RV After Cruising???

[daletournier]

What's A KOA?

[Empty Pockets]

Full disclosure, I have both. RV and cruising sailboat. There are actually a lot of similarities cruising in either. But I was once told that the normal progression goes something like this:
1. Sail boat
2. Motor boat
3. Motor home
4. Rest home...

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Davy J

The only problem with a camper van, or any motorhome, is unless you are towing a car, every time you want to go anywhere, you need to tear down "camp" so to speak. We already owned a HD diesel truck so getting a large travel trailer was the easy answer. If you own a car, a class A is really the way to go.

Agreed, which is why I like the camper van idea. It’s still a manageable city vehicle, and it doesn’t take much to tear down camp. But my other option could be to keep the motorcycle(s). A small trailer would manage them. I’m sure I’d love to live in a Class A, but they are too big and too expensive for my frugal budget.

As for camping costs, there is a lot of free camping areas to be had in Canada and the USA. In Canada it’s mostly more northern Crown Land areas. In the USA there is a lot of BLM land (Bureau of Land Management I think), mostly out west in the deserts. And many of your National Forests are cheap to free. Of course these are all without any services. It’s called boondocking in the RV world, which is equivalent to our anchoring out.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by daletournier

What's A KOA?

Campgrounds of America, with campgrounds misspelled.
Imagine if you will that one mega corporation bought up 95% of the Marina’s.
https://koa.com

[billknny]

The problem I have with RV travel is you end up staying in "campgrounds." Having seen the kind of people who stay in "campgrounds" I really prefer to avoid them.

Of course I avoid crowded anchorages too...

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Agreed, which is why I like the camper van idea. It’s still a manageable city vehicle, and it doesn’t take much to tear down camp. But my other option could be to keep the motorcycle(s). A small trailer would manage them. I’m sure I’d love to live in a Class A, but they are too big and too expensive for my frugal budget.



As for camping costs, there is a lot of free camping areas to be had in Canada and the USA. In Canada it’s mostly more northern Crown Land areas. In the USA there is a lot of BLM land (Bureau of Land Management I think), mostly out west in the deserts. And many of your National Forests are cheap to free. Of course these are all without any services. It’s called boondocking in the RV world, which is equivalent to our anchoring out.

Yes, but there is no BLM land in the East coast, and I’d suspect not the West Coast either, or anywhere I want to be.
I have done a whole lot of low level flying around where there is, and in truth there are more people than you might think way out in the middle of nowhere I mean more than 100 miles from any town, living on public land, maybe under the guise of camping, but they are obviously permeant. There is just huge amounts of land where there are no people and no evidence of people, but usually there is a whole lot of water missing from those areas too. I’ve seen many have a water truck, a largish tanker truck that can carry I’d guess between 500 and 1000 gls.

Camper Van thing is fine, just VW Westfalia’s or Westies as they are called now, are way more expensive than they are worth, they are sort of collectible, like old small Airstreams, I’ve thought often of trying to get another one. Mine was a 1971, I had matching VW’s a 71 Super Bug and Camper, both same color.
71 was the first year of the dual port motor.

[Fore and Aft]

I believe John Glennies purchased a motor home after this little adventure.
https://www.ybw.com/news-from-yachti...st-at-sea-1873
Cheers

[Davy J]

35 a night, times 30 nights is $1,050 a month. That’s Marina money, expensive one at that. I’ve stayed in a many a KOA, been years though.

Marina Jack in Sarasota, and Key West Bight marina is about $ 105.00 for the night for a 34' boat. No where near campground rates............

[rbk]

We keep a truck camper (goes in the box), queen bed, double and a single, bathroom/shower combo, stove/oven, hot/cold water, forced air heat, solar etc. very similar to the boat but easier to get out and walk around. We use it in the off season or in the yard when doing work on the boat, makes yard life much, much more comfortable. Best part with these and trailer campers (tow behind) IMO is you have a pickup truck when you take them off. I'm in no hurry to drive across the country but they have their place for sure more so dragging the family around. If i were by myself it would be a tent and motor bike for x country.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Davy J

Marina Jack in Sarasota, and Key West Bight marina is about $ 105.00 for the night for a 34' boat. No where near campground rates............

And we paid I think it was $300 a month for a slip in Panama City Fl. at the City Marina, many private ones were even less expensive.
Not sure what your point is? I bet campgrounds in Key West if they exist aren’t cheap either?

My point is that for instance I’m in Ft Pierce, at anchor paying nothing.
I’ll transition up the ICW to Jacksonville, may rent a ball for a night or two at Vero Beach for about $20, but the rest of the time we’ll be anchored out and not paying anyone for anything.
Try that in an RV. It’s just not an option.

Now many try to be stealthy and move around in their converted vans, but it’s illegal, they are breaking the law, and if caught there will be some kind of repercussions. To say nothing about it not maybe being safe to be in some parking lot downtown at night.

[Tayana42]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Yes, but there is no BLM land in the East coast, and I’d suspect not the West Coast either, or anywhere I want to be.
I have done a whole lot of low level flying around where there is, and in truth there are more people than you might think way out in the middle of nowhere I mean more than 100 miles from any town, living on public land, maybe under the guise of camping, but they are obviously permeant. There is just huge amounts of land where there are no people and no evidence of people, but usually there is a whole lot of water missing from those areas too. I’ve seen many have a water truck, a largish tanker truck that can carry I’d guess between 500 and 1000 gls.

Camper Van thing is fine, just VW Westfalia’s or Westies as they are called now, are way more expensive than they are worth, they are sort of collectible, like old small Airstreams, I’ve thought often of trying to get another one. Mine was a 1971, I had matching VW’s a 71 Super Bug and Camper, both same color.
71 was the first year of the dual port motor.

Mine was also a 1971, red with white pop top. What little I know about motors I learned from the John Muir book, How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive for the Complete Idiot. That helped me keep it going for more than 13 years until Minnesota salted roads did it in.

[Navicula]

the RV thing very cool and is an adventure but it can be expensive.....with todays AIR BNB availibilty there is no out lay for a depriciable asset like an RV.....
but its not always about saving money is it??

[cj88]

I've been thinking of doing something for land-based cruising like building a Sprinter/Transit/Promaster van with an ebike or escooter for additional mobility. When you search Van Life you'll find some pretty good options.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Yes, but there is no BLM land in the East coast, and I’d suspect not the West Coast either, or anywhere I want to be. ...

True, the coasts are thin with “free” options. However, it is possible to beach camp in many areas of the Oregon coast. Most of the BLM land I’m aware of is in the deserts.

I had never even experienced a real desert until I did my motorcycle trip through the Mojave and Sonora. At first the land seemed unappealing — harsh and apparently barren. But the more time I spent there, the more it grew on me. At this point I’d love to spend months getting to know the cycles.

But I also found some stunning areas in southern Arizona that were pretty lush and green and free to cheap in the Coronado National Forest (SE corner). And there are places on the Gulf of Mexico which are free or cheap.

Crown Land in Canada is free to use (with time limits) for citizens, and it’s cheap for foreigners. Access into these lands can be a real challenge, but there are some free organized camping areas in BC run by BC Hydro. These are great.

And I’m sure I’ve barely scratched the surface of what is out there.

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Camper Van thing is fine, just VW Westfalia’s or Westies as they are called now, are way more expensive than they are worth, they are sort of collectible, like old small Airstreams, I’ve thought often of trying to get another one. Mine was a 1971, I had matching VW’s a 71 Super Bug and Camper, both same color. 71 was the first year of the dual port motor.

Some of them are ridiculously priced, but I’ve seen many that are quite reasonable. Class C campers can be had for quite cheap. The market seems a lot like boats — there are good deals out there if you can find them.

[AKA-None]

It’s called boondocking.