Homesteaders...don't we just love them...

Okay, can we agree that FamCamps are an MWR function? If so where does being a "Full-Timer" give you the right to stay at the famcamps as your home? FamCamps are for morale, welfare and recreation of active duty, retirees, their dependents and 100% DAV. If you need a place to park and live in your camper at a certain location then buy a lot and live in it but don't take a spot that doesn't allow those of us who just want a vacation destination. So it really doesn't matter if you're from the North or South if you need to stay in a particular location then buy like the rest of the homeowners in America that's the point or WTF! This thread is about homesteaders and homesteaders are people who live at the MWR famcamps year round. I've said too much already I bid you all a good day.

DILLIGAFF wrote: Okay, can we agree that FamCamps are an MWR function?

Your reasoning makes sense to me and I agree 100% I suspect that short term recreational campers and those that want to live in military recreational camp sites will never agree. We have to hope that the base commanders will understand that their campgrounds are not housing areas and regulate them accordingly.

"Short Term" needs to be defined. I don't see anything wrong with a 90-day stay limit within a calendar year. Many campers want to visit an area for more than a week or two. But "living" in a recreational campground for more than 3 months shouldn't be allowed.

From what I've been told, the Navy is trying to impose uniform length of stay policy on ALL of their campgrounds. There's the problem. Some campgrounds have no problem having a high occupancy with a two week maximum stay. Others would lose valuable MWR income with limiting stays to two weeks. Naval Station Mayport is a case in point for me because we like to go there two or three times a year for a week or two at a time. This supposedly Navy-Wide change allows stays of 30 days up to six months.with the possibility of extension. Even 30 day stays at Mayport would mean a LOT of folks that might get to stay there won't be able to. And for every person that stays 6 months, well you get the idea. Mayport is near 100% today and for months to come. MacDill is a ghost town and probably Key West has plenty of open spaces. We went to Orlando this week because we couldn't get into Mayport. We're at the Encore Lake Magic CG and this place is a ghost town. They've got to let the base commanders manage their campgrounds. And the MWR Director and and base CO have to find the compromise between access and utilization ($). My point of view is shaped by our travel habits. I know snow-birds, traveling full timers and those that don't travel but the RV is their home have other points of view. I guess dealing with us as a group is like herding cats.

I just returned from a trip to Sigsbee, Mayport and Kings Bay. I took time at Sigsbee to talk bout their occupancy, reservation and rotation policies with the office personnel while there. The currently have 50-60 Active Duty and civilian base employees living in the RV Park full-time (i.e. homesteaders). From May to October they occupy over 50% of the available FHU sites. MWR is also required to keep 8 site available for Active Duty and other short term (less than 14 days) vacationers. I was there for 7 days but could not get one of these sites because they are really reserved for Active Duty only, so 6 of them sat empty for the 7 days we were there even though there were people dry camping in overflow. What I didn't understand was why Active Duty personnel were in the RV park when base housing was not 100% occupied. Are the rules different now that subcontractors run base housing? All I got out of the discussion was the retiree travelers are not 2nd but 3rd class citizens as far as base commanders and MWR are concerned.

HI Everyone,
This is an interesting thread with several points of view! I'm curious about your views on the themes underpinning this discussion.

1. Do you think full time RVing is appropriate for any American?
2. Do you think full time RVing is appropriate for active duty military?
2a. Would your opinion change if all bases enforced strict anti-homesteading policies? In effect, active duty/contractor full-timers would have to use commercial facilities which are intended for homesteading.
3. Do you think full time RVing is appropriate for families with children?
3a. Would your opinion change if rooms separated children of opposite gender?
3b. Would your opinion change if one of the parents was a certified teacher homeschooling the children?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!