My husband and I recently purchased a Mercedes Sprinter van. Problem is, we don't like being boxed in tight spaces. :blink: I love the van, but we dislike being so close to other campers. We're going to try it out for a year, and if it doesn't appeal to us we'll simply sell it. We have two dogs that need daily exercise. We live by the ocean, so they run freely there daily. Im taking early retirement next year, and we'd like to find a warm winter destination (California, arizona). I see that some of the resorts only allow motorhomes in that are larger than 30 feet. What's with that? I've seen a couple (online) that have an outdoor living area (shade, cooking, fridge) and those look nice. But what about 'the dogs'? How do people keep them on the property? Any such thing as renting a fenced rv lot? Hubby wants to golf. I want pools. 'The dogs' and spacious lots are my two biggest concerns. We may be better off renting houses, and getting rid of this lovely rv. We've taken a couple trips in it already. Traveling with the dogs is a real pain (scooping poop, walks, no barking... Keeping everybody safe and happy) but they are the main reason we bought the thing. At this point, I'm just looking for where to begin searching for rv, golf resorts that MIGHT suit our needs. Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions. By the way, we are from the coast of Washington state. Thanks again. Caroline
Caroline, From what I read here I would sell the van and go with plan B. You will never find an RV park or resort with big sites and a dog play ground around the site. You will find tons of other RV people and some parks may have 1700 to 1800 sites on a small amount of land.
First, if you are looking for a true resort with golf and pools and activities and outdoor kitchens, etc., you will probably have some trouble finding one that accepts small RVs of any kind. With a lot of looking and some luck, you just might find one, however. Then there is the question of what you consider a “tight” space. Most big resorts and /or privately owned parks usually have smaller spaces. You can expect the site to be anywhere from 20-40 ft. wide and the distance between sites anywhere from almost 0 to around 10 feet. State and national parks tend to have the roomiest sites and more space between sites, but they do not usually have the amenities you are looking for, and there is also a limit on how long you can stay there—usually 14 days. As for your dogs, unfortunately there just aren’t many RV parks of any size that allow dogs to run free. Some will allow you put up some kind of small pen, but that is not very common either. Some do not allow dogs to be outside by themselves. The owner must be with them. Some do not allow animals to stay alone in the RV while the owner is sightseeing. Also you did not mention what breed your dogs are or how big they are. Just know that there are parks that have restrictions against certain breeds. Some also restrict the size and number of dogs you can have and some charge extra for them. If that sounds all doom and gloom, there is good news. There are lots of RV parks out there that are dog friendly and provide off-leash, fenced, play areas. A small few even have exercise equipment, dog wash areas, dog walking /sitting services, etc., but again you will have to look for these. I totally understand buying an RV so that you can take your animals with you. We did the same thing, so I don’t want to discourage you. You will run into some problems traveling with animals, but if we could do it all over, we wouldn’t change a thing. Having our pets with us far outweighs the hassles. We have tons of reviews on this website. Just pick an area you think you might like and start reading. Good luck to you.
Thank you for the information. My husband and I were talking tonight about selling our camper. It was really my decision to buy it in the first place. At this point I'm thinking it would be best to sell it. It's beautiful, and it's so darn practical (gets better mileage than our Subaru). Now, if we didn't have dogs, our camper would be perfect. It also seriously limits what we can bring with us (recumbent trike, kayak, small inflatable boat). So, with these thoughts in mind, I'm going to think about it for just a bit longer. We purchased our Sprinter last spring, so we really haven't given it a good trial. Due to a family medical issue, we only used it 3 times. And it was tough traveling with the dogs. My husband was unable to help much, so it was basically just a 'one man show' (me). Now with our Subaru or our truck, we could bring our 'toys'; and the dogs; stay in dog friendly house rentals or condos and probably be much better off. I'm rambling here, but I do appreciate your input. Caroline QUOTE(Texasrvers @ Dec 5 2012, 04:23 PM) [snapback]32054[/snapback] First, if you are looking for a true resort with golf and pools and activities and outdoor kitchens, etc., you will probably have some trouble finding one that accepts small RVs of any kind. With a lot of looking and some luck, you just might find one, however. Then there is the question of what you consider a “tight” space. Most big resorts and /or privately owned parks usually have smaller spaces. You can expect the site to be anywhere from 20-40 ft. wide and the distance between sites anywhere from almost 0 to around 10 feet. State and national parks tend to have the roomiest sites and more space between sites, but they do not usually have the amenities you are looking for, and there is also a limit on how long you can stay there—usually 14 days. As for your dogs, unfortunately there just aren’t many RV parks of any size that allow dogs to run free. Some will allow you put up some kind of small pen, but that is not very common either. Some do not allow dogs to be outside by themselves. The owner must be with them. Some do not allow animals to stay alone in the RV while the owner is sightseeing. Also you did not mention what breed your dogs are or how big they are. Just know that there are parks that have restrictions against certain breeds. Some also restrict the size and number of dogs you can have and some charge extra for them. If that sounds all doom and gloom, there is good news. There are lots of RV parks out there that are dog friendly and provide off-leash, fenced, play areas. A small few even have exercise equipment, dog wash areas, dog walking /sitting services, etc., but again you will have to look for these. I totally understand buying an RV so that you can take your animals with you. We did the same thing, so I don’t want to discourage you. You will run into some problems traveling with animals, but if we could do it all over, we wouldn’t change a thing. Having our pets with us far outweighs the hassles. We have tons of reviews on this website. Just pick an area you think you might like and start reading. Good luck to you.
