Ohio & Northern States Year Round For Older RVs List

[systemcat]

This bothers me a lot and I started to bring up the subject earlier after first rejection. Now I've talked to more than one RV park in Ohio which has rejected my Georgie staying more than a few days based solely on it's age.

Explanations from the parks are:

We don't allow campers made prior to 1990 on our grounds because they aren't insulated unless they are Airstream RVs.

Anything older than 25 years we really don't want on our property because of the high chance of break down.

Older RVs aren't meant for winter weather and we don't like complaints their owners give us about electric bills.

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Yes, I own an RV which is older than I am but it's at almost the point where it can be driven around and should be ready before the year's end. Only campgrounds I've talked to in North & South Carolina have been friendly to me about my Cruise Master. But for pete's sake I live in Ohio!

Could people please list which northern states campgrounds don't discriminant against older RVs like mine?

[FLMikeG]

Try government-run parks - no age discrimination.

State parks, state forests, national forests, national parks, county parks, etc.

I have a 1983 TT and a 2000 TV - never had any problems. In fact, I've gotten quite a few compliments on my rig. I would never stay in any of those snooty parks that discriminate.

Having said that, I have heard it said many times, that if you have a nice-looking rig, you can send them a photo via email or SMS, and sometimes they will make an exception. They are mainly trying to keep out ugly-looking hillbilly rigs and rigs that might break down on the property. If your's looks nice and is in good working condition, they might waive the age limit.

[SeilerBird]

Parks that reject you are not doing it to be snooty. It is a problem with people with old RVs moving into a park and paying their first month's rent then never paying again. All the laws favor the renter so kicking them out takes three to six months, meanwhile they are living for free.

[systemcat]

FLMikeG: That's good advice, thanks! That would also explain one of the NC RV Parks being friendly since it was connected to the state.

As for it's outside I plan to repaint it later and redo it's decals ( No, the snooty parks haven't seen my rig yet. ). Shame, I don't think interior details count, that's had more work than anything outside vehicle repair over the last few months. I'm at the point where I'm considering a second YouTube video showing progress. :-/

SeilerBird: *Sigh* I can picture what you're saying and it's a good thing I'm honest about making payments. ... I called the early days restoring the Georgie "hillbilly archaeology" and it wouldn't shock me if the previous owner did stunts like that.

[ChasA]

Sorry, but I don't want something that is "ALMOST DRIVABLE " parked next to me.

[systemcat]

ChasA: I know for a fact one tire needs replacing and a spare should be purchased. Also I refuse to drive it under basic insurance. I want it fully covered before I head on to the road.

[JudyJB]

Just a warning about state parks open all winter in Ohio and other northern states.  Make sure you ask about hookups really being available when you make reservations.  Often, even a full-hookup site will have had the water and sewer shut down during the fall, winter, and even spring.  They do this to prevent freezing.  I have often been in such parks and found that they had only one water point accessible, so you had to fill your tanks and work from those.  Ditto for closing all but one, and possibly even closing all, dump stations. 

This is a minor inconvenience most of the time because I travel alone and do not have to dump my tank more than once every 3-4 days.  If I really needed full hookups because I was traveling with a family, it would be much more important.  The thing is to make sure you know before you make a reservation which facilities are really operating.

[systemcat]

Thank you for telling the newbie this . Plus I think you might have answered a different question on my mind at the same time. I bet but I don't know that black tanks come in different sizes. Considering I'm betting most of the time I'll be traveling solo, you might have answered how often I might have to dump it. True, I will always have a little company, but my cat doesn't have the same need.

[JudyJB]

The black tank is not nearly important as the size of the grey water tank because this fills up faster from showers and doing dishes.  Which reminds me--ask if the showers are open in winter.  Sometimes, they are not.  The  larger the motorhome or trailer, the larger the tanks, which is a consideration when purchasing.  However, you do not have this luxury, so you will learn to make do with what you have--just know that they are different.  You do need to find out the size, however, so check with the manufacturer or old ads.  (My black and grey tanks are 35 gallons each, fyi, but I am guessing yours will be much smaller.) 

My son lives in Ohio so I have visited there in October and March, but found some state parks do not fully open all facilities until May--just a warning.  One neat thing about Ohio is that some of the turnpike rest areas have hookup areas for campers at $20 per night, with dump stations and water fill.

[Arch Hoagland]

I also wonder if the use of electricity is pretty high due to heating your RV with electric heaters.  Don't know if you've camped in really cold conditions but running the propane furnace gets expensive in a hurry so people use electric heaters to help out.

Ask the campgrounds if you could use a metered site and pay for electricity based on usage.