What is most important to you when choosing a campsite?

[jymbee]

A campground can make it a rule that only wood purchased from them can be used at your campsite.

Ah, but that assumes onsite wood is of a suitable variety and well seasoned. We have been to campgrounds where the wood they were selling was crap. Looked like it was cut earlier that day.

Kills me buy wood while traveling in any event give we have a inexhaustible supply of well seasoned hardwood at home. But I recognize that the restrictions related to bringing in your own firewood are reasonable and necessary.

 

[Ex-Calif]

But it would be a nice promotional ad. "Come to Happy Acres campground where you're always upwind of other campers and the dump stations, the out and back trails are all downhill, your black and gray tanks never get full, only your dog can bark, other people gladly pick up his poop, no one can have out door lights but you and curfew starts when you go to bed".

Every site is separated by an 8 foot privacy fence, smoke ventilating exhaust hoods and are shrouded with a Get Smart cone of silence so you never hear your neighbors and they never hear you - LOL...

In fact what we really have for you are enclosed RV garages just like you have at home to store your RV in - LOL.

 

[TheBar]

My pet peeve is people building bonfires then going to bed with flames still 6 feet high. Needs to be a rule about putting out the fire before you go inside.

 

[RedForeman]

My pet peeve is people building bonfires then going to bed with flames still 6 feet high. Needs to be a rule about putting out the fire before you go inside.

Followed closely by the use of a gallon of lighter fluid to get it started.

 

[Oldgator73]

I don’t think I’ve ever been bothered by smoke from a fellow campers fire. By mine yes. Having a campfire dates back to prehistoric time when cave people used fire to cook their brontosaurus ribs. We have never stayed in one of those bougie RV resorts that probably provide a big flat screen TV with the flickering image of a campfire or maybe even a state of the art outdoor fireplace with a vent hood. If you are bothered by or allergic to wood smoke maybe camping isn’t for you. Maybe peanuts should banned from the camping experience. Somebody’s child could accidentally inhale nut dust from when a previous camper was tossing their peanut shells on the ground. There are things that should be banned; excessive noise, noise after quiet hours, barking dogs, drunk and disorderly conduct, folks eating kimchi in the neighboring site (just kidding, I like kimchi). Happy Camping!

 

[Skookum]

The bougie RV resorts typically don't allow wood fires, for good reasons. You can have a propane fire pit, and most people seem to have one. The other thing I like about nice/resort places is the majority of people enjoy themselves without bothering neighbors, and people are good about adhering to quiet hours.

At least at our state parks, any wood fire pits at RV sites usually aren't a big deal because there's fairly good division between the sites. There's enough room for the smoke to lift.

 

[Wasillaguy]

To enjoy a camping experience, or pretty much any public outing, one needs to expect and accept that they will be subjected to many different people with habits and actions that differ significantly from your own.
Something WILL occur that you find offensive. Things may occur which trespass on your privacy or even your person. A measure of humor and acceptance that we are all different, balanced with a good sense of self preservation (when it's time to haul up and leave) can make all the difference in how you experience the world.

 

[jymbee]

To enjoy a camping experience, or pretty much any public outing, one needs to expect and accept that they will be subjected to many different people with habits and actions that differ significantly from your own.
Something WILL occur that you find offensive. Things may occur which trespass on your privacy or even your person. A measure of humor and acceptance that we are all different, balanced with a good sense of self preservation (when it's time to haul up and leave) can make all the difference in how you experience the world.

Words to live by!! Not only when it comes to RVing.

 

[LMHS]

Seems like, in practice, no one wants a back in site. Read the reviews on most any campground/rv park. Also RVs just keep getting bigger and with more slides. So you are looking at basically all 50 amp service. LOOOOONG pull thrus. Sewer hookup. Level pads. Good WIDE interior roads. And most everything else is really management and maintenance. I would also suggest that there is a small No pets/No kids/No fires section for the old farts.

I have seen several reviews where the complaints were no picnic tables. Seriously? I been in far too many cgs/rvps that the tables were unusable due to age, previous occupant, damage and/or location. The absolute worst picnic table was a nice looking fiberglass table. Nice until it was touched and I had fiberglass slivers in my skin. I have a little 4 ft folding, height adjustable table that I bought from Sam's Club. I use that. It goes with the camper. I have a little metal folding table from Walmart that I use for the tiny tabletop grill. I put a large cutting board on each of the "wings" so when it's opened up, the little metal table is much wider and fits the slightly wider grill I somehow ended up with.

And I still haven't figured out why people spend so much money on a camper/rv and get one with a bathroom they don't use, either because of size or because they want to keep it "pristine" for resell. Does not make sense.

 

[Ex-Calif]

My pet peeve is people building bonfires then going to bed with flames still 6 feet high. Needs to be a rule about putting out the fire before you go inside.

Not just putting it out but providing sand if possible to prevent 6 hours of smoky smoldering. Realizing of course this adds a lot of pit maintenance as someone needs to haul the sand back outta the pits.

"The bougie RV resorts typically don't allow wood fires, for good reasons. You can have a propane fire pit, and most people seem to have one."

I love propane lava rock pits. Especially the ones with artificial smoke - LOL...

Seriously I'm glad those places exist. But I've said it before. Any place like that wouldn't have me as a member and that's super fine with me.

I totally respect the 50's and older, no kids, no fires etc. etc. etc. but for me "camping" comes with fires, kids, dogs, cats and some other things I don't really appreciate but totally accept. That's why I prefer "larger" wooded sites with plenty of clearance between me and my neighbors.

I have no issues, politely establishing the boundaries of my camp site against other people's cats, dogs and kids - LOL...

 

[Skookum]

Artificial smoke from a propane fire pit? Haven't seen it in all my adventures. lol. Propane fire pits don't really put out particulate smoke, nor do they seem to disrupt neighbors.

The bougie places do allow dogs and kids and people have a good time. Maybe the difference is the people aren't there to "party" and it's not a place where lack of personal inhibition is allowed to overcome respect.. There's a fine line.

 

[jackiemac]

@LMHS We prefer a back in site normally, especially if it backs onto the woods.

 

[Ex-Calif]

Artificial smoke from a propane fire pit? Haven't seen it in all my adventures. lol. Propane fire pits don't really put out particulate smoke, nor do they seem to disrupt neighbors.

It was pretty much tongue in cheek.

The problem is that a propane grill/fire pit is not suitable for grilling in a "public" environment.

Yes my propane grill's lava rocks have all kinds of crusty juices on them - However I wouldn't want to follow 200 strangers into a propane grill and trust whatever they put in there won't make me sick or kill me - LOL...

Plus as I keep saying - I love the smell of a campfire - If I wanna be isolated from everyone else and grill on propane I can stay home - LOL...

Totally get that it's not everyone's thing but no one will convince me that the neutral hypothesis on camping is no wood burning campfires. Propane is the alternate hypo here - for shizzle and sizzle (see what I did there?)

 

[Skookum]

LOL...no, I wouldn't roast over a propane fire pit. We do bring a propane grill, however. We have both.

Camping for me is being isolated and having a wood fire and sometimes cooking over it. We load up the Jeep and drive off the map and sometimes don't see other people for days.

For us, RV life is experiencing a new place and (unfortunately) being tightly packed next to other RVs. The one exception is when we stay on family property, but there's acres of space around us. Plenty of room to get a wood fire well away from the RV and not bother anyone with noise or anything else.

 

[Reinigm]

Don't build a bonfire in a densely forested area. Catastrophe waiting to happen.

 

[TheBar]

@LMHS We prefer a back in site normally, especially if it backs onto the woods.

Depending on the view I like to pull in front first in back-in sites. I like having the scenic view through the windshield instead of seeing the RV across the road. Does require a long reach for the hookups though.

 

[jymbee]

Depending on the view I like to pull in front first in back-in sites. I like having the scenic view through the windshield instead of seeing the RV across the road. Does require a long reach for the hookups though.

Interesting. We've done that on occasion. Once to face friends camping at an adjacent site and another time out of necessity given the layout. Wonder if any campsites "require" you to back in to back in sites or whether it's always just up to the camper.

 

[1stimerver]

For me it depends on the trip and who else is involved.. When we travel with a group its nice to have a cluster of campsites to congregate in, allowing us to pool our resources.
When its just my wife and I, we prefer wooded backin sites.

Water and electric are required for multiple night stays and while Sewer hookup is nice, dump stations and pump outs are acceptable.

Pools, water parks, restaurants, shops, local attractions, and other local activities are nice but again it depends on what we have in mind for that particular trip.

For overnight stays while enroute to a destination, proximity to our main travel route would be the highest priority, along with at least a dump station. Water and electric hookups are nice but not necessary.

Safe travels and all the best.

 

[JudyJB]

Depending on the view I like to pull in front first in back-in sites. I like having the scenic view through the windshield instead of seeing the RV across the road. Does require a long reach for the hookups though.

What? And miss watching every little action taken by people in sites across from yours?

 

[JudyJB]

Wonder if any campsites "require" you to back in to back in sites or whether it's always just up to the camper.

I have been in a couple of coastal state parks in Oregon where I was told backing into a back-in site was mandatory. When I questioned it, I was told it was so vehicles could get out quickly without blocking the roadway if a tsunami was imminent. On the other hand, there are a couple of Atlantic-view state parks in Florida where almost everyone pulls in forward to back-in sites if they overlook the ocean.