Favorite campgrounds that are free or modestly priced, all states

[Freespool]

With a little luck and a lot of planning my retirement will commence in 2020. Rather than sell one house and immediately buy another my wife and I have decided to go camping, for about 5 years or until the well runs dry. With the help of Thousand Trails, Passport America and any other discount organization I can find, I think we can wing it for a few years or at least till we find that magical state with the perfect piece of property ready to be developed or just purchased.

I have been logging down desirable camp grounds that can be used for free or very cheaply for about a year now, but the list is small. I am open to most any inexpensive campground as long as you feel it’s safe. Hopefully, we will be able to visit most of the states in the good old US of A. Initially we will begin our adventure in a truck/5th wheel combo. Finding a facility that can accommodate 40′ fivers plus and that have options for monthly stays would be optimal. Don’t hesitate to suggest a great boon docking area or even a small camp ground that can only accommodate 30 foot rigs because in the future once we settle into our last home I plan on obtaining that elusive truck camper I have been dreaming about for 4 years now. With the smaller rig and a boat I will be able to stay at those small tight camp grounds that offer good fishing.

So lets clarify, I would like to not routinely spend 25 dollars a night, even for full hook up. Half that for a table,water,fire ring and a dump station at the exit would be preferred. So there’s my challenge, lets build that list up.

[Wheeldog]

We travel from Alaska to Arizona and back every winter in our pickup camper. Its pretty rare we stay at a campground on the way…….maybe once every week or so to do wash and empty tanks. BLM offers lots of free/low cost camping. National parks withe the senior card offers low cost camping. For example we stay at Death Valley for $7 a night. Here are some good sources of info for free/cheap places….

https://freecampsites.net/#!(33.45894,+-114.39538)
https://www.campendium.com/free-camping

We keep a 5th wheel in AZ year around and use it as a “home base” and travel around in our pickup camper. The place we are at now costs $1385 a year. http://wagonwestrvpark.com/

We spent 12 winters in Bouse. Only reason we left is they raised their yearly prices, but still have some of the best monthly rates around. https://desertpueblorv.com/

You might reconsider a 40 ft 5th wheel for full timing. It will limit the places you can stay. Basically you will be “full timers” if your going to camp for 5 years. You should check out the forums where full timers hang out. They have lots of good advice from experience.

http://www.rvnetwork.com/

https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm

2016 3500 HD Durmax

1994 S and S 9.5' Camper (SOLD)
1999 S and S 9.5 Camper

[Freespool]

Thanks Wheeldog, this is exactly the type of response I was looking for. I will log it into to my travel journal.

Your observations regarding the purchase and use of a 40 plus foot 5’er are noted. Being a commercial driver and dragging around a 53 for the last 20 years I have become way to accustomed to not having anything to eat at lunch because there is simply no legal parking available. However, I struggle with moving from a large house on acreage to a 28 foot trailer. That extra footage could make life for my wife and I a whole lot more comfortable. I am fully aware that many camp grounds are simply not built to accommodate such a large trailer. I think that my planned use of Thousand Trails along with some boon docking will only leave me with a small amount of time to struggle with a place to stay.

Speaking of limited space, I ran across a potential camp ground for some of you yesterday. Driving across HWY 166 towards Santa Maria I noticed a sign advertising Aliso Park camp ground. For those of you who like small out of the way place’s with very few people around this might be worth the drive. Check out there web site and read the positive reviews. The turn off is west of where the 33 intersects with the 166, there is a Shell station there but that’s about it. Go in with all your needs because it sounds like there are no Walmart’s across from the camp ground. The closest small town to the junction is Taft. Have fun!

[Author]

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