Monthly Park Fees

[dolphin44]

I'm a newbie to the trailering world . I'm interested in leaving my 31 ft. Airstream at Coastal RV parks (NC thru Al. ) for periods of 3 to 5 months at a time.


Can anyone give me an idea for budgetary purposes , what I should expect to pay monthly for full hook up sites at reasonably nice parks?


I'm an avid salt water 70 year old fisherman , fishing a 27ft center console. My bucket list says I would like to fish the entire southeast coastline. Not necessarily every body of water, but most of the major locations.


Stayed right on the Chesapeake (waterfront site) for 31/2 months last June July Aug and 1/2 Sept. Just put the Excella in the keys for 8 months ,( April thru Nov.). I live in Melb. Bch. Fl. and will be traveling back and forth to the keys.


Just started the Keys stay, but am thinking about where to put the trailer in Jan 2015. Fl. Panhandle is a good candidate. I'm sure fishing reports will play a roll in my schedule.


Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Billy

[Jammer]

Rates vary regionally and from place to place. Here it is common to see seasonal rates in the $1500-$1800 range with annual dues at cooperative parks being about the same. It is rare here for monthly rates to be materially lower than 30 times the daily rate.

[eubank]

Wow, things really are different in Minnesota! Over here, monthly rates run more or less around a third of what it would cost on a daily basis, though often you wind up paying an electric fee. Seasonal rates, to the extent that parks have them, are even less, though again plus electric.

Bottom line is that there must be quite a lot of variation. Check with the parks in the area you're interested in. Many are probably on the web, and they often have their rates posted there.


Lynn

[Aage]

Would prolonged exposure to salty sea air not have a bad effect on an aluminum trailer that sits on a steel frame?

[DaveFL]

Originally Posted by Aage

Would prolonged exposure to salty sea air not have a bad effect on an aluminum trailer that sits on a steel frame?

If high rates and corrosion are a problem, add gulf oil spills with hidden damage to the fishing. Rates are alway cheaper without the ocean view. Try the north east gulf coast, as a Florida resident over 65 you get free fishing licenses, salt and fresh. Much cheaper with direct access to gulf in Yankeetown.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Aage

Would prolonged exposure to salty sea air not have a bad effect on an aluminum trailer that sits on a steel frame?

Galvanic corrosion requires two dissimilar metals, plus an electrolyte (moisture, salty or not), plus an electrical current. Store the trailer with the battery disconnected and no shore power, and there should be no current to form a galvanic cell.

Steel and aluminum are relatively close on the galvanic series; aluminum is an anode for steel, but not a very good one. It's a lot better than if you had an aluminum trailer on a stainless steel frame!

But, you're actually looking at three dissimilar metals, not two. The frame is galvanized, meaning there is a coating of zinc in between the steel and aluminum. The zinc will be an anode for both the steel and aluminum, and so the galvanized coating will degrade before either the steel or the aluminum.

But— again— galvanizing that is incomplete, such as at welds or drilled holes after the galvanizing was performed, will lead to non-galvanic corrosion of the steel since at those discontinuities the steel will be directly exposed to moist air. The same is true if the galvanizing is lost to galvanic action.

So, counterintuitively, the steel frame is more at risk than the aluminum skin of the trailer even though the steel is the more "noble" metal on the galvanic scale, because it will be damaged more quickly as the galvanizing is lost.

[Pat Conway]

Florida Panhandle, specifically Appalachicola area might work out. If you are a Fl resident (paying half price for seniors 65 and over camping in State Parks) you could start out in St. George Island SP. Or you could check with Ho-Hum RV park near Carabelle for a monthly rate. We have been going to this area for 35 years and although it isn't the "best kept secret" it once was, in my mind it beats the upscale, high priced Destin area by a long shot.

[xrvr]

What about the AS park in the Fl panhandle! Jim

[dolphin44]

Originally Posted by eubank

Wow, things really are different in Minnesota! Over here, monthly rates run more or less around a third of what it would cost on a daily basis, though often you wind up paying an electric fee. Seasonal rates, to the extent that parks have them, are even less, though again plus electric.

Bottom line is that there must be quite a lot of variation. Check with the parks in the area you're interested in. Many are probably on the web, and they often have their rates posted there.


Lynn

Thank you Lynn.