"Homesteading"

I'm retired military and live in Huntsville, AL. The military campground on Redstone Arsenal is run by the Outdoor Rec. Center and does not permit "Homesteading". If you are a contractor doing temporary work on the base and have an RV, they will make an exception. There are sites along the TN River with water and electric with a dump station a short distance away. :lol: Also at least 30 sites near the base px and commissary that are full service. :laugh: MILITARY CAMP GROUNDS SHOULD NOT ALLOW HOMESTEADING, they campgrounds not TRAILERPARKS.

We have not been using FamCamps much any more due to the price, but have not found Homesteading to be a problem at Lackland AFB. They do let people that have family in Wilford Hall Hospital stay as long as necessary. Also, those newly stationed who cannot get into housing, or cannot sell their home from the last base - so can't buy a new one stay longer. This seems to be using common sense, which is enjoyable to see.

Are thre any regulations concerning the use of rec areas by civilian contractors? Hurlburt Field had several that were basically homesteading while they were working there this winter. Retirees were turned away for lack of available sites. There are plenty of commercial RV parks in the area.

well ive been here for 1 1/2 hours reading all of the homestead acts.So here goes.. I am retired mil. and go every fall to the east coast then down to Ga and over to arizona. the reason i gave you my itenirary, was to let you see that the problem is completely military wide.. we stayed on eleven bases and every base had squatters..(Homesteaders)I talked to several of them and they let me know that they knew the right people or if it wasnt for them there wouldn,t be a fam camp..some were very nice and said they knew they were squatter (homesteaders) but the economy was they had to stay longer than they expected.the longest we stayed was two weeks, and were told we had to stay out thirty days. we were on our way out but REALLY!

No wonder these facilities are allowing Homesteaders! Most RVers would not even consider a Military camp where they have almost no chance of getting a site where Homesteaders are allowed. Under attended facilities should make a policy known that.... When no camp site is available, the new arrival could be placed in a dry-camp site until a site with services would come available and that any campers that have exceeded their stay limit ( 14 days is normal) would be required to vacate to a dry-camp site or leave....
This Military Campgrounds and RV Parks web site would be a fantastic place for those facilities to post that policy. I have enjoyed military and commercial campgrounds in Arizona and New Mexico that have that policy and totally respect their adherance to the rules. If all Military Campgrounds allowd Homesteaders, they would never have vacancies for those of us that have earned the right to enjoy what has been made available for veterans that travel across country.

We just came from Sigsbee (Key West NAS) and MacDill, where the rules are hard and fast, and if you want to homestead, which IS possible up to 180 days, you have to rotate along with all the other newcomers....dry camp to full hookup at Sigsbee, and dry, electric only, and full (max 2 weeks) at MacDill. MacDill has the option to sign up for us to 180 days full hookup, and the waiting time, rightly so, is a full year. MacDill sets aside 52 full hookup sites for up to 2-weeks ' on demand' usage.

Then there was Fort Chaffee, where there was about 70% homesteaders, and the rest was set aside for come & go. Chaffee is yet another variation on the traditional FamCamp. Formerly a DoD facility, it now is on property ceded to the local community by the Army. The Army still maintains control, and it is still considered a military park, but anyone can rent a space! Very friendly, but clearly the military is the 'space available' component, and the homesteaders are the 'active' users. I don't like this, and feel a military member should have the right to bounce a civilian homesteader up until 5PM when the park is full!

Now we're at the USAF Academy, and this place is run right! Clean, friendly, open to all ranks, and with very restrictive usage protocols, 1 May - 30 Sept you are limited to 30 days stay, unless the park is under 90% utilized, and then once you have 30 days here, you are strictly Space-A! From 1 Oct - 30 April you can knock yourself out and stay as long as you like. We have been here often after 1 Oct and in April, and there;s PLENTY of space, and you need to get used to freezing temps (Elev 6,670 feet) nightly!

Each park has its own regs, and clearly it IS all about money. Hang in, follow the rules, and there will seldom be a camp that you can't adapt to. After all, we adapyed for 20+ years, didn't we?