How to Receive Packages When You Move Frequently

Full-time RVers have a bit of a conundrum when traveling frequently – lots of life’s supplies come through the mail or on the delivery truck. What do you do when you move every week or two? Here’s our guide on how to receive packages when you move frequently.

What’s the shipping timeframe?

Most big sellers promote free, fast shipping – two to three days. That’s fairly easy to handle when you aren’t stationary.

If you need something special order or it gets backordered, you may have to flex and figure out where you’ll be when the shipment drops. You can find this information when you receive a tracking number.

If you use a service that doesn’t offer shipment tracking such as a vendor that ships media mail, you may have to send your package to someone who can hold the package for you or forward it to you.

Related Read: RV Full-Timer Tips: Getting your Mail

Let’s look at what to do based on timeframe.

Fast, Low-Cost, Trackable Shipping

Amazon, Walmart, and some other retailers offer a two-or-three-day free shipping option. It’s usually reliable, but around the big holidays, shipments can get delayed. However, under normal circumstances, you should be able to receive packages from these retailers reliably. But where?

Good question. Here are a few options:

1. Check with your campground.

Some campgrounds have a store or office and will gladly accept packages for you. Some charge a small fee ($2-$5 per package). Be sure to confirm this before you place your order.

Pro tip: Call and talk to someone in the office. Don’t depend on social media or the website. Campgrounds may change their policies depending on staffing levels and seasons. You may also encounter campground offices that close on certain days of the week (especially in the off season).

2. Ship the item to a store.

This is my favorite way to receive packages. I know I can rely on sending my package to a Walmart or an Amazon pickup location.

3. Use the store’s pickup service.

I also really like using the pickup service at several retailers. This past summer we bought a mattress, a countertop ice maker and some camping equipment through the pickup at store option. Sometimes you may have better luck checking a nearby store for in-stock items.

4. Use an online retailer’s pickup service.

I recently used the Amazon Pickup service at a Belk department store for the first time. I went inside to the ladies’ shoes department and received my packages. The sales manager asked me how I liked using the service and asked me if I was a Belk credit card holder. Yes, why actually, I am. They gave me a 25% off coupon just for having my package sent to their location. I saved $20 on a bathrobe for my son. Score! You have two weeks to pick up these packages.

5. Use Amazon Lockers.

If you’re near a more major market, you can use a secure Amazon locker to pick up your packages. Amazon send you a six-digit code to a locker that you enter on a screen when you get there. The kicker here is that you have three business days to pick up your package.

What to Do with Slower Shipments and Inexact Delivery Dates

When you don’t know exactly when a package is going to arrive, receiving packages when you move frequently is a little trickier. We’ve run into a few snags with our shipments, so here are a few tips.

1. Use the UPS Store.

We had a shower pan crack in our RV this summer, so we had to order a new one because it’s a special-order item. Well, we couldn’t get a shipping confirmation because it had to be drop-shipped from the manufacturer. It’s hard to predict the arrival because the retailer can’t even give a tracking number until they receive a notification. It’s frustrating to say the least.

We had to call and change the delivery address because we moved campgrounds. So, we reached out to a UPS store in an area where we’d be within a couple of weeks. They gladly accepted the package for $5. Be sure to call and get an exact address for this and to alert them your package is coming.

Pro tip: If there’s a UPS Customer Center (different from the retail shop) in the area, you can pick up packages free of charge during their business hours.

2. Ship to the post office.

The U.S. Postal Service actually has an option that may assist you in the event you can’t get a shipment delivered to your campground or via a store or shipping service. It’s called General Delivery.

Designed for people who are considered transients – like all of us full-time RVers – General Delivery is fairly simple to use, but there are a few caveats. The post office location must offer General Delivery as one of its services. Not all post offices are allowed to do it. It’s best to call and find out whether the post office can accommodate a general delivery.

To receive your package, you’ll need to set your address up like this RECIPIENT NAME, GENERAL DELIVERY, CITY, STATE, ZIP. You’ll have 10-15 days (depending on the carrier’s services) to collect your package. This arrangement is best arranged by calling the post office directly. Here’s a USPS guide on how to use General Delivery.

Up-and-Coming Package Pickup Services

The package pickup services are still very new to the market. Here are a couple up-and-coming options to keep an eye on when you need to receive packages when you move frequently:

1. Kroger Package Services – Kroger is testing a partnership with FedEx, UPS, and the USPS that’s similar to Amazon and its Amazon Pickup locations in 220 stores this year. Check your area to see if Kroger offers this service for you.

2. Walgreens and FedEx – Walgreens has a distinct advantage in the package services arena – many of them are open 24 hours per day. FedEx and Walgreens have partnered up to make package pickup easier for their customers. You can use the “Hold for delivery” option when you get your FedEx tracking number to pick your package up at a Walgreens location. You’ll have a week to pick up your package if you use this option.

We hope this guide helps you figure out the tricky parts of receiving packages when you move frequently on your RV adventure. Be sure to check out our 61K-member Facebook Group the RV Bunch to see what other RVers, just like you do with their mail.