Who designs campgrounds?

[Veebyes]

Surely it cannot be CG users. Sorry about the rant, sometimes a bunch of little things build up & hit a nerve.

We are traveling RVers, not weekend warriors using the same CG weekend after weekend, so we never get to know any CGs real well.

The biggest complaint is poor signage to find the CG. We are currently at a CG, a large one that is unseen from the highway, that does not even have a sign at the intersection letting one know that it is here. From one direction there is a sign saying that you have PASSED it & turn around. From the other direction there is a sign almost a half mile from the intersection saying to make the next left.

The last CG we were at had a nice paved pad for the RV, however the ground surrounding the pad was so low a high step box was needed to get to the lowest RV step. This is common. Why does the RV get the nice pad & we have to step off into dirt? Seems like it should be the other way. Went to the dump & who was the rocket scientist who set this one up? Dump hole is far from RV side & the cover hinges TOWARDS the RV, not away from it.

Still on dump locations, who thinks a good location for the dump is above ground & way at the back of the site pad when most RVs have their discharges near the middle?

We love a fire & the variety of fire rings never cease to amaze but why do so many NOT have any vent holes so that air can get in & actually allow the fire to burn cleanly? Have the designers of these things never lit a fire?

Here endeth the rant, for now.

[colliehauler]

mustangglp wrote:

rockhillmanor wrote:
Then can someone please go to this CG and put the receptacle in the box 'right' side up?? :B:B




It was kinda hard trying to tie up my cord/suppresso so the plug would stay in the upside down receptacle!


Camping is fun, camping is fun, camping is fun......

Most of the hospitals I've been all the plugs are up side down?

I think the sewer connections are above ground for code reason's. Other wise rain run off would drain in them?

In the new reg's the ground has to be at the top. That's why the plugs are upside down.

[rockhillmanor]

Oaklevel wrote:
You must not have been camping long as older campers for the most part had the dump hookups at the rear. Also regulations have changed in many areas & now require a positive hookup such as a screw on connector for dumping not just the hose into a pipe hole at ground level so some campgrounds are now using a flip cover & the threaded collar is above ground level to comply....

As far as dumping goes, IMHO THIS takes care of ALL the problems you will encounter.

I stayed at a CG where the OWNER had all the sewer pipes raised 8 inches ABOVE the ground.

His reasoning? He was sick and tired of replacing sewer caps and broken sewer pipes from everyone running them over. :R

There is NO way the sewage from my stinky slinky was going to empty up and over 8+ inches and of course the opening was not even close to my MH.

The plan was to stay at this CG for a month for business and after just one dump of lifting a filled cheap sewer hose up and trying to get it emptied, I went out and bought this.






Up, over, and around anything that's in your way to reach the holy grail of the dump station. :B

Rhino Sewer Kit - everything you need to hook up and it's collapsible and RIGID. To this date the best thing I bought for the MH.

Side Winder - folds up nicely for storage and will get your sewer hose anywhere it needs to be.

[wbwood]

The only issue I have had at campgrounds is the fresh water fill spigots near the dump sites. Not the ones for dumping but actual potable water spigots. Both RV's i've owned had the fresh water intake on the passenger side. But at the campgrounds, the filling hose is on the drivers side.

I have seen some RV's where the utility outlets are in different places than the norm. It would be nicer if both RV's and campgrounds were truly 100 uniform. But that won't happen.

[deleted-2]

Hey,
The campgrounds everyone hates and no one can find are the best ones.
They're so quiet and peaceful.
🙂

[dodge_guy]

Just remember, as my sig says......"A bad day camping is better than a good day at work"!

[Veebyes]

korbe wrote:

Veebyes wrote:
............The dump must be less than 6' from the sewer hose storage compartment door. ..............

Sorry Veeb, but I would venture to guess that your issue is with your setup, and not the campground.

That is accepted & most of the time we can shuffle just to dump. No grumble there. It is the few, such as where we happen to be right now where we CANNOT shuffle to make it work & the CG has no general dump area.

Because of our system, we never ask for a FHU site. Don't need it & are happy to to use the general dump area every 4 or 5 days. No problem.

The issue is that nobody should have to resort to sewer extensions, slinkys or any other exotic homebrew gizmos to use a sewer because a CG has not updated itself to the new norm in 20 years.

[mustangglp]

rockhillmanor wrote:
Then can someone please go to this CG and put the receptacle in the box 'right' side up?? :B:B




It was kinda hard trying to tie up my cord/suppresso so the plug would stay in the upside down receptacle!


Camping is fun, camping is fun, camping is fun......

Most of the hospitals I've been all the plugs are up side down?

I think the sewer connections are above ground for code reason's. Other wise rain run off would drain in them?

[Shadow_Catcher]

Not all RV's are the same and locations of doors vary. One advantage of our teardrop trailer (doors on both sides) it fits most anywhere 🙂

[korbe]

Veebyes wrote:
............The dump must be less than 6' from the sewer hose storage compartment door. ..............

Sorry Veeb, but I would venture to guess that your issue is with your setup, and not the campground.

[Campfire_Time]

Size of the RVs I think has less to do with these out of date CGs than what people's expectations were years ago.

Most CGs and RV parks that were built "from scratch" in the last 20 years are pretty much built for the modern RVer. Many no longer have any tent sites, they have 50 amp hookups, level driveways, nicely manicured lawns, squeaky clean modern shower facilities, etc. This also goes for remodeled campgrounds where someone had the cash to rip out sections and start over. But these are things many RVers expect today, more cushiness, more convenience.

Unfortunately a great many CGs were built at a time when camping, even with a trailer, meant roughing it. The primary concern was having a spot to put the trailer in and an electric connection to run the lights. They didn't have microwaves, and A/C, and entertainment systems. Dump stations were done as a convenience more than a necessity. Full timing wasn't as popular as it is now.

We frequent a CG that was once a KOA. The current owners added an RV park type section on land they own. Its everything I cited above about new CGs. The "old" part of the CG, while it has upgraded electric, water, and newly leveled sites, very clearly was designed for the old expectations campers had years ago. Lots of small sites, odd angles to back into, odd location and tight area for dump station, etc.

[Veebyes]

Yes, I understand that most CGs were built in a time when an RV 30'plus was considered huge. My sig rig is the only one owned & there are no plans to go larger or smaller.

Power being forward or back is of little concern. Enough additional extensions are carried for whatever is faced, including an adapter for marine 30amp shore power.

Sewer is more of a nuisance. I happen to have one of those built in hose systems that is connected 100% of the time at the tank end & is stored by shoving it into the storage tube next to the tanks. The dump must be less than 6' from the sewer hose storage compartment door. This is potentially a major PIA for some at a FHU site but for us, most of the time, we hold & dump on the way out either by shuffling within the site to reach the ground pipe or use the main CG dump.

Then there are the CGs like the one we are in now. FHU site but we can't reach the ground pipe. The sewer is near the back & backing to it is impossible because of bushes & a ditch. No real big deal, even though the CG does NOT have a communal dump. Fortunately we arrived with tanks empty & are only here for 3 nights so we will haul it & dump & the next stop.

Just one of those things that make you go GRRRRRRR, especially when paying over $50 a night. We are here for a bluegrass festival so it is not like we are here for the pool, putting green, tennis court, tiki bar or the rest of the resort stuff.

This CG is like so many, built for RVs of another age, & never updated for the monsters that we drive & pull today.

[rockhillmanor]

Then can someone please go to this CG and put the receptacle in the box 'right' side up?? :B:B




It was kinda hard trying to tie up my cord/suppresso so the plug would stay in the upside down receptacle!


Camping is fun, camping is fun, camping is fun......

[Gunner45]

korbe wrote:
I design campgrounds/RV parks and none of the rants in the above posts have surprised me. All logical design considerations.

Thank you for taking this the right way. It's like any business, if you don't do it all the time you might not know exactly what your customers want or need 🙂 And as we can see, customer needs can and do change as time goes on.


~ Dori ~

[Oaklevel]

This why I hate print...........Who's scolding?????????

[2oldman]

Can't people *ever* rant sans being scolded for it?