All camps receive guests at night?

We try to always arrive before dark at any destination. We do this for a few reasons:

1) it is easier to get parked when the driver can see the person directing him into the sight and the person directing can see the trees and other obstacles easily.

2) it causes less of a disturbance for fellow campers who are already relaxing at their site.

3) we like to have daylight hours to get completely set up and be able to sit back and relax while cooking a meal on the grill. We only eat sandwiches while in transit so a meal is well appreciated once arriving at our destination.

If we make an overnight stop on the way to our destination we still make every attempt to arrive before dark. We try to reserve ahead of time and get a pull thru if possible so we can just whip in/out with ease and we will not disconnect from the truck if it is at least semi level. We do take the time to level side to side but try to position ourselves so disconnecting is not required. All of our travels leave from home (Central Texas) and as most know, it is still HOT any where you go from here for at least a day and half of driving. AC is a must so we don't do the Walmart overnighting. We just look for an overnight rv park with electric. We will usually hit the road again about 8am the next morning.

Sorry common courtesy would say you don't arrive after quiet hours. I sure would not like it if some one with my 01 Cummins came in at 11:00 pm or 2:00am. I would find find some place that was safe and park, and check in the next day.

It can be annoying, your asleep and someone comes in with their truck running, back into their spot, usually talking about setting up, open and closing of doors etc. If this happens because of a problems arising and they have a reservation I can live with it. Like some have mentioned some people will do this and be gone early the next morning without paying. JMO
Don

I personally would LOVE the "choice" of a Walmart or other parking lot or rest area to stop in for an "overnight".

However, in the summer in the South (Texas) that just ain't happenin'. We'd both be dead of heat stroke.

I definitely will do the wallmart thing. Thanks for comments. Also if people could get rid of any dogs that bark it would be great... :)

jesseannie wrote:

martipr wrote:
If you can't get to the campground you want at a respectable time then have some consideration for those who did and bite the bullet and stop somewhere else before sleep time. Remember when people had manners and consideration for others?

That is a bit of a rude response from a person who is reminding the OP about manners!
jesseannie

I found martipr's response to be direct and concise without any name calling. Nor did it offer up an arbitrary time that he/she considered respectable. I don't believe that post was meant to offend anyone.

You can disagree without escalating the discussion, as others did when they described why they may need to arrive later than other campers.

I personally agree with some of the other posters who suggest your individual right to arrive "late" should not impose on the peace and quiet of the other paying customers who are already settled into the CG. The same goes for those who leave very early in the morning.

We owned a Kampground for 7 years. The complaints were in this order:

1. Unleashed/barking dogs
2. Noisy late arrivals
3. Alcohol

After our second season we stopped check-ins at 11 pm. Most of the late check ins were respectful, but the few major problems ruined it for everyone else.

I used to spend time in COE parks.. and at 10pm.. They invoke their night procedure... They padlock the gate.

I don't believe a late arrival necessarily indicates poor planning. For retired folks, they can come and go as they please, so their schedules are likely much easier to manage.

However, for those of us still working and raising families, the luxury of heading out for a weekend getaway is not always as easy. Often times, I need to work a half-day, or even full-day, the day of departure, but do the best we can to make a nice weekend for everyone by maximizing our time at the campground -- and that may mean arriving after 6pm (oh heaven forbid we do such an awful thing). With a truck camper, our arrival and set-up at camp is easily under 5-minutes. If it's late, any tinkering around is saved until the next day.

Personally, I could care less when my fellow campers arrive or depart. It's their behavior while they are there that's more of a concern, because that lasts 24-hours a day while on-site.

The other issue is the crazy way some campgrounds are managing their arrival and departure times. Some won't let campers arrive prior to 2pm, yet you can't arrive after 6 or 7pm. That compresses the flurry of activity into a 4 or 5 hour window. If the campsite is ready, why restrict access? It just makes everybody's life more difficult. I worked in the hotel industry for 10 years and can imagine the outrage if we carried out the same practice. Shoot, if the room was ready, we got the guest in asap. Now the guest could get on with their day and we were available to help others.

The only parks we have seen in over 40 years of RVing, are State Parks. Not all of them of course but they are out there. usually 10 pm is the gate closing time. Some will give you a code to get in after that.