O'Phalen Adventures

Tag: Full Time RV

  • RV Parks Under $500 a Month: Bargain U.S. Stays!

    RV Parks Under $500 a Month: Bargain U.S. Stays!

    While we find RV travel to be a relatively affordable option as a full time RV family, it’s true that RV park stays can add up! We’re not independently wealthy, so we work hard to find ways to travel on a budget. I asked in a big facebook group of full time families for suggestions on RV Parks under $500 a month, and they had a lot of suggestions! I added those and parks I found by doing my research to create this massive list. This is a great list of budget campgrounds to start with, and I’ll continue to add more as people suggest them (have more suggestions? Email them to me at kateophalen@gmail.com!)

    Full disclaimer that we have not stayed at all of these parks, and so we can’t consider their inclusion on this list to be an an endorsement. Please do your research and read reviews before staying there! I’ve included a handful of county parks without hookups that were suggested because you may be willing to forgo hookups for an affordable stay. So make sure you verify the amenities offered, as well.

    By the way, if you’re moving into an RV for the first time and need suggestions for RV essentials and RV organizing ideas, head here! I know there’s a lot to learn and buy when you’re first getting started RVing. It’s my hope that I can help simplify some of it for you. We’ve been traveling full time for almost four years and living in our renovated RV for two years, so we’ve got some stuff figured out by now!

    Can I Buy You a Coffee For Putting This All Together?

    Yes, please! This list took many hours to compile, and it is my absolute pleasure to share it with you. But if you want to buy me a coffee for my efforts, it would be appreciated! It helps my family afford these RV parks 🙂

    Now let’s get to this list!

    Alabama RV Parks Under $500

    Albertville RV Park (Albertville)

    Branching Pines RV Park (Fort Mitchell)

    Camp Rucker RV Park (Daleville)

    Cedar Trail RV Park (Fort Mitchell)

    Crawford RV Park (Scottsboro)

    I-65 RV Campground (Creola)

    Plato’s Branch RV (Rogersville)

    Riverside RV Resort (Robertsdale)

    Arizona RV Parks Under $500

    Happy Trails Campground (Meadowview) (just over $500)

    Garden Grove RV Park (Sierra Vista)

    Kaibab Paiute RV Park (Fredonia)

    Lost Traveler RV Park (Yuma)

    Mountain View RV Park (Huachuca City)

    Safford RV Resort (Safford)

    Arkansas RV Parks Under $500

    Greers Ferry RV (Greers Ferry)

    Mount Olive Mercantile (Melbourne)

    Searcy RV Living (Searcy)

    Van Buren Recreation Area (Fairfield Bay)

    Whispering Springs Retreat (Belleville)

    Florida RV Parks Under $500 a Month

    Rails End Wildwood (Wildwood) (just over $500)

    Shady Banks RV Resort (Cross City) (just over $500)

    Sunshine RV Resort (Lake Placid) (just over $500)

    The Cove RV Park (Esto)

    Georgia RV Parks Under $500 a Month

    Flint River RV Park (Bainbridge) (just over $500)

    Warthen RV Park (Warthen) (just over $500)

    Indiana RV Parks Under $500 a Month

    Misty Morning Campground (Cloverdale)

    Newton County Fairgrounds (Kentland) (just over $500)

    Iowa RV Parks Under $500 a Month

    Alcock County Park (Frederika)

    Chickasaw Park (Chickasaw)

    River Ranch Camping (Nashua)

    Schildberg Recreation Area Campground (Atlantic)

    Split Rock Park (Fredericksburg)

    Twin Ponds (Ionia)

    West Idlewild Campground (Floyd)

    Kansas RV Parks Under $500 a Month

    Garden City RV (Garden City) (just over $500)

    Maple Village RV (Goddard)

    Louisiana RV Parks Under $500 a Month

    American Dream RV Park (Iowa)

    Bonnie & Clyde RV Park (Arcadia) (just over $500)

    Cajun Haven RV Park (Egan)

    Old River RV Park (Maurepas)

    The Fishing Camp Tackle & RV Park (Monroe) (just over $500)

    Mississippi RV Parks Under $500 a Month

    Diane Jackson Memorial RV Park (Sturgis)

    Indian Point RV Resort (Gautier)

    Pass RV Park (Pass Christian)

    Sugar Sands Campground (Vancleave)

    Missouri RV Parks Under $500 a Month

    Area71 RV Park (Shell Knob)

    DJ’s RV Park (Gravois Mills)

    Harrison RV Park & Campground (Harrison) (just over $500)

    Missouri RV Park Campground (Mountain Grove)

    The Hookup RV Park (Rogersville) (just over $500)

    The Weekender Cabins & RV Retreat (Plainview)

    Nebraska RV Parks Under $500 a Month

    Chautauqua Park Campground (South Beatrice)

    New Mexico RV Parks Under $500 a Month

    Dark Canyon RV Park (Carlsbad)

    River Ranch RV Park (Ruidoso Downs)

    Ohio RV Parks Under $500 a Month

    Meadow Lake RV Park (Wooster)

    Oklahoma RV Parks Under $500 a Month

    Big Sierra RV Park (Oklahoma City)

    Hammbones RV Park (Ponca City)

    River Camp RV (Broken Bow)

    Should Be Fishing Campground (Gore) (just over $500)

    Oregon RV Parks Under $500 a Month

    Lakeside Motel & RV Park (Christmas Valley) (just over $500)

    Pennsylvania RV Parks Under $500 a Month

    Burnt Cabins Grist Mill & Campground (Burnt Cabins)

    South Carolina RV Parks Under $500 a Month

    Bass Lake Campground (Dillon)

    Broad River Campground & RV Park (Winnsboro) (just over $500)

    Texas RV Parks Under $500 a Month

    Bayview RV Resort (Rockport)

    Boomtown USA RV Resort (Vidor)

    Coastal Oaks RV Resort (Rockport)

    Geronimo Village RV Park (Joaquin)

    Hook & Ladder RV Park (Fairfield)

    Lena’s RV Park (Gilchrist)

    Mid Lake Campground (Hemphill)

    Mission RV Park (El Paso)

    Oak Haven RV Park (Bryan)

    Paluxy RV Park (Glen Rose)

    Riverway RV Park (Llano)

    Southern Pines RV Campground (Lufkin)

    The Bluffs RV Park (Pittsburg)

    The Rez RV Park (Lawn)

    Totem Pole RV Park (Mathis)

    Twisted Pines RV Park (Kilgore)

    USA RV Resorts Millville (N Houston)

    Yellow Rose Canyon RV Resort & Campground (Mount Enterprise)

    Washington RV Parks Under $500 a Month

    Blacktail RV Park (Bickleton) (just over $500)

    Desert Gold RV Park (Richland)

    Hammond RV Park (Westport)

    West Virginia RV Parks Under $500 a Month

    Brooklyn Heights Riverfront Park (Parsons)

    Wyoming RV Parks Under $500 a Month

    Circle Cross Trailer Court (Rawlins)

    Marbleton RV Park (Marbletone) (just over $500)

    I hope this list has helped you with some ideas for affordable RV parks. I know there aren’t affordable places to RV camp listed for every state, so if you have more ideas please feel free to email them to me at kateophalen@gmail.com. I’d love to continue expanding this resource for us all! But it is simply true that some states are just less affordable than others, even for RV parks.

    It’s not always possible for us to stay under $500 a month on campgrounds, but we enjoy using Campspot to book our parks. Campspot calculates the monthly discount right on the website, so you don’t even have to call for a price quote! As a millennial, you know I love avoiding phone calls whenever possible hahaha.

    And if you’re really, really looking to save money, you honestly can’t beat boondocking. What is Boondocking? How do you learn to camp off-grid? I’ve got a guide for that!

    What is boondocking, boondocking 101, toy hauler RV parked in Valley of the Gods Utah | O'Phalen Adventures

    Boondocking 101 Guide

    $7.00

    This 10-page guide will assist RVers in learning the basics of boondocking, or camping off-grid! We share everything we’ve learned as a family living off-grid and boondocking in our RV.

    Category: ,
    Tags: , ,

    And I’ve written a whole post about the apps we use to find great (and free!) boondocking spots. Campgrounds are wonderful for many reasons, but they’re never as cheap as boondocking! I’ve written about the pros and cons of RV parks versus boondocking, too.

    Thanks for visiting our corner of the internet today! I hope you’ve found something helpful in your journey.

    Disclaimer: Product links in this blog post may be Affiliate links, and I will earn a small commission for each purchase made through these links at no extra cost to you. Affiliate income helps fund our family travel and allows me to keep creating inspiring family travel content for you. I so appreciate when you use my links to make purchases you would have made anyway.

    For more on our fulltime RV life, check out these posts:

    Follow our adventures on Instagram:

    Jokes aside, I’m impressed at how shiny and clean you keep your rig, sir. I had never towed anything before we bought our 37 foot long trailer, so you could say there was a learning curve! 📈 Winter camping in Florida can be bananas expensive 💸💸💸 but it doesn’t have to be! Tell me in the comments if this is how YOU make sourdough ⬇️ For those of you planning to RV to #Alaska, I’ve put together an itinerary packed full of our favorite experiences from our 4 months there. You’ll meet sled dogs, hike glaciers, and maybe have the best trip of your life. Everyone’s always talking about the benefits of a bigger home, but have you ever noticed how easy it is to make a tiny home cozy? 🥰

    Get an email when we post and never miss an adventure:

    * indicates required

    Intuit Mailchimp

  • 2007 Keystone Raptor: Useful Upgrades for Fulltime Living!

    2007 Keystone Raptor: Useful Upgrades for Fulltime Living!

    2007 Keystone Raptor upgrades for full time RV living, keyless lock, apartment washer, updated awning, warm lighting | O'Phalen Adventures

    As you may have seen from our main RV renovation post, we gut renovated a 2007 Keystone Raptor 3612 and turned it into a beautiful home for our family of five. Here’s the original floorplan for our 2007 Keystone Raptor for anyone curious:

    The aesthetics were obviously important, but we made some crucial upgrades for comfort and safety, as well. These are some things we may not have found as important if we were just weekending, but they were so key to making this rig feel like a home to us. As a full time RV family, these are the upgrades we found essential for full timing it in our 2007 Keystone Raptor!

    2007 Keystone Raptor Full Time RV Upgrades:

    Keyless Lock

    This was one of the first (and easiest!) upgrades we made. I hate keys, especially house keys. My clothes never have pockets and I don’t carry a purse, so I’m always losing keys. Plus, did you know that many RV front door keys are universal?? That sketched me out for sure. A keyless lock was a no-brainer.

    Residential Mattresses

    RV stock mattresses are SO uncomfortable on brand new rigs, and when you’re buying used? You definitely want to replace. We brought our residential mattress from our apartment, and the kids got foam mattresses in their bunks.

    Washer & Dryer

    We lived in NYC without an in-home washer and dryer for many years, and I knew that I wanted to prioritize having one in our tiny home! This washer hooks up directly to a sink, or I removed our bathroom sink to make room for ours. We have this dryer in a closet (unvented), and as long as we have the dehumidifier running and ventilation, it’s been fine.

    Blackout Shades & Curtains

    We made sure it’s possible to completely block out light and nosy neighbors on every window. I’ve written more about what we used on each individual window in the room-by-room posts, but it was suuuuch a good call to invest in quality window treatments. Not only did it serve us well during 24 hour sunlight on our Alaska trip, but we have had situations where our slides are almost touching the neighbors’ slides. In those instances, I’m SO glad we can completely block out the neighbors.

    Warm Lighting

    We replaced every light in the whole RV, and that had a massive impact on how cozy it is in here. We love our star light with these lightbulbs (just be aware that you’ll have to add a switch!). We replaced our dome lights with these and these for LED energy efficiency. This is really useful when boondocking because they use almost no power! I didn’t like how cool white they were, so I added an orange gel (theatre kid trick for warm lighting!).

    New Awning

    The original awning that came with our 2007 Keystone Raptor was in sad shape. It literally crumbled in our hands. We replaced it with a new one for just a few hours of work (three people working together was pretty necessary, though!) and $200. Considering how much we use our awning, this was money well spent. It helps the front yard feel like an extension of our home!

    Floor Vent Covers

    If you live in an RV for any length of time (especially with kids!), you will learn how quickly your RV floor vents will get absolutely NASTY! So many toys and so much debris falls right down in there. These magnetic screen vent covers are SO useful for preventing most of that.

    A Good Couch

    The furniture that most RVs come with is pretty uncomfortable. I can’t recommend a good replacement couch myself because we brought our sectional from home. But I can highly recommend replacing your couch with a residential one. Just keep in mind that you need something lightweight! Consider weighing what you take out so you know how much weight you can add back in.

    Organization & Storage Everywhere

    Living tiny requires being extra organized to avoid a massive mess! We invested a few hundred dollars into various storage items so that our cabinets and closets stay organized, and I’m so glad we did. I even wrote a whole post just about RV storage ideas!

    Shoe Storage in Stairs

    Speaking of storage, I ripped apart our stairs to add some inside! I love that our stairs hide extra shoe storage, and you can see them in action in this reel.

    Torklift Exterior Stairs

    Our exterior stairs were hideous, rusty, and awfully wobbly. We got by with them our first year of RVing by simply spray painting them for improved aesthetics. But it didn’t solve how hard it was to collapse them or how much it rocked the entire RV for someone to step on them. Torklift stairs to the rescue! These were a major upgrade in function and looks. You can see the transformation in this reel!

    X-chocks & Kingpin Stand

    You might start to notice a theme, which is that I’m not a big fan of the camper rocking. Two pieces of gear that I’d highly recommend to help with that are x-chocks between the tires and a kingpin stand if you have a fifth wheel. These two things combined make a noticeable difference when used together, and I miss them when we skip setting them up!

    Outdoor String Lights

    These aren’t so much a “renovation” upgrade as an easy gear purchase, but they are an essential for cozy RV living, in my opinion! We love these solar outdoor lights for how beautiful they are and how they run on their own tiny solar panel when we’re boondocking!

    2007 Keystone Raptor with solar outdoor lights | O'Phalen Adventures

    Updated Smoke & Propane Detectors

    One of the most essential safety upgrades we made to the interior was immediately updating the smoke and propane detectors. We also made sure that there’s a smoke detector in every room! Especially when you buy a used RV, this is an important update because these detectors do expire.

    Wifi Doorbell Camera

    This is an update that allows for recording what happens at your front door, just like many folks have in their sticks and bricks homes these days. The Google Nest doorbell will work in your RV, as long as you have reliable wifi! Many people feel more secure leaving their RV while boondocking with a way to see what’s happening at their front door.

    New Tires

    Truthfully, anyone buying a 2007 Keystone Raptor should immediately replace the tires (unless the previous owner has just done so!). Regardless of whether you’re a weekend RVer or full timing it, this is a crucial safety upgrade. But it’s even more important if you’re full time RVing and driving more frequently. It’s expensive (it costs us in the neighborhood of $1,000 each time!), but so essential.

    Solar Panels & Upgraded Batteries

    If you’re planning on boondocking for any length of time, solar panels and upgraded batteries are CLUTCH. Here’s a look at similar to what we’ve installed, and if you’re curious what that runs on our 2007 Keystone Raptor, check out my boondocking guide for more information:

    What is boondocking, boondocking 101, toy hauler RV parked in Valley of the Gods Utah | O'Phalen Adventures

    Boondocking 101 Guide

    $7.00

    This 10-page guide will assist RVers in learning the basics of boondocking, or camping off-grid! We share everything we’ve learned as a family living off-grid and boondocking in our RV.

    Category: ,
    Tags: , ,

    I hope this list of the upgrades we made to our 2007 Keystone Raptor for full time RV living was useful! If you’re interested in everything we used in our gut renovation, you can check out the full list here.

    Disclaimer: Product links in this blog post may be Affiliate links, and I will earn a small commission for each purchase made through these links at no extra cost to you. Affiliate income helps fund our family travel and allows me to keep creating inspiring family travel content for you. I so appreciate when you use my links to make purchases you would have made anyway.

    For the rest of our RV renovation ideas, head to our main renovation post. For more about RV life, check out these posts:

    Follow our adventures on Instagram:

    Jokes aside, I’m impressed at how shiny and clean you keep your rig, sir. I had never towed anything before we bought our 37 foot long trailer, so you could say there was a learning curve! 📈 Winter camping in Florida can be bananas expensive 💸💸💸 but it doesn’t have to be! Tell me in the comments if this is how YOU make sourdough ⬇️ For those of you planning to RV to #Alaska, I’ve put together an itinerary packed full of our favorite experiences from our 4 months there. You’ll meet sled dogs, hike glaciers, and maybe have the best trip of your life. Everyone’s always talking about the benefits of a bigger home, but have you ever noticed how easy it is to make a tiny home cozy? 🥰

    Get an email when we post and never miss an adventure:

    * indicates required

    Intuit Mailchimp

  • What is Boondocking: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide!

    What is Boondocking: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide!

    We’ve been full time travelers for almost four years now, and we’ve traveled in several different ways. We’ve lived in Airbnbs, we’ve parked our toy hauler RV exclusively in campgrounds, and now we’ve mastered camping off grid. So I feel really qualified to answer the question: what is boondocking? And even more qualified to tell you why we love it and help you learn how to do it, too.

    If you’re considering RV life, or if you’re a seasoned RVer who’s intimidated to learn how to boondock indefinitely, this is the post for you! I was really overwhelmed by learning how to boondock successfully (with three small children!). But we’ve lived off-grid for most of the past year now. If you want someone to make it SUPER simple and SUPER easy to learn how to boondock, I’m your gal!

    What is Boondocking and Why Is It Different?

    So seriously, what is boondocking? It’s a funny word that just means camping anywhere that’s not a campground and that doesn’t have power, water, or sewer hookups. It’s both logistically more complicated than RVing in a campground and also SUPER cool to do! All of those amazing out-your-front-door views you see van life or RV people posting on social media? They’re probably boondocking.

    I’ve created a guide that’s just SEVEN dollars that will walk you through everything you need to know to get started boondocking, from how to find boondocking sites to how much solar we have to tips for water conservation to rules for being a good boondocking neighbor.

    Get the INSTANT download right now, with all of my best boondocking tips and tricks so you can start enjoying these fantastic views, too:

    What is boondocking, boondocking 101, toy hauler RV parked in Valley of the Gods Utah | O'Phalen Adventures

    Boondocking 101 Guide

    $7.00

    This 10-page guide will assist RVers in learning the basics of boondocking, or camping off-grid! We share everything we’ve learned as a family living off-grid and boondocking in our RV.

    Category: ,
    Tags: , ,

    This guide is packed full of ten pages of everything I share with RV friends around the campfire about how we’ve enjoyed the MOST amazing boondocking sites and saved THOUSANDS of dollars on campgrounds this past year. I wrote the guide I wish I’d had when we were first learning!

    What is Boondocking: Pros & Cons of Camping Off-Grid

    Okay, so you want to know more about WHY boondocking is worth it. And also why sometimes it sucks. I’m here to tell you! We’ve done both — lived full time in RV parks and also lived full time off-grid.

    Here are the boondocking pros:

    • Seriously, have I mentioned the views? SO MUCH PRETTIER than staring at your neighbor’s slide.
    • You can often camp closer to hiking, kayaking, and other outdoor adventures
    • It’s free or extremely cheap, while RV parks can cost anywhere from $500-$2000ish a month (we averaged about $1,000 a month)
    • There’s so much room for our kids to play without silly campground rules or cranky park neighbors
    • Dark night skies for things like stargazing (and northern lights!)
    • You don’t have to have months of an itinerary planned at a time
    • It’s easy to change plans and stay longer if you love a place or there’s an emergency
    • Sunsets, sunsets, sunsets

    Okay, so what are the boondocking cons:

    • You have to pay close attention to your power and water consumption (but I’ll teach you some tricks in the guide!)
    • Sometimes campgrounds are more centrally located to towns
    • It can be nice for adults and kids to have campground neighbor friends
    • You don’t have campground amenities like pools, laundromats, or activities
    • Roads to access boondocking sites are often bumpy
    • It’s more difficult to keep your rig and your possessions clean

    What is Boondocking: Tell Me More About How You Do It

    We’ve spent almost a year living primarily off-grid now, and our routine looks about the same except for when we’re traveling to get somewhere quickly. We generally boondock in a spot for two weeks, then dump and fill our tanks on the way to another spot where we’ll spend two weeks. Every month or two, we’ll mix in a short stay at an RV park to deep clean everything (including ourselves!).

    For more about how we find and choose spots, how we stay clean with a limited supply of water, and what supplies you’ll want to consider, check out the Boondocking 101 PDF guide!

    What is Boondocking: Share Your Favorite Spots!

    I share our top four favorite boondocking sites of the past year in the Boondocking 101 guide! But I also plan to share many more sites that we discover right here on the blog.

    Here are all of the boondocking spots I’ve blogged about so far:

    I hope this post has been helpful as you consider whether you too might like to jump into boondocking. If you want to take a look at our boondocking gear list on Amazon, check it out! At the very least, I think we’ve definitively answered the question: what is boondocking? 🙂

    Disclaimer: Product links in this blog post may be Affiliate links, and I will earn a small commission for each purchase made through these links at no extra cost to you. Affiliate income helps fund our family travel and allows me to keep creating inspiring family travel content for you. I so appreciate when you use my links to make purchases you would have made anyway.

    For more posts about our full time travel life, check out these posts:

    Get an email when we post and never miss an adventure:

    * indicates required

    Intuit Mailchimp

    Follow our adventures on Instagram:

    Jokes aside, I’m impressed at how shiny and clean you keep your rig, sir. I had never towed anything before we bought our 37 foot long trailer, so you could say there was a learning curve! 📈 Winter camping in Florida can be bananas expensive 💸💸💸 but it doesn’t have to be! Tell me in the comments if this is how YOU make sourdough ⬇️ For those of you planning to RV to #Alaska, I’ve put together an itinerary packed full of our favorite experiences from our 4 months there. You’ll meet sled dogs, hike glaciers, and maybe have the best trip of your life. Everyone’s always talking about the benefits of a bigger home, but have you ever noticed how easy it is to make a tiny home cozy? 🥰