Newbie Question about Extending Camping Season

[mshadow]

Hi! My wife and I are in the process of buying a 2021 Jayco 38BHDS with the plan of seasonal camping with it - we were going to have it delivered to the campground. We have to special order it and it would not be available until Nov/December. Unfortunately this means that most seasonal campgrounds in Indiana are already closed for the season.

So my dumb question - it sucks that we will get our new TT and not be able to use it at all for a few months - are there any other options to use it between October and April (I don't have a tow vehicle currently)? One campground said that we could use it during the winter (they leave electric on) but we would need to deal with water. I used to own a 3 season cabin which I would use during the winter - it had heat and I would just bring bottled water in

[Route 66 Traveler]

Frankly, there are so many things wrong with your idea I feel it better to keep my comments to myself. Without a means to tow your new trailer yourself, you are setting yourself up for nothing but problems that you will probably regret.

[mshadow]

I am confused by your comment - we have friends that have done seasonal camping for 10+ years and do not have a tow vehicle. They had both of their campers delivered from the RV store.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by mshadow

I am confused by your comment - we have friends that have done seasonal camping for 10+ years and do not have a tow vehicle. They had both of their campers delivered from the RV store.

There are many that do just that, just as there are people who live in the Northern climates using them year round. I the CG is open what you want to do should not be an issue as long as you prep everything correctly.

[michael.g]

Our experience with Winter camping is the RV gets cold fast. We've camped in below freezing in our Class C and close to freezing in our TT. When it is that cold, the furnace runs quite often and you will burn through propane pretty fast. You'll be comfortable, but you will need to refill propane often. Electric heaters are nice, but usually struggle in really cold temps. Yes, you could bring bottled water in, but what about getting rid of the waste water? Will sewer be available in the winter to get rid of waste?

Not having a truck isn't a deal breaker. We bought our almost 12,000 lb, 40' Destination TT with no way to tow it. The dealer delivered it, leveled it and made sure everything worked. Once at the campground, if we needed it moved, the owners could/would have if requested. We did need to move it and asked my brother who owned a F-350 SRW to move it (just had to pull it forward about 10 feet). When I needed to move the TT out of the campground, my buddy offered to move it for me. I had planned to rent a 350/3500 from Enterprise, but my buddy offered. Worse case scenario a RV Transporter could have moved it for me. Being in Indiana, I'm sure there are a lot of RV Transporters that could move it from campground to campground for you. Having a F-350 DRW would be nice to have in the off chance that we need to move it again, but it's not really worth the purchase for that off chance.

-Michael

[Tunce the traveler]

That’s fairly common in Southern California like Pismo Beach for example where they have a really large storage area and you just call them and they bring it over to the site. It’s like Motel 6 “ they keep a light on for ya”.

[Jagiven]

I would not be concerned about using it in the winter. Water is an issue, Both potable and waste. Potable, you can easily bring in jugs. Waste, can be more challenging. I would talk with the CG to find out what their take is on it. Sewer system might be viable. But do not leave your TT hooked up to the sewer in the winter with the exposed flexible pipe. They tend to frost up. Best to dump and disconnect. Might be able to setup a "Funnel" and directly pour down any water from a waste bucket in to the sewer system. Owner might allow clear water to be dumped near a tree/shrubs too. Buddy of mine travels in the winter with a MH, uses the toilet, but instead of water he flushes with windshield wiper fluid. It does not tend to freeze up.

As for heat, RVs are not well insulated. If you have pass through hatches under the bed to be very COLD. Also can burn a lot of propane, so do not be surprised. Supplemental electric heat is nice.

[Nelly Hume]

Hi,

You need an RV pellet Stove when your decision goes to camping in Winter.
You can connect some RV Transporters to help you to move it to the next campground.

There are some RV Transporters website： https://indianatransport.com/index.php
https://www.hoosier-rv-transport.com/
https://www.starfleettrucking.com/
https://www.storyrv.com/
Good Luck.