Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

Life as a full-time RVer is a series of decisions.  Of course there's the decision to become a full-timer, I'm not going into that in this post.  The first decision I'm going to discuss is selecting your RV.  We'd known for years that when we retired we wanted to sell the house, buy an RV, become full-timers and travel south for the winter.  So we visited RV shows and RV sales lots and looked at hundreds of different size and style campers.  We loved the sleek and high end design of the Airstreams, and continued to hold out hope that we'd find one with the perfect floor plan.  In reality what we were shopping for was a floor plan, and we kept looking until we found it.  What we wanted included a travel trailer no more than 25', ideally less because we were towing virgins and were afraid of getting anything too long, no slides because we viewed them as fraught with the opportunity for mechanical failure, leakage and complications that we wanted to avoid, a walk around bed, a dry bath (a shower separate from the toilet so that when you shower you aren't in the same stall as the toilet getting the entire bathroom all wet), and most important of all, someplace to sit while inside that was comfortable and lounge-y, not the stiff 90 degree angles of a dinette.  We discovered the Murphy bed option which allowed you to tuck the bed into the wall like a Murphy bed, opening up a couch.  This seemed like the best option for the size and other criteria we wanted, until we met our camper's floor plan.

The minute we saw this camper, the Lance 1475, that was it, decision made.  It had all but one of our criteria, it lacks a walk around bed.  But we loved the two lounge chairs option so much, we were happy to compromise on that wish list item.

The second but equally important decision is where and from whom you purchase your RV.  We did not want to buy from an RV super store.  We had heard plenty of horror stories about great sales attention and deals that were not followed up with great service.  We wanted, if possible, to support an independently owned, not corporate dealer.  We were so fortunate to have found the perfect dealership 15 minutes from home, Happy Camping RV Sales and Service in Vermontville, NY.  I can not tell you the number of phone calls, emails, text messages I have sent owner Hans Michielen since our purchase.  We were learning as we were going and Hans has been a patient and faithful coach.  We recently "sprung a leak", and had water spraying from a "part" in a water hose leading to the hot water heater.  I contacted Hans, we figured out that it was a pressure regulator, and he contacted the manufacturer to arrange to have it replaced at a nearby dealership (we were in Georgia when it happened and leaving the next day for NC).  Lance made an appointment for us at a dealership in NC for the repair, but the dealership told me in an email that after looking at the photos I sent of the part that needed to be replaced, "I looked into this when I got here this morning and spoke with my warranty manager and I'm sorry to say that there is no way for us to get the part here in time and for it to be covered under warranty without going through our warranty process."  Long story short, Hans arranged for the part to be overnighted to us directly and I replaced it myself.   I know we made the right decision when we purchased at Happy Camping RV!

An obvious decision that has consumed a great deal of my time and attention, is where to go and where to stay.  I'm going to share some of my favorite resources for finding campgrounds and RV parks as well as finding out about them.  My number one go to source for campground/RV park info is Campendium.com.  Campendium is a free website with accompanying free mobile app that allows you to search for campgrounds/RV parks by location, and has user reviews and photos.  I have found this an invaluable asset in learning about what's available in a given spot and what others have to say about their experiences there.  Because I use the reviews to make decisions, I try to leave reviews of places we've stayed as well.  This link goes to the reviews I've completed on Campendium: Mema & Cema.  Another resource that I've found to be a great way to find out about public campgrounds (National Parks, State Parks, Army Core of Engineer parks, Bureau of Land Management property, County Parks, etc) is UltimateCampgrounds.com  Click on the Ultimate Campgrounds Map to explore available public camping spots in that area.  A number of sites will appear and as you click on the number, the map will expand and drill down to more until specific sites appear.  While the website is free, the mobile app is $3.99.

Another way I've found campgrounds and RV parks is using google maps.  When using a web based version of google maps, once you've entered a location, a Nearby button is one of the options.  If you click on nearby and search for campgrounds or RV parks nearby, you'll find a great wealth of information.  I have occasionally consulted Trip Advisor for campground/RV park reviews, but another site I use frequently to check reviews is campgroundreviews.com   I've found this to be a very comprehensive directory of campgrounds and RV parks and use it often to compare reviews to those I find on Campendium for additional information.  

Memberships are another source of information about available RV parks/campgrounds and customer reviews, as well as potential savings on campground fees.  The decision about which memberships to get (or not to get) is another decision that is on my list.  The first membership we purchased was Passport America.  The reason we spent $44 was not to get the list of participating campgrounds, anyone can find that on their website, but because of the promise of 50% off the listed rate for a site.  If the listed price for a site was $40, it was only $20 with Passport America.  Sort of.  What we discovered after getting our membership was extensive black out dates.  In the campgrounds where we tried to use it, many times whole months were blacked out.  Here is an example of what is listed under Important Campground Notes for one RV park we visited: P.A. discount is valid for one week. P.A. discount is not valid October 1st through April 30th.  The notes for another campground we considered stated: P.A. discount is valid for one night; please see management for discount on longer stays. P.A. discount is valid May through September only.  I did find a couple of nights were were able to use it, but not enough to renew my membership next year.

Initially I didn't think a Good Sam Club membership sounded like much of a deal, with only 10% off the listed rate.  However, if a campground is a participating Good Sam Club partner, they offer 10% off every day of the year, so in the long run it's a great deal. Membership costs $30/year and we've recouped that 10x over.  In addition to discounted campsite fees, there are Camping World and Flying J gas station discounts for members as well.  

I recently joined an online RV community on RVillage.com.  I did so primarily because the site offers the opportunity to create an interactive map of the locations where you have stayed.  It offers other social networking options to interact with campers who have checked in to the same or nearby campgrounds, message boards, etc.  It also features information about all places RV, including an external link to AllStays, another site for camper reviews of campgrounds and RV parks.  I'm happy with the decision to join RVillage so that I can share this map with you of the places we have stayed.  Please remember, just because we stayed there doesn't mean we recommend it.  

And last but not least, another source of great information to help you make the RV life decisions you are considering, is other campers.  There is a wealth of information to be gained by reading blogs and vlogs by RVers.  I'm so grateful to the other campers who take the time to write and video about their experiences and recommendations.  I've learned so much this way, and hope in some small way, I'm adding to the pool of knowledge that's out there to dive into as you make your decisions, decisions, decisions!  If you have other resources you want to share, please do so in the comments section below.  Thanks!