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| Quick, overnight stays are just part of RV life for us and many travelers. We make the most of those nights! |
Over the past year, we’ve really started to reevaluate quick overnight RV stays—and how much we’re willing to pay for them.
When we’re traveling a long distance and just need somewhere to stop for the night, our needs are pretty simple. We aren’t looking for a resort experience. We don’t need a pool, planned activities, a fancy clubhouse, or a long list of amenities.
We need a safe, convenient place to park our camper, eat dinner, shower, sleep, and get back on the road the next morning.
And lately, I’m finding it harder to justify paying $60, $70, or more for that.
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| After a long day of travel, the last thing we need is a complicated campground to get in and out of. |
What We Look for in an Overnight RV Stay
For a quick overnight RV stop, there are a few things at the top of our list.
- Close to our route. Ideally, we want something right off the interstate or just a few minutes away.
- Easy access. A pull-through site is wonderful, but at the very least we want a site that is easy to get into and out of.
- Full hookups. We prefer having water, sewer, and power so we can use our RV fully for showers, meals, and a comfortable night’s sleep.
- A reasonable price. This is the part that has become much more important to us.
After a long RV travel day, the last thing we want to do is drive another 20 or 30 minutes out of our way to reach a campground.
We are pretty low maintenance when it comes to these stops.
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| Every time we travel, we consider our dogs because they go with us. Having stops on the road with safe places for them to play and go to the bathroom is important. |
When Did an Overnight Campsite Become $70?
For several years, we’ve stayed at campgrounds right off I-20 while traveling through Texas. Places that were once in the $40 to $50 range are now approaching $70 a night.
For me, that’s where I start saying no.
On most overnight RV stays, we are literally pulling into our site, unhooking our tow vehicle if necessary, connecting our utilities, walking the dogs, eating dinner, showering, watching a little TV, and going to bed.
Occasionally, we might do a load of laundry.
That’s about it.
We aren’t using the swimming pool. We aren’t spending the afternoon at the clubhouse. We aren’t participating in campground activities.
We may only be there for 12 hours.
Once the price gets much above $55 for that kind of stay, I start looking for another option.
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| Love's RV Stops are quick and easy for an overnight stop. This has become a go-to fast stop for us! |
Love’s RV Stops Have Changed the Way We Look at Overnight Camping
On one of our recent trips, we stayed at Love’s RV Stops twice—once on the way to our destination and again on our return trip home.
For a travel night, they checked a lot of boxes.
The sites were easy to access, we felt safe, and we had full hookups and Wi-Fi. There were dog parks for our pups, and we also had access to the other services available at Love’s.
If we needed to, we could fill our propane, wash clothes, grab food, fuel up, or even use their showers.
At around $45 per night, that feels like a reasonable middle ground to me.
It isn’t a destination campground, and I don’t need it to be.
It does exactly what I need an overnight RV stop to do.
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| This is Lakeside Landing in Pell City, AL. Even though it is a private campground on the lake, sites continue to be around $50 a night! |
Private Campgrounds Still Have a Place in Our Travel Plans
We haven’t stopped using traditional campgrounds for overnight RV camping.
On that same trip, we booked a couple of private campgrounds that we had stayed at before. We knew they were convenient, easy to access, and dependable.
Those stays were closer to $50 a night.
I can live with that.
For me, the sweet spot for a simple overnight RV stay is about $40 to $55.
Once we cross the $60 mark—and especially when we start getting close to $70— I’m probably going to keep looking.
Affordable Alternatives for Overnight RV Camping
Love’s RV Stops aren’t available everywhere, so I’ve started keeping other options in mind when planning long RV travel days.
We’ve used Hipcamp before, and I often check it while planning a route. Depending on where you’re traveling, you can find some convenient and reasonably priced overnight RV camping options.
I’m also planning to look more closely at Harvest Hosts.
The Harvest Hosts model is different from a traditional campground. Instead of paying a nightly camping fee at many host locations, members are encouraged to support the business where they stay by making a purchase.
That might mean buying dinner, local products, museum admission, or something else offered by the host.
If I’m going to spend money anyway, I like the idea of some of that money going toward an experience or local business rather than paying $70 for a campsite I’m barely going to use.
Sometimes I’d Rather Stay in a Parking Lot
I know this may not be everyone’s preference, but if my choices are a safe, legal parking lot for the night or a $70 campsite that I’m going to leave first thing in the morning, I’m willing to consider the parking lot.
Call me cheap.
But the more you travel, the more these little expenses start adding up.
Here’s the difference:
Three overnight stops at $70 each = $210
Three overnight stops at $45 each = $135
That’s $75 saved—money I’d rather spend at our actual destination.
I’d much rather put that $75 toward a campground we really want to enjoy, a great meal, an excursion, or something memorable for our family.
That’s really what this comes down to for me: deciding where our travel dollars matter most.
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| We camped at the Rio Grande Village at Big Bend. It was an amazing spot to spend our week and had full hook ups for $42 a night! |
Our Big Bend Stay Put Campground Prices Into Perspective
We recently returned from Big Bend National Park, where we stayed at the full-hookup RV sites operated by a vendor inside the park.
We had full hookups along with access to additional showers, laundry facilities, a camp store, and fuel.
And we were staying inside Big Bend National Park.
Our rate was around $42 per night.
That really put some of these other campground prices into perspective for me.
If we can have full hookups and useful amenities inside a national park for around $42 a night, it becomes harder for me to get excited about paying $70 for a basic overnight stop along the interstate.
Of course, I can’t dictate what private campgrounds charge. Their costs have increased just like everything else, and every campground has its own expenses to cover.
But I can decide where we stay.
And as campground prices continue to climb, I’m becoming much more intentional about that decision.
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| The views in the Rio Grande Village were amazing. And we were right at the camp store, laundry and gas facilities. |
My $55 Rule for Quick Overnight RV Stays
Going forward, $55 is pretty much my cap for a basic overnight stop.
That doesn’t mean I’ll never pay more.
If there’s a campground we really want to visit, a beautiful state park, a resort with amenities we’ll actually use, or a special location that adds something to our trip, I’m willing to pay more.
There’s a big difference between paying for a destination and paying for a place to sleep while traveling to the destination.
That distinction has become much more important to us.
For those quick in-and-out travel nights, I want something simple, safe, convenient, and reasonably priced.
I’d rather save the splurge for the places where we’re going to slow down, unpack the chairs, cook outside, explore the area, and actually enjoy being there.
How Much Are You Willing to Pay for an Overnight RV Stay?
I’m curious how other RV travelers handle this.
What is your maximum price for a quick overnight RV stop?
Would you pay $70 for full hookups if you were only staying overnight? Do you use Love’s RV Stops, Harvest Hosts, Hipcamp, traditional campgrounds, or overnight parking?
If most of your camping is relatively close to home, this may not be something you think about very often. But when you start taking longer road trips, those overnight RV stays become part of the travel budget—and they can add up quickly.
For us, the goal isn’t necessarily to camp as cheaply as possible.
It’s to spend our camping budget on the things that matter most to us.
And sometimes that means saying no to the $70 overnight campsite.
Planning Your Next RV Trip?
If you’re mapping out an upcoming trip and looking for places to camp, check out my Southern Glamper Camping Map. I’ve collected campgrounds we’ve stayed at along with reviews and information to help you decide where to stay.
And if you like having all of your travel details organized before you hit the road, take a look at my RV Trip Planner. It’s designed to help you organize campground reservations, travel details, trip plans, and other important information in one place.
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