Crowding no longer biggest issue among RVers; RVing and campsite prices take top complaint

RV sales have slowed and fewer people are buying RVs. Has that changed campground crowding? Is it easier to find a campsite now, particularly in state and national parks?

Campgrounds are changing and evolving, some for the better and some for the worse. RV Travel readers discuss their experiences and offer tips to help other campers find that perfect spot.

Here are a few observations from our readers. These do not necessarily represent the views of RVtravel.com.

Their go-to overnight stop just went to permanent-only

Robert C. wanted to make his usual reservation but couldn’t. He wrote, “In six years of full-timing this is the first time we have run into this. We have sons in Lubbock and College Station, TX. We have used the Cactus Rose RV Park in Mingus, TX, just off I-20, as our midway overnight stop for several years. Called this year to make a reservation and we’re told they have gone to permanent residents only.”

Not an overcrowding issue; it is an etiquette issue

Anthony B. wonders, “What has happened to us?” He writes, “As others have said, I think the overcrowding is being overstated. We are long-time RVers. Not full-time, but we have averaged at least 120 nights a year over the past five years (and 75,000 miles). It is a rare occasion for us to not find a campground or boondocking location. Have costs gone up? Yes, but some campgrounds have made major improvements.

“My biggest concern is the reduced or lack of respect and courtesy for others. Unleashed pets, not cleaning up after them, cutting through your campsite, and just this week getting flipped off by a young ‘lady’ who had to slow down as we passed each other on a campground road. Come on people, what’s happened to us? Just my opinion. And yes, we will continue to enjoy the campgrounds and states we visit.”

The smallest “peanut” in the campground

Jeffery B. likes his A-frame and intends to keep it. He wrote, “We are a very wealthy country and people like to travel in style. I noticed more and more Class A motor coaches every year. I am usually the smallest peanut in the campground with my A-frame pop-up and I don’t plan on going bigger. I am not greedy and this camper takes me anywhere I ask it to go. No upkeep headaches and it’s simple to use.”

Diesel fuel costs hamper RVing

Earl B. notes that the high cost of fuel is changing how they travel. He writes, “We have been camping about one week out of each month. We pretty much just camp in the Southwest now; we have already traveled all four corners of the USA. We have been slowing down lately due to some of our family members passing away in other states. Diesel fuel has been too high to travel very far, so that limits us, too. We are on Social Security so we have a budget that limits our travel. We are starting to travel a little less, about every six weeks instead of every four weeks.

“One of our favorite campgrounds we have been visiting every year for the 12 years in Temecula, CA, no longer accepts our Passport America discount, so we can no longer go there. I’m sure that hurts the tourism in that area. It hasn’t been too difficult to find RV sites, it’s just some have raised their rates so we only use them as a last choice.

“We are now looking to buy a permanent piece of land in one of our favorite RV areas so we can just park on our land basically for free. We are currently staying in an RV park in Camp Verde, AZ, at a great place near a lot of places to visit, and the price at the park still accepts our membership discount.”

Hurricane Milton changed their group’s rally—No deposit refund, but can rebook

Donna P.‘s group had to change their plans for the hurricane. She wrote, “I agree on the price gouging. Our RV group had a rally planned but Hurricane Milton got in the way. The campground would not refund our deposits but did give us the option of using it later for our spring rally. The trouble is some won’t be going. 🙁 ”

No cell service at the site? Search campground and ask to move

Neal D. wrote about their method of finding sites and cell service. “We have decided a month out that we want to go somewhere. We then look for open sites in preferred campgrounds and in less-preferred ones if necessary. If nothing is there, then we consider alternate areas. We generally have never whiffed completely.

“We booked four nights in Holly Bay Campground beginning Sunday (8/1). The site was incredible, but we had no ability to make telephone calls. We walked the campground the next morning and checked coverage at every site open throughout the duration of our stay. The campground hosts transferred our reservation to the new site and we could let relatives know we were okay, but, more importantly, we knew they were okay. Site H18, not so good (AT&T, T-Mobile, & Verizon). Site A3, much better (AT&T, T-Mobile & Verizon).”

6,232-mile trip with $45-a-night average

Paul M. writes to us about their big trip, costs, and camping midweek. He says, “We just completed a 47-night trip (May 19—July 5) of 6,232 miles from NC to Newfoundland and back. Total camping fees were $2,110, just under $45/night. We had campground reservations (some of them made just a week or two in advance with one made for 7/2-4), Harvest Hosts, Hipcamp, boondocking, and a couple of nights moochdocking with old friends. We did see empty ‘reserved’ sites in some state parks, which was too bad. Our trip covered Memorial Day and 4th of July weekends and we were still able to make reservations with no problems.

“We agree with a previous post comment that everyone has the right to camp seven days a week. If we had never camped on weekends with our kids years ago, we never would have continued camping midweek now that we are retired.”

Now, some questions for you:

• Are you finding campgrounds booked up? Or is finding a place to stay not a problem?
• Are campgrounds changing for the better or for the worse?
• Are you seeing more permanent and seasonal RV parks?
• Are rising costs affecting your camping style?
• If campgrounds continue to be crowded and RVing continues to become more popular, will it affect how or when you RV?
• Do you have any tips or secrets you’d like to share about finding campgrounds that aren’t as crowded?

Please use the form below to answer one or more of these questions, or tell us what you’ve experienced with campground crowding in general.

Read last week’s Crowded Campgrounds column: What’s wrong with the RV industry? ‘They do as they please and never listen to actual RVers!’

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