First time cross country, reservations and contingencies.

Hi All,
Am new to the forum, but not RV?ing. Most of our trips have been statewide or adjacent states, of which we have made reservations 6 months in advance. Mostly to state parks.

We are planning a cross country trip next year and I am wondering how most folks make their arrangements. Will be staying 1 night in several locations along the way to a destination we have in mind. Then on to the next destination with a few one-nighters again.

My questions are:
1) Do most of you make all of your reservations prior to leaving? Or do you ?wing it? when arriving at a location? Understand desirable locations during peak periods will need to be reserved, and I will need to check on their cancellation policy.
2) Are most of these reservations refundable given a reasonable amount of time, like 48-72 hours? Or do you have any problem with securing a site when arriving?
3) How do you handle contingencies like weather or mechanical problems that can delay you by a day or two? This could throw the whole trip off by a few days unless you are willing to put in much longer driving days, which could be dangerous.
4) If staying one night, does it make sense to forgo dumping one day till you get to the next campground and dump every other day? Especially if you are skipping a shower (or showering at the CG facilities), and only using the toilet and kitchen sink?

My plan is to drive 3-4 days, spend 2 or 3 at a destination, allowing for a makeup day if needed, then move on for 3 or 4 days to the next destination. Does this make sense?

Believe me, any and all of your input is appreciated.

David E

Cach3r said:

1) Do most of you make all of your reservations prior to leaving? Or do you ?wing it? when arriving at a location? Understand desirable locations during peak periods will need to be reserved, and I will need to check on their cancellation policy.

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In ten years of full timing I only made reservations once.

2) Are most of these reservations refundable given a reasonable amount of time, like 48-72 hours? Or do you have any problem with securing a site when arriving?

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If they won't refund your money then your bank will get your money back for you.

3) How do you handle contingencies like weather or mechanical problems that can delay you by a day or two? This could throw the whole trip off by a few days unless you are willing to put in much longer driving days, which could be dangerous.

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I handle it by not making reservations.

4) If staying one night, does it make sense to forgo dumping one day till you get to the next campground and dump every other day? Especially if you are skipping a shower (or showering at the CG facilities), and only using the toilet and kitchen sink?

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I hooked up every night and showered every night.

My plan is to drive 3-4 days, spend 2 or 3 at a destination, allowing for a makeup day if needed, then move on for 3 or 4 days to the next destination. Does this make sense?

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Not to me it doesn't. Too much driving and not enough camping. I plan my trips out so that I spend at least a week in most spots and then leave early Sunday morning, drive no more than a few hours to my next spot and get there before noon. If you arrive at most any campground before noon on Sunday you will usually have your pick of sites.

You probably won't be dumping that often, depending on how well you use water conservation techniques.  If you want to do laundry every day then you might, but you want the gray tank to fill enough to flush out the black hose when you're ready to dump the black tank which might be more like five days, depending on usage.  Again, it's something you learn as you go along.  We know we can boondock for a week by not using a lot of water.  RVs have gauges for the tanks so you know how fast they're filling.  If you take a long shower it will fill a lot faster than if you take a "Navy" shower.

ArdraF

We make reservations at destinations, but we don?t at sites along the way. We figure out mid day where we think we will be and start checking out alternatives. A quick call to the campground to confirm and we are set. If it is unavailable, we look for the next alternative. And then there are (almost) always Walmarts!

As for dumping, we never dump until half full, and we generally wait until74% or more. With our rig and habits, that is 5-6 days unless we do laundry. Never dump a black tank until it is at least half full, and try for 3/4 or more. You want a nice gravity fed ?whoosh?. Then dump gray to wash our the slinky stinky.

We don't make reservation in advance unless it's a day or two.  State Parks are often busy during the weekends and holidays but some have walk in spots.  RV parks more often than not have nights and you may get less than you want but oftentimes there are cancellations or you need to move spots.

We have on occasion not got where we wanted but somewhere else just as nice close by.

Others book everything. It depends how stressed you would feel. Campendium has lots of info on campsites including boondocking which is really useful.

We travel in the West.

Note that Fishing Bridge RV Park in Yellowstone is closed next year and that will no doubt impact availability in the area if you are heading there.

Oh and if your rig is huge then that would maybe need more consideration.

We will be heading south for our first time ever. So, reading these replies helps my thought process.    )

I bought my current coach 2 years ago, after a number of years without an RV, and since then have put a bit over 10,000 miles on it.  For overnight stops I have never made a reservation more than 48 hours in advance, usually then it is for night 1 on a multi-day trip, often I will call ahead when I am an hour or two out to check for vacancies.  Many places don't accept reservations (public / municipal  campgrounds, forest service campgrounds, etc.) and I have yet to not get a spot to stop for the night at the first place I try, though a couple of times I ended up in the last available site, of course when possible I try to get off the road a couple of hours before sunset.  When using the no-reservations campgrounds along major highways there is always a swarm of RV's that roll in right around sunset.

For the most part the places where you have to book months ahead of time are the ones in prime tourist areas, not the ones along the side of the highway in the middle of nowhere.

I keep reading all these message threads about needing to book months out, and I just don't see it.  Last year we went to Wyoming for the big solar eclipse, we made reservations months in advance for around Yellowstone, and for the site where we viewed the eclipse outside Douglas WY, including the night following the eclipse, but that was it.  The next night I spent in a no reservation Forest Service no hookup campground just off the interstate outside of Laramie, the night after that at the no reservation full hookup rv park at the Cabellas headquarters store in Sidney Nebraska, it was less than half full when I arrived around 3 pm, though did fill up before sunset. (great place to catch up on doing laundry, cheap machines and nice laundry room).

If you look you can find places to stop for the night, many of them are very economic, some are even free.  The least I have paid for water and electric was $10 per night for 30 amp hookup in a public park by a baseball field in Parsons, Kansas, with $20-$25 per night being common.

If you have not found it check out http://www.ultimatecampgrounds.com/ it is the first place I look when searching for cheap stops

Oh and if your rig is huge then that would maybe need more consideration.

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Perhaps, but in 4 years of traveling in a 45 foot Beaver the only time we had problems finding a spot was one night near Flagstaff, where the only open RV park had snow on the ground and stupidly had trees on each side of the entrance to each site (and exit, too), thus we couldn't quite get turned into any of their sites, (we'd have hit the tree with the side of the coach) though they had plenty of sites open. An hour or so down the road we found a place to spend the night, though. There were maybe two more times where maneuvering within an RV park was awkward and I had to work around narrow paths, but still got into the site.

I have done as you say.  I will address the situation of making reservations and then having weather or breakdown issues.

When this has happened to us, we call ahead and ask to move our reservation back a day or two.  If you outright cancel, on short notice plan on losing your deposit.  We have never lost a deposit, by moving a reservation, most campgrounds are pretty helpful if you call them and let them know what is going on and then request to move your reservation back a day or two.  You might have less choice of site but still have a place to stay.  As you stated, this will not work during the height of a season at the most popular campgrounds.

Larry N. said:

Perhaps, but in 4 years of traveling in a 45 foot Beaver the only time we had problems finding a spot was one night near Flagstaff, where the only open RV park had snow on the ground and stupidly had trees on each side of the entrance to each site (and exit, too), thus we couldn't quite get turned into any of their sites, (we'd have hit the tree with the side of the coach) though they had plenty of sites open. An hour or so down the road we found a place to spend the night, though. There were maybe two more times where maneuvering within an RV park was awkward and I had to work around narrow paths, but still got into the site.

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Larry

I was basing that statement on a few folks on here who are careful because they are bigger.  Good to know that even you can manage to wing it!  I think it is best.

Our friends from South Carolina moved to Florida and planned their road trip booking everything in advance.  Hubby got sick and couldn't travel they had to cancel everything.  He was really annoyed as it had taken him ages to get the state parks and rv parks booked.  That right there made me realise that doing what we do is the best way (for us anyhow).

The reason I never make reservations is because there is always some place you can park for the night if every RV park and campground is full. There are rest stops, Walmarts, Cracker Barrels, and if all else fails there is always overnightrvparking.com, which lists 13,000 locations around the US that you can camp overnight for free. If you insist on being at a particular campground during a busy time then yes you should have reservations. But I travel by myself and I like not being tied down to a schedule. I am retired and schedules are the first thing that went out the window. ;D

https://overnightrvparking.com/index.html?

Cach3r said:

1) Do most of you make all of your reservations prior to leaving? Or do you ?wing it? when arriving at a location? Understand desirable locations during peak periods will need to be reserved, and I will need to check on their cancellation policy.

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It depends on the destination and how comfortable I'd be with the prospect spending of a night boondocking or in a parking lot in that area. Personally, I'm more comfortable with a plan, even if it means calling for a reservation when I'm only an hour away.
It also depends on how picky you are about the campground. I know I can probably find a campsite within an hour of Yellowstone in July, but how clean, convenient or safe do I think it's likely to be? 

3) How do you handle contingencies like weather or mechanical problems that can delay you by a day or two? This could throw the whole trip off by a few days unless you are willing to put in much longer driving days, which could be dangerous.

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I've yet to be delayed by weather, though I came close once, crossing the Sierra in snow showers in early May.
The impact of mechanical issues is in inverse proportion to your financial cushion. As for how they affect your schedule, you just have to accept the reality and adapt on the fly. Maybe you'll feel more comfortable pushing hard to get back on plan, nut maybe you'll feel more comfortable deferring part of your plan for a future trip. You get to make (and change) the rules.
Regarding driving longer days, it's a matter of being honest with yourself. Nowadays I'm comfortable with up to about 250 miles a day but shorter driving days and more rest days are always more enjoyable. Ten years ago I could comfortably push harder. Experiment, then know thyself.

4) If staying one night, does it make sense to forgo dumping one day till you get to the next campground and dump every other day? Especially if you are skipping a shower (or showering at the CG facilities), and only using the toilet and kitchen sink?

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I believe you're overthinking this. You paid for gray and black tanks. Use them as needed. It's always better and safer to start a driving day well-rested, clean, and refreshed. Dump when it's convenient or necessary.

My plan is to drive 3-4 days, spend 2 or 3 at a destination, allowing for a makeup day if needed, then move on for 3 or 4 days to the next destination. Does this make sense?

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Maybe. Probably. It's a personal thing. During every long trip (mine tend to be 3-6 months at a stretch) I discover things I'll want do differently next time. Pay attention to how what you're doing makes you feel. If it doesn't feel right, change it.
A sure way to ruin a travel experience is to approach it like there will never be a repeat. Live like there's always going to be another trip.

PopPop51 said:

It also depends on how picky you are about the campground. I know I can probably find a campsite within an hour of Yellowstone in July, but how clean, convenient or safe do I think it's likely to be? 

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Colter Bay Campground is within an hour of Yellowstone and it is clean, convenient and safe. And it is almost always easy to get a site.

Wow, all of you have provided some very good insight, and for that I am appreciative. Makes me feel better about some things I was considering, and making me re-think others. Thanks for the valuable feedback.

As to frequency of dumping tanks, unless I'm absolutely positive that we'll be able to dump at our next stop, I never leave a campground without dumping the tanks. If necessary, I'll add fresh water to get the tanks 2/3 full.

Traveling with the fresh water tank full and waste tanks empty provides a few days cushion in case something unexpected happens.

We live in the Midwest and took a 24 day -  6000 mile trip this past summer out west with the goal of visiting state capitols.  Therefore, we camped usually one night at each site except for weekends. That was our catch-up time if we got delayed etc. plus we planned on not driving on Sunday and finding a good local church to attend.  I did much work on planning the trip figuring we could make 40 miles per hour.  If we were staying at a Wal-Matt or rest area then we might drive longer before stopping for the day.  But then we could take our time leaving the next morning.  I did make all the reservations ahead (except for the last three days before getting home) and it worked out well for us. We dumped only when needed. We are thankful that it was a great trip and next summer we?re headed east - Lord willing!

There are a number of reasons that reservations enroute are worthwhile.  If you have time constraints like a job to return to or reservations at your destination, planned stops can keep you on pace.  Searching for a free place to park overnight can be tiresome and frustrating after a long day driving if you are doing long drives.  Power for AC and other creature comforts is nice unless you have a generator or comfortable temps.  Having a definite spot is nice so you are not stressing late in the day where you are going to stay.  There are plenty of other good reasons to reserve before you go.

We use KOA for cross country trips.  We use them like llipads as one night stopovers.  The beauty is you can reserve online and late arrivals are usually not a problem.

Searching for a free overnight spot takes about two minutes with overnightrvparking.com. I did it hundreds of times when I was full timing.

SeilerBird said:

Searching for a free overnight spot takes about two minutes with overnightrvparking.com. I did it hundreds of times when I was full timing.

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I might have to try that one, although I've been happy with freecampsites.net for the most part.  Currently parked on some BLM land near Vicksburg, AZ thanks to that one.

Old_Crow said:

I might have to try that one, although I've been happy with freecampsites.net for the most part.  Currently parked on some BLM land near Vicksburg, AZ thanks to that one.

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It costs $25 per year but it is well worth the money. All you have to do is save one night at a paid park to pay for itself. I used to mention it a lot on this forum and anyone who mentions your name gets you a free extra month. I got many months for free. The guy who runs it is a really nice guy. The reviews are almost always spot on.