Fire destroys several RVs at a Campground

SidecarFlip wrote:
People buy an RV and then park it forever in a seasonal spot, something I cannot warm up to at all. IMO, trailer trash personafide..

My father's idea of heaven was camping on the same COE lake, hopefully in the same spot - 20 or more weekends a year.

Personally I want to travel.

He was also happy living in the house he bought in 1948 until he died in his bedroom of cancer in Nov 2015.

All I ever wanted out of my home town was OUT !!!

Everyone has their own preference.

Being a member of Thousand Trails, I see a lot of seasonal/ annual sites across the country. The vast majority of them are used by working people, those who still have a M-F job.

Having a seasonal/ annual site means they don't have to hook-up the rig after work on Friday, arrive at the campground after dark, look for a site, breakdown before noon on Sunday and tow the rig home.

I can definitely understand the appeal of a person to have a seasonal/ annual site if they are still working.

I also see many older folks who simply cannot travel safely towing a trailer/ driving an RV any longer. A seasonal/ annual site allows them to enjoy their last years in the way they wish.

I'm proud to wear my Trailer Trash ID badge, across 6-10 thousand miles of this country each year.

riven1950 wrote:
SidecarFlip...not my cup of tea either but don't think i'd call them all trailer trash. Pretty wide brush stroke. I've seen some pretty nice, well kept seasonal units.

My wife and I got invited to Sunny's campground in Wauseon, Ohio by a friend who had his seasonal spot there. We stayed one night. That was enough. Packed in like sardines in a tin can, I shoehorned my TC between a seasonal camper and the showers and enjoyed the noise and commotion for one night. I've never seen such humanity stuffed into such a confined space before. Not for me.

I guess if I lived in an urban setting, that would be acceptable. I don't and it's not. If one of those units (at Sunny's) caught on fire, the whole place would have gone up. Campers in general, burn pretty quickly because all they are is dry, thin wood, cardboard, paneling and plastic.

All the units I observed there had all sorts of 'junk' around them, lawn chairs, kids hot wheels, wading pools, lawnmowers, general trash, all things that at 'home' responsible people put away, out of sight. I guess in a campground, being a slob is acceptable.

I tend to paint with a wide brush anyway. Covers more area with less dipping.

SidecarFlip...not my cup of tea either but don't think i'd call them all trailer trash. Pretty wide brush stroke. I've seen some pretty nice, well kept seasonal units.

Ralph Cramden wrote:

Tom N wrote:
I know this "campground". It was developed ~1970. They started by selling lots. Lot purchasers placed permanent trailers on the lots. After all lots were sold the property was turned over to the lot owners and the developers pulled out. Some live there permanently even though that is against the rules. It quickly turned in to a dump. Junk cars and all. I live about 40 miles south and have visited friends there quite a few times. This was not a "by the night" campground but a trailer court/park.

You are giving that place too much credit using the word dump, it's a seasonal slum. Most of the trailers have been there since 70 and have multiple wood framed additions built on. There are more than a few year round residents and a good splattering of transient Marcellus gas field workers and pipeliners. Hardly a campground by any definition. 100% spot on calling it a Trailer court/park.

From my observance, almost every 'campground' around here, KOA, Pirolli Park, Wilderness Retreat, Covered Wagon and a couple others, all have 'seasonal' units with add on's like porches and sheds... seems to be the norm. People buy an RV and then park it forever in a seasonal spot, something I cannot warm up to at all. IMO, trailer trash personafide..

Tom N wrote:
I know this "campground". It was developed ~1970. They started by selling lots. Lot purchasers placed permanent trailers on the lots. After all lots were sold the property was turned over to the lot owners and the developers pulled out. Some live there permanently even though that is against the rules. It quickly turned in to a dump. Junk cars and all. I live about 40 miles south and have visited friends there quite a few times. This was not a "by the night" campground but a trailer court/park.

You are giving that place too much credit using the word dump, it's a seasonal slum. Most of the trailers have been there since 70 and have multiple wood framed additions built on. There are more than a few year round residents and a good splattering of transient Marcellus gas field workers and pipeliners. Hardly a campground by any definition. 100% spot on calling it a Trailer court/park.

When there is a fire in a campground - is NOT the time to try to pull the RV out. At a minimum you are going to obstruct fire fighting equipment.

Stay out of the way, and do what you can to help appropraite authorities.

.

I know this "campground". It was developed ~1970. They started by selling lots. Lot purchasers placed permanent trailers on the lots. After all lots were sold the property was turned over to the lot owners and the developers pulled out. Some live there permanently even though that is against the rules. It quickly turned in to a dump. Junk cars and all. I live about 40 miles south and have visited friends there quite a few times. This was not a "by the night" campground but a trailer court/park.

Another reason I never stay in a campground. Too congested. Growing up in an urban enviroment with houses 15 feet apart, I've had enough of that. Where I live the houses are a half mile apart and I like to camp like that as well. Don't need to listen to Ma and Pa Zog having a tiff in their camper 15 feet away or the kids yelling.

Every campground should be zoned as condensed housing and have appropriate fire supression installed and operating as a rule of code.

I wonder if they were seasonal or other long-term folks with decks and all keeping them in place or were they more transient units that just couldn't get out of the way fast enough?

The first rule of thumb in an emergency is get to safety. I don't think too many in that situation would be thinking about trying to hook up a truck to a trailer and removing it. With every unit having a propane tank evacuation was in order.