Anyone ever have campground issues? or GOOD things happen?

BBTC2K · 10-21-2007, 09:21 PM

Now that I am in the process of doing my bus, I am courious as to any issues that anyone may have had, both good or bad, with campgrounds and the people there. I would hate to make my bus look really nice and have a issue getting in one. Same for canada, are there any issues there? I know of a real nice KOA that welcomes skoolies, but getting back and forth nowdays...hmmm

I appreciate any input from you guys and gals, since you have been doing this longer than me.

thanks

shawn

wmah · 10-22-2007, 06:35 PM

I found a web site that I post my reviews on, although I havn't posted if skoolies were allowed I might have to from now on. http://www.campgroundreviews.com/

I think I posted on one in clear lake iowa that wasn't skoolie friendly but they allowed me cause I was prepaid and they were not very busy. I also post on there as to if it is good for wheelchairs or not and how the showers are, cause that is something that is important to us.

lapeer20m · 10-22-2007, 10:50 PM

stayed a few places, never had any problems. i think most skoolie not being let into campground stories are urban legend.

KC10Chief · 10-23-2007, 03:29 PM

I wouldn't want to stay anywhere that didn't welcome a skoolie anyways. It's probably too expensive and snobby anyways. I have heard of it though. I saw it on the travel channel. Some snobby place up in Connecticut somewhere where you have a bellboy who brings your dinner to your RV and they have a golf course and nice little landscaped lawns at each RV site. There were ladies that looked like they had never roughed it a day in their lives. Holding their toy poodles too. They did mention that your RV has to be less than 10 years old. Screw that place. I'd rather camp in a Wal-Mart parking lot. I can't imagine anywhere in Oklahoma that wouldn't welcome a skoolie. Nobody cares down here!

BBTC2K · 10-23-2007, 03:54 PM

The reason I was even wondering is someone at a local campground refered to skoolies as gypsies, and they dont allow them in the park if the bus looks "ratty" if it looks good, then they allow it. I was just wondering if all campgrounds were that way.

shawn

wtom24 · 11-08-2007, 08:59 AM

We just returned from a trip from West Tennessee to California. Ran into several campgrounds with the 10 year rule and more than a few with no Bus rules. It seems that they are wanting $500,000.00 motor homes and nothing else. I really have a problem with the 10 year rule because I live out of town on the job in a 36 foot Alumalite fifth wheel of 1992 vintage. The bus looks good and meets all RVIA stndards,as well as the national electric code which standard campers do not meet. I really don't understand where these people are coming from. I guess it's along the same lines as homeowners associations in fancy subdivisions telling you what color to paint your house. Best bet are state parks; cheaper per night too. California was by far the worst as far as attitudes go-imagine that!

wmah · 11-10-2007, 09:59 AM

I wouldn't worry about some local law that says you can't park somewhere overnight if the only campground has a 10 year/no bus rule. I'd just park in in a business lot on Friday and Saturday night and in a church parking lot the rest of the week. Most of the campgrounds I went into this last summer had no problem letting me in and most thought the concept was cool and they have seen others come in the past and never had a problem. Even at one KOA I went to the guy took one look at it and said it isn't falling apart no problem.

I did a a few overnights this last summer, one was in a business lot right in front of its entrance and a garage door. This was on a Saturday night and where I parked it, it looked like it might have been an employee parking it there to work on it over the weekend. It was either there or at a TA stop down the road. I picked the quiet spot and had no problem. On another night I parked on the street in a business area where other vehicles were parked on the street and I seemed to blend right in other than having MN plates in SD. But again I had no problem. When I went to Duluth for a weekend I spent the first night in a park along the shore with no problem. But I pushed my luck the second night and had to move along. All the police did was say what the local law was and said they were directing everyone to the church lot in town , and I said I don't like church lots on weekends cause I can't get up early enough before their service starts and they sent me to a rest area south of Duluth which turned out to be a good spot to overlook the city and if I stayed at a campground I never would have seen the overlook there.

I have done the walmart stop but I don't really like it there unless I have to, cause often time there is too much traffic and noise and some large trucks there running their engines all night.

lapeer20m · 11-10-2007, 10:31 AM

as far as overnighting I've done that a lot. Mostly within 50 miles of my house. I live a little over an hour from The City of Detroit and many a night I'd be too tired to drive home after a party. I've parked the bus in front of peoples houses on local city streets, empty strip mall parking lots, on/off ramps to the x-way, closed businesses, wal-mart parking lots, and probably a few other places i can't think of off the top of my head. Only had police involvement once. I was in some random strip mall just north of 8 mile. The cops were curious about all the water dripping from the bus and forming a puddle underneath so they knocked on the bus door to ask me about it. After i invited them in, their primary concern was that it's 2 am and there aren't any hot women in the jacuzzi.

on the road i usually just park where the trucks do, on/off ramps, rest areas, truck stops, ect.

Train-train · 11-10-2007, 01:57 PM

Hi all! Trains wife here again. (Guess I should get my own ID one of these days)

My campground ( Cade Lake County Park) has no issues with skoolies as long as the black and gray water go where they are supposed to...

We get several skoolies each year and have never had any problems. Personally, we haven't camped in our skoolie enough to tell you of other places... yet. It's hard for me to imagine places that have a 10 yr rule or a no bus rule... They must be like a RV country clubs or something. Over the years I've worked at several campgrounds/parks and none of them ever had that rule.

sportyrick · 11-19-2007, 11:08 AM

We go camping or on a trip about 7 times a year and no one has ever told us we can't camp in their park, on their street or in their driveway. On our way to Sturgis this year we spent some time sleeping at a historic marker alongside the road in the middle of Nebraska, no one cared. You won't have a problem unless you paint flowers all over the side of your bus in wild colors then the gestapo might come sniffing around for Mary Jane fumes. A 65 year old St. Louis friend of mine got stopped in Colorado in his class A RV because the cops know Missouri is the meth capital of the US and he had to be trafficing. Don't make it look like a traveling meth lab (his didn't), or anything that identifies with a particular "theme". The higher "quality" you make your bus look the fewer troubles you will experience. In my eyes the quality of all RV's are compared to the original Cadillac of all RV's, the BB Wanderlodge. 20 year old Wanderlodges in good shape are still bringing well into six figures. sportyrick

arfisher83 · 01-07-2008, 06:01 PM

I have had my skoolie "Buscephus" for about 7 months, and I have only taken her camping in a public park once. It was a state park in Southeast Iowa, and I had no problems at all bringing her in amongst all the fancy 5th-wheelers. In fact, people were sitting out in their chairs and turning to watch it go by, with an occasional wave. I even had one guy walk over to my campsite to check her out. It's pretty cool to get that kind of attention. Travel trailers and 5th wheels start to look the same once you've seen enough of them, but a converted bus is always something unique to look at. I love to camp - last year I went 33 times, but I camp on private land mostly. That way nobody will tell me my skoolie isn't allowed. Screw those yuppie campgrounds that don't allow them.

-Adam

Roasting8 · 01-09-2008, 08:44 AM

Yeah, it really makes it easy to find when you're drunk.

GoneCamping · 01-10-2008, 09:20 PM

If you stick with govt run campgrounds you will never have any issues. State Parks are the best as they usually offer water & electric though some are basic sites. Most of the National Park campgrounds would be basic, some of the USFS campgrounds have electric and the Army COE's usually have water & electric and are the nicest campgrounds I've ever been in.

The campground I'm in right now (Chesapeake Campground) 'may' have an issue with the school bus conversion. I've seen big bus conversions in here, but never have seen a skoolie. I'm told by some of the maint people here the owner (80 year old fella) doesn't like dumpy looking bus conversions and campers that are too old, yet I see old stuff in here all the time. I asked the security guy about it, and he said as long as it passes inspection they will let it in. He is the one that does the inspections, and basically what they are looking for is that the rig looks like an RV and not like a school bus, it must have 2 tanks (gray & black water tanks), must have seperate gate valves, not leaking and working properly. I don't think RubberMaid containers adapted for use as sewer tanks would pass the inspection. They also look for broken glass etc...

In one respect I can understand a campground not wanting rigs that look awful in there, that would scare away the big money crowd, and let's face it, big money is what makes the world go around!!

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