This is partly why the subject of stealth camping has come up so often
on this list over the last several years. It used to be that you could
travel around most places and find somewhere you could pay a reasonable
fee to park a Westy for a night or two. The fees at public park
campgrounds have shot up as you mentioned but the private camps much
more so.  As more and more places reconfigure their layouts to
accommodate the behemoths and their need for long pull through spaces, I
find that I want to camp in those places less and less. I want to camp
where I can see the sunsets and sunrises without being surrounded by the
dominating skylines of rolling mansions and their satellite dishes.

For years I tent camped by motorcycle and bicycle. In comparison any VW
bus that you can sleep in is a luxury. I hope I never get to the point
where I consider sleeping in a 30+  foot motorhome "camping". Pit
toilets can be fine but often they aren't. We have carried and used a
porta-potti  for many years. I recommend the "Sanipottie" brand, by
Sealand. It is sold at West Marine and Camping World type stores. It
does not ever smell or leak and is fairly compact. Use the chemical and
special TP made for this purpose.

http://www.campingworld.com/browse/products/index.cfm?prodID=4465

Mark

 Barbara Cotton wrote:

>I used to tent, got tired of tenting in the rain, and
>upgraded to an 83 Westy about 10 years ago. I agree,
>camping is not the affordable vacation it once was.
>With State Parks in Michigan charging anywhere from
>$17 to $25 per night, the families with small children
>can't afford to camp any more. The next option down is
>the State Forest or National Forest campgrounds, but
>they still run $8-$10 a night with pit toilets.....
>