Safest campgrounds along I-75 From Ontario

[treeax 1]

Hi everyone,

My young family will be travelling southbound from Ontario Canada (Detroit border) to the Fort in January 2017. We have a 15ft Trillium trailer and don't need full hookup. Looking for safe campgrounds along I-75. Our first night we are looking around Tennessee area as we want to get out of the snow!

In Canada we stick to Provincial Parks. Are State Parks and KOAs generally rated as safest vs family owned parks?

I had thought about stopping at Walmart's/rest stops along the way, as they are free and we are just stopping to sleep. But my hubby is concerned about our bicycles and gear in the back of the truck being vulnerable.

Any tips are welcome! Thanks

[Travisma 1,317]

Cute trailer.

You could lock the bikes to the cargo loops in the truck bed.  I did that with a kayak when we stayed at a hotel a couple of nights.

Since we only travel an hour to get to the Fort, I cant help you about northern campgrounds, but someone will answer you shortly.

[treeax 1]

Thanks. I had a friend stay in a hotel close to Chattanooga and during the night someone slashed their fabric roof top carrier and stole all their luggage

[Travisma 1,317]

12 minutes ago, treeax said:

Thanks. I had a friend stay in a hotel close to Chattanooga and during the night someone slashed their fabric roof top carrier and stole all their luggage

That stinks.

[djsamuel 322]

We've traveled from Florida as far west as Arizona and Utah.  We've stopped at rest areas and Flying J service centers overnight.  We've found the RV spots at the Flying J's to be much better.  They are well lit and there are a lot of people walking around all night.  I was not too thrilled about the rest stops on the Interstates, but we had no issues.  Just did not feel as safe, especially since with a trailer, I can't just start the truck and go without leaving the trailer and walking to the truck.  There is a Flying J on I-75 in Knoxville, TN that may meet your needs.

[AldeanFan 4]

Nice trillium! We had a '77 13' before we got our airstream, they are great trailers!

We've stayed at lots of koa's and they e all been safe, clean and friendly. some are far from the highway, some right next to it. Ive stayed at state parks in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia, there's a significant variation in the condition of state parks and levels of service, checkout the park before you commit.

Good luck and safe travels.

[keith_h 420]

I can't speak to the I-75 corridor as I live on the other side of the mountains but I will say family owned campgrounds aren't any more or any less safe than state parks or KOA's. With each of them there are good ones and bad ones. When traveling we usually stay at KOA's or Good Sam listed campgrounds as they handle over nighters better than some  state parks where the gates are locked in the evening and unlocked in the morning. We pick out a couple that are in our driving range for the day and make reservations at the one that has the best reviews. I won't stay overnight at rest areas anymore as crime is more common and to me it isn't worth the risk.

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

We travel from Indiana to the Fort in January. There is a nice campground called I-24 campground just outside of Nashville. Clean, safe, easy in and out. It is a bit off the interstate but not bad. Last year we had to push through to GA because of a terrible snow storm so make your travel plans flexable. Just south of Atlanta there is another campground in Perry, GA but I can't remember the name. That time of year it can be tricky finding an all seasons campground. I have never stayed at a rest area or Walmart so I can't help you there.

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

Fair Harbor campground is the name of the place in GA.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

13 hours ago, djsamuel said:

We've traveled from Florida as far west as Arizona and Utah.  We've stopped at rest areas and Flying J service centers overnight.  We've found the RV spots at the Flying J's to be much better.  They are well lit and there are a lot of people walking around all night.  I was not too thrilled about the rest stops on the Interstates, but we had no issues.  Just did not feel as safe, especially since with a trailer, I can't just start the truck and go without leaving the trailer and walking to the truck.  There is a Flying J on I-75 in Knoxville, TN that may meet your needs.

Do Flying J's have designated RV spots?

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

We've stayed at this Cracker Barrel a few times.  Easy on/off and no problems each time we've stayed.  Typically there is at least one other RV in the lot with us.  We have our bikes cable locked in the bed of the truck.  

4001 SW 43rd St, Gainesville, FL 32608

 

[djsamuel 322]

1 hour ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Do Flying J's have designated RV spots?

Yes.  Usually in front, not too far from the gas pumps.  The RV spots are not in the same area as the trucks.  They usually have a restaurant like a Denny's as well which makes it nice to grab a quick meal.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

There aren't always a ton of RV spots and we've pulled into some that didn't have any (although those may have been Pilots). 

We usually do truck stops for a nap on the way down/back and downloaded the app.  It tells you how many parking spots each location has.  We usually shoot for the ones with more spots to up the odds we'll find a space, especially since we pull in late at night.

We've parked in the truck area when we couldn't find an RV spot.  It's noisy as the trucks are running all night, but generally it just lulls me to sleep.  Of course I've probably been driving 12-14 hours by then too. 

[treeax 1]

There aren't always a ton of RV spots and we've pulled into some that didn't have any (although those may have been Pilots). 

We usually do truck stops for a nap on the way down/back and downloaded the app.  It tells you how many parking spots each location has.  We usually shoot for the ones with more spots to up the odds we'll find a space, especially since we pull in late at night.

We've parked in the truck area when we couldn't find an RV spot.  It's noisy as the trucks are running all night, but generally it just lulls me to sleep.  Of course I've probably been driving 12-14 hours by then too.  [emoji6]

What app is that?

[Helmsey......Todd 134]

1 hour ago, treeax said:

What app is that?

I think she is talking about the myPilot app. You can route your trip in the app and it will show you the Pilot\Flying J stores along your routes.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

1 hour ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

We usually do truck stops for a nap on the way down/back and downloaded the app.  It tells you how many parking spots each location has.  We usually shoot for the ones with more spots to up the odds we'll find a space, especially since we pull in late at night.

We've parked in the truck area when we couldn't find an RV spot.  It's noisy as the trucks are running all night, but generally it just lulls me to sleep.  Of course I've probably been driving 12-14 hours by then too. 

We always stop at Flying J in St. Augustine for the evening and then leave there around 4 or 5am the next morning.  We generally don't have a problem finding a spot because we arrive mid-afternoon.  It's noisy in the RV lot too b/c you can hear the trucks coming and going all night long.

[Cortezcapt (Derek) 156]

I'll add to this, start looking or plan your stop at least an hour before you think you'll be ready to stop. That way if you get to a campground or stop that you don't feel comfortable staying at you can move on and not be completely exhausted while looking for a place to stay. Yes you may loose an hour of travel if you like the first place you stop but it may be worth it in the long run.

I have seen campgrounds thay look great on line but when it comes to seeing them in person they are a drive by for me.

Biggest thing is if you don't feel safe or like the looks of the place move on. It's better to loose an hour of rest then spend all night awake worrying about your safety or your property being harmed.

At least those are my thoughts on it and how we travel, same goes for hotels, rest areas, restaurants, anything really.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Good advice, Derek.  There's a campground in FL that we once considered staying at.  It looked good online and had great reviews.  We went to see it.  The only way we would have spent the night there was to sit in the front seats with guns in our laps.

[Solamom 2]

I posted this on another thread as well…we do WalMart when we travel (unless we need a/c).  There is an app for the iPhone called All Stays ONP for WalMart. I  love this app because it will first of all tell you if a particular WalMart allows parking.  It also has a review area where other RV'ers give their experience.  We've passed on ones where things were reported stolen or the train tracks ran close by. 

We have stayed at Reed Bingham State Park in GA. It was about a 7 mile or so ride off I-75.  GA parks though require a 2 day minimum on the weekend, which makes it hard to stay overnight if traveling on the weekends.

We also stayed at a KOA in Tifton.  It was way scarier than WalMart :)  

Not made it north of Atlanta on 75 w/ the RV (yet) so no insight there.  We did however travel I-95 to Washington DC back in May and stayed at WalMart going up.  Coming back, we had to go to a KOA because we needed A/C.  This particular KOA we stayed at - everyone there was overnight while traveling.  

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

4 hours ago, Helmsey......Todd said:

I think she is talking about the myPilot app. You can route your trip in the app and it will show you the Pilot\Flying J stores along your routes.

Yep - that's the one.  :)

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

4 hours ago, Helmsey......Todd said:

I think she is talking about the myPilot app. You can route your trip in the app and it will show you the Pilot\Flying J stores along your routes.

Yep - that's the one.  :)

[bdm 47]

My wife and I have stayed at the KOA in Sweetwater Ten several times for over night stays.  Its very close to I-75 just south of Knoxville.  They have very nice paved pull through spots for over night guests and the people running it are very friendly.

http://koa.com/campgrounds/sweetwater/

When we are on the road looking for an over night spot we use RV Parks app.  We try to stay at camp grounds as we are traveling with a little one so they like to swim, and run around and play when we stop.  I've found the reviews on the RV Parks app are very telling.

[CJHokie 43]

I'm not ever near I-75, but others have mentioned some good app resources. We have never overnighted at a Flying J/Pilot but usually fuel up at those and have rested for a bit at some. The last one we stopped at had a separate RV lot. We have a 40ft Class A and were really too big for those spots, but we stayed for a little while. That is the only one I remember seeing a separate RV lot, and it had a sign that said 3 hr. max. So, I wouldn't count on those unless you can find out before hand.

The myPilot app tells you the number of parking spots, but I don't see that it specifies if there are any RV specific ones or the RV islands (fuel, dump station, etc.) that some of them have.

The Allstays app shows Wal-Marts, Cracker Barrels, truck stops, RV dealers, campgrounds, state parks. The Wal-Marts show as overnight parking allowed or not allowed, and there are user comments which can be helpful determining safety, where to park, etc. It seems you should always speak to the manager first to make sure.  This app also shows info like # RV spots at Cracker Barrels and truck stops. It was an expensive app, but we have gotten our money's worth. 

Have a great trip!

[Roberta 42]

I think I need to turn our property into a traveler's oasis. We are off 75, but live about 10 miles from either close exit. 

Lake City, FL - parking at the Walmart is safer than parking at the Cracker Barrel, despite the looks of both. It you get totally stuck for a place, hit me up. I have 8 acres out here in the boonies, 10 miles from town.