Where in the southern US do we want to spend the winter? We had options but after putting it all on paper and figuring costs… the answer became semi clear.
(Note: We had a Thousand Trails membership in 2020 but due to the pandemic we did not renew. We had the Southwestern Zone, the Southeastern Zone, and the Trails Collection package.) We knew upfront to utilize any of the states below we’d have to re-purchase the Thousand Trails passes mentioned above. The upfront cost would be roughly $815.
We had three states in mind…
- Florida
- Texas
- Arizona
Each of these states we are looking at travel time, miles, campgrounds, and fuel costs (avg price of diesel $2.46 and 9 mpg).
Arizona:
- 2251 miles away. 4 – 5 travel days. Estimated fuel cost of $615 (250 gallons).
- We are very familiar with the area (state) and all the boondocking available.
- We would have to purchase our Thousand Trails passes to utilize some parts of Arizona and the campgrounds that would afford us at no additional out-of-pocket expense.
Summary: 4-5 days travel, $615 in fuel, 2251 miles. Total cost to go to Arizona…. $815 (membership) and $615 fuel (GT: $1430.00)
Arizona is awesome in the winter. We’ve spent the last two winters there and love the state, but after two winters and having to return back east in March/April (family emergencies/pandemic)….. we were feeling a little jinxed by the state.
Now onto Florida:
Florida:
- 464 miles away. 1-2 travel days. Estimated fuel cost of $125 (51 gallons)
- Our requirements on our particular Thousand Trails membership is that we can be in a campground for 14 nights and then we have to move out of the system for 7 nights. On average, looking at several campgrounds in Florida, the weekly rates are $334. We would have to be out for four total weeks for the time frame we were looking at.
- Camping cost: $815 (membership) plus $1336 for 4 weeks out of the system.
- Another consideration was to not buy the pass and find monthly rates which average $611/mth (GT $1833) – if you could find a spot.
Summary: 1-2 days travel, $125 in fuel, 464 miles. Total cost to go to Florida…. $815 (membership), $125 fuel and 4 weeks out of system campgrounds $1336 (GT: $2276.00).
No membership costs: $125 in fuel and 3 months camping fees $1833 (GT $1958)
And remember, in FL you have to pay 6% sales tax and 5% “lodging tax” so that’s 11% added to all the costs above for FL.
Let’s look at Texas
Texas:
Texas wasn’t really on our top 3 list for the winter. But, we are a little familiar with the free camping around the area (within a couple of hours travel) to free beach camping. We’ve explored these areas before (when we had our 5th wheel c. 2019) and we’re a little accustomed. So, let’s talk about Texas, and see how the numbers work out.
- 1456 miles away. 3 – 4 travel days. Estimated fuel cost of $396 (161 gallons).
- With our Thousand Trails membership ($815 total) we would have to spend four weeks out of the system, over the course of the winter – January to April.
- Again, we have the option to stay a week at a campground (in the area) at their weekly rate or travel out of our way to “free camp” on the beach, and we’d have fuel cost there and back to the next Thousand Trails/Encore park.
Summary: 3-4 days travel, $396 in fuel, 1521 miles. Total cost to go to Texas…. $815 (membership) and $415 fuel (GT: $1230.00)
Looks like a Texas winter is our future! We are taking two diversions, of sorts…. you can see the on the TX map above and we’ll talk about those next. We do still have the month of December to consider as far as cost. Stay tuned!
The Thousand Trails membership is a bit confusing at first, but once you figure it out and how it works…. it becomes a bit simple. Our Membership cost per night decrease as we use the system more during the year. We’re just starting our year, so I figured the entire cost on this trip.
To round things up…. Winter 2020/2021 projected cost:
- Arizona – $1430.00
- Florida – With TT Pass: 2276.00 or without $1958.00
- Texas – $1230.00