RV parks and extended stay motels are full of pedophiles

We have been doing the RV thing occasionally the past 4 years. Bought ours in 2016. We have camped at Tyler State Park with the grandkids 2 years ago, and it was good but the reservation thing is a beating and sometimes you get the worst spot. There are a lot of "theme" RV parks across the country and many really nice spacious campgrounds. We like the Bluegrass festivals and jams in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. MountainView, Arkansas is awesome for example. The whole town revolves around Acoustic instrument pickers and jammers. I went in September a few years back and there was a "Mountain Dulcimer" convention going on. Great people, good time for us there. 3 Weeks ago, we spent a week at Grapeland, Texas. Salmon Lake Park. Big bluegrass festival, but the park is terrific. Really clean facilities, lake with slide and diving board for kids, old saloon like buildings to play in, etc. Last week, we were at the Texarkana RV Music Park. There is also a nice park hidden in Canton that not many know about. It is spacious but has the concrete pad. It has a nice pond. It is Mill Creek Ranch Resort. It is a nice quick getaway.

One thing we always look for in an RV park is "Full Hookup" which means Sewer, Electric and Water. The smaller RVs have much smaller Grey Water and Black Water holding tanks. We found out real quick that the Grey water tank (33 gallon) will fill up with just one of my wifes showers. So if you don't have a full sewer hookup you have to pull it to the dump station to empty every day. Same thing with the blackwater tank (poo and p), but it doesn't fill as fast as the grey water tank.

You would be amazed at some of the monster RV rigs "Olds" pull around and set up. It is inspirational to us and we are in in mid 60s. Couples in their 80's still backing these rigs in, connecting up 5th wheel trailers, pulling cars behind them etc. Amazing stuff to me.

The other thing to consider in RVs is their weight and the "safe" capability of your tow vehicle. The salesman will try to sell you that 40 footer to pull with your Pathfinder but do not be fooled by the snake oil. Run the calculations on weights and pulling and cargo capacities. A friend bought a 2020 Ford Explorer and a 32 Foot RV hitch tow trailer. He has the equalizer hitch and all but said it only feels stable pulling around 62-63 mph. I think he bought more trailer than tow vehicle capabilities. I bought a smaller trailer but a bigger tow vehicle. Ford website has a lot of info on this stuff.

Good luck.

And old biddies that have to try and get up in everyone's business. A lot of drama and BS in some of them. Lots of people with nothing to do but be nosey.

You have to reserve Texas State Parks well in advance. You should be making Spring reservations now. You make a deposit for the first day. If you cancel, they refund your deposit less a $5 fee.
Oklahoma has nice state parks too and I believe they are first come, first served. That works well if you can arrive early. It doesn’t work so well if you arrive late on Friday night.

Don't know about the pedophiles but we got plenty of park drama.

Wife and I are only 50ish, but we talk about the RV retirement all the time. Maybe not full timers, we plan to keep a homestead somewhere. But we want to make the Alaska trip, and as much of the Great United States of America as we physically and financially can once we retire. I get so excited dreaming about it that I already know our RV of choice and we are at least 12 years away from retirement or more. We travel well together and are looking forward to it.

From what I’ve read about RV’ing to Alaska, there are some very basic items to consider and this is what I’ve concluded in my research.

The trailer is better suited for the trip if it is less than 30’, only requires a 30 amp service, and has great suspension and frame dependability.

Fox Mountain 235RLS by Northwood with a Onan Gen set. If purchased new, retails for $45-50K from I’ve seen this year.

The Airstream’s are also very popular, but man, even a 30 year old Airstream brings in top dollar on resale.

Theyll all work on 30, you just may or may not be able to run both air conditioners....

frame and suspension is depenent on brand and cost, nothing to do with length.