Snowbirding to Florida:Heading south

[KemoLondon]

Hi de ho good neighbors. Heading to Florida 1st of the year from Detroit area. Planning on trying to make it to either Knoxville or London,Ky first day out. Any suggestions on staying first night? Depending on weather would like campground instead of hotel. Happy Trails.

Kemo

[Loneoak]

We come from a different area, so we take a different route, but we stay at Walmarts on the way down. Of course, if it's really cold you would likely have to use your furnace.

Our trailer is winterized when we head south, so we carry water in jugs for brushing teeth, washing hands, and flushing, etc. It takes us two and a half days to go down (Tampa area from Ontario).

We have been doing this for ten years.

[waynemoore]

Come on folks put a little water on the fresh water tank. It will help with reduce the weight on the rear of your truck. Give water for the toilet when you need it. You know if you carry it in jugs you still have the weight but not where it will do you any good “weight destrabution wise”

Just saying I’m all.

[mjammersc]

We are making a similar run in late January and plan on stopping this park in Chattanooga (http://chattacamp.com/) that some friends of ours recommended if you can make it that far on day 1. We plan on staying a couple days to unwinterized and there is a CW across the highway in case we need any emergency items.


Wayne, some of us suffer from freezing temps which prevent us from adding water to the tanks in the winter ;)

[waynemoore]

I live in Arizona what do I know about freezing,except for the ice in my margarita. LOL

[Loneoak]

We don’t want any water in the tank when it’s freezing because we don’t want water in the pump. Better to be safe than sorry.

[Elevguy]

We stay at volunteer park family campground on 75 and raccoon valley road. It’s just north of Knoxville just off 75.

[Trailer Trash]

My wife and I along with our spoiled lab/great Dane cross are heading to Florida for an extended stay beginning February 2 for our first time as well. My family recommends staying in Flying J lots - they think these are safer. We will be leaving southern Ontario hoping to make Mount Airy, NC for our first night and then St. Augustine, Fl for night 2 before we make the final push down into The Keys. Jugs of water has been the recommendation made to us as well. Happy Trails.

[Trailer Trash]

Does anyone have a recommendation for the best route from Buffalo area to Florida? Seems like south through Pittsburgh is the most direct but I hear the mountains can be sketchy depending on the weather so some have recommended heading over to I-75. Any thoughts?

[Jollymon]

Enjoy Florida! We went to the beach yesterday. :)

Dan and Sherri

[mazboy]

just stay on interstates to florida. I79, I77

[GordieGaffer]

Mt Airy from Detroit is about 550 miles that a very long day if you are up to it have at it. we will head down in Feb our first stop is Parkersburg will try and stay at a Cracker Barrel Not many CG open this time of year in that area

[Keith and Pat]

Get the RVParky app. You enter the name of the town where you want to stop and it'll show a map with icons of campgrounds, state and county parks, walmart's, etc. You ca n click on any of those and read info and reviews about the place. Travel safe!

[Creeker]

I would plan a couple different routes and let the weather dictate which I take.
I would also most definitely make that first day a little shorter. Highly populated areas, short daylight hours and winter weather all working against you.

[CaptnJohn]

Does anyone have a recommendation for the best route from Buffalo area to Florida? Seems like south through Pittsburgh is the most direct but I hear the mountains can be sketchy depending on the weather so some have recommended heading over to I-75. Any thoughts?

I 79 to Beckley WV than 19 to I77. I'd not even think of I95 until NC

[woodman]

I agree that the RV Parky app is good; we’ve used it exclusively for the past 6 yrs. Some of their reviews just p & m about staff as all reviews tend to do, on the other hand, a number of their reviews give meaningful and valuable site info that’s not on website. That said, I’ve stayed at the Volunteer and Racoon RV parks north of Knoxville and both off I-75 and adequate. We just stayed at Riverside RV resort traveling to FL that’s level and easy in and out. It’s off of I-40 east of Knoxville and found it exceptionally nice. It’s about 5 miles south of I-40 just north of Sevierville. Since we don’t like dealing with morning “rush hour” traffic we tend to stay on the outbound side of major cities in the direction we’re traveling. There’s also a Holiday Travel RV park just on the south edge of Chattanooga off I-75 that’s level and adequate. If you go this way, it’s about an hour and a half north and east of Atlanta.

[ccl]

Hi, I hope you don't mind me jumping unto this thread. I am thinking about doing the same next year (snow-birding to Florida) We live in Ohio.

Where does everyone stay in Florida?

[mhs4771]

We did the I79 route from Erie, PA South last year (2017) and won't take that route again. Just miles of up and down hills, could almost see the fuel guage dropping. We normally start further East, South of Rochester and take I390/Route 15 to just outside Harrisburg where we pickup I81 and take it to I77 on down to I26 which finally takes us to I95 for balance to Florida.

[Elevguy]

In Daytona R.V. resort 80 today

[woodman]

We had searched RV communities for a couple of years before deciding on Cypress Trails RV resort in Ft. Myers. We weighed renting versus buying, but more importantly, we wanted to be in subtropical area in FL (an imaginary line from Sarasota to Port St. Lucie and south), where night temps rarely freeze and daytime temps are typically 70 and above. I like being in short sleeves and shorts! After some contemplating, we decided to purchase, because the price was right and we knew this would be a great place to spend every winter. In addition, we could have a casita (glorified shed) where we could add laundry/bath, plus space to store stuff, which made us all the more self-sufficient. It was also in close proximity to a major airport, interstate corridor, entertainment, shopping and restaurants. 6 years later, it's turned out to be an absolute beautiful RV resort and is still growing. As you can imagine, it's not for everybody, but neither is unconditional cold weather for 5-6 months.

[KemoLondon]

Thanks all. Good comments. We made it to Kentucky Horse Park 1st night and down to Forysth KOA the second night. Mountains by Knoxville no problem but going thru Atlanta about 3pm was a little intense. Should be able to make it to Bonita Springs,Fl today. Cool trip so far. Construction was very LIGHT and mostly completed when we went thru it. Safe travels all.

Bob

[Loneoak]

Where to stay in Florida depends a lot on your financial situation. The further south an/or the closer you to the beach, the more expensive it is. The panhandle seems to get more rain.

[Tcquilter]

I’d be cautious staying at a truck stop. Apparently there has been increased frustration among truckers with RVers taking up space to spend the night instead of staying at campgrounds. Their frustration is based on the fact that they have no other choices to sleep except in truck stops or on the side of a highway, whereas we can stay in campgrounds. They feel we are taking away their spots forcing them to go elsewhere and there have been incidents of them deliberately hitting your slide outs and damaging your rig. I’m sure not all of them feel so strongly but I will continue to look for RV parks to stay out of respect for them. It’s a tough job and when they need a break, a hot shower and a meal and there is no room at the truck stop because it is full of RVers who don’t want to pay for a site, many of them are getting pretty ticked off.

[margerush]

ccl, fyi, Florida CG in the Keys and near beaches on both coasts fill up fast. You'll need to reserve a campsite at least a year in advance. Winter Florida weather is wonderful, 35-80 degrees & no snow or ice to contend with.

[richfaa]

We stay near Disney world. We both worked there for a while. Plenty to do in this area, Note that the closer you are to either coast the higher the cost of everything Walt Disney was no fool WDW is in the middle of Florida. Weather is near perfect. You do need to make winter Reservations well in advance no matter where you intend to stay

[winter texan]

Camping World in Chattanooga also has a campground

[awheeler]

Hi, I hope you don't mind me jumping unto this thread. I am thinking about doing the same next year (snow-birding to Florida) We live in Ohio.

Where does everyone stay in Florida?
We REALLY like the Broward County Parks:
http://www.broward.org/Parks/Camping/Pages/default.aspx


We stay at C.B. Smith and would certainly stay there again. Large sites, close to shopping, restaurants, movies etc... & the beach.

[Mark Stueck]

Mid-Florida is good. Hurricane Irma went mid-state over Orlando but VERY little damage. No RV's in our Park sustained any damage. Weather is good BUT will get into 40'S a couple times in the winter. PLENTY to do around here, our Park is walking distance to "Old Town" a quaint entertainment village with shops, amusement park, miniature golf, karaoke, live bands, car shows and restaurants galore. 10 minutes from Disney, 15 minutes from Sea World and 20 minutes from Universal. Not to mention RV Park activities.

[ccl]

I was thinking maybe somewhere in mid-Florida, doesn't have to be on the water. I am somewhat on a budget so the high end luxury campgrounds are out. Where is the best place online to do some research. One more question, what can i expect to pay on a monthly basis ( i know it depends where i stay). Is it $800 per month reasonable.

[awheeler]

We use the following:



Try this Website:http://www.rvparkreviews.com
or,
http://www.militarycampgrounds.us/


And, YES, civilians can stay in many military base's RV parks. The costs are minimal and lots of amenities. If you are not military or prior military you will need to purchase a $20.00 card for access.


The problem you are going to run into is this time of year most parks are full.

[summer home]

Regarding truckstops.. when we stay in one (Pilot/Flying J), we normally stay in the RV spaces, usually upfront, not in the truck lot out back... If no designated RV spots, we ask at the counter for where they would like us to park.. The usual answer is "anywhere you have space".. then I just make sure I can't get blocked in by some idiot car driver...We have never had an issue with a trucker, because we aren't in their way!!!

[CaptnJohn]

We use the following

Try this Website:http://www.rvparkreviews.com
or,
[URL]http://www.militarycampgrounds.us/[/URL
And, YES, civilians can stay in many military base's RV parks. The costs are minimal and lots of amenities. If you are not military or prior military you will need to purchase a $20.00 card for access.

The problem you are going to run into is this time of year most parks are full.

There are very few military camp grounds open to the general public. I am only aware of 2. Military CGs are for active duty, retired, and 100% disabled vets (bring your DOD ID or commissary letter). Some extend to retired Dept of Defense employees. Some permit active duty on an installation to sponsor family members. Each CG is given direction by the installation commander.