Cost of parking a MH in private and public rv parks

On an earlier Forum discussion, saw that the average price per night was $27.00/night.  Don't recall if this was in a state park or national.  Anyway, need some cost advice on parking in private, state and national.  Looking for bathroom, electrical, water, internet and of course clean.  Thanks.

Ok,  well it's all over the chart.

Some Forest Service parks are as low as 15/night,,and if you qualify for a discount card  that is cut in half (7.50)

Most COE parks around 22-25/night,, Same Discount card applies

Private parks,, I think the one I'm in is .. Well 50 amp rig 27/night if you are a good Sam's Member...EIther 30 or 35 if you are not (But Bill may have made a mistake and given him the 30 amp rate) 50 amp375/monty,30 350

I belong to two membership parks... Normally summers I shuttle between them and spend less than 100/MONTH

Two KOA's near one of those membership parks would ding me about 80/night

Some parks are as high as 120/night

So the cost is all over the field....

I would not argue with anyone who gives you an average,,,No matter what it is.

In 2012 we averaged $29.26 for 157 nights with a low of $12.42 at a Florida State Park (we are FL residents and get 1/2 off) and a high of $70.07 at a commercial park in Old Orchard Beach, ME (we meet up with friends there for a week every other year).

In 2013 we averaged $23.35 for 200 nights with a low of $4.00 (Senior Pass) at Malaquite National Park, Padre Island (dry camping with shower facilities) and a high of $49.53 in a commercial park in West Yellowstone (outside the park).

Last year we averaged $41.05 for 112 nights with a low of $20.00 (Passport America Discount) and a high of $77.10 at the same commercial park in Old Orchard Beach, ME.  We spent most of the summer in New England which we found pricier than other areas of the country with mostly commercial parks.

The commercial parks are usually higher priced than the State, Corps of Engineer and/or National Parks but also usually have full hook-ups (electric 50 or 30 amp, water and sewer).  At the State, COE and/or National Parks you may be dry camping, hence the lower prices although some have water and electric with a dump station but few have at-site sewer.

It is certainly possible to camp for less than what we averaged, avoiding the higher priced commercial parks and doing more boondocking.

This is our experience, others may vary!

There is such a tremendous variation by region and type of park that an average is almost meaningless except maybe for an annual budget. Popular destinations in peak seasons are often high, as are places where usable land is limited (Florida keys) or the season short (Maine seacoast).

You mentioned a bathroom, but I see you have a good sized motorhome. Did you mean a nice bathroom/shower in the park, or sewer hook-ups at the RV site? A nice park with water/sewer/electric plus free Internet is likely to put you closer to the upper end of the range than the bottom. We averaged about $25/night for 152 nights last year, but the range was from free (friend's yard) to $55 (a resort park near Asheville, NC). Included in that is a fixed cost park membership which gets cheaper (per night) the more we use it, plus a long term (90 day) rate at one park. Without those, our average would have been at least 50% higher.

Thanks for your input.  The reason for asking for bathroom is that since I was paying for a place to park, why not conserve room in my tanks and take a shower in the park's facility.  Also, there are times when a nice, long hot shower would be nice.  10 gallon hot water tank may not be enough for both of us, unless we shower together (although that's not a bad option  ;D).

1PlasticMan1 said:

...  Also, there are times when a nice, long hot shower would be nice.  10 gallon hot water tank may not be enough for both of us, unless we shower together (although that's not a bad option  ;D).

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For a long shower you'll probably want the campground's to use, but that 10 gallons goes a long ways for more normal (RV normal, that is) showers.

West coast area you're looking at 30 ish a night, maybe up to 35 dollars a night, or more.
And that may not include hookups/wifi of any kind (State or National parks).
Private RV parks: 200-300 dollars a week, and somewhere between 400-700 dollars a month.

Those are cheaper ones.

10 gallon hot water tank may not be enough for both of us, unless we shower together (although that's not a bad option

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10 gallons are more than enough, if I can easily do 6 gallons, you can easily wait for the tank to reheat.

Thanks, 10 gallons did not seem like that much to me.  Sounds like it is plenty.

Depending on the ambient temp and the incoming temp of the water, and your shower head.. you might "Burn" through about 1GPM  Less with a high effiency head.. Less if it is 90 in the shade and there is no shade,  Less if you shut off flow when not needed.

I think price depends on region. Also, if you are headed for the popular tourist areas, you will pay premium. In my case, I prefer out of the way nature oriented camps and parks, so usually I am paying $10-20 a night. But often that is just elec and water. Wifi is not yet widespread though many private parks have finally caved in and started offering it up.

The average will vary greatly because in my case, I spend part of the year on a monthly rate at a few favorite places and the rest of the year on a daily rate. Typically when I travel I try to set aside 30 per night and come way under whenever possible. So I might get lucky and pay only $8-12 a night in public parks then there is somewhere I truly want to go and the only park around is 40 a night. So basically my rates are all over the place.

Also, I am flexible about sewer, restrooms and Wifi. The more "must haves" the more you generally pay.

All of the above is correct in our experience. We have traveled in all 12 months of each year for over 50 years and are now using our 5th RV, a Montana 5th wheel.

Your average costs will be determined by how you pay, where you travel, and what your desires happen to be. Each year we stay at least 50 to 65 nights in Commercial RV Parks, and perhaps close to 7 or 8 free overnight parking areas, (truck stops, WalMart, business parking lots, etc). We travel for both business and pleasure.

Last year(2014) our total for the year, averaged out to just about $27.50 per night, just over $1800 for the year. We are life members of Good Sam (gets us the 10 percent discount at each GS Park), Passport America (gets us about 50 percent discount as each member park), and life members of KOA (same discount as GS), plus we have the Lifetime Golden Age Passport for National Parks, Monuments, BLM, Forest Service, etc.

On every trip we almost always stay at one of the parks where we enjoy the discount. Even at these parks, it also is determined where, (California, etc, are always higher than others)  and  the "Resorts" (we stay at a few on a regular basis) are almost always higher price than many other RV Parks. However, there are a few Resorts, and a few other parks, where we get an additional discount for the reason that we are regular, long-time customers of those parks over the years.

I know that over the years our Lifetime Memberships as mentioned above has saved us Thousands of Dollars in Park discounts, in addition to discount fuel and other costs. You may wish to check into this if you intend to travel enough with your RV.

We just made reservations for Memorial Day weekend in Lake George, NY (a very popular upstate NY vacation/tourist area). Two of the "RV Resort" type places were over $90 per night. No thanks!

Very good thread.

A reminder of the advantage of buying a well maintained used diesel pusher around 10 years old, plus or minus, so you have the funds to customize it, maintain it well, and enjoy it on the road...Now linked with my growing knowledge of evaluating a used rig for purchase and maintaining it outside of a service facility as much as possible.

That alone is worth at least $100,000 plus multiples of tens of thousands of dollars...avoiding much of the depreciation and reducing the variety and number of uncontrollable maintenance and operational costs, while increasing the controllables.

It may very well be that a mh is a dollar sinkhole, but sinkholes come in sizes with various depths.

I am used to paying upwards of $40.00ish for a private RV Park out West. The State and National Parks that I've visited average around $20.00ish again out West.

Price depends on location as well as whether you want hookups and what discounts you qualify for. We average $5/night but we use America the Beautiful, Passport America, relatives, boondocking, veterans and seniors discounts. Love NPS sites, state parks, COE, and BLM. Enjoy your travels.

jsetti said:

.... $12.42 at a Florida State Park (we are FL residents and get 1/2 off) ....

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How does this work???  I have never seen such an option though reserveamerica..... I have been over paying then for years!!!

blw2 said:

How does this work???  I have never seen such an option though reserveamerica..... I have been over paying then for years!!!

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Here's a link to one site that details the discount.  You must be a Florida Resident and over 65.

http://www.abfla.com/parks/info/campfee.html

jsetti said:

Here's a link to one site that details the discount.  You must be a Florida Resident and over 65.

http://www.abfla.com/parks/info/campfee.html

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ahhhhh.... good old age discrimination.....

I'm reminded of a time, in my early twenties fresh out of college and just starting my 1st "real job".  Moved to a new city and was opening a checking account.  I wanted something interest bearing.  The bank person set me up in an interest bearing checking account that was set up as some sort of senior plan, had to be some age or older to get it, maybe 55+.... but he explained that this practice is illegal and they cannot discriminate based on age.

Ever since then, I'm always tempted to ask for my senior discount whenever such an opportunity arises.... such as free coffee at McDonalds.... but so far I don't think I ever have. 
Although I'm not yet 65, I might have enough grey hair now so as not to raise too much question.... maybe I should save some money on my next trip.....