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Just as in Goldilocks and The Three Bears, the porridge can be too hot or too cold, the chair too big or too small or the bed too soft or too hard.

As we RV across this great land, we are often asked, how do you decide where to go and how long to stay. Well, the answers to those questions are rather complicated and not limited to one or two considerations.

The single most important factor for most RVers is the weather. There is a reason why we are often called “Snowbirds” by the locals in southern states. When one is living full time in a house, that at best is 400 to 500 square feet, pure logic would tell you that a lot of the time is going to be spent outdoors. Cabin fever in that small of a cabin comes on quickly. Most RVs are equipped with a large awning that folds down from the side of the rig and is normally one of the first things to be set up. A large ground cloth is placed under the front steps and the awning. Add netting to the sides of the awning and your screened in porch is complete. As hard as it is to believe, some units have a small wind indicator on the roof that spins in the breeze and automatically causes the awning to retract in a threatening wind to avoid damage.

While preferences vary, Sara and I like a temperature range between 65 and 85 degrees with low humidity. This means following the spring north and the fall south. It is truly amazing how much a difference of 200 miles in either direction can make on the temperature. And altitude can make a difference too. There is a good reason why the people of South Carolina head for the mountains during the heat and humidity of August. The ocean often has a cooling affect with a sea breeze that comes in off the water each night which makes places like Cape Cod and the Hamptons so popular for the people of Boston and New York during the summer.

My brother who lives in Dallas, TX once told us, “Sure you like Texas; you are always here when the weather is so nice. Try Austin in July and August and see if you still like it.” And, of course, he is right. It is one of the true joys of RVing. If it gets too hot or too cold, just like that famous porridge in Goldilocks and the Three Bears, we move until it’s just right. Having access to the Internet allows us to watch the weather anywhere in real time and often fellow RVers are only too happy to give us advice. “Don’t go to New Foundland until the first of July or you won’t like it. We were there in June and what a mistake!!!” A tip like that can make the difference between a long drive for a month of rain and fog and a long drive for a month of just spectacular weather. Not that all of our decisions are always on target. We spent one memorable weekend in the foothills of Santa Fe, NM awakening to a foot of snow on the roof of the RV, an entire month in Bangor, Maine, (we paid for a month with no refund) where it rained for 25 of the 30 days, drove on snow covered roads west of Denver, CO as semis were scattered in the ditches, and spent Christmas in Homestead, FL where it was 91 degrees with 90 percent humidity on Christmas Eve.

Speaking of paying for a month without a refund, cost is also a consideration for most RVers when deciding where to go and how long to stay. The cheapest accommodations on the road are what Rvers affectionately call “boondocking” from the slang boondocks meaning rough backwoods or bush country. It’s free!!! In truth, most boondocking is actually done in the parking lots of places like Wal-Mart or large shopping centers. Wal-Mart’s actually encouraged it as long as you don’t set out the awning, fire up the charcoal grill and invite the relatives over for a beer. Some stores have signs outlawing boondockers and in popular destinations like Washington DC, Key West, FL or New York City there is an outright ban. Still many RVers, particularly those on a strict budget, swear by it and seem to dedicate most of their efforts toward avoiding camping fees. But life in a parking lot with no water, sewer or electrical hookups can get old fast, and the drone of engines and the smell of diesel fumes in a truck stop or wayside are not conducive to a good night’s sleep.

Rates vary greatly based on demand, availability, amenities and location. RV resorts outside of Key West, FL can run $145 a night and we have stayed in Wakenney, KN for a mere $11, full hookup, (electrical, water, sewer and satellite TV). Where the hell is Wakenney? Well, you get the idea. As rule, the longer you stay, the cheaper it is. There are usually weekly rates, monthly rates and three month packages. Sara and I try to keep our daily rate below $30 a night and average about $22-$25. Some RVers like a particular park so much that they rent a space for an entire summer, winter or year round. They become “seasonals”, a phenomenon, that while producing constant income for the resort owner, often can give the park a “K-Mart” ambience with plastic flamingos and lawn ornaments sprouting up everywhere. Seasonals often have a reputation for acting like they “own the place” and can make very poor neighbors. And speaking of owning the place, there are thousands of “owner” resorts being built across the country.

You own or lease the site; it is rented out when you are not there and some can be very expensive. How about $75, 000 for a slab of concrete in Lake Havasu, AZ? But you get two Olympic sized swimming pools, a Jacuzzi, club house, billiards room, massage facility and golf course. No tent campers allowed, Actually, all permanent residents must own a motor home no older than 5 years old.
There is a full range of other options available including RV site “time shares”, franchised resorts such as Encore which are located across the country at popular locations, and RV parks that participate in reduced fee “clubs” such as Passport or Escapee. You purchase a yearly membership and that entitles you to stay at certain parks for less. Probably the most popular among Rvers are simple discount cards such as Good Sams or KOA which normally entitle you to a 10% discount on site fees.

The next consideration in choosing where to stay is quality of the accommodations. Cost, of course, is somewhat proportional to amenities and having access to a high speed internet connection is a feature that is extremely important to us. Because we do all our banking, trip planning and correspondence via the net, we are very dependent on a good computer connection. And one quickly learns the phrase “computer friendly” in the description of a particular park can mean one extremely slow phone connection for 200 sites in a building that is closed at 5 PM every night. The best parks have free wireless or WiFi where you can use the computer in the comfort of your RV unit any time you desire. Many parks have cable TV which is less important to us as we have a satellite TV system. A pool is nice but many are shut down during the fall and winter. Standard in most commercial RV resorts is “full hookup” which means electricity, water and sewer. The electricity comes in two strengths, 30 amps and 50 amps. Sometimes there is an extra charge for 50 amp service which is necessary with our RV if you plan to run the air conditioner. Running on 50 amps also allows you to use electric space heaters and saves our propane supply. In warmer climates we can run both the convection oven and air conditioner and most importantly, Sara’s hair dryer, all at the same time without popping fuses. Some parks outlaw the use of space heaters, a rule we have never been able to understand because how can they can enforce it without coming in the RV. The quality of the water varies with locations and Sara and I always buy bottled water for cooking and drinking. As for sewer connection, we usually want this feature if we are planning to stay for more than a week. It is a real pain to move the entire RV to the park’s dump station just to empty the tanks. You pay more for the most attractive sites at a park which we are usually willing to do. Hey, there is nothing like waterfront property for a while without having to pay taxes on it.
Logistics or park location can sometime be a real important issue. Unfortunately many state and county parks were built before the advent of modern, large RVs. The parks want your business but sometime are hesitant to tell you that their sites simply cannot accommodate a 38 ft rig and its tow vehicle. It is only after you have driven to the park, checked in, and paid your fees, that you realize the park has assigned you to a site which requires a chain saw and crow bar to get in. Overhanging branches can re- arrange your RV to the tune of thousands of dollars and are to be avoided.

As one surveys the thousands of RV resorts across the nation, it soon becomes apparent that local attractions have a lot to do with the availability. Most places of high interest have a cluster of parks around them, both public and private. Chances are that Eden, South Dakota, pop. 92 doesn’t have an RV park while Rapid City, on the edge of the Black Hills and location of Mt Rushmore will have many. This principle, however, is not always true. Sometimes the sheer cost of real estate has eliminated RV parks in the most popular areas. It is nearly impossible to find any parks in the New York City area and stays in Washington D.C. and Los Angeles usually mean long drives from a neighboring location. Key West is next to impossible. If you were the owner of an RV park in this popular spot and could sell the land for $11 million or manage an RV park, what would you do? Still, places like Las Vegas, Orlando or Phoenix abound in an ample supply of parks. Land there is fairly cheap.

Another consideration guiding most Rver’s decisions in where they go and how long they stay, is the location of family and friends. Sara and I are convinced that it is often easy for stationary folks to take for granted the availability of family and friends. We often talk to fellow Rvers who are in a given location mainly to visit family, friends or grandchildren. Sara and I take every possible opportunity to visit old friends and relatives in a given area and are very willing to drive out of our way for a night of reminiscing.

As we travel we lay out a general plan of where we will be in three months, six months and a year. Then we fill in the gaps between locations, making reservations in areas where finding a spot could be a problem. We operate under what we call the 2-2-2-2 Rule. We always try to stay in a given location for at least two weeks or all you ever do is move, continually setting up and taking down and not seeing much of anything. The second two is not to drive over 200 miles a day. That may not sound like much, but when you are pulling everything you own down the road behind you at 60 mph, mistakes can be costly and frankly, why hurry? We are retired after all.

The third two refers to when we leave a location. We always try to leave the second day of the weekend or Sunday morning early. There is little traffic and we are generally off the road before the afternoon rush. Finally, we always try to get to a park by two in the afternoon. That way we arrive after checkout time, but before most people arrive and one tends to get the best sites between noon and two.

To aid us on our decision as to where and how long to stay in a location, most Rvers have several aids. Probably most useful is what is referred to as the “The Road Bible of Rvers”, Woodall’s Guide to Campgrounds. This book is the size of a telephone directory of a major city and lists the location, directions, amenities and cost of each park. Most importantly, it rates the parks on a scale of 1 to 5 stars and most parks strive to get the highest rating possible. It also lists most national, state, county and local parks. We never stay in a park below 3 stars and usually avoid 5 star parks due to the high cost.

Also the Internet has many sites where individual parks are reviewed by Rvers who have stayed there. While opinions vary, a list of very low ratings is a dead giveaway to a park that is to be avoided.

A new consideration for us as well as many Rvers is how dog friendly the park is. Fortunately or unfortunately, dependent on whether you talk to Sara or me, the addition of our new travel companion, Charlie, the Schnoodle puppy, has again necessitated us to declare that we have a dog at check in time. Most Rvers have pets and any park that refuses to accommodate for their canine or feline visitors is bound to lose a lot of business. Charlie so far has managed not to get us kicked out of any parks but he is trying.

We are presently staying at Imperial Bonita Estates North of Naples, Fl for the last two weeks of December and the entire of month of January. During the winter months there are really only four options for the RVer looking for truly warm weather. First, southern California in the San Diego area which is extremely pricey, then Phoenix, AZ and areas to the south of Phoenix, third there is the Brownsville, TX area known to RVer’s as the “the valley” and finally the southern tip of Florida.

The closer you are to the ocean, usually the more costly the stay. We are a mere five miles from the beach, and while Imperial Bonita Estates is certainly not the most luxurious RV resort we have seen, it has all usual amenities including a large pool, club house, library, laundry, horseshoe courts.

The cost of our 44 day stay is $1200 or about $28 a day for full hook up, well within our budget. But what makes this park most attractive is the friendliness of our fellow residents. Most parks go through a natural progression from brand new and sparkling to gradually more and more seasonal residents, to a period of almost all seasonals who come back every year to the sale of all the lots with no room for folks off the road to an owner controlled park or sale of the land for residential development or condos. As this progression takes place over the years, the quality of the amenities declines, but more importantly, the cordiality regulars have for new visitors usually plummets. Nothing can make a stay at an RV resort more miserable than terrible neighbors and resort management that is constantly harping about rules and regulations. Of course, it is almost impossible to determine the climate of a park until you have stayed there for a while and Imperial Bonita Estates is one of the friendliest parks we have ever encountered. Our neighbors on both sides came over to introduce themselves, we were invited to the annual Christmas party and another resident has offered to give me some all important surf fishing lessons at the beach. Everyone waves when they pass by and even our new schnoodle puppy has made several canine buddies at the dog park. So park climate can make the difference between a great stay and a miserable experience. And, of course, they have your money before you can figure that out. Most parks don’t give refunds.

So just as in the tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, we strive for not too hot or too cold, not too big or too small, not too soft or too hard, and friendly. We often get it just right.