I am looking for your opinions on using a seasonal site vs. traveling around to different campgrounds this spring and summer. What works for you? And why?
For the first time we are considering putting our camper on a seasonal site. I have researched and visited about 10 different locations and have found only a couple that would meet my requirements. It seems like most of them look just like RV parking lots with full hookups…..why do people find that attractive? It sure isn’t camping….but I respect them if that is what they want to do.
The last few years we have put many thousands of great miles on the camper traveling the west coast….loved it. This year, due to finances, I don’t anticipate any 6,000 mile cross country adventures. The thought was that we would put the camper in a seasonal site and just use that as our weekend “cabin”. I’ve found a nice spot near the local lake……close to 2 lakes for fishing, price is right ($1,000 for a year! + electric), just a 2 hour drive from home, and appears to be well managed.
My question is this…..
For those of you that have done a seasonal site in the past, did you enjoy it? Did you end up bored with just going to the same place every time? Typically these places are a little more close quarters than typical campgrounds…did the close proximity of your neighbors bother you? What features and related pitfalls should a person look out for when choosing a seasonal site….and signing a one year lease?
Please share with me your experiences and advice. These trailer have wheels for a reason….I hope that we don’t make a mistake by hobbling those wheels…..
We do both and really enjoy it. Since I would need to store our MH when at home, we have a seasonal campsite in up-state NY that serves as our storage base and we travel from there.
This is our 4th year with a seasonal and we get to use our MH a lot more. We travel from there an average of 4-5 days every 5 weeks or so and it's really convenient for the times that we are not traveling but want a place 'to camp'.
We have an 8'x 24' platform that I back up adjacent to and we're 'home'. At our site I keep a small storage bin for extra camp chairs and 'stuff' as well as a grill and we have local firewood delivered 2 cords at a time. It almost like having a cottage but without the usual maintenance.
We've made a lot of friends there and we get together just about every week over campfires, bbq's and hikes etc...
Eric
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At this point in my life a seasonal site would not be something I'd enjoy. When I go RVing it's as much for the trip and the great things I see along the way, as it is being at the destination (if there is one). Yes I have a couple of regular campgrounds in my area where I often camp with friends and family but these are for the companionship more than the camping.
When on the road, I rarely make reservations or know where I'll be spending the next night. For this reason I have on occasion ended up at a park that caters to seasonal campers and didn't find it enjoyable. It may just be the ones I happened into but lots of junk in yards, decks made from skid tops and tarps over roofs or makeshift shelters over RVs just seemed a far cry from RVing as I know it. Not meaning to put down anyone who enjoys these kind of places but they're just not for me and I'm sure they're not ALL like that either.
Good luck with what EVER style suits you best / Skip
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As fulltimers, we can pick and choose. For four months of the year, we choose a seasonable site in Wyoming that has everything we both look forward to. Actually, if Wyoming had a more bearable weather, we'd spend more time there. The rest of the year we travel in a predictable route in southern CA and AZ. We do not like cold weather at all.
We rent our seasonable site in WY so we can walk away from it anytime we choose. Perhaps you can find available rental sites in the area you like from an owner who doesn't have a need for their site in a particular year or time??? That way you can try before you commit to a long term contract.
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personally, i would NEVER buy a seasonal site for a RV.
RV's have wheels for a reason, to MOVE.
i find the idea of going to the same place every time to camp, to be incredibly boring.
if i wanted that type of experience, i'd rent a cabin or get a small park model.
RV'ing is about the freedom of the road and seeing all the beautiful spots in the country. experiencing new places, sites, people is what attracted me to it.
being able to move my "cottage on wheels" to almost anywhere i'd like to take it, is what i love most.
i can have a "cottage" overlooking the ocean and then drive a few hours and have a "cottage" in the midst of a redwood forest.
Dan- Firefighter, Shawn- Musician/Entrepreneur, Zoe- Faithful Golden Retriever, 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche LS, 2007 Rockwood Roo 23SS w/Equalizer and Prodigy, and 5 Mtn. bikes and 2 Road bikes
This is definitely something of a personal preference. If I fulltimed, I would like a site that can be used as "home base", perhaps with an outbuilding or two for storage, so winter-related stuff can be moved out of the RV and into a secure location come spring, and the summer stuff be stashed come September.
We use a couple of seasonal sites as our bases and make expeditions from them. We really aren't interested in making jaunts of thousands of miles at a time but we'll probably select different seasonal sites as time passes.
Our winter seasonal site is monthly rental, no lease, and we stay for three months or so; the summer seasonal site is yearly lease and it's so inexpensive that it's no big deal those few months we're gone.
Before signing a lease or spending money on something you can't carry with you, a deck for example, do everything you can to check out the financial stability of the CG. If it goes under or dramatically changes you may still be on the hook for the lease.
If you like seeing the same scenery and meeting up with the same people every year, it's fine. We had a winter site for about eight years in AZ. But it's not my kind of 'camping'. Cheaper than traveling but not as much fun, IMHO.
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bikendan wrote: personally, i would NEVER buy a seasonal site for a RV. RV's have wheels for a reason, to MOVE.
i find the idea of going to the same place every time to camp, to be incredibly boring.
if i wanted that type of experience, i'd rent a cabin or get a small park model.
RV'ing is about the freedom of the road and seeing all the beautiful spots in the country. experiencing new places, sites, people is what attracted me to it.
being able to move my "cottage on wheels" to almost anywhere i'd like to take it, is what i love most.
i can have a "cottage" overlooking the ocean and then drive a few hours and have a "cottage" in the midst of a redwood forest.
This used to be my mentality, but with age, I've learned to never say never Right now, a seasonal is not in our immediate future, but I can forsee certain reason where it may become a necessity, the RV on a seasonal site gives you the option of still taking a trip if circumstances allow.
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We camp all over on long weekends in season,and do camp a lot at a COE a the lake,I like the variety of going to all my favorite campgrounds....beside,I can bet you...If I got a permanant site my neighbor would be for sure,a "rap" music fan,with 2 barking dogs,3 yelling kids, that party until 2am....! JMO
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, Shawn- Musician/Entrepreneur
, Zoe- Faithful Golden Retriever
, 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche LS, 2007 Rockwood Roo 23SS w/Equalizer and Prodigy, and 5 Mtn. bikes and 2 Road bikes
Right now, a seasonal is not in our immediate future, but I can forsee certain reason where it may become a necessity, the RV on a seasonal site gives you the option of still taking a trip if circumstances allow.
