Hi! Hope you may help us. We (my husband, my baby and I) are looking to visit Miami on May. We like to rent an RV and visit some places like Everglades, Tampa, Orlando and back to Miami. As is our first time doing it we like to know if it's allowed to drive arround these cities or parking there, to visit the coast for example / sightseeing. On Parks/campgrounds we can stay at the night and charge electricity, drain the waters, etc? How much it cost this? Do you know if we need to do this all the nights? I read that some people stay at Walmart once in a while, but I don't know is it's safe or if we need to conect the RV to electricity every day. I really appreciate your help and all your comments/advise regarding this. Hope you have a great day!! Thanks in advance!
There are lots of options for camping in Florida, but with just a month out it may be almost too late to set up what it sounds like you want to do. First thing to check on would be to even see if you can find an RV rental. I understand Lazy Days in Tampa is good and may be a good place to at least start.
I am going to assume that you will be renting a Class C type unit which is the "normal" thing that most visitors to the US do. Those can be driven like a BIG car and normally parked where there is space to do so. If you are going to attempt driving in a downtown area of a large city, you need to be an adventurist. Meaning that it can be done, but the driver should have a tolerance for heavy vehicle traffic. Many well known and heavily visited tourist attractions have designated parking for tourist tour buses that you also could use. Staying somewhere like WalMart that is not a real campground is called "boon docking". An overnight stay without utility hook ups is not an issue unless you need to run air conditioning. Without a generator, an RV will not have enough battery power to run an air conditioner and all the other appliances for very long. You should also be aware that an RV that you rent must have a converter that turns vehicle battery voltage into house voltage. If not you will not be able to run an air conditioner. Most places like a WalMart will be a safe overnight stop. That's because they are open for a 24 hour period with a bunch of security cameras and parking lot lights. You might want to add commercial truck stops to your boon docking list. A reasonably nice campground stay where you can hook up to normal utilities will be around $30 US. That option would be my first option. If yours is a vacation trip, then it might be easier to just stay at a campground.
As RLM indicated, a Class C RV will most likely be your best choice, especially if you have never driven or towed an RV before. Cities like Miami and Orlando are big and have very heavy traffic most all year round and at least with a Class C you will be able to get around in it and not get stuck trying to make a tight turn in a parking lot, etc.as you would with a larger RV. Just make sure that the company your rent your RV from goes over all the details on it with you before you take off. What size gas tank, how much water it holds in each tank, does it have an on board generator, how to fill the fresh water tank and all other important things you will need to know before venturing out on the road. Sounds like a fun trip for your family. If you will have a laptop with you and have access to the internet, etc.and need answers or have questions on how to do something with the RV just jump on this forum and post your question and no doubt you will have a bunch of answers and the help you need, very shortly.................... Safe and happy travels, BankShot.............(aka Terry)
