Is this happening everywhere?

larry2c · 11-02-2019, 07:03 PM

We've been camping for longer than we've been married (35+ years) and graduated from on the ground to the luxury of a nice memory foam queen in our latest TT. Usually 3 or 4 times a year we would go to a local campground that has 100+ spaces about half of which are good for RV's and maybe 25 or so full hookups and the rest water and electric. It is on a nice little lake, is usually pretty quiet because fisherman go to bed early I guess. Being only 10 miles form our house it was perfect for a quick weekend get away.

Over the last couple of years we have noticed that there are more camp hosts (at last count 8) and a lot of working campers and other "full timers". The results of this seems to be that I can no longer get reservations there. Just for grins I looked out at mid February during the week - there were only 2 sites available. The following week there were zero (I'm not counting the tent sites - still plenty of those).

So, are other folks that regularly visit the same CG's seeing this trend? It really is pretty disappointing for us since during the school year (DW is a teacher) going out of town is a bit more challenging.

Minthillbill · 11-02-2019, 07:16 PM

We have noticed it at the local state park. With building booming there are a lot of transient workers and with low rates, clean bathroom facilities and close to work they are popular. Our favorite park limits to 7 consecutive nights in one site. Then they must move.

TitanMike · 11-02-2019, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minthillbill

We have noticed it at the local state park. With building booming there are a lot of transient workers and with low rates, clean bathroom facilities and close to work they are popular. Our favorite park limits to 7 consecutive nights in one site. Then they must move.

Limited length of stay in our public parks too.

I have noticed as I travel more and more parks are filled with what one park owner told me are "Perms". Flat out told me that they are the ones he can count on to "pay the mortgage".
With housing costs rising I can see the attraction for many to merely buy a used TT, tow it to a local private RV Park, and set up housekeeping by the month.

Near where I live those "RV Parks" have turned into some rather low end slums.

Some Cities and Counties have tried to combat this through zoning and if someone opens an RV Park stays have to be limited for most of the spaces or they are considered Mobile Home Parks and different rules apply for the "buildings/trailers".

Jimmers · 11-02-2019, 08:02 PM

I have noticed in the past several years that there are alot more - older Full Timers and this year has been a record year for full timers. I believe that this phenomenon will continue and increase as retirees want adventure

TitanMike · 11-02-2019, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimmers

I have noticed in the past several years that there are alot more - older Full Timers and this year has been a record year for full timers. I believe that this phenomenon will continue and increase as retirees want adventure

Or are getting taxed out of their paid for homes

dalford · 11-02-2019, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Or are getting taxed out of their paid for homes

Or didn’t plan well for retirement and think “full timing” is a less expensive way to go.

I see on this site all the time that someone posts that they just bought a new 5th wheel to put on a lot and don’t plan on moving it and they say they’re full timing when actually they sold their home and moved in a trailer park.

Makes it harder and harder to find a place to “camp”....

TitanMike · 11-02-2019, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dalford

Makes it harder and harder to find a place to “camp”....

Which is why I like to boondock. Lots more room to "spread out" than most RV parks

Being able to get along without hookups (including Wifi, Cable TV, Showers, Laundry, etc) makes it easy. I'm kind of a throwback in that sense, When I want to "get away from it all" I really mean it.

frank4711 · 11-02-2019, 09:28 PM

Brother in law is full timing now ... bought a 1/2 price 1000 trails membership and moves every 21 days ... he loves it lives on a low budget .... he still works full time but that will change in next few years he is 65 .... and yes state parks are full here in Florida just last couple of days we have been able to book trips a year out in Georgia... but the state parks here in Fl are full ... 65 older rate for Fl state parks is about $13 a night plus tax ... you can stay 14 days so a lot of retired move site to site all winter ....

TheWolfPaq82 · 11-02-2019, 09:51 PM

We had a couple state parks try that a couple years ago. They allowed construction crews to stay the summer...only expected a few and ended up losing an entire section of the park...about 40 sites booked from April till the end of October. Then they allowed "Seasonal" to stay from Memorial day to Labor day. People constructed fences, brought in small sheds and pretty much tore up the campsites they were on. This..."Experiment" only lasted one season and the following season it was 14 days on site and no allowed back for 7 days.

dalford · 11-02-2019, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Which is why I like to boondock. Lots more room to "spread out" than most RV parks

Being able to get along without hookups (including Wifi, Cable TV, Showers, Laundry, etc) makes it easy. I'm kind of a throwback in that sense, When I want to "get away from it all" I really mean it.

I hear ya..

**bikendan** · 11-02-2019, 10:09 PM

We retired 5 years ago and have been traveling south, during the winter.
We've found that many places are full during the off-season now. Mostly retired people but also finding many families living in RVs fulltime. This is occurring in state parks and RV parks.
California State Beaches are reserved up during the winter months now, 6 months in advance. This was normal during high season but is now happening off-season as well.

Oaklevel · 11-02-2019, 10:22 PM

The campground that we go to a year to 18 months out is common for needing reservations, for the best sites .............all 850 of them...........

.................. now if we want peace and quiet the back yard is the place for us to camp.

larry2c · 11-03-2019, 09:25 AM

Sounds like our experience is fairly common which is really too bad. The park I was referring to is owned by the local water district but it is run more like a private park - at least for the CG area. I did find their regulations for what they refer to as long term stays and it seems pretty generous to me.

From their website: Long-term stays are allowed from October 1 to March 31 and are subject to the Long-Term Stay fee structure. The maximum stay per long term reservation is 6 months in a 12 month period, and no person may stay in the campground under any reservation for more than six months in a 12 month period.

SeaDog · 11-03-2019, 10:43 AM

As I read this the common thread is staying at improved/designated campgrounds and they are filling up. My rig works equally well in areas with full hook up as unimproved areas. I have yet to run into scheduling problem with non-campground camping.

larry2c · 11-03-2019, 11:05 AM

Just to be clear, we enjoy camping out on BLM land and other less populated campgrounds (if it wasn't for DW, most trips would be boondocking

). The campground I refer to that's pretty much always full now was our quick to get to, no muss no fuss CG. We live in the "burbs" and this CG was out in the country - lots of hawks and even a few eagles, decent fishing and just an overall away from it all environment. To get to the real boondocking camping places takes at least an hour & a half drive. The 15 minute trip from driveway to quiet campsite will be missed...

SeaDog · 11-03-2019, 11:19 AM

Sorry if you felt I was slamming you it was not, my intent was to get folks to think/consider there are other options with these rigs.

Reverse_snowbird · 11-03-2019, 12:46 PM

My guess would be that those 8 camp hosts may be doing other jobs other than hosting. There are many jobs that camps hosts do around the campground that are cheaper than hiring a full time employee.... that's if they could find a full time employee.

Campsites are definitely getting harder to find, especially near where people live. More people camping, less expansion of campsites due to funding and zoning.

bbbymac · 11-03-2019, 12:51 PM

This is something that appears to go full circle. Years ago we camped at a campground that had a mix of camping and seasonal sites. This gradually morphed to a seasonal only "Resort". Trailers are parked year round but can only be used from April to October. As seasonal rates increased, people moved out. Empty sites were filled with rental log cabins. Now there are empty sites which are available for weekly RV rental. Camping is no longer a cheap get away.

Larry-NC · 11-03-2019, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbbymac

This is something that appears to go full circle. Years ago we camped at a campground that had a mix of camping and seasonal sites. This gradually morphed to a seasonal only "Resort". Trailers are parked year round but can only be used from April to October. As seasonal rates increased, people moved out. Empty sites were filled with rental log cabins. Now there are empty sites which are available for weekly RV rental. Camping is no longer a cheap get away.

The Cherokee 38P destination trailer is permanently parked at a resort. I've written before about all the free amenities at the resort--briefly, hot tub, indoor and outdoor pools, playground, sand/water/indoor water volleyball, petanque, paddleball and tennis courts, mini-golf, gameroom, restaurant,cable TV, (mediocre) Wi-Fi, and more. Water not measured, electricity is measured. Lot rental for a lot not-occupied is around $100/month. Full-time it's around $190/month.

Needless to say, all the permanent sites have been full for years. The only way in is to buy someone else's trailer and either move in or sell it and put your own on the lot. Otherwise, the waiting list is said to be over five years.

Demographics? I would say the grandparents far outnumber the couples with children under 18, maybe 50:1 or 100:1.

okie dokie · 11-03-2019, 01:22 PM

Over the summer we stayed 14 days in a Florida State Forest. Only 26 sites available. Made the reservation 6 months in advance. During our stay we couldn’t help but notice the campground shuffle. Shuffle to another site every 14 days. Didn’t bother me just a little jealous I wasn’t able to stay another 14 days. IMHO communication issues between Reserve/Recreation and the campground hosts.

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