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So 2012 will be my 3rd Roo. I am absolutely addicted and will attend Bonnaroo until I physically cannot anymore! This being said, my last 2 Bonnaroo's I have been stuck in GA car camping wayyyyy out. First year 2010 I was in Pod 9 way behind the lake with about a 30 minute walk to Centeroo. This past year I was somewhere between Pods 10 and 11 and again had about a 30 minute walk. It's not the walk that really gets me, it's just super inconvenient to get back to camp and then back to Centeroo in a timely manner. I know there are taxis, but they can be hard to get and I don't want to depend on that. This being said, I have decided this next Bonnaroo I am either doing VIP tent camping or GA RV camping. I am already budgeting and know I can swing either. From what I have seen, RV camping seems to be at most about a 15 minute walk to Centeroo. Am I right in this observation? If I do VIP, I would be tent camping, which doesn't bother me, but money wise, does it make more sense for me to do a GA RV or tent VIP? Basically I am tired of missing music because of being so far. I know if I wanna make it til late night I need to get a power nap in, which is damn near impossible for how far I've been parked in the past. Also, I am not interested in tent only just because I like to lock my valuables in my car. I'm paranoid. Long term corn use I suppose. Thanks for reading guys and I appreciate any insight on your opinions!
Post by Enlightened1 on Jun 20, 2011 11:46:38 GMT -5
I am looking more toward GA RV than VIP. The benifits of VIP over RV is that there are special bathrooms, showers and lounges. However most RV's have a bathroom and shower. So that leaves only benifit is the lounge. VIP the wait to go into Bonnaroo is less than an hour, this year for GA it took me 4 hours. Once the first band began the wait was meaningless. Both RV and VIP are close to Centeroo, VIP does get you in quicker and can get you into the pit. However the biggest benifit to me other than cost 1400 for two for VIP vs 600-700 for two with RV pass is. In my RV I have AC and with AC I can get good sleep ANYTIME. I have a nice cool place to sit and relax. Having a good nights rest and cooling down anytime are better than VIP. If I was to do VIP I'd spend the extra 150 for the RV pass too.
Even though we have a RV and have always gone VIP I would think going VIP with a tent / shade shelter would be the way to go. And since you have tent camped in previous years it does not sound like that bothers you. Maybe VIP with your tent would be worth a try.
Again even with the RV I used the VIP showers, there you can let the water run.. When using a RV you have to be careful with your water consumption.
Post by mizvalentine on Jun 20, 2011 13:50:21 GMT -5
This was my first year and I went GA. It was fine, I have no problem sleeping in a tent, but I think next year I'll go GA RV. A friend has access to an RV and wants to go, I liked where the RV section was (we were right next to it and I loved our campsite...no guarantees I'd get that lucky in regular GA next year), and access to my own AC, shower, toilet and clean space is huge. I don't have a problem being hot/dirty for a weekend BUT my enjoyment would've been enhanced by the opportunity to get away from it if I needed to (mostly for asthma reasons). I also would've seen more shows if I wasn't huffing and puffing so much. I don't see the perks of VIP as being that worth it when I could do the RV thing for much less money. Just my two cents!
Thank you guys soooo much for your input! I really appreciate all of you taking the time to respond. I am thinking right now it makes more sense to do GA RV because I think I can get more people on board with GA than VIP. Splitting the cost of an RV may not be too terrible if we do it that way. Plus my best friend's dad just bought an RV so I've got some time to work on him (and her!) for next year. One of my biggest concerns with RV has been gasoline, but I live in Nashville and my sister lives in Murfreesboro so although pricey, it would be pretty do-able with a group. Thanks again guys, you all rock!!
I am looking more toward GA RV than VIP. The benifits of VIP over RV is that there are special bathrooms, showers and lounges. However most RV's have a bathroom and shower. So that leaves only benifit is the lounge. VIP the wait to go into Bonnaroo is less than an hour, this year for GA it took me 4 hours. Once the first band began the wait was meaningless. Both RV and VIP are close to Centeroo, VIP does get you in quicker and can get you into the pit. However the biggest benifit to me other than cost 1400 for two for VIP vs 600-700 for two with RV pass is. In my RV I have AC and with AC I can get good sleep ANYTIME. I have a nice cool place to sit and relax. Having a good nights rest and cooling down anytime are better than VIP. If I was to do VIP I'd spend the extra 150 for the RV pass too.
I don't think VIP gets you into the pit. You have to stand in line with everyone else, at least I did. If you know something I don't please share the details.
Question for RV vets: When the RV pumping company pump clean water into your RV - do they pump the smelly sulfur water in? OR is it clean filtered water?
showering in that stinky sulfur water is the worst... nevermind trying to drink it
I am looking more toward GA RV than VIP. The benifits of VIP over RV is that there are special bathrooms, showers and lounges. However most RV's have a bathroom and shower. So that leaves only benifit is the lounge. VIP the wait to go into Bonnaroo is less than an hour, this year for GA it took me 4 hours. Once the first band began the wait was meaningless. Both RV and VIP are close to Centeroo, VIP does get you in quicker and can get you into the pit. However the biggest benifit to me other than cost 1400 for two for VIP vs 600-700 for two with RV pass is. In my RV I have AC and with AC I can get good sleep ANYTIME. I have a nice cool place to sit and relax. Having a good nights rest and cooling down anytime are better than VIP. If I was to do VIP I'd spend the extra 150 for the RV pass too.
I don't think VIP gets you into the pit. You have to stand in line with everyone else, at least I did. If you know something I don't please share the details.
They let a certain amount of VIP's into the pit before anyone else. I believe this was the first year they started doing that.
As far as the original post goes, we went GA and we camped in a half full pod 8 and the walk was nothing really BUT I would never go GA again if I can help it. We already bought VIP for 2012. We will probably never bring an RV because its a 40 hour drive from Calgary and I'd rather stab forks in my leg than listen to RV generators. For us it's more about the comfort and perks that VIP brings, especially the AC lounges. By June the temp hasn't consistantly been over 70F here in Calgary so that Tennessee heat was a little bit of a shock to me.
Question for RV vets: When the RV pumping company pump clean water into your RV - do they pump the smelly sulfur water in? OR is it clean filtered water?
showering in that stinky sulfur water is the worst... nevermind trying to drink it
Never had water pumped / purchased. In years past I did get water from the wash stations then pump it into my RV. I used a filter when I added the water and add 1/4 cup bleach per 15 gallons. Never any problems.
There are "water fresheners" that you can purchase also. Like this
Post by nwdreamer74 on Jun 22, 2011 14:00:29 GMT -5
Last year we went GA with a rented RV. This year went VIP and brought our air conditioned popup. VIP was awesome because of the perks-real toilets, ac tents, thurs. party, no wait in any line and being able to get back and forth so quickly. Getting out of the heat and into the tent next to which was great. That being said renting an rv and going GA was good too. I stayed in centeroo more last year because I didn't want to hike back to camp. and having a shower and toilet right there at camp (we didn't use ours in the pop-up)was nice. For me it all depends on funds. Definitely cheaper to go GA even with renting an rv because of splitting the cost. I'm a very laid back girl. Being dirty does not bother me, lines (as long as they are not too long) don't bother me. I even thought about all the calories I was burning on the long hikes to and from camp. I do like a clean potty to use and as long as I don't have to use portos the whole time I'm good. If we had to go GA again I'd be uh, ...ok but honestly once you go VIP it makes it very hard to go back to GA.
Some facts about gasoline consumption with a RV so you can budget for next year.
We get around 8 MPG. (The most a rented class C will get is 10)
The generator uses .75 gal per hour when running the AC. (So make sure your gas tank is full when you enter the festival !!)
So our trip was 1,700 miles round trip or around $800 for gas.
Hey Gene, can you recommend a few good used Class C's that can be had for under $8k or so? And/or some tips on the common pitfalls of used RVs? My main concerns would be reliability and gas mileage... don't need a lot of frills other than a shower and a toilet and it can be on the small side. I was going to build a teardrop trailer but post-roo I think I want a starter RV now! Would love your advice on where to begin, I'm sure other folks would find it useful as well.
The problems with older RV's (Trailers, Motorhomes) is:
-Tires, yes the tread looks good must if they are older then five years old they need replacement.
-Water leaks. Vents, roofs, windows all leak overtime. Water damage can cause major damage in structure and problems with mold.
-Roof system, and damage from weather? Has it been repaired?
-Appliances, refrigerators, water pumps, holding tanks, generators. All need preventative maintenance. A lot of people go on their vacations and do not do the cleaning post vacation.
-Air conditioner, how well does it work? A new roof mounted AC unit will cost around $1,000 installed
-Milage, low milage is not a good thing. That means the RV did a lot of sitting.
-Batteries, again age and lack of maintenance are more issues here.
I will send you a PM if you have any more questions.
a tent site at KOA plus GA tix is about the same cost as VIP but when you wake up you have real showers and flush toilets, pool, hot tub, shuttle rides to the back of Which for your entrance to Centeroo (although you can walk too - it's no farther than the back edge of VIP), stretch limo rides to Wal-mart or anywhere else in Manchester, etc. etc.
Had always thought of doing it this way, but never did until this year. We'll never look back now!
There were probably about 300 people total camped there at KOA . . . the majority in RVs, but they offer tent sites too, and there are a few small air-conditioned cabins available as well.
The shuttles were two eighteen-passenger vans which were constantly going back and forth all weekend, 24 hours a day. You never had to wait more than five minutes for one at either end (and when you had to wait that long it was because of traffic on the backstage road). . . but I walked a few times and beat the van back. In the picture below, the field behind What stage is staff camping and vendor parking. The tree line at the back of this field (top of the picture) is the end of Bonnaroo property. KOA is on the other side of that tree line. The yellow line is the shuttle route. The blue arrows were our two choices of entrance to Centeroo. As you can imagine, 'lines' or 'waiting' were words that had no meaning to us.
We had stayed there a number of times for roo-buddy reunions in the days leading up to Bonnaroo (but had always moved over to the farm on Thursday morning), so we were familiar with the amenities - the aforementioned pool, hot tub, showers, toilets . . . also there is an outdoor movie screen where they show DVDs of previous Roos all weekend, a catch & release fishing pond, playground, volleyball court, tetherball, outdoor bowling lane, camp store (easy ice access), laundry facilities, large party gazebo anyone can use . . . I'm sure I'm forgetting something. We never took advantage of the stretch limos which would take you anywhere in Manchester, but many did. They were the real thing - they actually used the limos as the shuttles in the past, but Bonnaroo asked them to switch to vans this year because the limos couldn't turn around easily at the end of the route. You can also come and go in your own vehicle as often as you like. Your campsite will have shade.
Barb and Jerry are the owners. If you have any thoughts you might want to do this, call them now and get on the list. They will start calling people soon after Jan 1 to see who wants in. If you decide not to when they call, no worries. But they limit the number because they want everybody who stays there to have "a better Bonnaroo experience than if you were camping on the farm." They truly are great customer-service oriented people. The spots will fill up soon after the line-up drops if not before.
As I said, a tent site for two people plus two GA tix was comparable in price to a pair of VIP tix. Add an extra $250 for each additional person on the site. (but you have all the room you want or need . . . my wife and I set up 400 sq ft of tent/shade footprint) The full-hookup RV sites and the cabins are a bit more expensive. Yes, the prices are way inflated over their normal rates, but it's not because they're gouging you. You're paying for the shuttles/limos and their drivers, and the extra security they have to hire. Note: the security is there to protect you and your stuff; not to hassle or search you. Also, they have Bonnaroo staff onsite on Thursday and Friday to scan your wristband and put it on your wrist so you don't have to go anywhere else to do that.
This was our site. The tree line in the background is the other side of the tree line in the aerial shot above. The port-o-let marks the gate between the KOA and the Bonnaroo property. We were pretty much the last ones to arrive, so we had the worst spot.
I've heard of koa before but always thought it was way farther away. however I doubt koa would be much fun solo and I'm not sure if I can or want to talk anybody into going next year.
the koa doesnt look bad at all, look at that nicely mowed lawn.
i would love to fly in and pick an rv up at the airport and drive down. we did GA RV this year and were right on the back corner of VIP, took us 15 minutes to get into centeroo, the spaces were smaller this year from what i heard. but rv is the way to go. next year i fly down and meet up. screw a 16 hour ride.
I actually just rented a 30' RV from Cruise America. Anywhere around Roo is sold out, I had to get one 200 miles away at Duluth, GA. It only cost 910. It sleeps 7 but I think its going to be 4-5 of us so its not too packed. The other expenses are gas to/from Duluth (about 150$) RV pass ($175) and gas for the generator (guessing at 40 gallons another $150ish) Plus 3$ an hour for generator use ($120)
So All totaled, from pick up to drop off it will be right at 1500$. Divided by 5 thats only 300 each plus a ticket, which comes in less than VIP.
The one major selling point for me to use the money for the RV instead of VIP is the fact that I can sleep in a dark, cold RV until afternoon after seeing shows until 3 AM. Last year was my first year and I missed a LOT of shows that I wanted to see because I was too tired. Couldn't nap, couldnt sleep past 9. I missed SCI, MMJ, Gogol, Primus, Arcade Fire and STS9 among others... So yeah... Sleeping in is key for me and I just can not do that in a tent.
the $910 is including the milage charge of 16 cents per mile from Duluth to Roo and back. Its half price milage during the month of June so its really not that bad.
