RV Parks that take older rigs

[Bunpoh]

Before I picked up my 1995 Safari Trek to fix up and FT in with my partner and two cats, I was inspired by many who had vintage rigs. I have some money and resources but don't want to eat through them too rapidly, and have also been dealing with too many basics and mechanical issues to do a good solar install. We finally have it running and have to leave my Mom's house because of major construction about to happen.

We still have business in town for another day or two. We'd like to at least start out with electrical hookups, if possible, though we can run our noisy stinky old built in genset, which we're doing here at my Mom's, but I'd rather not all day in 90+ degree temps in a campground.

I joined Boondockers Welcome, but everyone listed here has a one night limit, and we might need two. There's not a private campground in all of the Prescott/Quad Cities are that will take anything older than 2000, most won't even take anything older than 2012. Even the shady ones that everyone complains about.

Is this true everywhere, or are we just in some sort of Snotty RV Park enclave? Should we just be prepared to boondock all the time? We can, but we'll be really jumping into the deep end, as neither of us have ever lived in vehicles before. We've done thru-hiking for thousands of miles with like 20 pounds of stuff on our backs or less, but now I have my cats to look after. Does anyone know where we might stay?

 

[john*thomas]

I have never had my 87 declined. I'm nowhere near you though.

 

[maki2]

Do not go into panic mode. You have barely scratched the surface layer for finding sites with hookups.
Try the state fairgrounds. Many of them offer RV camping sites with hookups and I doubt they are going to have age of vehicle restrictions. There are state and county fairgrounds throughout the US.

State park and County campgrounds are another good possibility. Many of them do have hookup sites and I have never heard of them having a vehicle age restriction. They usually are more affordable than RV parks especially if you are a state resident and qualify for senior discounts.

National Parks also might have RV camping with hookups. They do not have age of vehicle restrictions at any I have gone to. But mostly in the parks from Federal, state and county you will find that advance, online reservations might be needed. Core of engineer camp grounds are another option in some areas of the country.

There are Elks Clubs all across the country that offer RV parking for members. Some of those clubs have hookups. Membership in the Elks is still an affordable option. I do not believe they have restrictions on vehicle age.

Some Casinos have associated RV spots with partial hookups. Usually electric and sometimes water. Some are free and some are not.

 

[mattvei]

are you friendly with neighbors? Ask them

 

[bullfrog]

We got around the age rule by towing a cheap less than ten year old travel trailer that had water damage and had been totally stripped out for storage with our at that time almost 30 year old motorhome. We simply registered with the trailer, nobody had rules about how old the tow vehicle was.

 

[tx2sturgis]

RV parks often have a RV age limit, but most campgrounds don't.

Start googling campgrounds, KOAs, etc. And remember you can often skip back and forth between Walmarts, Cracker Barrels, campgrounds and truck stops.

 

[LargeMarge]

re -- boondocking exclusively
.
Some campgrounds/resorts are ageist snoots?
Too posh for us!
We are definitely among the non-swank crowd.
.
We are amazed at closed enrollment based on age-discrimination.
We thought that sort of behavior went out with the Flintstones...
.
.
One major reason we designed our rig for boondocking:
* we loathe waiting in line(s) to check-in at a campground/resort...
... only to discover that line is the wrong line...
...or that line is the line to get to the right line.
.
Our rig is bashed and bent and 'pin-striped' from years of traipsing through narrow tracks to the perfect spot along the beach or river or lake.
Our tires are the deepest 'logger-lugs' for crossing mud-holes and the occasional river.
.
None of anything we have is a 'good match' for a campground/resort with portion-controlled spaces, tags for the windshield, and neighbors 'just stopping-by for introductions' [horks explosively].
Heck, we are such stalwart boondockers, we have no place to hook water-sewer-120vac.
Weird, huh?

 

[WanderingRose]

RV parks often have a RV age limit, but most campgrounds don't.

I agree with this, based on 20+ years of personal experience.

 

[JDub]

You might advertise / check on Craig's List for a private RV hookup site. Lots of folks in my area have them (for their own and familiy's RVs) and they're often willing to rent them out. I doubt that they would care about age...

Good Luck

 

[user 16179]

Neighborhoods have associations with rules one must accept before moving in. A very good reason for that is to protect the property values within that area. There are towns that have ordinances designed to set certain standards for various activities. That's fine with me, they can do what they want. They bought the property and I believe that have a right to protect their investment. I doubt I would want to live there anyway.
RV parks are the same. I don't care what some may call them but there are folks that don't want to park their million+ dollar rig next to a 20 year old vintage anything, no matter how nice it is restored. Fine, it's private property. They can do what they desire. I don't care and respect the right of a business owner to pick and choose their customers.
Then there's insurance. A person that would operate a RV park without adequate insurance is probably not only an idiot but a criminal in many locals. Insurance companies decide what liability they are willing to accept and that's that.
I stay in a park an average of less than one a year. I think a large part of us are that way.

 

[AmargosaWayne]

Skip any RV "Resorts". Too posh to be just a park or a campground.

 

[jacqueg]

Look for RV parks that also offer tent camping. IME, they don't fuss about appearances. I have a cargo van, not even an RV, and I can stay in those.

 

[maki2]

One reason the RV parks do not want older rigs is because sometimes when they have mechanical issue the owners will just abandon them at the RV park. Then the owners have to file legal documents and there is a waiting period to get them declared abondonded. It is not as if a salvage yard will just come and pick them up for resale or for the scrap value. The owner of the park has to pay a hefty amount to get them taken away. The tow companies are often hesitant to tow them away as they can have structural defects and they have to deal with things such as leaking fuels of various types.

When I was in Seattle some individuals would get paid by the owner of an old RV to take it away. But that person never did a title change. Then they would abandon that junker in the parking lot at places like malls and grocery stores. The tow companies would be unwilling to move them due to the hazardous condition of the RV. It was a big hassle for the RV owner who found out they had been scammed, as well for the property owner it was abandoned on and of course for the police.

So this is one of the business decisions that an RV park owner has to weigh carefully. In the long run it saves some real headaches to simply have a policy about no older RVs. No one is likely to abandon a newer RV.

 

[AmargosaWayne]

In Amargosa they can end up being moved to the back fence, then used as storage sheds.

 

[thebarefootbadger]

I second the idea of state parks. I've also found them a lot prettier on the whole than RV parks that are often just parking lots with everyone jammed in 6' away from each other. Honestly I've never had a problem at a state park, whether it was old winnebago, old van, car camping or tent camping. The questions, basically: can your vehicle drive to the spot (I did once book an electrified tent site and it turned out I was expected to leave my car in a lot and hike a few dozen yards with my tent (tent, what tent?) to the electricity, not good), can your vehicle fit in the spot, and what sort of amenities do you want. A lot of campgrounds have both boondock and electrified sites. Electric plus private water supply is more rare, and full hookup with sewer at the site is almost never offered for generic campsites.

 

[Bunpoh]

Our experience on the road since July: state parks almost completely booked on the weekends and much of the rest of the time. Especially with hookups. We boondocked some, til our generator broke and the temps were still in the 90s - 110. KOAs were spendy, but none of them had age restrictions. We found a good combo of state parks during the week or just ONE with a few walk in only sites, county parks which were a bit less popular (but still trouble on weekends), a few easy going private parks (expensive but nice) and boondocking in deep forest or places where the weather conditions were good.

Heading up to some county parks 30 miles outside of Seattle to do business there. Couldn't find a place in town or even to boondock any closer. Called EVERYWHERE, for months. So...this IS a problem, folks. At least in parts of California, western Oregon and western Washington.

 

[jacqueg]

Our experience on the road since July: state parks almost completely booked on the weekends and much of the rest of the time. Especially with hookups. We boondocked some, til our generator broke and the temps were still in the 90s - 110. KOAs were spendy, but none of them had age restrictions. We found a good combo of state parks during the week or just ONE with a few walk in only sites, county parks which were a bit less popular (but still trouble on weekends), a few easy going private parks (expensive but nice) and boondocking in deep forest or places where the weather conditions were good.

Heading up to some county parks 30 miles outside of Seattle to do business there. Couldn't find a place in town or even to boondock any closer. Called EVERYWHERE, for months. So...this IS a problem, folks. At least in parts of California, western Oregon and western Washington.

If you tend to make mostly the same round every year - look into finding a private landowner. I have two such places.

 

[Bunpoh]

It's a good suggestion, but I've been looking for a private landowner for months. Put a Craigslist ad out and everything, been scanning Craigslist and other sites every day. Set up alerts, etc. I can't find anything closer than these public parks we're presently staying in, about 30 miles from where I need to be.

Oh well. We should be getting one of our two trucks out of the shop tomorrow, hopefully, so we at least will be able to commute to and from my storage units and get rid of all the stuff! Taking our Class A to and from there every day would bankrupt us, not to mention turn the rest of my hair grey, trying to drive in and out, park, etc.

Hopefully we as a society start figuring out sustainable ways to accommodate nomads to live and work and travel in current and future conditions. The world has changed, and I'm betting eventually we as a society can adapt and figure out solutions that are beneficial for everyone.

 

[Dingfelder]

It's a good suggestion, but I've been looking for a private landowner for months. Put a Craigslist ad out and everything, been scanning Craigslist and other sites every day. Set up alerts, etc. I can't find anything closer than these public parks we're presently staying in, about 30 miles from where I need to be.

Oh well. We should be getting one of our two trucks out of the shop tomorrow, hopefully, so we at least will be able to commute to and from my storage units and get rid of all the stuff! Taking our Class A to and from there every day would bankrupt us, not to mention turn the rest of my hair grey, trying to drive in and out, park, etc.

Hopefully we as a society start figuring out sustainable ways to accommodate nomads to live and work and travel in current and future conditions. The world has changed, and I'm betting eventually we as a society can adapt and figure out solutions that are beneficial for everyone.

It really is a next step into the future that established interests and the usual NIMBY's haven't been willing to tolerate even as they close up all the other options around ordinary people as quick as they possibly can.

 

[bullfrog]

I’m sort of watching what is happening with tiny homes and with many being built on basically flat bed trailers. Now they are being built for off grid and actually built, certified and licensed as RVs. At around 5,000 lbs. because of modern construction with panels of foam sandwiched between metal sheets they are easily towable. With big urban areas housing/rental property problems and the government having to house so many people due to increasing weather events I wouldn’t be surprised to eventually see more areas that change zoning and public land where parking one will be allowed. Sort of like when carpooling started out cities bought land with federal money to build parking lots or more parks develop. One is selling units with lots free for 2 years with $200 a month rent after that.