First overnight experience! (rookie notes)

[JonMN]

While we have had our van for over a year, we have mainly used it for long drives across the US. It’s great for this, as being able to stop, make lunch, make some coffee, and take off again is really nice. Also, if one is really tired, laying down in the back while the other drives is an option.

We just returned from our first experience at RV parks. On the chance we might not like it, we limited the stay to 4 nights. The first two were at Grand Marais, MN, and the second two were down the road at Schafer MN (Lamb’s resort).

Grand Marais was our idea of an ideal location. Close enough to town that we could walk or bike in whenever we wanted, but also right on Lake Superior. It was just a few steps to the beach. [We would really like any other locations that fit into the “close enough to town” description.] We will definitely be returning.

Logistics:
Both locations were full hookups. Since both locations had very nice rest rooms, we could easily have skipped the sewer hookup. It was interesting to see the difference in arrangements—at one stop water, electric, and sewer were really close to each other. At the second stop, water and electric were on one side while sewer was about 25 ft on the other side! Since we have a van, it would have been easy enough to just pull out and orient ourselves to the sewer cap, but the need never came up.

Since we have great water from our well, I filled our 28 gal tank before we left. After 4 nights we came home with about 1/3 left.

Our van is a rear bath model with beds on both sides. I made a simple bridge between the mattresses so that we can have just under a queen size bed. We made it up at night and took it down in the morning.

We did almost all of our cooking in the van. It’s amazing what you can do with an induction cooktop, microwave, and a small but high quality toaster oven. A mini Keurig keeps the caffeine flowing. 4 days of food does take some planning as we have one of the smaller refrigerators.

Observations:
We kept a notebook of things to order/fix when we returned. First on the list was a set of simple “Lego” style leveling blocks. No need to be perfect, but better would help. Others on the list were rigging up a clothesline when needing to dry a towel or two, add a few towel hooks in the bath area, and tweaking the flip up sink to direct residual water to the drain in the back of the unit (already did this with a piece of flexible silicone and a little tape—works perfect and does not show)

You might as well get used to a little smoke. Seems like a part of almost everyone’s trip is to build a fire in a fire pit.

So we rate this as a success and are planning our next trip. In late Jan we will be renting a VRBO for a couple weeks. We are planning on going early, spending a couple nights at a RV park to dewinterize, and then, after the rental, spend 4-5 extra nights to both extend the trip and to winterize before going home. [Regarding winterizing on the road, I found a ideal little unit—have you seen the Floe air compressor? It’s a small box that you can mount in the van, and is easily plumbed into the water line to blow the lines when desired. While I have 3 air compressors at home, I do not want to carry any of them with me in a Class B]

And, on one day when it was not windy, not raining, and the sun was right, we even used the awning .

Thanks to the forum for answering questions that helped make this possible.

A few pics:

[jrobe]

Nice writeup. We use our Class B somewhat the same in that we only sleep in it about half the time. It is a great way to travel with a backroom, couch, coffeepot, room to stretch out, closet, etc. even without sleeping in it especially as we have gotten older.

I would ask yourself if you really needed full hookups for a relatively short stay to put up with the downsides of a city RV park. We would almost never even need electricity with our batteries unless we needed air conditioning which would be never in Grand Marais. We would also never need water and sewer hookups for a shorter stay with our tanks. There are great state parks on the north shore of Lake Superior where you would have a lot more privacy, shade trees and no issues with campfire smoke from your neighbors. There are a lot of private RV parks like that where you will be packed in like sardines in an open field with no shade just for the benefit of hookups. Of course, you would then have to drive a short distance to sit on the great deck of the Voyageur Brewing Company in Grand Marais.

[mkguitar]

we use the deployed awning for a clothesline, can also arrange the towels to provide some privacy if needed


another 'walk to town' is Harris beach SP Brookings, OR

[Urlauber]

Yep, nice write-up, thanks for sharing your experience.

We operate very differently (thank goodness not everyone is the same). Would never occur to us to not sleep in the camper.

Some of the best places we stayed at were "dispersed" campsites. Having the Valley of Gods pretty much too yourself is just unforgettable. Or Kelso Dunes, just watching the stars while listening to coyotes. Or Little Wild Horse Road. National Forest, BLM sites, etc

Last week we were short a campsite on Yosemite so we stayed just south of the entrance at a dispersed site. Totally awesome, perhaps better than North Pines where we stayed the other nights, well except for the river..

After 30+ years of tent camping it's so luxurious to have the fridge and running water etc and not having to pitch the tent.

Again, everyone is unique and it's good to hear how others spend their time.

(Totally agree with the Legos... having 6 of them to level the camper is super helpful).

[JonMN]

Thanks the replies and the destination tips. A lot of extra time now that I am retired. Urlander, where do you find out about these more dispersed sites?

Funny, but my thoughts turned to the last time I actually went tent camping. About 55 years ago, with my dad. I remember taking the huge heavy canvas tent out of the Sears box. Fish cooked over the pump Coleman stove were the best! Then it rained an everything got soaked.

We are already thinking of our next winter trip. Head to Florida in January, stay a few days at an RV site to de-winterize, rent a house for a couple weeks, then visit one or two more RV sites and go through the winterization ritual before heading home to the rest of a MN winter.

Thinking of a fall RV trip to either the Grand Canyon and/or visit what's left of Route 66.

[Urlauber]

Originally Posted by JonMN

where do you find out about these more dispersed sites?

Disappointingly it's mostly Google which helps the research. Sites like thedyrt and campendium can be starting points. There are also apps like Ultimate Campgrounds, not so much for dispersed, but smaller, like BLM places. Not sure about the right side of the country, but here in the West (CA, AZ, UT etc) there's a lot of them.

Originally Posted by JonMN

Thinking of a fall RV trip to either the Grand Canyon and/or visit what's left of Route 66.

Grand Canyon is something everyone should visit at least once. Been five times to the South Rim and twice to the North Rim and it's absolutely breathtaking every time. Of course, so are Bryce and Zion and many other places!

[avanti]

Originally Posted by Urlauber

Disappointingly it's mostly Google which helps the research. Sites like thedyrt and campendium can be starting points. There are also apps like Ultimate Campgrounds, not so much for dispersed, but smaller, like BLM places. Not sure about the right side of the country, but here in the West (CA, AZ, UT etc) there's a lot of them.

All National Forests have dispersed camping, and there are plenty of them in the East.

It is true that finding dispersed sites can be a challenge. All National Forests have websites, and pointers to areas with good dispersed campsites are almost always there. Not always easy to find, though, as each Forest's website is locally managed, so quality varies and there isn't a lot of consistency. The Forests also have downloadable maps that often show dispersed camping areas. Also, dropping into one of the many ranger stations and chatting with the staff is often rewarding.

All of this takes some education, but it is well-worth the effort. These are among the last hidden gems on public lands.

[Davydd]

Glad you liked Grand Marais. The municipal campground is indeed right in the small city where you can walk everywhere. We stay there just about every year. In fact I organized a B Social Group one year where we had vans all the way from Texas attending. I have taken advantage of the North House Folk School next door to the munipal CG taking a 4 day brick oven course you probably saw several that were built in prior years.

After our stay in Grand Marais we usually drive up the Gunflint Trail a 57 mile dead end to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness at the Trails End National Forest Campground and half-way up have lunch at the Trail Center Restaurant. It is a boondocking adventure. We have wintered (not camped) at the Gunflint Lodge on the Gunflint Trail where you can walk across the lake (iced over) into Canada and the Naniboujou Lodge further up the road from Grand Marais.

We have been to all the state park campgrounds on the North Shore but now you have to make reservations nearly a year in advance. It wasn't that way 17 years ago when we first had a van. Last year we took a chance without reservations and did stay at Bearhead Lake SP close to Ely.

Our winter haunts since you asked similarly is South Padre Island, TX where there are over 800 electrical hookup campsites right in a town with several beach side restaurants, a bird sanctuary and a sea turtle rescue center. It's about a six mile town part drive with beaches the whole way and another 10 miles out further of just sand dunes. The great thing is you can get everywhere with their free bus rides in the city and it is a sea food paradise. We discovered SPI in 2013 at another B Social Group gathering and have been there a half dozen times since.

This coming winter we may skip Texas and visit friends from Minnesota wintering in Palm Springs, CA and my wife's cousin in Sun City, AZ who also has a cabin on a private lake north of Brainerd, MN we go up to in the summer. Then we may drive up the adjacent to Palm Springs, CA San Jacinto Mountain that we have done a couple of times to the San Jacinto Mountain state park there that is adjacent to Idyllwild, a town with fine restaurants and kind of a Northern Exposure vibe.

As you camp, you will loosen up as you get more experience under your belt and take on more challenges. We only stay the places I mentioned for the amenities, extended stays and not relying on your van to get anywhere. We don't need hookups. Hookups are kind of like a belt and suspenders situation.

We scored a really nice secluded site last year at the Grand Marais Municipal CG.

[Move-On-uP]

The observation notebook is a good idea. Might take that one on board.

And, yes - a clothes line is a must. even some rope you can tie up will do the job.