Average RV Park Rates: Monthly Campground Rates
Everything costs. Even parking your RV. Whether it be in an RV storage facility until the new season arrives or at an RV park during the season. It seems you have to pay some sort of fee every time you turn around when owning an RV.
It is difficult to affix an average monthly RV park rate as the price disparity between the RV parks is quite large. Suffice it to say that an approx. monthly rate is between 300 and 400 dollars. Discounts can make your monthly payment lower if you stay for 6 months or more.
To learn more about RV parks and their monthly rates just continue to read our article. It tries t get you the best information possible so you know where you should stay when you travel to different warm southern states.
Monthly Campground Rates 101
How to Check Monthly Campground rates Near Me
This is not as difficult of a task as it may sound. With the advent of the internet and personal computers, laptops, and tablets, finding an RV campground near you is simple as typing in the right words in the search box.
What can complicate finding a good RV park is the total number of them. Since snowbirds and the RV industry are large, there are a lot of RV parks to choose from. You just have to make a long list and then do some research to narrow that number down to a good selection.
When doing your search, you can check the electronic yellow pages. We found one YP web page that held about 30 RV parks for Orlando alone. Next, you can get on the different RV forums and talk to other RV owners and see which ones they recommend.
Just make sure you give them your location and the city or area you want to be in. You can also, just type in the words, RV Parks Florida, and the results should give you a variety of RV parks to choose from. You just have to have a list of criteria, including price, to narrow down your options.
Then if you are on the road and can’t use your computer, you can stop into Camping World or other RV businesses and ask them for recommendations. Dealers may be able to put you in the right direction as well. Just use their information with a grain of salt though.
What Influences Monthly Campground Rates
RV parks are not made the same and sadly neither are RV park owners. They come in all shapes and sizes and have different ideas about how much each space in their park is worth.
In other words, you are going to see some differences in prices when you shop around. There are other factors than owners that play a role in determining how much a night or a month may cost you when you want to park your RV in one of these RV Parks. Here are those factors:
- State Sales tax - some states do not have it and that may affect your overall cost to stay each month. If a state applies the tax to RV parking, then your costs will be a bit higher in those states than those that don’t.
- Campground amenities - Many RV parks throw in everything including the kitchen sink. You have a lot of amenities for the price you are paying. The only thing is they may not state their costs on their web pages. The owners do not want to scare away potential customers.
- In or out of season - in other words, the time of the year will raise or lower the price of monthly RV park fees. This is called the nature of supply and demand. The more demand there is for an RV park and the dwindling supply of empty ones will lift the price significantly. If the supply outdistances the demand, then expect to pay a lower fee and save some money.
- Location, location, location - This is the real estate motto, and it applies to RV parks as well. When the park is located in an expensive to live state, then expect to pay higher monthly and nightly fees. For example, one park in Maine charges about $1400 a month while one in Oregon charges about $350, give or take 10 dollars.
- Type of RV - you may think you are doing great with your Class A RV but its size and power demands may also bring you a heavier monthly fee.
- Stay duration - some RV parks charge higher rates if you are only planning on staying for a month or two. For example, one park in Florida will charge you about $300 per month for a short-term stay. The price drops t about $200 if you sign up for 6 months or longer.
- Extra guests - this will include your pet as well. Some parks will charge an extra fee if you have more than 2 people staying in your RV during the month. This charge varies and depends on the owners of the RV park you have stayed in.
To find out the different rates and influences on those rates, make sure to read the fine print on the RV park’s web site. They may not make these extra charges in bold or large print so be careful and look before you leap.
Nationwide RV Campground Monthly Rates
This too is very hard to figure as the rates differ so widely. Expensive states to live in will have very high rates while some other states may have parks that charge as little as $180 for a month. But you can pretty much figure on somewhere between $300 and $600 for a national average.
The rule of thumb to find a monthly rate is to multiply the nightly rate then divide the total by 55 to 60%. So the equation would look something like this— $50 x 30 = $1500 divided by 60% = $600.
One reason we are hesitant to provide a national average is that the monthly average may change from one year to the next and the figures may be out of date by the time the next season rolls around.
The best thing to do is figure out which state you want to go to and then check on the different parks in those states. Look at the monthly fees charged by the individual parks and see which ones fit in with your budget.
All national monthly averages do is give you an idea of what a month may cost in an RV park and will do little to prepare you if the actual cost is a lot higher than the stated national average.
Monthly Campground Rates in Florida
One RV park in Florida has 4 different nightly rates. One for each season of the year. If we take the above equation and apply it to the spring nightly fee of $90 to 120 then you are looking at $1000 to $1,400 a month approx.
But other resorts have lower fees and you can find them in the $600 a month or lower range. If you stay 6 months, you may be able to lower that fee a lot more. As we stated earlier, one park charged $300 approx. for one month and $200 per month for 6 months.
A lot of your monthly cost will be influenced by the type of RV park you pick to stay in, the amenities it offers, if it is close to Disney World or some other popular attraction and so on. Don’t forget about taxes either as Florida is not a state that doesn’t charge taxes.
Monthly Campground Rentals in Alabama
Alabama has a variety of RV parks for your use. The top ten in one list have a range of about $350 to $600 for monthly rental fees. There were about 2 or 3 that did not allow monthly renting at their facilities.
The majority of those ten also allowed pets which is good news for pet lovers the world over. Each one has its own set of amenities with a couple offering some fishing time for those hardcore fishermen who cannot spend a day away from the water.
Other prices in the state will vary of course and a little research will help you find one that offers a monthly fee that should fit in with your travel budget. There was no mention of the fee at those ten parks being discounted any further if you stayed for 6 months or more.
Monthly Campground Rates in California
California is a little more expensive than the previous two states. The top ten RV campgrounds in that state offered monthly rentals between $400 and $800. We are sure that other parks will be a lot more expensive.
There were 4 campgrounds that did not offer any monthly rental fee. That means you have your work cut out for you if you are looking for long-term rentals. The amenities look good as pets are welcome and you can get both 30 and 50 amp hookups at all 10 parks.
There was no mention of any further discount if you signed up for 6 months or more. Plus, there seems to be plenty of spaces at these parks with one reaching almost 150 RV spots.
California is also a big state and you may find better deals if you take a little time to do some research on the areas you would like to visit.
Monthly Campground Rates in Colorado
Colorado may be a tougher sell because very few of the RV parks and campgrounds on their top 10 list offered monthly rentals. The ones that did, the range was between $450 and $600 making it a fairly consistent state for RV Park rental fees.
Only one of the entries did not allow pets or they just declined to say. This means it may be decided on a case by case situation. All of them did offer both 30 and 50 amp electrical hookups.
RV camping in Colorado may be a bit on the expensive side unless you can find an RV park that is more reasonable on its monthly renting fees. There are certainly a lot more RV parks available than just those on that top 10 list but the list gives you a little idea of how much you are going to pay each month if you stay in that state.
Monthly Campground Rates in North Carolina
Be prepared to take a little heart medication when you learn the monthly rental fees for the outer banks in North Carolina. Since it is such a hot spot, you better be ready for a shock.
The fees range from about a high $500 to over $1200 per month, not including electric. Most of the RV parks on the top 10 - list for outer banks said to call for current rates. This may mean you will pay through the nose if you want to stay near this popular state spot.
Myrtle Beach area may be a bit more realistic as one RV park has its rates at $400 and $600 depending on the season. Other spots in North Carolina should be a bit cheaper as well. Your stay and costs will depend on if you want to commute to those popular spots or actually pay the high fees to be near them.
Monthly Campgrounds in Oregon
In this state it may be easier to get 30 and 50 amp hookups and your pets in the park than it is to get a monthly rental fee. Only 1 RV park on the top 10 list gave a monthly figure and it was $700.
One more said to call for a rate but it doesn’t look good. The other 8 did not list a monthly fee although we did find outside of the list that there is a possibility of paying around $350 to $450 a month at other RV parks in the state.
Each park has a nice setting and you can relax with all the beautiful scenery surrounding them. Your only question is if the scenery is worth the extra expense as Oregon doesn’t have a theme or amusement parks to draw in the crowds.
How to Save on Monthly Campsite Rentals
There are ways to save even on monthly campsite rentals. We discussed one already, and that is where you sign up to stay put for 6 months or more. These agreements can save you an additional 33% off or more of your rental fees if you can live in one spot long enough.
Another way to save is to talk to experienced RV owners who stay in RV parks full time. They will know some of the best ones and those at the most affordable price. You may not get the amenities other RV owners have but you save a lot more money. Why pay $1400 for Main and Mass. when you can stay in South Carolina for between $250 and $350.
Paying less monthly rent is a very legitimate way to save on monthly expenses. Then there are those RV camping memberships. These memberships can save you a ton of money if you don’t mind being off the beaten track a little bit.
There are a lot of memberships out there so you would have to do your research in order to get the most out of the cost of signing up. Also, you can always go out of season as well. The rates are generally lower and you should not have to put up with a lot of noisy or nosey neighbors that annoy you.
4 Tips for Buying an RV Camping Membership
Most assuredly, you will run into these offers once you buy an RV or rent one. There seems to be a lot of them in existence and many may not be as honest as you would like them to be.
Here are some tips to help you protect yourself from getting a bad RV camping membership:
1. Do your research - if you already know your travel route, make sure the membership has RV parks along your travel route. If they don’t, then you are just wasting your money.
2. Do not do non - refundable contracts - you may not like the parks that are part of the membership and you won’t get your money back. Make sure you know what you are getting into, know the small print, restrictions and other important details.Also know the cancellation details as well.
3. Buy it when you need it - you may have some term constraints on some memberships so do not buy too far in advance. You want to make sure you can get your money’s worth out of your membership.
4. Avoid auto-renewal - the simple reason for this is that you may not use the membership one year and you will be spending money for something you do not or cannot use. If you are not sure about the next year, cancel the membership then buy another if your plans change in a month or so.
To get a rundown on some of the memberships out there, simply click on this link to get an idea of what to expect when you sign up for an RV camping membership.
Some RV Park Resources to Help You Out
We have talked a lot in this article about monthly rental fees, their lows and their highs but to find the right RV park for you may take a little more work. That is why we are offering this resource section for you.
This resource section should get you started on the right foot and headed in the right direction when you want to find the best RV campground or park for you and your family.
1. Average prices - this is a website that gives you the average prices for 15 different locations around the nation. The prices are a bit old but it gives you an idea and names to search and contact. Click here
2. RV camping - this is a top resource that not only gives you state by state information but gives you links to RV associations and a lot more. It also gives you tips and other information as well. Just click this link
3. RV park for Canada and America - get the information for national and international RV traveling. There is an FAQ section to help answer your questions. Click on this spot
4. The ultimate source - this website provides lots of information on a full range of RV activities and resources. It may be wise to give it a look at. Find it here
5. RV campgrounds - if you want to see ratings, this resource has them. Just scroll down to see them. It also gives you additional links to explore. Push this button
6. Good Sam - this is found in one of the other resources but it is always best to have a direct link to a good resource. You never know when one of the others break. The Good Sam resource helps you plan your trip, lets you locate campgrounds and a lot more. Use this link
Some Final Words
Now that you got [past the sticker shock of monthly rental fees, you may take a deep breathe and relax for a bit. You have the information to get you started planning your next RV road trip or getaway.
Don’t let the high prices of some states or parks discourage you from visiting those geographical areas. Their prices may not be what other parks in the same area will charge. You can also find one not too far away and commute to those popular spots if you are so inclined.
You now have the resources and the information you need to plan your next journey. The rest is up to you.
