hotel or campground while traveling

[homemaker]

We are taking our boys to Disney's Fort Wilderness in Oct.  We plan on spending 2 nights on the road from NJ to FL.  Since we have never taken our pop up on a long trip before we don't know if we should camp or hotel it on the way there/back.    Is it alot of work to set up camp for one night?  What do you all do?

[kimrb266]

We've gone on a few long trips and needed to spend 1 nighters in our PUT.  We have always stayed at a KOA which have pools and only set what we've needed.   After we arrive, the kids go in the pool and play while I cook a very simple meal.   If you don't take everything out I think it's worth staying in your trailer.  I enjoy camping so didn't mind popping up/down.   All we had to do is take off the sleeping bags, slide in the beds and popdown the roof and you're ready to go.  

It's more expensive doing the hotel route but will the extra price out weigh the little inconvenience of the PUT.  That is the questions.

[cmack98]

We are taking our boys to Disney's Fort Wilderness in Oct.  We plan on spending 2 nights on the road from NJ to FL.  Since we have never taken our pop up on a long trip before we don't know if we should camp or hotel it on the way there/back.    Is it alot of work to set up camp for one night?  What do you all do?

We just did the drive (without the camper) in April from Jersey to Disney....

My opinion is for the ride, stay at a hotel.  Look into where you want to go (Florence South Carolina is a good halfway point)  then on the way back home, Charlottesville NC is another good halfway point.

Look before hand and try to make reservations, use any hotel points you might have, use as many discounts as possible (AAA, AARP, whatever you can get) and the price difference might not be that much.

After a long day of driving, the last thing you are probably going to want to do is set it up.  Then when you wake up in the morning, you can just get outta bed and GO!  To me, the extra money you might spend in a hotel will be well worth it....Unless you find a super cheap motel, or plan to camp in a free Wal-Mart lot, then its another story.  But for around $40-$50 for a roadside hotel, to me its worth it....

Let us know how your trip goes, take a ton of pics of the Fort Wilderness grounds, we are debating if we are going to take the trip with the pop up or not....So far, the wife would rather spend the extra $$$ and stay at an All-Star resort and have a private bathroom, maid service, etc....

I was just there in April, and jealous you are going!!!

[fritz_monroe]

We are doing our first long trip with the pup in about a month.  We are going from Maryland to Maine.  We are going half ways and camping.  On the way back we are doing the same.  But I will take the cancellation phone number with me and cancel the return reservations if it's too much on the way up.

Why not give it a shot on the way down?  Then if it's too much, on the way back home, get a hotel.

[Russinator]

About two years ago, we took a 36 day trip from SoCal to Lake Charles, LA and then to Knoxville, TN and [of course] back to SoCal where we call home. 90% of the time we stayed in campgrounds, the only times we didn't was when the weather was too bad [rain and wind].

Between the two, camping and/or motels, we enjoyed the campground more.

Russ

[PJay]

We have travelled with both options.  Generally we decide based on how long we are driving.  If the drive is 700+ miles, usually too tired to do the pop-up thing.  Also if we drove until we could not dirve any more, looking for a motel is best.  
Austin and I are different here, but I am starting to agree more with him.  Choose a stopping point on planned trips, make it reasonable ... KOA's are great for one-nighters.  Pop up, only open what you need, don't even hook up the water, just electricity. Go to bed, and get a good start in the morning.
I do have to admit, that we usually choose to eat out on one-nighters, saving the need to transport dirty dishes.  AND it gets me my coffee!

[CajunCamper]

We have done both. It just depends on the circumstances, such as how tired we are, how late it is, weather, etc. For a quick overnight stay on the road, I can back in and perform a baisic popup set up in about 10 minutes and take down is about the same. I do enjoy waking up in a campground rather than a motel next to the interstate, but sometimes the motel is the best choice. We have a large conversion van that has a bed and four captains chairs that recline almost flat and many times we have just pulled into a KOA and slept in the van.

Get online and see what your campground and motel options are along the way and plan it out as best you can.

You're going to love Fort Wilderness.

Have fun.

CajunCamper

[AustinBoston]

Austin and I are different here, but I am starting to agree more with him.  Choose a stopping point on planned trips, make it reasonable ... KOA's are great for one-nighters.  Pop up, only open what you need, don't even hook up the water, just electricity. Go to bed, and get a good start in the morning.

PJay left out that on our last trip, we spent one night in a reserved KOA where we registered some time after midnight (most of us know about the envelope on the bulletin board routine).  We wanted an early start, so we were up and out hours before the office opened.  The only evidence that management had that we were there was that the envelope was gone from the board, and the gate keypass was in the "early departure" slot in the morning.

Austin

[aw738]

Posted by homemaker - 07-03-2007 at 02:25 PM
We are taking our boys to Disney's Fort Wilderness in Oct. We plan on spending 2 nights on the road from NJ to FL. Since we have never taken our pop up on a long trip before we don't know if we should camp or hotel it on the way there/back. Is it alot of work to set up camp for one night? What do you all do?

OK I'm jealous, even though I just went to WDW :Y  in May. We stayed at Pop Century   and If I had it to do over again I would stay at Fort Wilderness or Port Orleans. The "cheaper" resorts were not that impressive. Thin walls, loud plumbing, crowded, and poor buss service.

[camperkam]

We went in November about 6 years ago with our then teenagers.  We were going to do one night camping and one night in a motel.  Because of the weather we ended up 2 nights in a motel.  I think after all the driving I would prefer the motel.  We absolutely loved Ft Wilderness.  

Have a great time.!!!!

[mjn]

In 2005 we went from Long Island New York to Glacier National Park in Montana pulling our 1998 Camplite (we stopped in Deadwood SD at the KOA for three nights on the way). We did this with three kids (6, 10, 12 at the time). We stayed in a hotel one night because after driving for 16 hours I was not interested in putting up and taking down. That trip was 7500 miles total over three weeks. One of the leaf springs on the trailer broke in Lawrence Kansas on the way back which slowed us down for a day.

This year we are going to Utah. Our kids think it is just great taking these long trips. They always want to be in the camper but I don't like to fight for the shower  and then have to deal with the camper in the morning on one night stopovers. I usually book a room about every 60 - 80 miles around where I am going to lay up for the night. This way you can stop where you want and you don't have to look all over for a room (Just remember to have the hotel phone numbers so you can cancel the rooms you won't need). I spent two hours one night trying to find a room where we could stay.

You could make it from NJ to FL with only one night stopover. I try to be on the road by 6am. The kids usually go to sleep for a few hours and then when they wake up we put on the DVD player. We let them pick out a new movie in advance for the travel days. Then they watch other movies that we already have.

OK, I will shut up now!

[cpl215]

For stopovers that are simply to rest before getting back on the road I prefer a hotel.  If I am spending some time at that stop I prefer the pup.  Setting up and taking down just takes away from time I could be resting or driving.  Be sure to let us know how you like Ft. Wilderness.  We have had our eye on it for some time now.  Are you planning on doing the dining package or cooking?

[wernstriumph]

As far as one nighters are concerned, the less you have to set up the better. We are getting ready to leave for our big trip tomorrow (Jersey to Montana) and I took out everything that I know I'm not going to need. I probably took about 200 lbs. of stuff (dutch ovens sure weigh a ton!)out of the PUP and I have it down to about 5 minutes to set up. We will be on the road for 5 days out and 5 days back with 2 weeks of fishing and sightseeing. The biggest problem I had was booking certain campgrounds as some require a 2 night minimum in July and August. Other than that this has to be much cheaper than staying in a hotel.

[flyfisherman]

First off, I don't sleep well in strange beds, especially the first night. I've stayed in hotels/motels before where I was about as tired leaving as I was arriving! And I know everyone has heard enough about how well I think my little popup has comfortable bunks, but the fact is I sleep real good in the little bugger - and I get to sleep around all my "stuff"!

So, I'd much rather pull into some C/G not too far off the beaten path, do a minimal set-up and then get into some serious Z's for the night. One of the good things about my present PU is that I can leave it hitched and still pop it up. True, it wiggles when you move around inside, but it's only for a very short stay. And someone else has said it before ... "that's one of the reasons I got the camper for in the first place!"



Fly

[MomboTN]

From NJ to Disney, stopping 2 nights.  That is only 8-9 hours a day.  I would find a nice CG and let the kids out to play.  Use your books and try to find a nice place a mile or two off of the interstate to reduce the noise.  
We did 6 weeks out west and did stay 2 nights in hotels.  It was football season and we didn't take a tv.
You will have fun at Fort Wilderness, we go every Nov.  
Have fun.