where do you put your camper

[Timbo128]

when you are staying at a hotel? We are traveling from NJ with a Popup and was wondering when we are at dinner or even site seeing do we take the camper with us (big pain) or should we leave it at the hotel locked up? We are traveling with 2 small kids and it is just too much work to camp on our trip down. Thanks in advance

Chrissy and Jeff

 

[dtum]

We always planned to get to a campground with plenty of time to set it up. Sometimes, if we knew we were leaving early we would only set up part of it. We had a kitchen sink /stove that flipped over onto the floor and we could just walk around it if need be. That's just us, even when the kids were small we didn't like staying in hotels.

 

[cyberdeb]

Well when we had our pop up and drove to the fort, we stopped for the night at a motel because it was just too much work to set it up for one night. However, when we stopped it was only for the night. We didnt go siteseeing and usually either ate at the motel or stopped somewhere on the way. We usually parked in the back lots or wherever we could find a place that we could take up several spots. We never had a problem at all.

 

[campingmomto2]

When are you going to the Fort? When we had our pop up and took it to the Fort, it was January. We also drove from NJ. Since it was too cold to sleep in the pop up (in addition, to being too much work for one night), we stayed in a hotel. We just parked it at the hotel where we could find a spot that could accomodate us.

 

[VAN]

We always stay at a hotel on the way down and then back. I will usually tell them when I make the reservations that I have a pop-up ... do they have parking available for an RV? Where exactly is it? Is it in a well-lighted and safe area?

There has always been space for the RV and sometimes, they have even allowed us to park it next to the lobby overhang so that it is within view of the lobby.

As for dinner, we will either order a pizza for delivery to the room (we have a "room" cooler ready to take in with special "after driving all day" beverages) or will walk to a nearby restaurant/fast food joint.

 

[clkelley]

Before I had the camper, I would pull a utility trailer down to the Fort. I would stop for dinner on the road, leaving the trailer hooked up. I would stop at a hotel and park where there was space and leave the trailer hooked up. I would have a separate bag just for the hotel that I would bring in, so I didn't have to dig into the trailer.

Now that I have the camper, I've got pull through KOA sites reserved for the trip down and back. Pull in, plug in the power cord and go to the shower and then bed. Next morning, unplug the cord, lock the door, and out I go again.

 

[We4mickey]

We always stay in a hotel on the way down. We also have a pop up and we have no problem parking it and leaving it hooked up. We always try to park where we will be able to see it from our room. If we can't, we ask the front desk to kind of keep an eye on it cuz we always have our bikes on it.

 

[mamaloya]

I do have to warn you about St. Augustine though. We stopped there one the way home last year pulling a popup. It was so tight I did not think we would make it out. The streets are really narrow with on street parking. The hotel we stayed at (I think the Best Western) had such a tight parking lot I never thought we would get back out. We did though and survived. I will not do it again though. Next time, we will find a campground and unhitch.

 

[cyberdeb]

I do have to warn you about St. Augustine though. We stopped there one the way home last year pulling a popup. It was so tight I did not think we would make it out. The streets are really narrow with on street parking. The hotel we stayed at (I think the Best Western) had such a tight parking lot I never thought we would get back out. We did though and survived. I will not do it again though. Next time, we will find a campground and unhitch.

Wow, where did you stay? We stopped there on the way down with out pop up but only at a motel right off 95 and had no problem at all. I think it was probably a Holiday Inn select or a Hampton Inn. They are pretty much the only places i will stop now. We once stopped at a days in somewhere in NC or SC, cant remember where but it was so filthy and dirty that we left and drove a little further until we found something else.

 

[Escape Artist]

I do have to warn you about St. Augustine though. We stopped there one the way home last year pulling a popup. It was so tight I did not think we would make it out. The streets are really narrow with on street parking. The hotel we stayed at (I think the Best Western) had such a tight parking lot I never thought we would get back out. We did though and survived. I will not do it again though. Next time, we will find a campground and unhitch.

I usually try to stop at motels just outside the cities we go thru. Suburban places have bigger parking lots, better access roads and less traffic than downtown ones, so they're easier to navigate and have room to park the popup when we stay "indoors." I haven't personally done St. Augustine, but will never forget driving down the Strip in Las Vegas. Yikes! :

Sue in Texas
...looking forward to August, '08...

 

[Gillian]

When we drove down from NJ with our popup we were able to find places where we could just leave it hitched up in the parking lot. We have a lock, but I'm sure a determined person could get it off.

I can't remember where we stayed (sorry!) but I know we were able to walk to a place to eat. There are a lot of new travel plaza type of things off 95, where there are several motels and restaurants all clustered together. We've used the books you get from rest stops and called ahead. Or once you get off the highway, it's not difficult to see if which places will work for you and call them off the # in the book. Just be careful on weekends and holidays to call early in the day because the nicer places do book up.

We also do the travel bag thing, with toiletries, swimsuits and a change of clothes for the 4 of us.

 

[loriandmatt]

we also stay at a hotel on the trip down and back. we also haul our pop up, but dont' think it is worth the hassle of doing an over night in a campground and setting up/breaking down.

BUT - we generally pick a hotel that has a pool and let swiming at the pool be our activity for the day (as opposed to unhitching the camper from the van and driving around and sight seeing.) We also try to pick a hotel that has someplace decent to eat within walking distance. (or - two the pop up with us and pick a place to eat that has a large partially empty parking lot for us to park the van/camper in.)

 

[mike k.]

There's a lot of good advice here for you.
If this is your first trip down, I'd bet the farm that you'll throw the sightseeing itenerary out the window once you get on the road. There's no worse addiction in the world than wanting to get to the FORT ASAP!!!!
If your children travel well, an overnight in a motel would be my advice.
We travel fro Bucks County,PA and usually aim for Lumberton,NC to Florence,SC for our overnight. This is pretty close to halfway for the trip. About 8-1/2 hours each day. We always stay at HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS, but make sure you check their room rates for each location. We found that they can differ greatly. We usually pay about $75.00/night and get breakfast with it. We've stayed in LUMBERTON, FLORENCE, ROANOKE, and ROWLAND in the past 3 years. No parking problems at any location. Remember that most lodging places along the I-95 corridor can accommodate tractor trailer rigs.
Good luck with your trip, and about 2 weeks after you're home and the laundry is all caught up with, let me know how detox is going for you.
My best remedy is to start planning your next trip while driving home!!!!!

 

[cyberdeb]

We travel fro Bucks County,PA :

Hey neighbor. what part of Bucks are you from. Nice to know there is someone from around my parts that loves the fort too.

 

[mike k.]

Hey neighbor. what part of Bucks are you from. Nice to know there is someone from around my parts that loves the fort too.

Hello CYBERDEB from Sunny Levittwon,Pa. Home of the original suburban sprawl.(Highland Park section,Middletown Twp., Neshaminy HS.- GO REDSKINS )
There's never a traffic jam on 95 I can't handle. I live in the land of shopping malls and traffic jams!
Where you from TIGGER LOVER?

 

[cyberdeb]

Hello CYBERDEB from Sunny Levittwon,Pa. Home of the original suburban sprawl.(Highland Park section,Middletown Twp., Neshaminy HS.- GO REDSKINS )
There's never a traffic jam on 95 I can't handle. I live in the land of shopping malls and traffic jams!
Where you from TIGGER LOVER?

Well I lived in Levittown as an infant and moved to Warminster with my family when i was just 6 months old and with the exception of a few years in florida and Jamison, PA, I am still here.