From full-timers to fed up: Why we finally said, ‘Time for a house’

RV sales have slowed and fewer people are buying RVs. Has that changed campgrounds? 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.

Nanci’s notes: Off-season camp hosting is the best, too

We are nearing the end of our stint of off-season camp hosting and, like Donald below, we find wide-open campsites and, for us, very little work. Our issues are mainly cars parking on the grass and the occasional stealth camper.

It is, however, getting cold in Minnesota. Some of the hardy tent campers do enjoy the cool weather, although I notice that they ALL have Minnesota plates.

It does beat winter camping with snow on the ground, though. I winter camped one time in a truck camper, and that was all I needed to put that dream away. My husband was so sweet to dig our truck camper out of the snow, shovel a way to the camper in the backyard, and take me camping for my early-March birthday.

Unfortunately, going to a tourist area with lots of snow still on the ground did not provide the birthday dinner I had envisioned. The only thing open by the time we made it to the state park was a gas station. Thirty-plus years ago, the gas stations were not the mini malls that they are now. I don’t remember exactly what we had, but I do remember it was wrapped in cellophane and cold. On the flip side: There was no campground crowding! We were the only ones in a huge Minnesota state park.

We will have left the northern climes by the time this is published, and the only real challenge going southwest will be finding sites still open in the north. Most county and state campgrounds start to close up or at least turn off the water by mid-October. Iowa is iffy on open private campgrounds, too, but no issues by the time we reach Kansas.

We are so excited to get to our new-to-us fixer-upper in Arizona. Lots of progress with the electricity, not much progress with the remodel, though. Once the driveway is widened, we can get the RV up to the house. The trip in and out with the RV one time is a whole article in itself! It will be like full-timing again!

Off-season camping is the best

As mentioned, here’s what Donald B. has to say: “I have recently gotten back into camping and I can say off-season camping is the best; the sites are all first-come, first-served, which also can be a double-edge sword if you like a particular state park site. But all in all, most people are respectful and quiet. And it’s always a good rule of thumb to make friends with the campground host.”

“Harvest Hosts is the best”

Joyce S. shares: “I really like Harvest Hosts. I travel all over the country to see friends and relatives and I stay at HH. I’m usually the only one there. I enjoy meeting the hosts, who are very welcoming and informative. When I don’t plan well, I might wind up in a Love’s gas station. On the road for two years, I never had a problem, and I have met some very interesting people. Never stayed in an RV park. They look too crowded. HH is the best. Love’s is great for gas. Cracker Barrel for food and ambience.”

Time for a house!

Richard C. writes, “We have enjoyed our 5+ full-time years on the road. We’ve also seen the chronic inconsideration of campers increase by leaps and bounds. For us, it culminated at Spring Lake Campground in Batesville, Indiana. Speeding golf carts with blaring music, loud-mouthed people at all hours of the night, lazy parents, and poorly parented kids running and riding through campsites; everything wrong with campers in one park. That did it for us. Time for a house. We’ll still RV, but we’ll be more selective about our parks. As for Spring Lake—never again!”

Still need to book a year ahead

Richard A. writes, “My wife and I are senior residents of Florida and like camping in state parks. We have found over the last few years that it is getting harder to book spaces in the Florida Parks due to the influx of out-of-state campers coming down in the winter. Even though Florida has modified the booking of sites in favor of Florida residents, we find we need to book a full year ahead in order to get a site. It makes it difficult to know what is in store for the year ahead, and we have had to cancel booked trips for doctor visits, etc. We keep trying, though, and hope to continue our camping for as long as we can.”

RV campgrounds are like RV parking lots

Don T. relates, “I did a cross-country trip in the spring of 2024. It put a damper on my enthusiasm for traveling by RV.

• Campsites are so close together, it’s not camping, it’s RV parking.
• Entitlement-minded people are getting more and more rude and inconsiderate of others.
• The prices for a campsite are soon going to be competing directly with hotel accommodations.
• Campgrounds seem to be allocating all the good campsites to full-time ‘residents’. This makes for slim pickings when it comes to decent campsites.
• I have two favorite campgrounds. I don’t dare divulge which ones, as I’m afraid they will get overrun and I won’t ever be able to get a reservation there again.

It’s so sad that there is always a group of people (entitlement-minded) that have to ruin it for everyone else.”

Now, some questions for you:

• Are you finding campgrounds booked up or is finding a site not a problem?
• What do you like best about RVing?
• What are your pet peeves?
• Are you seeing more permanent and seasonal RV parks?
• Are rising costs affecting your camping style?
• Do you have favorite campgrounds or RV parks?
• What is the most memorable experience you have had RVing?
• Do you have any tips or secrets you’d like to share?

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: ‘As much as I prefer my RV, hotels are cheaper’

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