A couple of years in the past, Allie and I had been transferring each 1-2 weeks in our fifth-wheel. We had been using our Thousand Trails Membership and seeing as many locations as we may whereas nonetheless working part-time and operating our small enterprise. This was a fast-paced life-style and we had been loving each minute of it. We had visited dozens of states, nationwide parks, and campgrounds by the point we landed in Arizona for our second winter as full-time RVers.
Discovering a Residence Base
Throughout our time in Camp Verde (simply south of Sedona), COVID started to unfold within the USA and all of our future campground reservations had been canceled. We had been planning to journey for a full 12 months via the state of California however discovered ourselves with out plans or locations to go. We had been in a position to keep long-term in our website in Camp Verde, however it obtained us considering that we wished a extra everlasting house base. Perhaps we wouldn’t be there full-time, however it will nonetheless be someplace we may all the time go or return to with our 42-foot house on wheels.
This was uncharted territory for us, so we started with researching campgrounds that provide long-term rental choices. We struggled with researching on-line and located one of the simplest ways to assemble info was to name campgrounds instantly and converse with the employees. Many RV parks don’t have up to date or informative web sites, particularly on the subject of longer-term rental choices. We discovered that some campgrounds enable a month-to-month fee (which regularly included utilities and facilities), whereas others provide annual leases (that had extra charges for utilities and facilities).
Campground Issues
After discovering such a big selection of choices, we sat right down to make a listing of priorities for us as we moved ahead to decide on a location. Listed below are a few of the issues we thought-about:
- Location: We knew we wished to be someplace that’s largely temperate. We additionally knew we wished quick access to nature (forest, rivers, lakes, ocean, mountain, and many others). We additionally knew we didn’t need to be instantly in or close to a significant metropolis, however shut sufficient to 1 to entry healthcare, group, and many others.
- Finances: We weren’t going to interrupt the financial institution on a everlasting website as a result of we nonetheless wished the liberty to journey, but additionally as a result of we selected this life to simplify our funds and work much less total.
- Facilities: We didn’t have many wants on this space, however we knew it will be good to be in a campground with some safety and resort-features (similar to a pool or clubhouse).
What to Look For in a Lengthy-Time period Campground
In case you are contemplating long-term campground choices, we propose you consider what’s or could also be essential to you in your day-to-day life.
- Do you’ll want to be positioned inside a particular faculty district?
- Do you want entry to public transit or city facilities?
- Do you want facilities similar to a exercise room, pool, playground?
Past our wants and desires listing for our future home-base campground, we start to consider what we would wish in our particular person website. A few of these necessities are dictated by the kind of RV you will have. For us, this meant a website that might accommodate our 42-foot fifth wheel with 5 slideouts (in addition to our RAM 3500 long-bed, dual-wheeled truck). Apart from contemplating dimension, we determined it was important for us to have full-hook-ups. This meant 50AMP electrical, water, and sewer. Our website additionally got here with cable, broadband web (for a further cost), and the choice to have a 100-gallon propane tank placed on our website (that’s stuffed up on a rotating foundation by a neighborhood firm). We additionally knew we wished a extra non-public website in a smaller campground loop at our resort. This meant that there was much less car visitors and that almost all of our neighbors had been older and quieter than a few of the bigger loops with households that had a number of younger kids.
Attempt a Go to Earlier than You Commit
We’d strongly counsel attempting out your future home-base campground earlier than committing to an annual lease or longer-term keep. When you’re there, stroll round and chat with the locals, seize a espresso close by, and even scope out the native library and grocery retailer. Take into consideration what it would be best to have near house while you settle in for an extended keep. We really feel lucky to have discovered a campground and a website that we really feel comfy in. After just a few months within the campground, we seen an end-site, tucked extra into the woods, turned accessible so we shortly scooped it up! We have now been right here ever since.Â
Our Good Campground
We had been fortunate to discover a website at Mt. Hood RV Village (https://mthoodvillagerv.com/) that match most of our necessities and even had a couple of extras that we hadn’t considered after we initially began trying. The resort is positioned about one hour outdoors of Portland, OR and gives a number of facilities in addition to a detailed proximity to Mt. Hood Nationwide Forest. The resort itself is gated with a passcode to enter, gives a restaurant, pool, sizzling tub, sauna, fashionable bathhouses, a playground, river entry, and trails that result in a state recreation website subsequent door! You possibly can even lease out the clubhouse rooms for personal occasions and events at no further cost. There’s a small campground retailer on website, dumpsters in each loop, and several other various kinds of websites to select from. Mt. Hood RV Village is a part of the Encore addition to Thousand Trails memberships, so we had stayed on the campground beforehand and knew we’d discover it to really feel like house.
We haven’t traveled as a lot with the RV since getting our annual website, however we all know we are going to sooner or later. For the previous couple of years, now we have gotten to know and love our mountain city. We have now expanded our small enterprise via our group connections. We incessantly take weekends away at AirBnBs, do lengthy day journeys to the coast and have even pushed throughout the nation with out our fifth-wheel in tow! We nonetheless see as many locations as potential, however really feel assured that we made the correct option to discover a home-base that works for us. In case you are interested by discovering a everlasting parking spot in your home-on-wheels, know that there are a selection of choices accessible and relaxation assured that you will see one which works for you!