Chasing the Winter Sunshine in Florida in my RV

Written by Nancy Carter, Making My Own Lane

Chasing the Winter Sunshine in Florida in my RV

Florida is my domicile state. I had lived here in a house for almost 20 years, and my family lives here. So it makes sense to spend my winters in Florida in my RV.

The milder temperatures in Florida in the winter don’t hurt either.

How was I able to spend the winter in Florida for only $4.47 a night? By using the Adventure Membership I bought through Thousand Trails, including the Trails Collection. You can read more about that here.

There are 42 campgrounds in Florida that I have access to. I can stay for “free”, as long as I follow their rules and pay my dues of $134 a month.

Camping in Central Florida in the Winter.

Because my daughter and son-in-law just had my first grandchild in December, I decided to stay as close to them as possible and help them out with daycare for a few months.

There are three campgrounds within a 30-minute drive or less from their house. There are at least 5 more within an hour drive or less.

What an unexpected blessing it has been to be able to help my family out and bond with my beautiful granddaughter for the past six months.

The Orlando Shuffle, or Bounce.

I have heard it called both, and it has nothing to do with shuffleboard.

It’s affectionately called this because RVers shuffle, or bounce between several parks throughout the winter.

We all have our favorites. My two favorites are Thousand Trails Orlando and Clerbrook Golf and RV Resort. These are also the ones that are closest to my daughter.

This year I “bounced” back and forth between the two parks all winter. I did have to add a third in for one week to accommodate changes I made to my reservations when friends decided to visit me for a weekend.

You really get to know the campgrounds, and the people who live and work in the campgrounds very well. Both campgrounds feel like home to me.

Another one of my favorites is Tropical Palms, because of its location close to Disney, and it’s close to my RV mechanic.

But many RVers choose to do this for even less, using only the Thousand Trails campgrounds and avoiding the extra cost of the Trails Collection add on.

How to Book the Campgrounds you want in Florida for the winter.

Depending on the Thousand Trails package you own, you are able to make your reservations 120 or 180 days in advance for Thousand Trails parks, and 60 or 90 days in advance for Trails Collection parks.

My advice is to find an app that will count backwards and give you the exact date that you can book your reservations, and book them that day.

By doing that this year, I was able to stay in the campground of my choice, on the days I wanted. I didn’t have any trouble doing this at all.

With my package, I can go from park-to-park without having to spend any time out of the system, which is why I bought it.

Now changing a reservation, and trying to find a new campground during the winter, took a little finesse and a lot of phone calls. I’ve learned that if you can’t find what you want one day, try later in the day, and the next day, and the next day, until you get what you want.

A lot of people want to spend the winter in Florida. Booking your reservations as soon as possible is the best way to ensure you have a place to stay.

During the “high season” of January 1st to March 31st, the demand for sites is very high.

While you may get a site in the campground you want, it might not be the ideal site you want. While before Christmas and after the end of March, there is more choice of the actual quality of the sites available.

During the high season, you may find yourself squeezed into a very tight site, where your septic tank is under your RV. For me, my rig is small, I have a composting toilet and I don’t leave my tanks hooked up all the time, so having to go use the dump station once a week is not a big deal.

For most rigs, especially the larger ones, it can be a challenge to find a site that will work for you. But it is possible, and a lot of RVers make it work.

So be patient and flexible. As the old saying goes, you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

And after all, it is camping.

Thousand Trails rules that I learned about camping in Florida in the winter.

This was my first year using a Thousand Trails membership, and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

I learned that at some campgrounds, like Thousand Trails Orlando, you can only stay two weeks, instead of the normal three weeks, during high season, from January 1 to March 31. I do have the option of adding on a week, once I get to the park, for $99. Off season I can add on that extra week for only $29, up to four times a year.

I learned that if you leave a campground and move, even for a weekend, you cannot go back to the first park for seven days.

This did make rearranging campgrounds so I could spend time with friends and family visiting Florida a little challenging.

Unfortunately, friends and family don’t necessarily make their plans six months in advance, like I have to.

In the end, it all worked out. And I now know the rules better. Understanding the rules will help me to make decisions about changing campgrounds, or not, easier.

Sometimes I have found it’s easier to just go visit people for a day, rather than move my whole house. As a Thousand Trails member, day passes are free.

Did I enjoy spending the winter in Florida in an RV?

Words cannot explain what a wonderful winter I had.

I have met so many wonderful new friends, right from the first site I had in the first campground when I sold my house and had to find a place to stay quickly, which you can read more about here.

The winter activities include everything from meat bingo to water volleyball (where there aren’t any rules except no spiking) to walk-fit classes every weekday morning. I have learned many new card games, and learned so much about RVing.

People are there to offer help of all kinds.

I reconnected with friends I had met in New York, and I will be meeting people I met this winter again in Michigan this summer.

I was told by my membership specialist, “you will buy the membership for the program, and love it because of the community”.

When she said it, I couldn’t have possibly understood what that would mean.

After traveling up the East Coast in 2023 and staying in different campgrounds, I found some community.

But when you connect with people over and over for four or five months and you're all living the same lifestyle and doing the same shuffle, you really get to know those people well.

While saying “see you later” is sad, knowing that you will see them in your travels, or next winter, and that you will stay connected with them with social media, texts or phone calls until you meet again, is so sweet.

Traveling solo can be very lonely at times. But I have found the more memories you make and more positive experiences you have, the easier it is to get through the “lonelier” times. And spending the winter in Florida has given me so many great memories, and things to look forward to next year, as I come back to Florida again for the winter.

If you have any comments, suggestions or questions about spending the winter in Florida using a Thousand Trails membership program, click here.

Thanks for joining me as I explore more in this full-time RV life.

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