Hello

[vgilbert]

Hello Everyone!! I'm so glad I watched Bob's last live feed as it led me here 
I am 53, single, and loving fulltime bus life!
I am currently in the Ocala National Forest (Florida) boondocking in my newly built shuttle bus conversion which I moved into 4 months ago.
Looking forward to heading west at some point this winter to meet like minded nomads. In the meantime anyone in Florida boondocking please feel free to speak up if you would like to share info, meet up, etc.
Hope all are well out there
God bless
Vern

 

[NctryBen]

Welcome, looking to do the same as far as going west. Sick of looking at videos of people doing it... I wanna do it!!! Your rig sounds like a good fit.

 

[RvDreams]

Welcome vgilbert to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[vgilbert]

Hello Ben,
Hope you get there! 
For me it would be about 2,300 miles from my current location. I work almost every day from my bus so it will take some time to work my way out there but sow travel is the best part of this lifestyle for me. Stopping to see so many great places along the way is the main reason I decided to do this.
Good Luck and God Bless

 

[nature lover]

Welcome Vgikbert to the forum and to the lifestyle. I am an East Coast Snowbird and plan to be leaving for Florida the day after Thanksgiving. I plan to stay till April. I am always looking for Boondocking sites as I’ve never boondocked in Florida before. I imagine you’ll be leaving for the west before I leave for the south but if you could give me some hints you can personal message me here or whatever you wanna do. Maybe you can tell me about the Water authority sites, state forests, and state parks. I want to stay as close to Sarasota as I can because that’s our Amish and Mennonite settlement in Florida for the winter. One thing I don’t understand I think your state parks and state forest are separate and I would have to buy the annual pass for both. Is that right? I have a family I can camp on their farm but they’re an hour and a half from Pine craft, Sarasota which is my base for the winner. I’m a nature teacher an amateur wildlife photographer so I want to spend as much time at parks nature preserves etc. if you have any info on them that would be great too. You don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to but I would be appreciative of whatever you can tell me. What type of bus are you in and do you have pictures? Everybody here on the forum likes to see pictures of your build. God bless the nomads East and West Coast but especially the East Coast.

 

[vgilbert]

Hello Naturelover,
There are great opportunities here in Florida for camping but it depends on what you are looking for. Ocala National Forest has almost endless area for boondocking and there are also "established" campgrounds. Ocala National Forest is close to the city of Ocala which offers anything one could need. I am currently in a spot that is 2 hours 45 min from Sarasota. 
Big Cypress Preserve and Everglades are further to the south and also offer great camping areas. 

The issue with wintering in Florida is so many people come here. Spots fill up fast. State parks are GREAT!! but can be impossible to get a spot with so many making reservations months in advance. (not to mention the covid thing that is again closing areas)

Google Earth is my best tool for finding great boondocking sites. 

My rig: The best thing to do is take a look at my Instagram, just send me a follow request. I post on it daily. If you have any specific questions I will try to help.

Hope this helps! Please feel free to ask if I might be able to help further.
Good Luck and God Bless!

 

[Sofisintown]

My rig: The best thing to do is take a look at my Instagram, just send me a follow request. I post on it daily.

I don't have Instagram, and I follow nobody.
Can you post a picture here?

 

[GypsyJan]

I am East Coast Snowbird wanna be as I don't retire for a few more years. I will spend Nov-Mar in FL and the other 7 months migrating to and from the NE. I threw a cot in the back of my RAV4 and fashioned a gallery kitchen to be accessed through the hatch door. I take road trips whenever I can and tweak my set up each time. I work in Orlando and live near Titusville, so if you are ever down this way, let's swap van life tips over a cup of coffee.

 

[vgilbert]

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Hi Jan[/font]
[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]I will try to remember you if I get over that way. I do like to watch the rocket launches but Im really enjoying Ocala Forest.[/font]
[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]You are welcome to let me know if you get over this way. I plan to be here for some time yet.[/font]
[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Maybe a weekend camp trip for you? Sitting on a very nice spot at the moment and dont plan to budge until I have to  [/font]

 

[eDJ_]

Welcome to the CRVL Forum  

Great to see someone in a Shuttle.  I've posted this here before but would like to see if you are having the same success with your Shuttle   as this family ?  You're someone who is actually in a Shuttle.

In my bottom signature link at the bottom there are numerous trip planning links.   "Free Camping Near You net"
is in the links portal and in the upper left "Trip Planner" where it will ask you how far off your path you are willing to go to see interesting things.   This may hold some interest for you.  Look for the "Options" under the location boxes.

Father of 11 girls with Converted Shuttle Van
http://www.fatherof11.com/shuttle_bus.html
http://www.fatherof11.com/shuttle_bus.htmlFree Camping Near You
http://www.fatherof11.com/shuttle_bus.html
http://www.fatherof11.com/shuttle_bus.html
http://www.fatherof11.com/shuttle_bus.html