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What is your pain threshold when it comes to …
What is your pain threshold when it comes to paying resort, park and or campground site rental fees?
I have had an interesting conversation with a couple of people about where they prefer to stay and how much they pay. I met some people who will stay at resorts only. I also met many people who would much rather stay in a nice national or state park. And then there are people who look closely at how much they have to pay per night and will accept a place with obvious deficiencies, just to save money.
RV Resorts pricing can go as high up as $190 per night. Mostly, they seem to be in the +/- $125-$150 per night.
The typical campgroud seems to run around $50-$75 per night and frequently less.
National and State Parks can be as low as $15 per nightt. Especially, if you qualify for senior rates.
If the deciding factor for you is cost, how much DO you typically pay and what is your max ?
I am interested to read about the Dollars you spend on rentals.
Thanks & Cheers,
Ronald
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20 Replies
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The answer for me comes from a mental Algorithm. Location vs park quality vs how long we’ll be there vs convenience vs do I need full hookup vs what’s available nearby vs access without trees and so on.
No simple answer other than I don’t like to waste money, but also don’t want to be inconvenienced in order to save a few bucks.
If your interested in checking on sky-high rates, take a look at Newpot Dunes, in CA. I believe they have the highest rates in their season. Some well over $300 a day to park on sand.
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and you response is what most people would say.
However, when it comes to paying and or “saving a few bucks”, do you routinely and willingly pay $150-$180 or do you actively look for less expensive accomodations?
FWIW, personally, I do avoid high priced resorts because I do not make use of the facilities.
Usually, I am paying in the $35-$75 range and sometimes closer to $100. Seldom more.
National and State parks are my favorites because they are usually quite large, often times have generously sized sites and offer elbow room, walking trails etc. They are also dirt cheap. My tax dollars at work.
Anyways, looking for more replies.
Cheers,
Ronald -
We have opted for overnight parking based solely on convenience and safety.
I am perfectly OK with a rest area if I can get on the end of a row that enables me to open the slides and the adjoining space is not one in which I have a risk of being sideswiped. But that is not our first choice.
Our first choice is a RV park almost right off the interstate. I am not driving 5 miles to get to an RV park just to catch a night’s sleep. I also don’t care about facilities other than an electric outlet. I don’t want to unhook just to sit overnight so a pull through is important. And if the RV park is one that I have been to before and it take forever to get my family history just to fill out the registration form I want to go elsewhere. At the end of the day I am grumpy(ier), tired, hungry and intolerant..
A destination RV park my needs shift. I have stayed at some very expensive places because they were both nice and convenient to where we wanted to visit. When we are in a coach it is not for a season so whatever we have to pay to get comfortable surroundings is OK. A week at a destination and we are likely heading home.
I really like the ambience of the French Quarter RV park, and to be honest I don’t know what it costs, but after several stays we just got to hate the night time sirens and noise. As convenient as it is to the French Quarter, most of the time we would be driving somewhere anyway so the proximity to the FQ was no longer critical. Instead we opted for a far less plush RV park, the KOA on the west side on Jefferson Highway. It was quiet, the pad was concrete and I have no clue what it cost either, but while not as picture perfect as the FQRV park it did not lack for anything we needed. So the bottom line is I would likely choke at having to pay the price of a good hotel room for a piece of concrete, but if the RV park met our needs I would do it. I would not inconvenience myself to save money unless it was a whole lot of savings. I mean a whole lot.
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Ronald:
To answer your question: I’ll pay whatever it takes to get us where we want to be. However, like Jon I won’t drive far from the Interstate just for one night. Simple overnight parking requires a much lower set of standards than stopping to visit a particular location. I won’t stop overnight in rest areas or any public location except in an emegerency. We will spend a night in a truckstop, but only as a last resort. We like the feeling of security being in a campground, resort, etc.
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Stay at Army Core Engineer parks here in Texas. Half price for old folks as I use My wifes senior card. She married a kid many moons ago. Well, 1 year younger. State parks here in Texas and they are cheap also. If they all are booked head to Surfside Tx. and stay at Brother in law’s place and plug up.Never dump anywhere as I only stay a few days and have a dump out at the ranchito. Anybody needs a spot for a while, holler. Have fifty amp out here for you also. Longhorn’s might scrub the paint though.
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I would guess our campground fee’s while traveling cross country are in the 30 – 50 dollar range. This does not apply to seasonal sites that are way jacked up at the various high end resorts that easily range from 80 – 100 plus.
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We prefer state and federal parks due to the scenery and lot size. The price is very sweet icing on the cake. Our travel is a combination of business and pleasure, so sometimes we just need to be close to a specific location and thus will pay the money required; however, like Jon, we choke at paying the cost of a decent hotel room for a place to park. We have no desire to stay in a dump just to save a few dollars, but we also have no desire to spend frivolously.
We don’t like to stay in rest areas or truck stops due the likelyhood of being side-swiped when the slides are out. WalMart’s and Cracker Barrel’s our some of our favorite overnight stops. We feel far more secure in Craker Barrel’s and are usually the only overnight guests. The “free” overnight stops typically aren’t so free after visiting the business owning the parking lot.
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We stay at RV parks usually coming from recommends, PC members, been there before, close to Interstate or something about the RV park different from the routine.
Bluewater RV park comes to mind on the high end location. Look at where you are …15 miles from Key west.
We have probably stayed at most options. Rarely do we look at price as you get what you pay for. Mary Ellen’s hot button is being parked where we are safe.
We have stayed couple of times at local NAPA store parking lots in small towns. Wal Mart…. If I get there early and can find parking spot away from activity. Having a shopping cart moving at the speed of a freight train across the parking lot changed Wal Mart overnights.
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We, like most RV’ers, like a good value for our dollars spent. We rarely pay over $100 a night for a RV spot.
Just recently (February 2015), we stayed at the Newport Dunes RV Resort. We had one of the best spots on the back bay on the end at the front of the park. I think our cost was just over $100 a night including a discount which I know is off-season. It is such a nice place and I know they charge a premium for the location (expensive Real Estate).
The Las Vegas Motorcoach Resort is about $65 a night with a discount. ‘In the day’, before the recession, we paid $75 a night for a basic lot. During the downturn, those same lots were $49 a night, they have inched their way back up.
Like others have stated, we want safety. When we stop for one night, we want a pull-through. And, it’s nice if the RV park is closer to the interstate as we don’t want to drive forever to find the park.
We have never stayed at a Walmart as I like a full hook-up (water, sewer and electric).
You know what the say about a guy driving a high dollar coach, he is looking for free place to stay. LOL! Ain’t that the truth!
Mark
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We started out using higher end RV resorts but after 3 years we have come to appreciate the space, locations and views offered by county and state parks. If you can plan ahead 6 months you can reserve some choice spots.
Our worst experience so far has been at a high end motor coach resort in Las Vegas. For 5 days from 8am to 5pm, we had to listen to a jack hammer ripping up the neighbor’s concrete pad for a cabana remodel. When we complained we were offered 5% off the rate. Not worth it.
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I know I am going to offend someone, but at this point one thing that will make us go elsewhere is an RV park with a bunch of little kids running around. I would rather eat bees than spend time at an RV park near an amusement park or anyplace that caters to families with small kids. So to add to my above comments add in that we look for RV parks with senior citizens.
On edit, let me restate the above………We have nothing against kids, it is the parents who don’t insure their kids respect others that irritate us. And apparently it is not politically correct anymore to discipline kids.
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I see or hear here, one reoccuring theme, and that is Safety. My parents were like that, they did not feel safe on the road, and stayed in RV Parks all of their traveling days.
Working hard to get my coach into the most livable condition possible, without relying on someone else, was my immediate goal. I feel that I can go a couple of weeks without a campground, and often just pay to dump and get water, and then hit it again. I have to side with Jon, on the campground thing, I have had more trouble in paid-for campgrounds than I ever had in the boonies.
Not a big fan of swing sets and swimming pools.
We stay at stores, Walmart, truckstops, churches, city parks and just about anywhere else that has 65′ of level ground. I spent the night behind a pile of dirt in Oregon one night, never heard or seen a soul. The shotgun and the pistol, take care of the security.
Jus Sayin
BCO
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For us it seems, our needs come in two broad categories. First category is for stops on our way to some destination. So, we are just interested in something convenient along our route. Our first choice would be an easy in easy out pull thru at a full hook up RV park. If it meets that criteria, the price is not that important for one night. We have used a few KOA’s some were just fine others not great but OK, some I would never go back. Pricing for these ranges from 35 to 50 per night. We have also used Casino RV sites in La and Tx with good results usually just big parking lots with full hook up sites for very reasonable prices. We have often used interstate rest stops with 24 hour security for overnight stops. We never put slides out, usually look for an end spot, and good place to walk our dog. Never spent the night at a Wallmart so far but we would depending on location. Second category would be something at our intended destination. For these we just take what we can get a reservation for regardless of price as we are usually there when everyone else wants to be there too. We try to make the best price value choice available but we realize we are in a competitive market. We bought our Bus in 2009 and started traveling when it was easy to find good spots to stay at attractive destinations but that has changed. In the last three or four years we have found it much harder to get a reservation for places we wanted to return to. We have purchased lots in two attractive destinations as a result. We have found it is easy to reserve the prime time you want and rent the site out when you are not using it.
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For those who do not yet own a Prevost it should probably be mentioned that our experience has been that a Prevost coach attracts attention. That is why a campground for an overnight is multiple times better than any other option for us. We still might draw attention, but that attention likely is not going to compromise our safety in a campground.
From our first coach which really drew attention due to the fact there were very few Prevost conversions on the road we became aware not all people were safe to be around. While spending a night on the road for free in a rest area, truck stop or Walmart was OK we always felt a great deal more comfort being in a campground.
We also realized one significant benefit to going to a rally was if there was a number of Prevost coaches in the campground we were not the center of attention. That all sounds like we are stuck up or arrogant, but 25 years ago a Prevost coach was something most people wanted to see and after a while we just wanted to be left alone. We have had people put their feet on the front bumper, pull themselves up using the wiper arms and press their nose to the windshield to get a look inside. We have had people insist on getting a look at the inside of the coach. One morning in a campground we opened the privacy curtains to find about 6 people standing in front of our coach staring at it and talking about it. That is less of an issue now, but people are attracted to our coaches. So our past has shaped how and why we feel about where we will spend the night.
There is far less attention drawn to us today since a lot of Prevost coaches are on the road, and especially since a lot of expensive motor homes look like a Prevost to those who don’t know.
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I’m with Jon when it comes to safety. Not a fan of waking up to people looking in your windows, tapping on the door and constantly being asked to “see inside.” When I’m on route to a destination I stop to gain some shuteye and good rest. So I’ll pay whatever it cost for that to happen. Simply put if I’m not comfortable or don’t feel safe I can’t sleep. So a Walmart isn’t much of an option…for me. Just like a hotel when traveling, I’ll pay whatever it cost to feel comfortable to get a good night’s rest. A Prevost is a “head turner” and unfortunately it can turn the wrong head at times. That being said, a high price doesn’t mean a higher sense of security. But on average there does seem to be a correlation between the two majority of the time lol.
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