Camping Culture & Newbies

[Nomad518]

The vast majority of campers we’ve encountered are polite and friendly; however, we’ve also encountered inconsiderate campers. It’s happened infrequently over the last 50 years but it has happened. Seems about at the same frequency over time. Here’s a clue you’re in for trouble. If your newly arriving campers greet you upon arrival saying something like, “If we’re too noisy, just let us know.” They plan to be loud and they have had complaints before. Confront them then and there. Tell them you’ll just complain to the camp host and Rangers who have the authority to ask them to leave. Then, follow through on the promise when things start to get out of hand. Don’t worry about hurting their feelings. Know that they really don’t care about anything or anyone but themselves.

[Foiled Again]

Advice I received years ago on this forum: start with a friendly attitude, "HI Neighbor..."
It does work most of the time.
The manual awning seems to challenge almost all newbies. I have found that YouTube can be very valuable when presented with a... "lete show you how I learned to do it."
People who let their children or dogs run wild... I offer to play a classic bagpipe concert over outside speakers, or we can each respect that close quarters require mutual cooperation and courtesy.

[civeng99]

Oh the horror. A campfire in a camping area. Say it isn’t so!!!

Originally Posted by banderabob

Not newbies, but recently, had to close windows because of smokers next door. They eventually got the hint and stepped away to smoke. Then they lit a fire which despite everything being closed, seemed to permeate the trailer. Thankfully it rained the next night, and we then moved on.

[GetawA-S]

Originally Posted by civeng99

Oh the horror. A campfire in a camping area. Say it isn’t so!!!

You obviously don’t have respiratory problems, nor are you afflicted with that horrific condition known as empathy.
The roads are filled with cars. Some of them aren’t driven well, and cause injury and damage. Should we react? Perish the thought!
I have no problem with a well built, attended fire. The well combusted smoke stirs memories, and can be refreshing. Unfortunately, that’s about ten percent. People buy the four inch splits with no surface area and expect them to magically ignite. Bring kindling (you can get the cutoffs at a big box store for practically nothing) or a hatchet. Leave the Gulflite at home!!!

[civeng99]

It’s not unreasonable to expect a campfire at a campsite. It’s your issue then. Whew.

Originally Posted by GetawA-S

You obviously don’t have respiratory problems, nor are you afflicted with that horrific condition known as empathy.
The roads are filled with cars. Some of them aren’t driven well, and cause injury and damage. Should we react? Perish the thought!

[uncle_bob]

Hi

No, it's not unreasonable to expect folks to build campfires when camping out. It is always a good idea to check the notice board before doing so. There may well be local restrictions on what you can or can't do. They could be related to the fire danger level (which varies day to day in some areas).

Often the wood supply you use will be restricted. They don't want "out of area" wood (and it's bugs / fungus ) brought in. The camp hosts generally make a bit of money selling fire wood. One often wonders about those two things being connected ....

Indeed building a fire is a learned skill. Not everybody has decades of experience doing it with random wood supplies. Indeed knowing what is good and bad fuel is most of the issue. A trash fire fed with old tires is *not* a campfire .... just saying ....

Bob

[Dennis C]

I finally bought a small, portable gas fire pit for campfires. It connects to the low pressure propane port on the Airstream, and it has a 24 foot hose. I much prefer a traditional campfire, but the drought out west and the frequent windy conditions mean that many campgrounds simply don’t allow fires. My wife doesn’t love the smoke from a campfire either, so the gas fire pit seemed like a reasonable plan.

[Fungus]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Indeed building a fire is a learned skill. Not everybody has decades of experience doing it with random wood supplies. Indeed knowing what is good and bad fuel is most of the issue. A trash fire fed with old tires is *not* a campfire .... just saying ....

And so is learning how to put out a campfire. You don't let it smolder all night. Scatter it around a little in the fire pit. It will extinguish on its own fairly quickly. I expect campfires in cooler weather but wonder why there are campfires at 8pm when the temp is 80 degrees.

We've met some very friendly people this year. One guy went home to fetch some tools (1 7/16" socket and snap ring pliers) for me when he learned that I planned to remove the guts of a rattling brake. "Need anything else?", was his comment as he pulled out. Everyone at that campground (Indian Springs SP in Georgia) was very nice.

At Land Between the Lakes it was the opposite. Very loud from multiple campgrounds. People having firewood delivered to their campsites. Children driving golf carts.

The worst though were the tent campers at Tishomingo SP who instructed their children (seven years old or so) to go do #2 behind a tree which was in our campsite, toilet paper and all. They left trash everywhere and didn't leave until 4pm when the ranger chased them away. The next campers filled a kitchen trash bag with the left-over debris. Otherwise the folks at the park were pleasant.

[JunkYard]

At the beginning of covid we went to a campground and the family next to us were tent camping. Well they used a bucket with a bag in it for a toilet all weekend. We found out after they left as it seeped out of the trash can into the drain by the water faucet. It was the pee I think as the solids stayed in the bag. Made a mess of the hosts little trailer and used up at least one gallon of bleach.

[Hittenstiehl]

Many of these problems are so easy to solve with a couple of questions to one's self.

Is this the right thing to do?

Are we negatively impacting anything or anyone?

Is it against the rules?

Is it against general decorum or etiquette?

Couple of things I wrongly assumed and have learned here:
Not all campers like campfires.
Not all pets owners keep their dogs on leash on hiking trails.
Not all campers want greetings or interactions.

Even the "potty in a bucket" example is easy to solve. Lug a Loo or Porta potty is sold and advertised everywhere these days as a camping "dig a cat hole" alternative. Solutions are to bring a extra bucket to put your soiled bags in and take them with you. Make sure you have some peat moss or absorbtion material so it's not too slosh. Try a jug for the liquid. Put it in a large waste container that gets picked up Not the small metal cans. Please don't leave it by the nearest tree, there is no trash fairy that comes along when you are gone.

Come on people, we're geniuses on many levels let's not be lumped into Neanderthal lemmings as a group.

[Lily&Me]

And, really, for really egregious actions that is why there are Rangers and/or camp hosts.

Many places are cruised thru periodically, and issues addressed without someone having to make a complaint.

This thread has turned into “everyone’s worst experiences”.

Maggie

[Ultraclassic]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

Every so often we run into a group that has a couple dozen tents / rigs sprawled across two or three sites. They are there to party. This is not the crew you want to have next to you / across from you. It gets pretty crazy after they open the 4th keg of beer ......

Past that, everybody seems to be nice and friendly.

Bob

I agree, with Bob.

I wave and all wave back, most camping we do in Provincial Parks,

I remember 40 years ago I was the 2am kid getting the special looks from the Glampers in the morning, but I was raised with manners and would turn down the volume at 10pm.

The only issue I see with the new (and some old) to RV's is the LED landing strips and solar lights everywhere and left on all night, it looks like a shopping mall parking lot

[Ultraclassic]

Originally Posted by Dennis C

I finally bought a small, portable gas fire pit for campfires. It connects to the low pressure propane port on the Airstream, and it has a 24 foot hose. I much prefer a traditional campfire, but the drought out west and the frequent windy conditions mean that many campgrounds simply don’t allow fires. My wife doesn’t love the smoke from a campfire either, so the gas fire pit seemed like a reasonable plan.

Dennis C. Same here, we also bring a Clam shelter and use in there as it is warm and dry, Or bug free and cool....

Also the Clam can be up in wind and rain, the awning no so much

[Ray Eklund]

We Off the Grid Boondock at wonderful locations where no Buses, RV's, Trailers or Rock Bands want to be camped.

I pee on the hot coals of campfires, when I find them. Much ike the Australian Movie the Gods Must be Crazy. Nope... none to pee on yet where we go, but I keep looking for an excuse.

Campfires are AT established campsites. Often lower branches of Pine Trees are sawed off for fresh, smokey fuel. Often needed is a newspaper soaked in kerosene to get the fire going nice... and hot... and smokey stink.

Never hot... because the pitch smells good and the interior is moist and burns with Lots of SMOKE and little flame.

I am not a Fire Bug. Don't any of you know the differences in wood. WET firewood, like Aspen... sucks. Dry Pine and Oak. You can buy it bundled for $20 for a ten minute fire... or pick it up in the woods for FREE and save the NFS $225 having to do it themselves to prevent future fire fuel.

We should have a Boondockers FIRE CLASS ... for Green Horn Pyromaniacs.

Smoke chases beauty, you know. My eyes burn when I get smoke in them. My clothing is flammable Bear Hide... and stinks.

Get with it. When you find someone tossing a Goodyear Marathon into a fire next to your camp... give them a good deal on yours and get some better tires. (Just kidding.)

When YOU set up camp at these Campsites in the Forest used for fifty years... you get the generators, wet wood campfires, the smell of hot dogs and marshmellows on fire, etc. That is why the cost is $5 or so an evening. Raise it to $35... and I will not be able to afford to camp next to you and take an outside shower... using YOUR OUTSIDE SHOWER.

My KEY fits yours... change the lock. I like your hot fresh water better, too.

Civeng99... camp next to me. Drink lots of water and we will do our Duty to the Forest and the Environment.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

And, really, for really egregious actions that is why there are Rangers and/or camp hosts.

Many places are cruised thru periodically, and issues addressed without someone having to make a complaint.

This thread has turned into “everyone’s worst experiences”.

Maggie

Hi

At least in my case those "worst experiences" are pretty minor. They also make up a couple nights out of several thousand spend camping.

Bob

[civeng99]

Sounds like my kind of time. Enjoy the woods like they’re meant to be enjoyed. I’m in buddy!

Originally Posted by Ray Eklund

We Off the Grid Boondock at wonderful locations where no Buses, RV's, Trailers or Rock Bands want to be camped.

I pee on the hot coals of campfires, when I find them. Much ike the Australian Movie the Gods Must be Crazy. Nope... none to pee on yet where we go, but I keep looking for an excuse.

Campfires are AT established campsites. Often lower branches of Pine Trees are sawed off for fresh, smokey fuel. Often needed is a newspaper soaked in kerosene to get the fire going nice... and hot... and smokey stink.

Never hot... because the pitch smells good and the interior is moist and burns with Lots of SMOKE and little flame.

I am not a Fire Bug. Don't any of you know the differences in wood. WET firewood, like Aspen... sucks. Dry Pine and Oak. You can buy it bundled for $20 for a ten minute fire... or pick it up in the woods for FREE and save the NFS $225 having to do it themselves to prevent future fire fuel.

We should have a Boondockers FIRE CLASS ... for Green Horn Pyromaniacs.

Smoke chases beauty, you know. My eyes burn when I get smoke in them. My clothing is flammable Bear Hide... and stinks.

Get with it. When you find someone tossing a Goodyear Marathon into a fire next to your camp... give them a good deal on yours and get some better tires. (Just kidding.)

When YOU set up camp at these Campsites in the Forest used for fifty years... you get the generators, wet wood campfires, the smell of hot dogs and marshmellows on fire, etc. That is why the cost is $5 or so an evening. Raise it to $35... and I will not be able to afford to camp next to you and take an outside shower... using YOUR OUTSIDE SHOWER.

My KEY fits yours... change the lock. I like your hot fresh water better, too.

Civeng99... camp next to me. Drink lots of water and we will do our Duty to the Forest and the Environment.

[Bill M.]

I actually have not traveled for 2 years now. One reason I decided not to take a trip this summer is the anticipated crowds. But crowding is more of an excuse than a reason this time. We are on a caravan this fall and will maybe leave early for that. We camped in place in our snowbird resort in Florida but with the Canadians not there it was more empty than usual. Next year they are completely full already with reservations in the section that is open for short term camping so I do not think things are going to letup quickly camping wise. One couple bought a lease since they could not get in next year for their annual month trip. There also seems to be even more work related camper living than in the past.

[GetawA-S]

Originally Posted by Ray Eklund

We Off the Grid Boondock at wonderful locations where no Buses, RV's, Trailers or Rock Bands want to be )

You have at it, Ray! Let us know where you are and I’ll send along all the folks who like to camp that way… regardless of whether they are fifteen feet or half a mile away from their neighbors!

YeeHaw, circle the wagons! 🤪

[Mikebrady62]

We have only had an AS for 2 seasons now and have never had a negative camping experience at a campground or boondocking (except a barking dog one evening)
4 years ago on mountain bike/camping trip, we came across a couple near Moab that had set up camp and left to MTB for the day, they came back and someone had driven their 4 wheeler through there campsite ruining their tent and cooking equipment. This was 40 miles from town and they hiked in. Ruined there week and they had to return 3 days early. What kind of A--hole does that??
I haven't ever witnessed anything even close to that before or since thankfully.
I would say 99% of the people out camping are like minded, fun loving, respectful people. Some like to party more than others but I haven't been near the too loud music either. I guess I can count myself lucky.

[Foiled Again]

With all of the camping apps available, it is USUALLY possible to determine what kind of campground you will be checking into. Many put their policies right in their internet ads (Thank You to those who DO). The size of a campground is also a good indicator - 850 sites has got to be a party, party, party place.


One in Virginia Beach VA (Holiday Travl) is very forthright about EVENTS. "Are you sure you want them next week? It is BIKER WEEK" Idiot ME thought convenient location trumped noise. Harleys gunning their engines at 3:30 AM....erm. Life IS a learning .experience.
Made an abrupt turnaround and left one I had chosen from a rest stop ad. The owner announced they SEARCHED any RV that was not owned by a member of their church for contraband liquor. I am quiet, over 55, and well behaved. I practice temperance, not abstention. I am also a big fan of MYOB.