$50 a night is too steep for me.

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Gerry_UK

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Dec 10, 2012
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I'm just adding up the costs for a six month tour, and stopping in camp-sites is going to be too expensive.

What are the rules on boondocking?  I would only stay one night usually.

Would it be realistic to spend two nights on the roadside or parking places to every one in a camp-site?

If so is there a book or website that tells me the places I can stop?

In Europe we have Camperstop which is great book that tells you all the authorised and unauthorised stop-overs.
 
$50 a night is not necessary, there are many alternatives.

State, National, County, and city parks are generally in the $15 - $25 range.  These are generally campgrounds as apposed to RV Parks.  The difference being amenities, many will not have hook-ups and those that do generally have just electricity.

Passport America will provide 50% discounts at participating RV parks.

In the west BLM allows free dispersed camping pretty much anywhere.

Microsoft Streets and Trips will show you the majority of alternatives anywhere you go.  I'm sure that are other products that do the same.
 
I live in my RV full time and I rarely pay over $30 a night. Usually it is around $25. However I take advantage of weekly and monthly rates. For example the place I am now in charges $35 a night, $190 a week or $350 a month. I find that staying for a week or a month cuts down tremendously on my gas expenses and it allows me to explore an area much better.

There is a great website for finding free overnight parking:

http://www.overnightrvparking.com/

It costs $25 per year and can save you that much in one night. It has a database of almost 10,000 locations.
 
Would it be realistic to spend two nights on the roadside or parking places ...

We know folks who camp roadside, but be aware it's illegal in a number of states and many cities; You'd likely get woken up in the middle of the night and told to move on. Some of us advise against roadside camping or overnighting in rest areas, even if it's legal, purely out of safety concerns. Freeway rest areas are our equivalent of motorway services without the services, and can be a target for crime.

OTOH many folks (not me) stay overnight in WalMart parking lots, and there are WalMarts all over the USA. Something like camping in a Tesco car park, but not the multi-story kind.

You could try using the Search button in the toolbar above to find numerous prior boondocking discussions. You could also click the Library button above and search there for articles on boondocking.
 
Here are some rates from a South Texas park where it's warm in the winter, on one of the country's best bass lake. : RV Sites* $25/night $125/week $250/month + metered electric

And one I like in FL Highland Park Fish Camp, because it's in the woods, yet close to where my parents live in Florida : R.V. Overnight  $22 R.V. Weekly  $145  R.V. Monthly  $450  This one is in Deland, FL and usually has spots, but they add a 6.25% sales tax AND 6% tourist tax. 

Other parks have similar pricing structures.

Some states, if you do a month at a time, don't charge sales tax, saving you a little more money.

This rates are good as of 12-13-2012
 
We have spent most of the past two summers on the east coast and in New England and $50.00 was all too common for nightly rates if you wanted to be anywhere near local attractions.

It was always a relief to cross the Mississippi and see the average drop into the high $20.00 low $30.00 range.
 
Get a Passport America and you can save a lot of money, staying in places with hookups for $12-$18. If you're ok with no hookups, you'll find tons of federal and state campgrounds for $10-$20, usually without hookups but in areas of spectacular beauty. WalMarts and other retailers are ok for an overnighter. If you have a smart phone, get the All Stays Ap and it'll show you all sorts of places to stay plus dump stations and low clearances.

Enjoy your travels
Wendy
 
99WinAdventurer37G said:
Here are some rates from a South Texas park where it's warm in the winter, on one of the country's best bass lake. : RV Sites* $25/night $125/week $250/month + metered electric

And one I like in FL Highland Park Fish Camp, because it's in the woods, yet close to where my parents live in Florida : R.V. Overnight  $22 R.V. Weekly  $145  R.V. Monthly  $450  This one is in Deland, FL and usually has spots, but they add a 6.25% sales tax AND 6% tourist tax. 

Other parks have similar pricing structures.

Some states, if you do a month at a time, don't charge sales tax, saving you a little more money.

This rates are good as of 12-13-2012




Sales tax on a camp site!!!!? Maybe I never paid much attention to what I was paying before. But if Florida charges that wouldn't all Florida camp grounds and such need to charge this?
 
ironrat said:
Sales tax on a camp site!!!!? Maybe I never paid much attention to what I was paying before. But if Florida charges that wouldn't all Florida camp grounds and such need to charge this?
I think they do. I have a reservation at Fort Wilderness at Disney World and they sure are charging tax.
 
Thanks folks, Passport America sounds like a good investment.

I'll also be looking for a couple of longer stays, thanks for the web site Seilerbird. Gerry
 
Some figures for you...

Where I'm parked just now $35.00/night  Full hookup, 30 amp

Where I park next week 12/night, Water and 50 amp only, dump station free to campers 10 bucks to non-campers.

Where I park come march 22/night water and 50 amp, or 11 if you have a discount card (Government interagency pass)

Where i parked on my way home 15/night (water/electric, forget the amps think 30) 7.50 with the interagency pass.

I belong to the Moose.  Many lodges have RV parking, ranging from 5 to 25/night.

Some just have big parking lots.. Drop something in the donation cradle.

Note that everywhere that has "Fee based parking" has electric, and avbial water, and usually an avabial dump (my home Moose lodge does not).

OH.. Boondocking.. Generator burns around 1 gallon per hour more or less, I need a minimum of 4 hours Generator time per day (usually six or more)  Gas is currently 3.00/gallon (Roughly)....

Wife wanted to spend a few nights boondocking at church since we have almost daily need to be there from 12/22 through 12/25.. I nixed that cause the nearby county park (3 milies) is 12/night, and well 4-6 hours of Onan is 12-18/night plus other costs I won't incure at the county park (We use more propane this time of year boondocking)

The bottom line: Boondocking might not be all that inexpensive.

One park I stayed at last fall/winter was 350/month as I recall. Less than 12/night so again,, We plan to return in 2014 for Easter.
 
Gerry-UK,

There used to be a lot more places where you can boondock than there are now.  The problem was that, as RVing increased in popularity, too many people abused the area in which they stayed and local communities and residents got upset by it and got ordinances passed to make boondocking illegal.  Some places are easy and some are hard so it's all over the map so to speak.  Touristy areas like southern California are really picky now because they were overrun with boondockers (Bar Harbor ME and Santa Monica CA come to mind).  Nevertheless, there still are plenty of places where you can boondock, many of which have already been mentioned.  You have to pay attention to signs.  For example, Wal Mart has always been pro-RV but some of their cities and towns have been persuaded to disallow overnight parking in public lots.  It's not consistent, but if you pull in and see signs on the light posts that state no overnight parking, then that's one of the anti-RV communities and you probably need to find someplace else to park for the night.

I might suggest getting a copy of the Trailer Life Directory of Campgrounds and RV Parks when you arrive in the USA.  It lists thousands of public and private campgrounds for every state, Canada, and Mexico.  It lists their amenities and last year's price so you have an idea of how much it will cost before you call.  Each state has a map with a dot indicating where campgrounds are located so you have an idea of which ones are near your route.  Also, as you travel the interstate highway system (those designated like I-5, I-40, etc.) many states have welcome centers as you enter.  They often have helpful staff and brochures of many destinations and especially campgrounds that are not in the large directories.  We've been pleasantly surprised at a couple we've found that way, so state visitor centers are a good resource.

ArdraF
 
Good suggestion re the welcome centers Ardra; I always forget about them while participating in the forum, but have visited numerous ones while on the road.
 
In Europe we have Camperstop which is great book that tells you all the authorised and unauthorised stop-overs.

Here in the States, the Trailer Life Directory is pretty much the standard for printed books.  It's about the size of a metro area telephone book and lists all of the parks in a given area along with their prices.  Usually the prices are a year out of date due to the lead time for a printed book.

You can also search online by going to their website.

Beyond that, http://rvparkreviews.com/ has many user submitted parks, with prices.

Passport America has all of their participating parks on their website.  Note that many Passport America parks limit discounts to their off season, certain days of the week or just for the first night.  All of this is spelled out in their listing.  You can browse the list without joining, look and see if it will be useful for you before you buy the discount card.  http://www.passportamerica.com/

You may pay $50 per night in a major city, but prices are usually half that or less in rural areas.
 
Lou Schneider said:
Passport America has all of their participating parks on their website.  Note that many Passport America parks limit discounts to their off season, certain days of the week or just for the first night.  All of this is spelled out in their listing.  You can browse the list without joining, look and see if it will be useful for you before you buy the discount card.  http://www.passportamerica.com/

Passportamerica is a good choice I have been a member for years. Two other good web sites for free camping are Freecampgrounds.com And www.boondockerswelcome.com Boomdockerswelcome requires a small fee to join if you can not offer a free spot to boomdock on your land or business

Staff edit: Fix incorrect URL
 
It's boondockerswelcome.com and I fixed your link.
 
RV Overnight Parking has a modest annual fee but lists nearly 10,000 verified locations that offer free or very low cost RV parking. I've been a member for several years and find it quite handy on those occasions when we just want a cheap overnight place.

There are several other sites that list free overnights, but the data is not as reliable or comprehensive. Just Google free overnight rv parking and you will find a bunch of them.
 

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