After camping 60+ years, finally ran into the ultimate ....

[DutchmenSport]

...most inconsiderate, rude, belligerent, pig-headed, camper ... ever ... in 60 years! Really.

This week-end ... Potato Creek State Park, near South Bend, Indiana....

Great week-end. We arrived Thursday night, left Sunday about Noon.

Everything went well ... until Sunday morning.... Rain, lots of rain. Maybe this put everyone in bad spirits, I'm not sure.

Everything was fine until leaving the park. Got up to the dump station ... oops ... I'm the 5th camper back. Each camper is taking approximately 10 minutes. Slow progress, but still ... progress.

There are 2 dumps at the station, and you enter from opposite end. So one can turn right in, the other has to make a U-turn to get in.

People are nice and polite. 2 camper in line, facing each direction. Everyone waiting their turn to decide if they should go "right" or make the U-turn and come in that way. AND, quite obvious everyone being polite not to block anyone in by being 3rd in line on one side or the other.

So actually, we were 5th in line on the road, but 4 more at the actual dump.

45 minutes later, we finally make it up to the dump. Still everyone VERY happy. Everyone VERY civil, everyone VERY polite ... in spite of the damp weather.

And oh, by now, the line on the road is about 20 camper deep. I couldn't see the end any more, it snaked down the road.

I'm happy dumping, thanking myself (and the man upstairs) for getting me off the camp site when I did, so I would not have been caught too far back in that line. Everyone still happy, I'm dumping away ... maybe having my own private church service in my heart or something .... like I said ... really great weekend, very happy!

Then all of a sudden someone on the road starts yelling, then someone else comes running up to the camper behind up, then the camper behind us starts backing up, then going forward, then came in behind us, then another camper behind them follow (3 deep now and we're on the U-turn side) ... People yelling and screaming, and my wife says, ... that guy behind us and the guy behind him cut the line and everyone is going ballastic! My wife grabbed the phone and started recording, expecting fists to start flying. I continued dumping, hoping to just get out of there. I finally finished, started putting sewer hoses up, when the guy behind us is now being confrontational with my wife. Not sure how that got fired up, but tempers were not very pleasant.

Well ... no one messes with these things in a mans life ... his food, his house, his dog, his shot gun, and his WIFE!

So, that's when I gave the guy my 2 cents worth. OK, I wasn't very kind, but I did experess my self pretty clear about what I thought of him jumping ahead of about 20 other camper who had also been waiting in line for a good hour! It's quite obvious to say... my "religion" disappeared at that moment, and my actually calmed the situation down. By now, there were several people who had marched to the campground gate entrance and made their voices heard loud and clear.

Nothing exploded into violence, but this guy was ready to reach for a fight, calling everyone around him wrong, he was right, no one knew the proper procedures for entering the dump station, he had the right to pass everyone else because they weren't moving, and "WE" cut in front of him???? hum????

We'd been 2nd in line at the actual dump when he pulled in behind when we moved forward to dump.

That blew my socks off ... I'll call a liar a liar, and I thought he was going for something loaded with ammunition! Really!

Well, we successfully got loaded back up and moved out of there. The campers facing the other direction looked horrified, like ... OMG... I'll be dumping right beside this guy! People on the road still yelling and screaming at each other.

When we pulled out, I stopped at the gate house (which was right there) and raised my concern too. The situation was anything but pleasant. Leaving the park, we saw several DNR trucks heading to the campground!

I will say, I've been camping all my life. My parents were campers, I grew up with it, and this is by far the absolute worst fellow-camper I've ever seen, and definitely the most hair raising experience I've ever encountered!

Well, I've heard of "Road Rage" before. But I really think this is the first time I've ever experienced "Dump Rage!"

Be patient folks. Don't you all know the dump station is part of the camping experience. If you can't build time into your schedule to dump, take your order in line, and be polite about it, I think you've got the wrong hobby!

[Grit_dog]

Was it bpounds cutting in line?

[mdcamping]

westend wrote:

Tvov wrote:
Sorry to hear about that! I've encountered a few people like that - they just go and take what they want, and act surprised when they are called on it. Sometimes they back down, sometimes they get riled up - embarrassed maybe? - and get into an angry rant. Then, when they "win", they brag about it later. I tend to not associate with those people.

I had to teach my children, many years back, that there are times when everybody needs a "Hey, Mack" moment.....like the guy trying to back through a lane of cars during the Christmas shopping season at the mall, trying to knab a spot 100 yds back......."Hey, Mack, we don't do it like that" was all that needed to be said.

Heck I remember a Hey Mack moment,

about 14 yrs ago I was driving through the interior roads at campground in PA, I was totally thinking about something else/forgetting where I was, all of a sudden I see someone rightfully yelling at me to SLOW DOWN. Lesson was learned.

It happens to everyone.

Mike

[All_I_could_aff]

If anyone in that line had a mascerater pump and a long hose, I could suggest where I might have stuck it while he was out of his truck yelling and screaming

[Grit_dog]

Veebyes wrote:
If the line at the dump is so long why not slip into an empty pull through site, do your business, & get out of Dodge?

The CG owners should not mind. Better to have happy campers going out the gate than frustrated ones who have spent an hour waiting at the dump.

Sure, just cause you have a Duramax, he's supposed to get out of his Dodge?







(This is how the comprehension has gone in this thread!)

[down_home]

I do everything I can to avoid this kind of thing.
For some reason no one wants to get in my face. Thank goodness.

[Veebyes]

Sorry, missed the OPs info on only the one dump station with two dumps.

Was thinking in more general CG terms. If no pull through, don't use it. Simple.

[RedRocket204]

mike-s wrote:

Veebyes wrote:
If the line at the dump is so long why not slip into an empty pull through site, do your business, & get out of Dodge?

The CG owners should not mind. Better to have happy campers going out the gate than frustrated ones who have spent an hour waiting at the dump.

Uh, hmmm...

DutchmenSport wrote:
Full service sites. Indiana State Parks have very few "full service" camp sites. The majority are electric only with a common water spigot for an entire area. Some Indiana State Parks have areas with Electric and water on-site. But only a few. And even fewer have full hook-up. So the dump station is an important part of the State Park system.

...so you're suggesting they just dump on the ground. That would be even worse than the line cutter, and very certainly the CG owners (the State of Indiana) would mind.

I don't see Veebyes' suggestion of dumping on the ground. I do believe Veebyes is assuming there are full hook-up sites at that campground... which was mentioned didn't exist. An honest over-sight.

[DrewE]

Veebyes wrote:
If the line at the dump is so long why not slip into an empty pull through site, do your business, & get out of Dodge?

The CG owners should not mind. Better to have happy campers going out the gate than frustrated ones who have spent an hour waiting at the dump.

In the case of the original poster, one excellent reason is that the campground at the state park is electric only and has no full hookup sites (and very, very few pull-through sites).

[mike-s]

Veebyes wrote:
If the line at the dump is so long why not slip into an empty pull through site, do your business, & get out of Dodge?

The CG owners should not mind. Better to have happy campers going out the gate than frustrated ones who have spent an hour waiting at the dump.

Uh, hmmm...

DutchmenSport wrote:
Full service sites. Indiana State Parks have very few "full service" camp sites. The majority are electric only with a common water spigot for an entire area. Some Indiana State Parks have areas with Electric and water on-site. But only a few. And even fewer have full hook-up. So the dump station is an important part of the State Park system.

...so you're suggesting they just dump on the ground. That would be even worse than the line cutter, and very certainly the CG owners (the State of Indiana) would mind.

[Veebyes]

If the line at the dump is so long why not slip into an empty pull through site, do your business, & get out of Dodge?

The CG owners should not mind. Better to have happy campers going out the gate than frustrated ones who have spent an hour waiting at the dump.

[CavemanCharlie]

DutchmenSport wrote:
...most inconsiderate, rude, belligerent, pig-headed, camper ... ever ... in 60 years! Really.

This week-end ... Potato Creek State Park, near South Bend, Indiana....

Great week-end. We arrived Thursday night, left Sunday about Noon.

Everything went well ... until Sunday morning.... Rain, lots of rain. Maybe this put everyone in bad spirits, I'm not sure.

Everything was fine until leaving the park. Got up to the dump station ... oops ... I'm the 5th camper back. Each camper is taking approximately 10 minutes. Slow progress, but still ... progress.

There are 2 dumps at the station, and you enter from opposite end. So one can turn right in, the other has to make a U-turn to get in.

People are nice and polite. 2 camper in line, facing each direction. Everyone waiting their turn to decide if they should go "right" or make the U-turn and come in that way. AND, quite obvious everyone being polite not to block anyone in by being 3rd in line on one side or the other.

So actually, we were 5th in line on the road, but 4 more at the actual dump.

45 minutes later, we finally make it up to the dump. Still everyone VERY happy. Everyone VERY civil, everyone VERY polite ... in spite of the damp weather.

And oh, by now, the line on the road is about 20 camper deep. I couldn't see the end any more, it snaked down the road.

I'm happy dumping, thanking myself (and the man upstairs) for getting me off the camp site when I did, so I would not have been caught too far back in that line. Everyone still happy, I'm dumping away ... maybe having my own private church service in my heart or something .... like I said ... really great weekend, very happy!

Then all of a sudden someone on the road starts yelling, then someone else comes running up to the camper behind up, then the camper behind us starts backing up, then going forward, then came in behind us, then another camper behind them follow (3 deep now and we're on the U-turn side) ... People yelling and screaming, and my wife says, ... that guy behind us and the guy behind him cut the line and everyone is going ballastic! My wife grabbed the phone and started recording, expecting fists to start flying. I continued dumping, hoping to just get out of there. I finally finished, started putting sewer hoses up, when the guy behind us is now being confrontational with my wife. Not sure how that got fired up, but tempers were not very pleasant.

Well ... no one messes with these things in a mans life ... his food, his house, his dog, his shot gun, and his WIFE!

So, that's when I gave the guy my 2 cents worth. OK, I wasn't very kind, but I did experess my self pretty clear about what I thought of him jumping ahead of about 20 other camper who had also been waiting in line for a good hour! It's quite obvious to say... my "religion" disappeared at that moment, and my actually calmed the situation down. By now, there were several people who had marched to the campground gate entrance and made their voices heard loud and clear.

Nothing exploded into violence, but this guy was ready to reach for a fight, calling everyone around him wrong, he was right, no one knew the proper procedures for entering the dump station, he had the right to pass everyone else because they weren't moving, and "WE" cut in front of him???? hum????

We'd been 2nd in line at the actual dump when he pulled in behind when we moved forward to dump.

That blew my socks off ... I'll call a liar a liar, and I thought he was going for something loaded with ammunition! Really!

Well, we successfully got loaded back up and moved out of there. The campers facing the other direction looked horrified, like ... OMG... I'll be dumping right beside this guy! People on the road still yelling and screaming at each other.

When we pulled out, I stopped at the gate house (which was right there) and raised my concern too. The situation was anything but pleasant. Leaving the park, we saw several DNR trucks heading to the campground!

I will say, I've been camping all my life. My parents were campers, I grew up with it, and this is by far the absolute worst fellow-camper I've ever seen, and definitely the most hair raising experience I've ever encountered!

Well, I've heard of "Road Rage" before. But I really think this is the first time I've ever experienced "Dump Rage!"

Be patient folks. Don't you all know the dump station is part of the camping experience. If you can't build time into your schedule to dump, take your order in line, and be polite about it, I think you've got the wrong hobby!

I'm glad you had a good time camping. I'm sorry your dump experience went bad.

You post did kinda make me giggle and think to myself "Glad I have been lucky enough (so far) to never been in the middle of something like this."

Tell us where you posted your wife's video. I would like to see it !

It may have been best if you wife wasn't filming.

In my area as soon as someone acts like this everyone dials 911 and the police show up in moments.

After that everyone seems to magically calm down.lol

Unfortunately since you were one of the ones acting angry you would have possibly been arrested along with the others.

Best to have just stayed calm and got the F out of there as quickly as possible before the cops showed up.

[Golfcart]

What gets me is the people who spend 20+ minutes flushing their system at a station with only 1 dump while a line of campers are waiting

Dump and go buddy... Dump and go!

[westend]

Tvov wrote:
Sorry to hear about that! I've encountered a few people like that - they just go and take what they want, and act surprised when they are called on it. Sometimes they back down, sometimes they get riled up - embarrassed maybe? - and get into an angry rant. Then, when they "win", they brag about it later. I tend to not associate with those people.

I had to teach my children, many years back, that there are times when everybody needs a "Hey, Mack" moment.....like the guy trying to back through a lane of cars during the Christmas shopping season at the mall, trying to knab a spot 100 yds back......."Hey, Mack, we don't do it like that" was all that needed to be said.

[captnjack]

I don't think the OP's wife was wrong to film the situation.

But I don't think she was right either.

And not overly smart, considering the result.

I just think every situation presents an opportunity for SOMEONE to be a grownup.