at it before I buy it, so I'm going to set aside money for repairs. No matter how I look at it though, it's still pretty cheap for a house. :-)
Thanks.
Mimi
Our agenda was to visit midwest relatives, Niagara Falls, eat Lobster in Maine, Outer Banks in North Carlolina, maybe one or two other spots. We figured we would head south as winter approaches. We had to spend quite a bit of time planning usually a couple locations down the road from where we were. We occasionally made reservations at campgrounds (Labor Day weekend), and sometimes just looked at the campground's reservation system to get an idea how busy they would be. We avoided traveling on Friday and Saturday. In late November we made reservations for the whole month of December because it is very busy especially on weekends that time of year.
We eventually got the Ultimate CG app after months of travel. We later got the Allstays app which has private as well as public campgrounds and places to get propane and gas etc. I think the Allstays has most of the same places as the Ultimate CG plus much more, though it costs more too.
I didn't think about avoiding travel on Fridays and Saturdays. That's smart. Thanks for the reminder. Major holidays I hope to be in SoCal with my son or with my friends in Prescott. I guess I should arrive early!:-) How can you see the campground system to know how busy campgrounds are? Is that the Allstays app or CG Plus (don't know what that is)?
It sounds like you explore to see what you will see and move on. That's kind of what I think I'll probably end up doing. I just have to pay attention to the weather, roads, facilities and traffic.
Thanks.
Mimi
I should get it painted somewhere, so that age may not be a problem for me when I want to stay in a campground or National Park. It's the only way I can think of that might mitigate issues with staying in National Parks or campgrounds.
Age is not a problem, as far as I know, in any public campground, and only is an issue in some "resort"-type private campgrounds that cater mainly to big Class-A rigs. This should be the least of your worries in looking for a rig. --Jon
Thanks.
Mimi
[/quote]
I should get it painted somewhere, so that age may not be a problem for me when I want to stay in a campground or National Park. It's the only way I can think of that might mitigate issues with staying in National Parks or campgrounds.
Age is not a problem, as far as I know, in any public campground, and only is an issue in some "resort"-type private campgrounds that cater mainly to big Class-A rigs. This should be the least of your worries in looking for a rig. --Jon
Thanks.
Mimi
Oh gee thank you! That is a big relief! I was so worried about not being able to find a place for the night because I was in an older rig. whew...thanks.
Mimi
Now that you've been on the road awhile, where do you "camp" or park most of the time? In the summer, do you find your way north and vice versa in the winter?
During the winter I head south; for the past couple of years that has meant New Mexico and Arizona. In NM mostly state parks with their Annual Camping Pass, and in AZ mostly boondocking. During the summers I normally travel in the mountains or up north; so far, it's been different places each year (see my blog). When traveling I usually boondock, or stay at Forest Service camps, sometimes Corps of Engineers.
The three months you were boondocking and staying in state parks, did you stay near to where your house was? How did you decide where to go that first day after you retired?
My friend's place was in the same city as my house and where I worked. On my days off, I would camp elsewhere no more than 50 miles away. I had plenty of time to plan my route when retirement day arrived. On my last day of work, I drove out of the parking lot and hit the road. First objective was to visit friends and family in the state, and then those out of state combined with seeing things along the way that interested me. That took several months, and then I was free to roam.
During the winter I head south; for the past couple of years that has meant New Mexico and Arizona. In NM mostly state parks with their Annual Camping Pass, and in AZ mostly boondocking. During the summers I normally travel in the mountains or up north; so far, it's been different places each year (see my blog). When traveling I usually boondock, or stay at Forest Service camps, sometimes Corps of Engineers.
Love your blog! I subscribed. I'll have to explore your travel guide and all the rest of the information you have packed in there. It's a great resource. Outstanding blog!
Mimi
This is a tremendous list. ... I guess in combination with Yelp and some of the others, I can get a good idea of good places to camp.
Don't forget our own LDer Ted's "The Ultimate US Public Campgrounds Project" which I use extensively. It covers just about every public campsite available. Ultimate Campgrounds Project (http://ultimatecampgrounds.com)
Also, there is the "Free Campsites" site. Free Camps (https://freecampsites.net)
Many other resources are available if you search. And, don't forget that many personal blogs talk about the places they camp. You'll learn more as you begin actually traveling and camping; keep notes. Don't worry about it too much in the beginning. Your own preferences will develop as you go, and will likely change as you gain experience. Have fun!
PS: Thanks for the comment about my blog Mimi. Glad you are following the journey.
My friend's place was in the same city as my house and where I worked. On my days off, I would camp elsewhere no more than 50 miles away. I had plenty of time to plan my route when retirement day arrived. On my last day of work, I drove out of the parking lot and hit the road. First objective was to visit friends and family in the state, and then those out of state combined with seeing things along the way that interested me. That took several months, and then I was free to roam.
Wow...you made it such a smooth transition. I can see that you planned your retirement day well in advance. I think your blog is going to be a welcome resource for me. Thank you for putting all that great information out there for the rest of us.
Mimi
Don't forget our own LDer Ted's "The Ultimate US Public Campgrounds Project" which I use extensively. It covers just about every public campsite available. Froxlor Server Management Panel (http://ultimate) campgrounds.com
Also, there is the "Free Campsites" site. Free Camping Near You | Go Camping for Free! (https://freecampsites.net)
Many other resources are available if you search. And, don't forget that many personal blogs talk about the places they camp. You'll learn more as you begin actually traveling and camping; keep notes. Don't worry about it too much in the beginning. Your own preferences will develop as you go, and will likely change as you gain experience. Have fun!
PS: Thanks for the comment about my blog Mimi. Glad you are following the journey.
I must be doing something wrong. On campgrounds.com, if I click on "find a campground" I get html code. Also, Froxlor Server Management Panel looks like a directory. Could the sites be down? I'd love to see them. I have been reading blogs for a few months and have found quite a lot of very helpful information in the process. One of the things that inspired me to do this was that, everyone seemed so happy and respectful of each others path. I wanted to experience that. Blogs are filled with happy trips and new discoveries. I can't read enough! Oh my gosh, your blog is wonderful! It's an entire history of travels. I really enjoy being able to read about the places you've been. It's really so helpful. Thank you for all that work.
Mimi
Don't forget our own LDer Ted's "The Ultimate US Public Campgrounds Project" which I use extensively. It covers just about every public campsite available. Ultimate Campgrounds Project (http://ultimatecampgrounds.com)
Also, there is the "Free Campsites" site. Free Camps (https://freecampsites.net)
Many other resources are available if you search. And, don't forget that many personal blogs talk about the places they camp. You'll learn more as you begin actually traveling and camping; keep notes. Don't worry about it too much in the beginning. Your own preferences will develop as you go, and will likely change as you gain experience. Have fun!
PS: Thanks for the comment about my blog Mimi. Glad you are following the journey.
I just checked the Ultimate Campgrounds site. That is tremendous! All the details for every campground featured are there. I'll be using that a lot! Thank you for sharing that.
There are a lot of personal blogs that intersperse campground information and/or have separate entries about campgrounds they have frequented. Two that I know of (one is a personal friend and both have big rigs) are:
We Called it Home
We Called It Home (http://wecallithome.blogspot.com)
and
RV Park Ratings – Wheeling It (http://wheelingit.us/category/rv-park-ratings/)
and their boondocking information is here:
Boondocking – Wheeling It (http://wheelingit.us/category/boondocking-2/)
The first couple is off the road now, but the second couple is very much still producing current information.
They also have a lot of information about traveling with pets.
Pet Corner – Wheeling It (http://wheelingit.us/category/pet-corner/)
Both of these blogs are very well written and photographed and have a TON of valuable information therein.
Highly recommended.
Virtual hugs,
Judie
There are a lot of personal blogs that intersperse campground information and/or have separate entries about campgrounds they have frequented. Two that I know of (one is a personal friend and both have big rigs) are:
We Called it Home
We Called It Home (http://wecallithome.blogspot.com)
and
RV Park Ratings – Wheeling It (http://wheelingit.us/category/rv-park-ratings/)
and their boondocking information is here:
Boondocking – Wheeling It (http://wheelingit.us/category/boondocking-2/)
The first couple is off the road now, but the second couple is very much still producing current information.
They also have a lot of information about traveling with pets.
Pet Corner – Wheeling It (http://wheelingit.us/category/pet-corner/)
Both of these blogs are very well written and photographed and have a TON of valuable information therein.
Highly recommended.
Virtual hugs,
Judie
Thank you Judie! Those are wonderful sites! I love the pictures and details about where they've stayed on both sites. I've seen Wheeling it before, but I didn't realize there was so much great pet info there! My dog is my best friend and so we'll be hitting the road together. Reading about places for us to explore together is a tremendous help to me. So much to learn and I'm enjoying every minute of it! I appreciate this information!
Thank you.
Mimi
Shiny" is nice, but be aware that a factory paint job is several thousand dollars. Depending on the "wart count" of what you find to buy, a paint job may not be the first priority!
A Factory paint job is a $10,000+ project.
Once again, if you want a new looking rig, you will be spending a lot of money.
If looks are important, buying a newer rig is the better choice since the whole rig is newer.
Larry
In addition to all the other resources people have mentioned for finding places to stay, if you belong to the Escapees RV Club, Escapees RV Club | Home (http://www.escapees.com), for a nominal fee ($15), you can download the Day's End Directory, a user-supplied list of mostly places to boondock. It also includes information on places to dump and take on fresh water, as well as a "Good Guys" section of service providers people have used.
Day's End, boondocking, camping, overnight parking (http://www.daysenddirectory.com/)
"Once I find my LD, if the paint isn't great, I'd planned to have it painted/restored at the factory because I want it to look shiny and new."
They do an excellent job; I had mine repainted a couple of years ago. Cost for repainting just the colored portions (not the white areas) was about $7,500.
A Factory paint job is a $10,000+ project.
Once again, if you want a new looking rig, you will be spending a lot of money.
If looks are important, buying a newer rig is the better choice since the whole rig is newer.
Larry
Wow...no, I had no idea it would be that much. Maybe a touch-up would be cheaper? I was only thinking of mitigating issues with staying in campgrounds in an older rig but, Jon & Loni pointed out that, that's probably only germane when staying in high end private campgrounds that cater more to big Class A's. Given that, I'll forgo the paint job and just try to find a rig that looks as good at possible, cosmetically.
Thanks Larry!
Mimi
"Once I find my LD, if the paint isn't great, I'd planned to have it painted/restored at the factory because I want it to look shiny and new."
They do an excellent job; I had mine repainted a couple if years ago. Cost for repainting just the colored portions (not the white areas) was about $7,500.
Oh, that's not bad! After thinking about it, I thought maybe a touch-up would work, like what you did. I just want my future older LD to look as good as possible on the outside because that makes me feel better! I know I probably wouldn't get my investment back, but I wouldn't be doing it for that reason.
Thanks Andy...
Mimi
In addition to all the other resources people have mentioned for finding places to stay, if you belong to the Escapees RV Club, Escapees RV Club | Home (http://www.escapees.com), for a nominal fee ($15), you can download the Day's End Directory, a user-supplied list of mostly places to boondock. It also includes information on places to dump and take on fresh water, as well as a "Good Guys" section of service providers people have used.
Day's End, boondocking, camping, overnight parking (http://www.daysenddirectory.com/)
Hey, that sounds like a tremendous resource. I do want to boondock a lot, maybe almost all the time, so knowing where to go and how to find amenities has been a concern. Pleinguy's blog, pleinairjourney.com (http://www.pleinairjourney.com), Andy's blog Travels with Andy (http://www.andybaird.com/travels/index.html), RV Sue, Bob Wells Cheap RV Living, IRV2 and Wheeling it and so many others have great information, and now I'll add Escapees! The folks over there boondock all the time! Thank you for the link to the directory. As soon as I get my rig I'll use that to set a course. Thank you Linda!
Mimi
"I thought maybe a touch-up would work, like what you did."
What they did was not what I'd call a "touch-up." They masked and completely repainted all the colored portions of the rig (approximately 50% of the surface area). It took nearly three weeks, during which time I had to stay in a B&B in Pasadena. (That added another thousand or so to the overall cost.)
Compared to other US-based RV repainting companies, $7,500 was on the low end of the price spectrum--I got estimates from several places that quoted $20,000 and up--but what the factory did was far from a minor touch-up job. The results of Lazy Daze's repaint job were gorgeous--absolutely as good as new--but I agree with those who say that if your budget is limited, you'd be better off putting that $7,500 toward a more recent coach in better mechanical shape than spending it on a repaint job.
That was far more of a paint job than I realized! The expense of having to pay for a place to stay was something I hadn't thought about and that certainly might be a deterrent for me. I was mainly concerned about being denied access to campsites because of the age of my rig. Since that seems to be an issue isolated to high-end private rv campgrounds and not national parks, blm, etc. I'm not so concerned about painting the rig any longer, otherwise, I would definitely put that money to better use ie. newer rig.
Thank you for the clarification...
Mimi