RV spaces for $300.00 a month

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mattcoker17

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Joined
Sep 19, 2017
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Location
Northern Ca
I am set to retire in a few years and plan on full timing in a class A (Diesel pusher towing our car for side trips) with my wife.  my question is, is it feasible to locate RV spaces throughout the country for about $300.00 a month.  We are hoping to spend about a month in each state until we find a spot we want to stay for a large part of the year.

I have been using the Googlebox extensively and it seems park rates vary from $300.00 to LOTS.  It would be nice to find an acceptable area at the lower end of that cost.

Thanks!

Matt
 
is it feasible to located RV spaced throughout the country for about $300.00 a month

I think you wanted to say: ...to locate RV Spaces throughout...  I had to read it a couple of times.

ArdraF
 
Deming NM has several at $300 plus electricity. Look into yearly state park passes.
 
Here is a web site for a local RV park near where I live in western Louisiana that is in that price range https://www.pinegroverv.com/park-rates/  I post this one only because they have lots of photos of their park and a drone flight overhead view.  Their rates start around $325 per month, I don't know if that is with or without utilities.    There are other cheaper lower end parks in the area, one I know of will even rent out ex-katrina FEMA trailers for $500 per month, so their empty rv space rent is probably much less. 
 
The Escapees is a great group to join. Here is an example of their park in Congress Az. It's $325 but some places like Deming are $225 iirc

https://www.escapees.com/support/parking/rainbow-parks/congress-arizona?id=68


If you have solar or generator and good charging equipment it's possible to sit in places like Quartzsite or Socal for free and hit the dump site and water fill every week or two for maybe $20 or so.  There are an endless number of BLM, corp, dept ag etc places to dry camp for free.






 
Also, make sure you get your federal senior pass as soon as you are 62.  You get half-price on a lot of really nice federal campgrounds, although you cannot stay longer than 14 days in them.
 
My experience has been that they run from $300 - $500 most places You need to account for whether electricity is included or not that can make a big difference.
 
Another option is to look at Thousand Trails. Thousand Trails is not for everyone, but may be of use for you. On their website, it's typically $565 per year, per zone. They always run specials like $100 off the first zone, or two zones for the price of one, etc. A phone call to them is the best bet to get the run down on all the specials. They don't advertise everything that is available. With the current zone passes, it's 14 days in the system, then 7 days out. There are used upgraded memberships available for sale that are nationwide, never have to leave the system for 7 days, etc. If considering one of those memberships, do a bit of research online to see what's available. There are brokers that specialize in those used memberships and they could be a great resource when considering a used membership.
 
Prices vary a lot with location and amenities, and may or may not include electricity. RV site prices have been climbing steeply and I think $300/month is becoming rare if it includes any electric.  And if you also expect cable tv, sewer hook-up onsite, and a nicely landscaped park, think more in terms of $400 & up. Here in the popular western NC mountain region (around Asheville), a FHU site in a nice park runs more like $700-$850 per month.

You mentioned a diesel pusher, so I'm guessing you will want a fairly large site with 50A power, water & sewer. I doubt if you will find many of those for $300/month, except maybe off-season or remote locations.
 
as a weekender / vacation warrior, I don't have much to add
except to say that perhaps another way to look at it is "average"

We spend a lot of time in state park campgrounds, where the rates are within that ballpark on a per night basis
others have mentioned national parks
in off the beaten path areas more likely to find lower prices
while in places of higher demand you'll pay more
and then there are always nights spent for "free" while en route, boondocking at a walmart or similar....

doing what you describe, exploring different areas, I can imagine
maybe checking out an area staying at a state park for a week, then perhaps a different park in the area for a few days just down the road.  Then boondock a night en route to another area where you might spend a bit more at a nicer place
all averaging out to something affordable....
    but as has been said, a big pusher coach might eliminate the possibility of some of the lower cost options
 
Thousand Trails looks interesting.  Does the membership give you discounted rates, or does it cover the cost of the sites?  I would assume only discounts.  That being said, how much of a discount?

Escapees also looks cool.  I would venture to guess it is very similar to Thousand Trails?
 
Here is a link to Timber Valley, the Escapee park located in Sutherlin, Oregon

https://timbervalleyskp.com/
 
mattcoker17 said:
Escapees also looks cool.  I would venture to guess it is very similar to Thousand Trails?

The only similarity is both organizations happen to operate a network of RV parks.  That's Thousand Trail's only objective while Escapees is a full service organization offering many more services and support to RVers.

If you haven't already, check out everything Escapees offers by starting at their homepage, https://www.escapees.com or https://xscapers.com

Either one is a gateway to a great club.
 
mattcoker17 said:
Thousand Trails looks interesting.  Does the membership give you discounted rates, or does it cover the cost of the sites?  I would assume only discounts.  That being said, how much of a discount?

Escapees also looks cool.  I would venture to guess it is very similar to Thousand Trails?
The thousand trails membership covers the cost after you pay a certain amount of camping is included. There are many different levels of membership available on the resale market anything from 30 nights a year to unlimited but with stay limits in one particular park.
 
Thousand Trails looks interesting.  Does the membership give you discounted rates, or does it cover the cost of the sites?  I would assume only discounts.  That being said, how much of a discount?

Not a discount.  There are various membership terms, but basically you buy xx nights of camping for $yyy/year.  The membership we had provided 50 nights for around $550/year and $10/night for additional stays.

TT memberships also include discounts on other TT services, e.g. cabin rentals in their parks, and discounts at sister companies owned by its corporate parent, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS). That includes some other RV parks (such as Encore Resorts), cruise line packages, and park model communities. ELS is the largest owner/operator of recreational properties in the USA.
 
mattcoker17 said:
Thousand Trails looks interesting.  Does the membership give you discounted rates, or does it cover the cost of the sites?  I would assume only discounts.  That being said, how much of a discount?

Escapees also looks cool.  I would venture to guess it is very similar to Thousand Trails?

Matt...we initially started out 3 years ago with a dual zone TT membership which covered the West Coast. We paid around $550. It allowed us to stay up to two weeks in their park and then we had to be out and somewhere else for a week before being allowed to go back into their system. Realizing we had to deal with this "out" issue every three weeks we bought a used (1986 Platinum plan) membership through a Florida resale broker. Think we paid about $1500 for the plan. We have been using it for almost 3 years now and it does allow us to move from park to park with stays anywhere from 2 to 3 weeks depending upon season and park. For the most part, the parks have been decent with fairly large sites. Some  with full ups some with just power and water. While we do stay elsewhere from time to time, TT has been financially favorable to us. We pay a monthly dues of $48 and can literally stay in their system all the time if we choose. It's not for everyone but it has worked well for us. Hope this helps....

 
No one has mentioned the great COE (Corps of Engineers,) parks. They have tables and electric but no on-site sewer, only dump stations. Those with trucks as a tow can use a plastic tank with a macerator in the back and drive that to the dump site without having to move.
 
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