I'm about to take off and I have questions!

[Gilda]

Welcome to Marin County and the San Francisco Bay Area! Welcome, too, to the FGRV life! I live in Marin County and was born and raised in SF. You might want to read this article on the recent crackdowns on RV street parking in SF. S.F. Transit agency seeks to set limits on RV, truck parking | The Ocean Beach Bulletin

Your solution regarding parking on a friend's property in Santa Rosa sounds great in that you would get free camping. The downside is the commute from Santa Rosa to Corte Madera. The 101 HW corridor is the ONLY ROUTE and the road from Santa Rosa to Corte Madera is notorious for it's similarity to a parking lot in the early commute and it is not much better heading north in the late afternoon. (If you can flex your hours to non-commute times you might fare better.) You can look online at 511.org to get real time reports on the traffic here. While traffic may not be as heavy in the summer, due to lack of school and staggered vacation schedules, it is still heavy. There is a SMART train in the building stage but will not be ready this summer. If you can, you might want to choose to take a public bus, but I would suggest a commute or express bus. As I look on the Golden Gate Transit express/communte bus schedule from Santa Rosa at commute times I see that they do not stop in Corte Madera. They sometimes stop in San Rafael, but then you have to transfer to a local bus to get to Corte Madera. I recommend that you not transfer as public buses are notorious for not making connections on time. While the bus may or may not go faster than a car, because it can use the HOV lane, at least you do not have the frustration of driving in traffic. There are Airporter buses that go from Santa Rosa to San Rafael and they cost about $34 each way. If you take a bus I suggest that you have a fellow camper pick you up at the San Rafael bus station AKA "The Hub". Otherwise I would suggest carpooling (2 to a car, I think) so you can use the HOV lane. You can get bus and carpooling information also on 511.org. There is a real time carpool matching service called "Carma" (cute, huh?). https://www.car.ma/blog/san-francisco-bay-area/

Another option would be to store your RV in a low-cost facility and stay with a friend who lives closer to Corte Madera. Or, you could store your RV in Santa Rosa during the week go camping elsewhere on the weekends. Perhaps a fellow camp counselor would take you in during the weekdays. Contact me in a PM (Private Message) and I will tell you about a low-cost and secure storage facility. It is not in Marin County as fees here are outrageous!

There are lots of beautiful places in Northern California in which to camp. A warning here, though...during the summer (weekdays &) weekends the most popular places are packed and reserved. I suggest you make your camping reservations TODAY!

I give you this information so that you come here prepared for the reality of driving here. I wish you great travels and feel free to contact me anytime.

[Karen T]

Where will you be in Colorado? Just wondering if you'll run into some of the same challenges in terms of finding an affordable place to stay.

[Jack L]

You might want to contact your future employers and explain your situation. Maybe a student or co-worker could offer a place nearby.

[mary and bob]

Some campgrounds have monthly rates. If you get in a campground that has a camp host tell them when you will be away so they will be aware of any activity around your camper. There's another way to camp cheap, be a host or work camper. Duties and times vary. One fellow camper where we wintered camps free because he manages the Wifi system, others did maintenance work in the park.

[keekers]

I have a blog for you to check out. Sign up for her email list. Very cool information and experiences and I think she is about your age.
becky@interstellarorchard.com
She full times, workcamps, etc.
Enjoy all the reads.
I'm glad you found this forum. Let your adventures begin. PM me if you are going to Colorado.

[mary and bob]

There was recently a discussion over on the tnttt site about securing a trailer against theft. The general opinion was to have a lock that the thief can't get bolt cutters or a saw on, at least not easily. A couple of the locks I like I found on etrailer, they are the Master Lock 377DAT, and the Blaylock BLTL-38 or the BLTL-36. Maybe a more computer savvy member could move the pictures onto this thread.

[RogerDat]

Most state parks will allow you to dump waste and refill water even if you don't have a site, you may need a day use or annual state park sticker. I always had one so don't know if they would have made me purchase one if I did not.

Don't know about all states but here you can stay in the state park as long as you want BUT you must change sites at least every two weeks, with reservations it might be tricky to get a new site every two weeks for two weeks, someone may have it reserved for the next week end.

You can not really secure a camper or it's contents from theft if left in a vulnerable location. You can make it harder to drive off with using locks (good idea even in a gated storage facility) and less appealing to break into by not having valuables in sight if someone looks through the windows. Best suggestion is have it someplace secure if you are going to leave it for days or weeks.

If you are going to be sleeping in the camper nightly you might check around with builders at subdivisions or nice homes being built in out of the way locations, theft of building materials is a big problem so some builders have people in campers at the construction site. Locally I know of at least one that provided electric and a small monetary amount for watching the construction site at night. So it might be worth contacting builders once in the area.

There was some discussion at one time about using a phone locator app on a cheap phone left on all the time in the camper as a poor mans lo-jack. Assumes phone can be left plugged in and placed in somewhat hidden location to keep it charged and unnoticed. Wonder if lo-jack does campers? If so what they charge.

[Bob Miller]

In CA as well as in most federal campgrounds, there are limits on how many day in a row you can spend there. There are also some regulations on how many weeks in a year you can stay in some campground systems.

These are to prevent full timers from taking the spaces that vacationers and those travelling need.

Let's agree to not look for ways to circumvent those rules and regulations.

Besides that, at $35 a night and up, CA State Parks are often more than a full hook-up RV park.

[Carol H]

Bob's correct a quick google shows that some California state parks have a 10 day in a row limit as well as a calendar year max - looks like some are as low as 20 days in a calendar year.

[RogerDat]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

In CA as well as in most federal campgrounds, there are limits on how many day in a row you can spend there. There are also some regulations on how many weeks in a year you can stay in some campground systems.

These are to prevent full timers from taking the spaces that vacationers and those travelling need.

Let's agree to not look for ways to circumvent those rules and regulations.

Besides that, at $35 a night and up, CA State Parks are often more than a full hook-up RV park.

Not had a problem in the Mich. parks in the past with simply moving. Been a few years, and the parks were not very full during the week. Might be more problem now as I see one would have to move to a "separately administered campground" after 15 days. We have about 4 of those in the area all within 20 miles of each other. But this is not S.F Calif.

Heck I camped one year from early April until Sept. in a state park, in a tent, saved enough money for the down payment on my first house. Only thing the ranger asked is we not take a premium site by the lake.

[Bob Miller]

I think that population growth has far outstripped the number of Campsites being added.

We used to take a 12' Canned Ham to Grizzly Creek Redwoods SP and it was $1 a night, bills or coin only, and you put it in an envelope stuck to the site #post. And that included hot showers that worked and were always clean. Once there was even a new Taylor Trailer/Boat in the site next to us. But that was 1955.

Not only did you not need reservations, you couldn't even make them except to phone from Fortuna and ask the ranger to save a space for an hour.

I revisited that park in 2012 and there were still the same number of sites.

Now, there are more camp sites per Redwood Tree, but there about 90% fewer Redwoods than in 1955. BUMMER

[Gilda]

I'm thinking you might want to consider taking a class at one of the many educational institutions in or near Marin County. Following are some possibilities:
Point Reyes National Seashore Field Institute Field Institute | Point Reyes National Seashore Association
College of Marin (Community College)
Dominican University
Santa Rosa Community College
UC Berkeley Extension
Berkeley Community College
SF State University Extension
City College of San Francisco (Community College)
and many more.

[Mike Magee]

The website freecampsites.net has some listings, but it's not extensive. Campwhere app has already been mentioned. I also would suggest reading some of the info in the boondocking section of the rv.net forums, as there are hints and tips. The guru of boondocking might be Tioga George... google for his blog.

When I boondock, I'm looking for places far from civilization on national forest, state forest, or BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land. But if your jobs are in the cities, that probably won't work for you very well.

Your very best option is to look for friends nearby (like that one in CA) because they will look out for your stuff to some degree while you're away. Another thing you can do is try to see if the employers/contractors will let you stay at the job site itself.

[lorenaj]

Well as far as the chain on the wheel goes - just run it through the holes in the tires rim and through something else on the underside of the trailer or attach to something close by if there is something. Otherwise just leave through the trim - pain to drive with a chain on the tire ;-) The thing with any size of chain is it can be cut and if someone wants the trailer bad enough they will cut it. The chain simple slows the process down - hopefully long enough for someone passing by to notice. In the link below there are actual wheel locks you can purchase but they are heavy to carry around and pricey! There are also a number of different couple locks as well on the link. Coupler locks are a little harder to remove than a simple wheel chain.

The link to E-trailers Trailer Locks.

Awesome, thanks. Are you suggesting I should do this even if I park it in a secured storage facility?

Welcome to Marin County and the San Francisco Bay Area! Welcome, too, to the FGRV life! I live in Marin County and was born and raised in SF. You might want to read this article on the recent crackdowns on RV street parking in SF. S.F. Transit agency seeks to set limits on RV, truck parking | The Ocean Beach Bulletin

Your solution regarding parking on a friend's property in Santa Rosa sounds great in that you would get free camping. The downside is the commute from Santa Rosa to Corte Madera. The 101 HW corridor is the ONLY ROUTE and the road from Santa Rosa to Corte Madera is notorious for it's similarity to a parking lot in the early commute and it is not much better heading north in the late afternoon. (If you can flex your hours to non-commute times you might fare better.) You can look online at 511.org to get real time reports on the traffic here. While traffic may not be as heavy in the summer, due to lack of school and staggered vacation schedules, it is still heavy. There is a SMART train in the building stage but will not be ready this summer. If you can, you might want to choose to take a public bus, but I would suggest a commute or express bus. As I look on the Golden Gate Transit express/communte bus schedule from Santa Rosa at commute times I see that they do not stop in Corte Madera. They sometimes stop in San Rafael, but then you have to transfer to a local bus to get to Corte Madera. I recommend that you not transfer as public buses are notorious for not making connections on time. While the bus may or may not go faster than a car, because it can use the HOV lane, at least you do not have the frustration of driving in traffic. There are Airporter buses that go from Santa Rosa to San Rafael and they cost about $34 each way. If you take a bus I suggest that you have a fellow camper pick you up at the San Rafael bus station AKA "The Hub". Otherwise I would suggest carpooling (2 to a car, I think) so you can use the HOV lane. You can get bus and carpooling information also on 511.org. There is a real time carpool matching service called "Carma" (cute, huh?). https://www.car.ma/blog/san-francisco-bay-area/

Another option would be to store your RV in a low-cost facility and stay with a friend who lives closer to Corte Madera. Or, you could store your RV in Santa Rosa during the week go camping elsewhere on the weekends. Perhaps a fellow camp counselor would take you in during the weekdays. Contact me in a PM (Private Message) and I will tell you about a low-cost and secure storage facility. It is not in Marin County as fees here are outrageous!

There are lots of beautiful places in Northern California in which to camp. A warning here, though...during the summer (weekdays &) weekends the most popular places are packed and reserved. I suggest you make your camping reservations TODAY!

I give you this information so that you come here prepared for the reality of driving here. I wish you great travels and feel free to contact me anytime.

Wow, thanks for the info! And thanks for hearty welcome. Yeah, I've noticed it is a very affluent and expensive area. I was hoping I would save money by having the trailer to live in, but now I'm not so sure. I will definitely contact you if I decide to store it.
I didn't realize the commute from Santa Rose would be rough, but that makes sense. The distance isn't bad, but with traffic, getting to work at 7am might be a problem...

Where will you be in Colorado? Just wondering if you'll run into some of the same challenges in terms of finding an affordable place to stay.

I'll be training in Denver for a couple weeks. I've found some free camping, but the commute is rather long, so now I'm waiting to hear back about friends in the area who might let me park in the driveway or on their street.

Some campgrounds have monthly rates. If you get in a campground that has a camp host tell them when you will be away so they will be aware of any activity around your camper. There's another way to camp cheap, be a host or work camper. Duties and times vary. One fellow camper where we wintered camps free because he manages the Wifi system, others did maintenance work in the park.

Yes I found one nearby, 900 a month, which is the cheapest. Waiting for them to call me back about availability.

If you are going to be sleeping in the camper nightly you might check around with builders at subdivisions or nice homes being built in out of the way locations, theft of building materials is a big problem so some builders have people in campers at the construction site. Locally I know of at least one that provided electric and a small monetary amount for watching the construction site at night. So it might be worth contacting builders once in the area.

That's a great idea! I'm going to look into that once I get to CA. Thanks.

[lorenaj]

I think that population growth has far outstripped the number of Campsites being added.

We used to take a 12' Canned Ham to Grizzly Creek Redwoods SP and it was $1 a night, bills or coin only, and you put it in an envelope stuck to the site #post. And that included hot showers that worked and were always clean. Once there was even a new Taylor Trailer/Boat in the site next to us. But that was 1955.

Not only did you not need reservations, you couldn't even make them except to phone from Fortuna and ask the ranger to save a space for an hour.

I revisited that park in 2012 and there were still the same number of sites.

Now, there are more camp sites per Redwood Tree, but there about 90% fewer Redwoods than in 1955. BUMMER

That's very sad, especially the part about the Redwoods. Ouch...

Your very best option is to look for friends nearby (like that one in CA) because they will look out for your stuff to some degree while you're away. Another thing you can do is try to see if the employers/contractors will let you stay at the job site itself.

Yes, I think thats my next step. My "office" will be at an elementary school, and since it is summer, I might be able to park in the parking lot. Shortest commute ever! Yeah!

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by lorenaj

Awesome, thanks. Are you suggesting I should do this even if I park it in a secured storage facility?

.

I would if leaving the trailer in a facility and area I don't know to well.... even then I had a friend loose their motorhome never to be seen again... it was in storage at an area that is not known for its crime....

BTW if you are working with a school you might want to check if the local School Board has a secure works yard they will let you park your trailer in. May not be to keen on having you stay in it there but you never know if you don't ask.

[Glenn Baglo]

On the other hand, the local school board might reconsider your employment...

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

On the other hand, the local school board might reconsider your employment...

Yup there is that.....

[Gilda]

It's a long shot, but there is a place in Larkspur where they are building many homes on the lot of a former nursery. See the article here New homes under construction at former garden center in Larkspur - Marin Independent Journal. In addition, building of apartments is happening in Corte Madera. Corte Madera residents displeased with 'monster' apartment complex - Marin Independent Journal.

There are trailer parks near Corte Madera, although any site in Marin County would be pricey, you might start by looking here (Greenbrae is next to CM). Golden Gate Trailer Park | GoCampingAmerica.com

[Night Sailor]

This app keeps crashing on me. A van is your best option for stealth camping. I use a pickup camper which allows me to park many places. I find hotel and casino parking lots work well with the lights off and no activity.

Many people have RV parking with hookups next to their homes. You might be able to find someone who will rent space.

A farm is your best bet for cheap space.
I think it will be difficult for you to find a place...good luck and be safe.