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02-12-2006, 12:59 AM
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#21
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Rivet Master
1965 17' Caravel
1968 28' Ambassador
Butte
, Montana
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,201
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While I have never stayed at a Walmart for an overnight. I have found that a Trailerlife campground directory was an asset during my last 2 week trip. I stayed at a GS campground and they didn't mind at all that I came in late and left early. They were very friendly and even assisted me in getting me my GS discount when I couldn't prove my GS membership right away. I stayed at a mobile home park for 15 bucks, for the night, full hookups and quiet. I am only 39 but it was a 55 and older park and they didn't seem to care about that. For one night of full service and a good nights sleep, ya just can't beat 15 bucks. Plus I dumped my holding tank before I left. Totally worth it. I can say that I will probably never stay in a Wal Mart parking lot unless it is the last resort. IE - can't keep the eye lids open ! lol.
Chris
__________________
AIR # 7276, WBCCI # 7276
Project 2k5
Life is a journey, not a destination
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02-12-2006, 09:09 AM
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#22
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4 Rivet Member
1983 31' Excella
Waterloo
, Iowa
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 355
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jordandvm
Elizabeth in Iowa,
Are you posting your question to me? I don't dispute your math. My experience to overnite stays is limited to "Good Sam approved" CG's. I know a lot of the newer private CG's don't have spaces without hookups. Many we've stayed at have spaces that are long-term rentals (monthly). I hope their goal is to provide the best place to camp/stay overnite. If so, and you are a private campground owner with all your spaces having hookups, how are you going to determine which spaces are going to be discounted? Also, how are you going to prevent these campers from hooking up? I think there's a market out there for these types of "on the road overniter" RV's, but haven't yet seen anyone doing it!
Also, the directories that are available from Good Sam and Woodall's would have to post last year's prices of "overniter spaces". Do you really think they would do that?
I don't mind any of the overnite prices I've had to pay on my travels. My conscience also says, if I pull into a private CG with a newer Airstream, I should be able to afford the going rate. For this price, I want the best service available. If it doesn't meet my expectations, I'll let em know about it !
BTW.....I've never stayed overnite anywhere without paying something........maybe it's time I tried Walmart or Costco!
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Yes I was posting my question to you.... vbg
I was brought up not camping but in a traveling family. And after that first year, never, ever, traveled without a firm route and even firmer hotel reservations! We always checked in by 4, and were out by 8 the next morning. My dad drove like a demon, and my mom once got a ticket in California for exceeding 90 MPH!! and to make a court appearance where the patrolman told the judge she was a polite driver, signaled every pass both turning out, and turning in! Mom explained to the judge Iowa's speed limit was (at that time lo! those many years ago) 'Right and proper' or 'Prudent and Proper', I forget the exact phrase! But I digress. Bruce and I have a tendency to straight line to a destination, usually some occasion or activity... a dog show, a family gathering, or whatever. On the way home we meander along and stop whenever or wherever our fancies take us. We usually only set up the unit at our destination, not while coming or going. For us, the campground experience is NOT what we're after. We're Travelers, not campers! We look for parking spots as oppossed to camping spots! While moving, we want a place that will let us spot the unit in easily, and out, with no fuss. If we plan to stay more than one night in an area, that is when we look for a campground! I confess... we use truckstops, WalMart, and so on extensively! But only for an overnight! At the destination I want to be able to drop the trailer and come back to find it still there, and nothing disturbed!
Even with the many styles of using our Airstreams, here's the key; IF a low cost, no frills campground were available to us, we would use it. To me, it is not about the money but rather about ease of use and value for my money! When on the road without the AS, I'm generally looking only for a bed, not a bunch of amenities, so Motel 6 it is! I would like the same choice when trailering!
Question back for ya..... why do you suppose Priceline and Orbitz are so popular? Wouldn't it be great if campgroundslisted with such a service?
Elizabeth in Iowa
__________________
The carpeting is gone! The carpeting is gone! Long live the cork floor!
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02-12-2006, 09:27 AM
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#23
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Moderator
1968 17' Caravel
Battle Ground
, Washington
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 12,255
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Perhaps a campground that is competing with the local walmart for overnight business would have a discounted rate if you show up after a certain time if you're planning on leaving in the morning. A few bucks is better than none.
When we went to Calistoga a couple years ago, we ended up in the redwoods at 10pm, looking for a place to sleep. We would have stopped at any wide spot in the road by then, but they all said 'no overnight parking'. The SP was closed. There were no walmarts anywhere near. Finally we found a 'resort' CG and they charged us $35 for the night! We paid it because we were tired, but we were out of there the next morning by 8am - less than 12 hours later. That was the most expensive night we've spent on the road.
I don't mind paying the price if we're going to hookup, watch cable tv, recharge the batteries and take a shower, but if it's a quick overnight on our way to somewhere else, I'd like to get it as cheap as possible. The PO of our trailer told me how he travelled all the way across country and back and never paid for a single night. He stayed in walmarts, casinos, truckstops. Not my idea of a great vacation, but he was pretty proud of it.
In my owners manual it explains how you can camp by just pulling off the road anywhere you like. Maybe ask a farmer for permission to park in their field for the night. I wonder what it would have been like back when the world was like that! I think today the farmer would tell you to keep going and the police would roust you from the side of the road in the middle of the night and tell you to go find a campground!
__________________
Stephanie
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02-12-2006, 11:05 AM
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#24
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Rivet Master
2017 28' International
Western
, Oregon
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 802
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Elizabeth in Iowa,
You've defined your style of travel as "low cost/no frills" coming and going. The question is "how much are you willing to pay" for your overnight spot in a private CG even if they were offered? I venture to guess you would not pay for these spots at any price if you knew you could stay free somewhere else. Many of the private CGs are located conveniently close to highways for ease of entrance and exit. If you use these, you are paying for that convenience. Also, there is a bit more secure feeling overniting in a CG vs on the tarmac at a Walmart or truck stop. How much are these worth to you?
So you want a Priceline service for overnite spots? How much are you willing to pay for that service? They don't do it for free!
__________________
Jim & Cheryl
2017 28' Signature CCD
2017 GMC Denali HD Crew Cab 4x4
Blue Ox Sway Pro Hitch
WBCCI #3538
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02-12-2006, 11:56 AM
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#25
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Rivet Master
2005 19' Safari
1968 24' Tradewind
Rural
, Delaware
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,476
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Quote:
Originally Posted by C Johnson
I can say that I will probably never stay in a Wal Mart parking lot unless it is the last resort. IE - can't keep the eye lids open ! lol.
Chris
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That's the idea. I don't believe any reasonable camper would/should advocate using the parking lot of a business as a campground, but only as a place to get a few hours rest while enroute to another destination. Unfortunately, I am aware that some people do use parking lots as a destination to avoid staying in a campground. Believe me, as part of my job, I have spent the last 28+ years in and around campgrounds, and have witnessed some very unreasonable campers (and have arrested many of them for their indiscretions).
I really like Stephanie's idea of campgrounds providing some no frills sites for overnight stays at a reasonable rate. This already happens at some campgrounds to some extent, but they typically only knock a couple bucks off the full hookup rate they charge for a full day. Furthermore, if you arrive late at night/early morning, you're still expected to vacate the site before noon, or pay for another full day.
For example, when I travel to Washington, DC, I stay in a nearby campground that charges $47 per day (less the Good Sam discount). Considering it's location and the services and amenities they provide, such as: guarded swimming pools, hot tubs, sauna, an excellent fitness center, a nice cafe, fantastic camp store, free internet dial-up, Wi-Fi service, water, electric, sewage, and telephone hookups, conference center, outdoor theater, free hayrides, etc., it's worth every cent. However, if you were just passing through, and needed a few hours rest without any hookups, they would still charge about $40 bucks.
No way.
Allowing overnight parking is by no means an altruistic endeavor by the Wal-marts, truck stops, restaurants, etc. Like the campgrounds, they are in business to make a profit, and this is just one way they can foster loyalty with a certain segment of their customer base (like us millionaire Airstream owners ). In order for the campgrounds to adapt, they would do well to offer a reasonable alternative solution, instead of trying to corner the market by eliminating the competition. I would be reluctant to stay at any campground that I knew was affiliated with this movement.
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02-12-2006, 09:53 PM
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#26
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4 Rivet Member
1983 31' Excella
Waterloo
, Iowa
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 355
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jordandvm
Elizabeth in Iowa,
You've defined your style of travel as "low cost/no frills" coming and going. The question is "how much are you willing to pay" for your overnight spot in a private CG even if they were offered? I venture to guess you would not pay for these spots at any price if you knew you could stay free somewhere else.
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Your guess would be wrong. Several times we have used a commercial or state campgrounds for a simple overnite. And have on more than one occasion stayed two or three nights! My bottom line is ten bucks for a brief stay of under twelve hours. And I won't pay over fifteen.
There's a great park by Cairo, Illinois.... fee is five bucks for an overnight with no hookups, ten with electric, fifteen for w/e. We had a fire, wandered the banks of the Ohio and the Mississippi, watched the barges operate, and the traffic on the bridges. Any time we are passing through that area, we try to stay there.
Stayed at a neat campground in Ohio, cost us $15, liked it so much we extended our stay! Wish I could remember the name of it.... the guy next to us belonged to one of the camping clubs you buy into and said his rate was eight bucks a night at this one. We've paid five bucks a day on the Ohio turnpike. These were choices made with free parking available to us.
For me, there is no campground worth $35 or more a night for a simple overnight of six to ten hours.
Coming back from the east coast this fall, we did an overnight at Morain View because we knew we would not be moving out very early.... about nine or so. Can't remember what we paid, about twenty bucks I think. But, we were on the lake, with the most glorious sunset you've ever seen! Visited by many kinds of animals in the dawn... foxes included.
As for your labeling our style as 'low cost- no frills'.... all I can say is we prefer to think of it as frugal, or full value. You say to-mah-to, I say to-may-to. But then, we don't own a late model Airstream. Ours is an almost vintage, with the title in the drawer and no note ever on it! Perhaps our style is why that was possible.
Elizabeth in Iowa
__________________
The carpeting is gone! The carpeting is gone! Long live the cork floor!
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