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Originally Posted by modhatter
As cost is a factor for us, and I want this unit for long halls from southern Florida to Arizona to Colorado and back, I don't want to have to stop at expensive RV parks every night on route. Are there many parks available with just electrical hook up (as opposed to total dry boon docking) at a reasonable cost? What kind of cost? Do they usually require reservations way in advance (instead of being able to wing it as you go)
Are they usually far off the main highways when your trying to get somewhere using the major highway system? It is certainly worth it to me to drive out of my way a bit to find a pretty more natural setting to spend the night at, as opposed to some of the RV (full service) places I have seen. Better scenery as well as cost savings. I know we would have to break up our trip and stay at a FS RV park to dump and fill up our water supply and recharge battery etc, but I thought we could limit that to maybe every third night for that purpose.
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There are two answers. To address your question, you need to decide on a night-by-night basis what kind of amenities you want. My experience is this. My wife and I make the long haul from Maine to Colorado to Arizona every fall, and back again in the spring. During this long haul, we do a few hundred miles each day, and at the end of the day, we want the comfort and ease of full hookups. Scenery doesn't matter much because we are mostly going to eat and sleep - we arn't going to stay to admire the campground or the scenery. We find campgrounds by using the Big Book of Campgrounds (Good Sam publishes one, Woodall's publishes the other, both about $12.) About an hour before we are ready to stop, we figure out where we will be, find a campground in the book, and call ahead. I don't think we've ever been stranded - Good Sam and KOA seem to be everywhere. And yes, full hookup campgrounds cost a few bucks more, but one always seems to be available near an Interstate, so that is where we end up staying. At the end of a long day, it just doesn't seem worthwhile to drive an extra 45 minutes (at 14 mpg) to save a few bucks, and to stay a scenic campground where we won't notice the scenery.
On the other hand, when we camp from our base in Maine (summer) or Arizona (winter), we want an experience that is very different from the long-haul experience. We do leisurely trips to State Parks, National Parks, BLM campgrounds, etc. We will be parked in the same place for several days, we want pretty, and we want quiet. Hookups are much less important. And costs are lower.
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Now please, no meanies lecturing me that if I am concerned with costs, I shouldn't be an RV'er.
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No one here will say that! Many of us are retired and on fixed incomes, and costs are important. In my particular case, you will find many of my posts admitting flat out that "I am cheap!" So welcome to the club, and enjoy whatever you decide to do.
Hope this helps.
Bill