snowbird recommendations

[RT-NY]

Does anyone have any recommendations for campsites with shore power and Wifi in the southeast, somewhere far south enough that snow is unlikely (or at least minimal) year round, that might be good for a extended winter stay (a month or more) without reservations far in advance?

[Nick&Linda]

I live in Central Florida. Actually I live in Eustis, Florida. I have been here 10 years as a resident, and another 5 years as a snow bird. I have never seen snow here. Farther up North, they have gotten a dusting of snow. I am from Delaware, so I know what snow is. And like you, I did not want to see snow again. I actually live in the Mount Dora/Tavares/Eustis triangle. It is a great area. Has EVERYTHING needed to be comfortable. I suggest you checking the area out.

[RT-NY]

Thank you very much for your response! What I was looking for was some kind of camping place or RV park with hookups and Wifi, where a class B can have an extended stay of a month or two. But I don't actually even know if such places exist at all because living in a class B full time can be pretty cramped. But, as you say, I would like to escape the snow in the winter!

[RTRanger]

Good luck with a long stay on short notice anywhere in Florida.

You need to be below Lake Okeechobee if you’re looking for really warm weather all winter. North of that you may need a jacket from time to time. (This year was unusually cold and wet in Florida.)

If you don’t mind moving every couple of days you might be able to find spots to stay. They probably will not be the nicest spots.

State parks limit you to a two week stay in a park. But they fill up the day the reservation window opens. Florida has some fantastic parks but it is nearly impossible to get a site.

National Parks and water management areas may be available but may lack sewer, cell service, and power. Some are quite wild and rural, but we enjoyed them.

A shorter RV will up your chances of finding a site.

We have rarely stayed at private parks so I can’t help you there but I do know the cost starts to become an issue.

We snowbird RVed in Florida for years and each year it got harder to get a spot. I hate winter/cold so much we bought a bungalow in Florida. Now we look for cancellations at our favorite parks and hop over and have a little getaway from time to time.

We don’t regret buying a place even after Hurricane Ian’s eye passed directly over our place with 218 mph winds! We were lucky and had just a little damage but a third of the houses in our neighborhood were reduced to a pile of rubble.

[jjrbus]

Ditto to what RTRanger said. Florida has gotten ridiculous. It is a bit easier to find something inland away from the coasts.

New place just opened by us, Tranquility lakes. $155 night by the week, Tranquility Lakes, sounds so nice, it is a retention pond, no trees and right on a busy road so nice quiet and tranquil.

[Punkinhead]

Staying in the same place for a month without advance reservations and paying through the nose is difficult. Use the main advantage of your class B: mobility. For the past two winters we've had no problem finding spots in both private and public campgrounds in Florida with no reservations. We usually need to move spots or campgrounds every couple of nights, but that's no big deal in a van. We've found spots along the entire Gulf coast, in the center (south of Lakeland), and down in the Everglades and Big Cypress. You'll get better and possibly nicer choices with advanced reservations, but you don't need them. Different people have different personalities when it comes to travel. Some like the surety of reservations and get stressed without them. Some (like me) get stressed by the need to be somewhere at a certain time due to reservations. I prefer to follow the weather and my mood.

[RT-NY]

Originally Posted by Punkinhead

Staying in the same place for a month without advance reservations and paying through the nose is difficult. Use the main advantage of your class B: mobility. For the past two winters we've had no problem finding spots.

I also have never had difficulties finding spots if I keep moving. But there are specific reasons that I am needing to stay put with hookups and Wifi, so that is what I asking about here. It doesn't have to be Florida or warm or the time, just no significant snow. Does anyone know of any private RV parks or such that allow that kind of thing in a class B? And, if so, how much might it cost?

[avanti]

If you are finding that WiFi access is the long pole in the tent, then it may be time to consider Starlink. Pretty much takes the issue off the table by all accounts. I have not taken the plunge yet, but I am pretty sure that I will eventually.

[Punkinhead]

Pretty much any private campground in southern Georgia, Florida, or the Rio Grande Valley will do monthly rentals. We haven't run into any that don't allow a class B, but we also don't stop at high end resorts. The two problems you're going to have are short notice and acceptable wifi. It doesn't hurt to call places in case one of their tenants left early or cancelled. Our wifi experience has run the gamut from "barely able to check email" to "can't even connect". Plan to have your own wifi solution if you need to have a reliable high speed connection. In general, prices drop the farther you are from a beach.

[RT-NY]

Originally Posted by Punkinhead

Pretty much any private campground in southern Georgia, Florida, or the Rio Grande Valley will do monthly rentals. We haven't run into any that don't allow a class B, but we also don't stop at high end resorts. The two problems you're going to have are short notice and acceptable wifi. It doesn't hurt to call places in case one of their tenants left early or cancelled. Our wifi experience has run the gamut from "barely able to check email" to "can't even connect". Plan to have your own wifi solution if you need to have a reliable high speed connection. In general, prices drop the farther you are from a beach.

Thanks for that! I have never stayed at any private campground so I know nothing at all about them -- all my experience is from passing on the highway sketchy looking places with lots of third wheels, closely parked and looking like they have been there a long time. I am not looking for anything high end, but something a bit nicer than that. How do you go about finding such places, and how much would you expect to pay? Any specific recommendations would be most welcome!

[Punkinhead]

We choose campgrounds based on proximity to the things we like to do (hiking, biking, kayaking, fishing). We like to be as remote as possible. But if you're going to sit somewhere for a month you probably have different requirements. For example, proximity to restaurants and stores. So think about the things that will make your stay most enjoyable and convenient and look at a map to choose an area then use a website or app like Campendium to find nearby campgrounds. Filter by private campgrounds since you're wanting an extended stay. Read the reviews and look at pictures. Since you're in a class B you probably care more about the cleanliness of the bathrooms and showers than people in large rigs. Check the campground website for rates and whether they have rules you won't like. "No rigs more than 10 years old" means it will be high priced and have the feel of a gated community with an HOA full of people that like to complain. Then look at a Google Maps satellite view to see if it looks like a place you'd want to stay. Is it just a big parking lot with rigs lined up a neat row with no room between them? Does it have trees? Is it next to a waste water treatment plant? Their website will have prices, including monthly rates. Once you've narrowed it down, start making phone calls.

[SteveJ]

Friends of ours are snow birding at Quail Run in Wesley Chapel, FL. This is north of Tampa. They were surprised to find that this year they actually have open spots. They've been staying there for a number of years for a month/year.

Decent place, a bit on the not cheap side. IIRC, $1300+electric for a month.

[RT-NY]

Originally Posted by SteveJ

Friends of ours are snow birding at Quail Run in Wesley Chapel, FL. This is north of Tampa. They were surprised to find that this year they actually have open spots. They've been staying there for a number of years for a month/year.

Decent place, a bit on the not cheap side. IIRC, $1300+electric for a month.

Thanks for these helpful replies! Punkinhead - that site, Campendium, looks like it will be helpfui.

I looked at the Quail Run website, and it looks like the kind of thing I have in mind, though I did not see any class Bs in the pictures there.

In any case, I guess this is something that some people do -- going south for one or two months in the winter in a class B but just staying put in one place -- though from the sound of it, most of the members here prefer to be on the move?

[SteveJ]

Originally Posted by RT-NY

Thanks for these helpful replies! Punkinhead - that site, Campendium, looks like it will be helpfui.

I looked at the Quail Run website, and it looks like the kind of thing I have in mind, though I did not see any class Bs in the pictures there.

In any case, I guess this is something that some people do -- going south for one or two months in the winter in a class B but just staying put in one place -- though from the sound of it, most of the members here prefer to be on the move?

If you want, just give Quail Run a call and ask them.

Different folks do camping differently. You do you. We do us.