New and need help

[georgia]

Hi All,
We just bought a 2013 Fun Finder F189 and have never been RV camping before. We are not familiar with this concept yet. Would love to get suggestions on how to look for campsites that allow our TT but not have to camp inside RV campground. What other choices do we have? Thanks in advance.

[Chirpz]

Welcome. We also have a 189, a 2008 model. We recently upgraded to it from a 1986 Kit companion that was a foot shorter. We put about 30,000 miles on the Kit over a span of 7 years that we owned it.

We camp at state parks sometimes. We just spent 3 days at Seaquest State Park in Washington State where we live. A state park may be a good place to start. Try to get a "Pull through" site so you don't have to back up on your first time out. Practice backing up on a Cul-de-Sac somewhere where you won't hit anything. Check my gallery for a couple of pictures. If you can, avoid weekends since it may be crowded.

We usually prefer "boondocking" or "stealth camping." This refers to finding a lonely place or sneaky place to park for the night. During our 30,000 miles of travel, we probably stayed only 5 or 6 times a paid parks. The rest of the time we were parked: down a dead end street, out in the desert, in a national forest, etc etc. BUT...we did this while traveling...so we never spent more than one night in one place.

In our opinion, RV parks that have all the TT's lined up in a row and close together are places to avoid. You see them everywhere. But that's only OUR opinion. It is obvious that a lot of people go for it.

[georgia]

Thank you for the suggestion. We have always enjoyed tent camping, backpacking with our kids.. Switching to this is both exciting and intimidating on some level. We haven't done any real trip with our FF yet except for the one time our friends, the previous owners, took us camping at the RV parks so we can get familiar with it. Looking forward to take it on a real trip but would love to camp where it's more secluded..

[APD]

If you're close to North Georgia there is a great little campground near Hiawassee. It's small, secluded, quiet, the sites are shaded and arranged around a little fishing pond. The owners are long time full-timers that are super friendly and sincere.
It's Long Ridge Campground. Look 'em up and tell 'em Alan and Penny sent ya.
It would be a great laid back spot to practice and enjoy yourself at the same time. Donna and James are really great and you can ask them for any help/advice you might need.
Sorry if this sounds like an ad but it really is that relaxing.



Alan

[gmw photographics]

Welcome !

And do a search for national forest camping

[Michigantraveler]

We take many short two night trips and usually stay in State (Michigan) Campgrounds. We almost always have electric. Never have hooked up to water or sewer. We can boondock pretty easily but having electric is nice. We make reservations online and they show you the site before you commit. Cost is less than private RV parks. Michigan parks are nice and mostly have lots of trees. Not sure about other states though. We are just two people and a dog and we like to explore the area rather than hang around the campground. But families do tend to stay in the campground more it seems.
Check Amazon for campground books for your State or area of the country. Or look for APPs for your phone.

[runner421]

Yep - I second the National Forest campgrounds. Then you can search city & county campgrounds. Just about anywhere you tent camped you can probably get your FF close. Also mentioned is searching for state campgrounds. I'm also not a fan of the RV "parking lots" but they'll do in a pinch. They're good to stop at if you're doing long trips and need to do laundry, relax in a pool, hook up to shore power/water/sewer.

[John_C]

Originally Posted by georgia

Hi All,
We just bought a 2013 Fun Finder F189 and have never been RV camping before. We are not familiar with this concept yet. Would love to get suggestions on how to look for campsites that allow our TT but not have to camp inside RV campground. What other choices do we have? Thanks in advance.

Hi folks... Welcome to the Forum... :

I usually try to figure out an area, lake, or general place we want to camp and then search for campgrounds via the computer and/or my RV GPS... I use the applicable State's DNR websitesite, Good Sam Trip Planner, State Maps, etc., then jump to their site, choose the spot we like and make reservations. We camp in dry camping spots to full hook-up, it just depends on where we are going... For example, earlier this year in AZ, we camped at an Escapees RV park... it was a bit crowded for us, but I chose it for two reasons; it was the closest campground with electric to where I wanted to Metal Detect and the park had everything from clean laundry, bathrooms & showers to a great rec-center that gave my wife something to do while I was gone for 4 - 8 hrs.... We also spent several days at "Trail's End" totally dry (No Hook-ups) campground near the boundary water along the MN - Canadian border.

I enjoy more open sites, as others have already posted, State, Forest, BLM, US Army Corps of Engineers, and Private to name a few...

When traveling across country from home to campground or back, I usually take what's available at time to quit driving for the day, but start a search on the GPS around noon to see what's up ahead... The GPS does a pretty good search and includes parks, campgrounds, Wally World, etc. along with phone numbers, if available... This allows me to call, ask questions, pick a spot, and make reservations because campgrounds can fill up quick as the evening closes in... My GPS is a Garmin, RV_760 that I like real well...

I also purchase an annual MN Park Pass that gives a little discount and I purchased an over 62 National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass that offers various discounts to most National Parks and Federal Recreational Campgrounds... For example, last year we drove through the Teton National Park and Yellowstone National parks and there was no charge... A Good Sam annual membership can offer campground discounts and discounts at Camping World... It all adds up ...

We have some good friends in AZ that just bought their first RV and as a "Welcome Gift", we sent them a copy, via Amazon.com, of, "Best RV Tips from RVTipOfTheDay.com Copyright – April 16, 2013, by Steven Fletcher.
Anyway, he found the book to be interesting and said it had a lot of good tips.

Check this link out:
http://store.usgs.gov/pass/PassIssuanceList.pdf

Good luck and we hope you guys have lots and lots of fun...

[Michigantraveler]

Also, don't forget the Senior Pass if you are 62 or over.

https://store.usgs.gov/pass/senior_pass_application.pdf

[PieGuy]

Welcome from Colorado.
We try to stay out and away from people and campgrounds as much as possible.
I like to get on Google Maps and start looking up dirt roads for places where others have camped. Some times you can even see a trailer in the spot. Fire rings show up pretty well also.
You take a risk that the spot is occupied when you get there so I always have several back up spots. I try to leave earlier than most to grab a good spot.
One thing nice about camp grounds is there is usually someone around to keep the noise down. We've had some unpleasant experiences out in the boondocks.

[Eagle]

Originally Posted by Michigantraveler

Also, don't forget the Senior Pass if you are 62 or over.

https://store.usgs.gov/pass/senior_pass_application.pdf

I have one of these, purchased a few years back.

It is one of the BEST if not THE VERY BEST BARGAIN AVAILABLE FROM THE U.S. GOVERNMENT !!

It allows you AND your passengers in at no charge.

[georgia]

Thank you all for very informative suggestions. We will definitely look into these options. Can't wait to take trip even just a short weekend trip. We do have the National Park Pass since we take our kids camping quite often.