They just cant afford it.......High parks....high fuel........they have all become Boondockers @ Wallmart!!!!!

I sort of hope that is the case in four more years when we are ready. I aim to buy a lot in Florida and one in Michigan. True snowbirds. I wouldn't object to getting a great deal or two.

Could be wrong, but it really isn’t “snowbird season” quite yet in Florida.  They all come down right after Christmas or New Years. (Like us)  Traveling I-95 down to Florida for a great number of years, we used to live there, that seems to be the norm.  Saw the same thing at the parks where many snowbirds nested for the winter and the one we’ve been at for like “ever.”

Check again come January 6^th or so.

That said, Mike is correct to a large extent.  The economy is not as good as the “official” numbers pretend it is for many, IMO.

Bill

A blurb I read on the internet made it sound like the rv parks in Fernly, Coffeyville, and Campbellsville were bulging at the seams.  Yet another reason for the early January snowbird migration.

We've seen LOTS of RV's on I-10 as we've explored the Tucson area, right now we're in a state park and the weekend before Christmas almost all the sites are full. We're headed to Quartzsite on Monday, hoping for a peaceful Christmas out in the boondocks!!

I can't compare to previous years, but today as we were on I-10 for 5 miles I counted 46 rigs headed the other direction in that very short time, amazing to me as this is our first winter as full timers. We spent the day at the Sonora Desert Museum and there were a lot of rigs parked in the RV parking area, despite the fact that this is probably one of the coldest days we've had in AZ thus far with a pretty consistent wind. Not a great day for an outdoor museum, but sure beat spending the day in a local mall shopping for stuff no one really needs.

Were headed to the Tampa area after Christmas, When we where looking for a campground most where full or only had one or two sites left. This will be our first winter away from New England, I'll miss the snow and cold winds.

VanMar wrote:

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A blurb I read on the internet made it sound like the rv parks in Fernly, Coffeyville, and Campbellsville were bulging at the seams.  Yet another reason for the early January snowbird migration.

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 Amazon country.  Probably fluffing their nest with some dollars before heading south.   Maybe more snowbirds/full-timers are working delaying their arrival in some destinations.   In AZ, we always saw the first of them coming in around mid-October but in SE AL, they came later and it seemed that approaching weather systems played heavily in some of their decisions. 

We are planning to leave for Quartzite in early January. It will be the first time there for us. We bought a generator and boondocked on the Texas coast 3 times earlier this year with 10 days being the longest stay. With it being an 1100+ mile drive to Quartzite we plan to stay a while. I am excited and also nervous about the trip.

I am hoping there are a lot of people where ever we end up parking. We will be bringing our 2001 30 foot bumper pull towed by our 2001 F-150 supercrew. We have a few doubts about the hills we will climb but we travel light so should make it OK. If not, well, plan B is back to the beach in Texas and then the Rio Grand Valley.

I'm planning on snowbirding in a fairly light-weight travel trailer. We haven't bought it yet as we are still 5 years away from retirement, but plan on a model in the 11k GVW max. range (in the 7-8k dry weight range). We recently purchased an F-250 6.4l diesel as our FT TV. I think this will be a good compromise for MPG and durability vs towing capacity in our range. We're both 1956 boomers (I'm a Leo too.) so plan on FTing at 62 yrs young, if we're both still amongst the living then. We're considering several models from the Gulfstream 299SWB on the bottom end to the Denali 287re at the top weight/price range, (favoring king bed, dual slide TT's with at least 3,000lb CCC) with quite a few inbetween, depending upon what we can find that are only lightly used for a couple years. We are not interested in the typical, heavy, 4 season, "FT" units. We plan on moving at most monthly (perhaps seasonally as we age) to take advantage of lower RV park rates and conserve fuel to meet our frugal budgetary requirements. Comments/suggestions?

Chip

The climb up to the Chisos Basin in Big Bend NP is pretty steep, as is the road by Big Bend SP past Lajitas going to Presidio. I also remember a relatively steep grade going up to the Guadalupe Mountains - the highest peak in TX. Other than that, TX ain't too bad for RVers.

Chip

I'm familiar with TX canyon on I-10 in AZ. I seem to remember that it's steeper downhill (going west) than uphill (going east), if that makes any sense, so I guess it depends on what direction you're headed, too. I used to live in Waynesville, NC so I've driven/towed all over the Smokies/Bue Ridge, so I know what you mean. I've also towed my Aliner on the "hellbender" and "tail of the dragon" both popular motorcycle roads with hundreds of tight turns - not recommended for big trucks or long trailers!

Chip

I get what Snow Gypsy is saying; been in Pahrump, a classic snow bird destination, and lots of empty spaces. I think much of the classic "snow bird generation" are retiring the wheels for sticks and bricks (spoken with a few who bought houses in Pahrump). Some of the younger folks contemplating an RV can not imagine having a job that pays well enough, for long enough to buy a house, and see RVs as a housing alternative, with the option of "living for free" so they can possibly save a little money, maybe to pay off student loans, or save for a house, or maybe migrate to where they think the jobs might be.