Permanent vs Travel RV Camping Spots

There are many types of campers with tent only, hike camping and travel trailer camping are probably the most common. Today we will be covering travel trailer (or RV) camping.

Within this group, there are two types of campers. Some pull their campers to different campsites each trip and other rent a site for the year. We have done both over the years and there are pros and cons for both types. So let’s go over both now…

Permanent Camping Spots

Having a yearly camping spot has a lot of pros but also has some very noteworthy cons to cover. If you are thinking of taking the dive into a yearly camping spot, here are the pros and cons of doing so.

Convenience

The biggest pro of renting a camping spot for the year is probably the reason you may be considering it, convenience!

No one like to set up the camper. It can take most of your first night away from you leveling, testing power, digging out all the water hoses, sewage, etc. When you have a yearly camping spot, you set up once and you are mostly golden. When you show up, you can drop your awning, throw your rug down, turn water/electric on and you ready for the fire pit.

Making Friends

Camping is known as a family activity which is true. But depending on your family situation, kids get bored quite easy. Each of of our 3 children are 5 years apart. As of now, they range from 4 to 14 years old (yes 15 years from youngest to oldest!). Your kids making friends that they will most likely get to play with on every camping trip is worth more than I could ever imagine.

My kids being so far apart, they fight, a lot. My 9 and 14 year old do everything possible to irritate the other. Being able to let them have friends to hang out with during the day is great and has taken a lot of pressure off my wife and I.

It is also nice when us adults also make friends at a camp ground. Sure, you want the family time and some quiet nights by the fire which we get. But, if you camp a lot like we do, its always nice to know others around to have some camping parties.

Lastly, yearly campers are like one big family. They watch over each other when you might be around. Just last year while we were out of town on a family vacation, a storm came through our camp ground. We got a text that a tree fell on our camper 2 days into our trip. We were also sent photos and information that we had 15 other campers covering our camper to prevent more (water damage) within 5 minutes of it falling in the middle of the storm! When we got back, it was all tarp’ed up and ready for the insurance company.

Making Your Camping Site Yours

Another Pro is that you can set up your camping spot the way you want. It’s yours for the year(s) you rent it, so it’s your yard! So, set those flags, put out those flowers and make it look pretty!

Some camp grounds will allow you to lay your own rock or nice concrete pad. Most yearly camping spots do not do this yearly.

You may also be able to add a small shed to keep your golf cart, fishing gear or your other camping toys in. Is this over kill? Maybe, but I have seen some crazy setups! we do not personally have a shed since our spot floods in the winter and early spring. However, we do leave our golf cart and grill behind our camper while not there.

Fire Pit Always Ready

Lastly, having a yearly camp site can save you time and money overall. No more buying $5 bundles of fire wood that lasts half a night. Bring in and stack your own! You can go out and buy a rick of wood for $65 which I have done or do what I do now and split your own. Read up on reviews of log splitters and get yourself one. It will not only turn free wood into fire wood for the year, but you will also very quickly become a very popular person in your camp ground. Take it over and help a couple neighbors split wood for a day and you have favors for the whole year.

Travel RV Camping

So permanent camping spots are not for everyone. Hey, I get it and up until lat season, all we did was travel camp. We selected to try a permanent site for the convenience. However, my family and I actually enjoy traveling more overall. So let’s cover why travel camping offers.

More Family Time

Since each camping trip is new (or not common), it is more of a family trip. Everyone seems to stay closer together, we go to the pool together, hike together, etc. The kids tend to get along a little better because they are not in a comfortable place. We tend to sit around the fire a little more as a family and just hang out and talk. This is what camping is really all about and I hold that time close to my heart.

Never Gets Old

When you have a yearly spot, kids can get bored with it. We have noticed the kids are not “excited ” to go camping as much as when we traveled a lot. When you travel a little, there is always something new going on. You can also visit state parks, themed camp grounds. We like Camp Jellystone which are located all over the place.

The Downside

Like I mentioned above, this is our 2nd year at a permanent camping site for the convenience. When you pull and set your camper each time you go camping, it makes for a very short stay most weekends. By the time we would get home from work and get to our camping site on Friday nights, it would be 7:30PM and we would still need to set up. Once set up we would eat late and our Friday night would be over. We would have all day Saturday and then leave Sunday.

It got to the point where it wasn’t worth the trip unless we took a day or two off every time we went camping. There are only so many camp sites close enough to hit late on a Friday. We found ourselves camping less and less and taking more time off work to take longer trips away from home.

We love to camp, during the summer we try to camp 3 out of 4 weekends per month. Travel camping was just turning into too much work.

The Final Thought

Permanent camping or travel camping is really a choice of what works best for your situation. If you camp a lot, a permanent spot might be worth a try. Worst case, you do not stay for the following year.

If you do not camp 3 weekends a month, travel might work best for you.

We personally like travel camping more but are going with the convenience (for now). However, we have decided to pull out and make a week long camping trip at least once a year. As mentioned above, we love Camp Jellystone. Our favorite is the one on Lake Monroe and the other is at Mammoth Caves. Our plan is to mix things up and travel a bit to keep things fresh 🙂