Campground Etiquette

[Timex]

I'm sure this has been chased around the back yard before but here's my lap! I just returned home from a 10 hour drive pulling my Vlite. Last night, our last one in the rv park, we were in bed by 10:00 pm knowing a long drive today would be a tiring one. At 10:30, a diesel truck pulling a 5th wheel rolls in. Now, I can't fault anyone for coming in after quiet time for I have done it myself. What I have a problem with is if: you know your trailer brakes squeel so bad that they would wake the dead, your exhaust pipe is virtually nonexistent, it is pouring down rain, etc.

Here is the proper etiquette:

1st of all it's late(after quiet time) turn your trailer brakes off by your brake controller(if they are noisy), don't run your exhaustless truck no more than needed. It may seem cool to you but when I grow up I want to have a quiet truck. Unhook the truck after getting level and turn it off! Don't worry about stabilizers, the awning, driving tent stakes, stringing lights, yelling at kids or with them. Just plug in the power cord, hook up the water hose and do the rest in the morning. After all, it's raining and by now it's 11:30. Go to bed so I can too!

Ah, I feel so much better. Wait a minute, I'm not camping, I'm at my real home.
HAPPY CAMPING!!!

[crocus]

You can almost guarantee that a guy who intentionally makes his truck as noisy as possible is usually a redneck jerk. Seen it many times.

[Ovair]

I call foul. What does his red neck have to do with manners? Rudeness is found in all walks of life.

The activities of the late arrival was inconsiderate.
So was the stereotype.

[Len & Cheri]

X2 I've seen very rude northerners around here and I'm a northerner, lol.

[essness]

Originally Posted by LFugate

X2 I've seen very rude northerners around here and I'm a northerner, lol.

Agreed! I have all the same potential, but I dont do it because I am "considerate".
I also dont think that "redneck" is specific to folks from the south. I know, and enjoy spending time with a number of northern "rednecks", just not the inconsiderate ones.

[Labzy]

Originally Posted by Timex

I'm sure this has been chased around the back yard before but here's my lap! I just returned home from a 10 hour drive pulling my Vlite. Last night, our last one in the rv park, we were in bed by 10:00 pm knowing a long drive today would be a tiring one. At 10:30, a diesel truck pulling a 5th wheel rolls in. Now, I can't fault anyone for coming in after quiet time for I have done it myself. What I have a problem with is if: you know your trailer brakes squeel so bad that they would wake the dead, your exhaust pipe is virtually nonexistent, it is pouring down rain, etc.

Here is the proper etiquette:

1st of all it's late(after quiet time) turn your trailer brakes off by your brake controller(if they are noisy), don't run your exhaustless truck no more than needed. It may seem cool to you but when I grow up I want to have a quiet truck. Unhook the truck after getting level and turn it off! Don't worry about stabilizers, the awning, driving tent stakes, stringing lights, yelling at kids or with them. Just plug in the power cord, hook up the water hose and do the rest in the morning. After all, it's raining and by now it's 11:30. Go to bed so I can too!

Ah, I feel so much better. Wait a minute, I'm not camping, I'm at my real home.
HAPPY CAMPING!!!

Don't you know that the noisier the truck the better?

I have heard of motorcycles adding pipes to make their bike noisy as a defensive measure so motorists know where they are, but to have excessive noise on your truck is pointless and annoying at best.

Bet his neighbours at home just love him!!

[cfsoistman]

As stated rudeness is Universal. I've dealt with the Diesel Roar and Barking Dogs at all hours of the day for hours at a time, Big Boom Boxes as well as the yelling from campsite to campsite after hours. Unfortunately it's an inconsiderate world. Most think of themselves and no one else matters. You can't shoot them, but it would make more campsites available. Just seems when you want to get away for peace and quiter, others have a different idea that you have to deal with.

[gregm59]

Redneck is a state of mind (or lack of it...).

My family is second generation from the "old country", not sure which one, it changed with who was invading. My brother is the biggest self-proclaimed redneck you'll ever see. And he's very proud of it.

[acadianbob]

Let's move on from labels. The bottom line is that there is plenty of behavior out there that is selfish and disrespectful of others. All socio economic groups and all parts of the country. We can't change that quickly. On a more positive aspect, here is how we deal with the issue. We camp in areas without power; the noise makers typically can't do without electricity. We camp mid-week; the noise makers are a bigger problem on the weekends. We camp more heavily early and late in the season; campgrounds are often less full. We camp in the state forests and national forest service campgrounds; too primitive for all but more serious campers. When it gets really bad, we turn the radio to a non-existent station for the hiss of white noise and leave the radio on overnight to mask the sounds. But I understand the sentiment expressed . . .

[Bill_C]

The party groups are the ones that bug me. They think they can get away with it by camping and having parties in dry campsites. We had a group of about 12 young party campers, next to us, going at it till 3:00am, that was probably when the strong ones finally passed out.

My solution: I was up at 5:00am. Got the pots and pans out for breakfast and accidentally pounded them together for about 5 minutes. After 3 minutes of my pounding, the camper on the other side of the party group got the idea and started doing the same thing. Soon, by 5:30am, everyone that was kept awake by these inconsiderate youngsters were all making breakfast. Never heard such a racket. Then we started yelling at each other to keep quite. The kids loved all this and all helped.

The result: By 6:15am, the party group were up pulled stakes and left. Then an amazing thing happened. The campground reverted to its amazing solitude as if someone blew a whistle to stop. No one said anything to anyone about the morning razing. It was as if it never happened.

[lindy]

I have to put a lot of the blame on late night noise on the campgrounds themselves for not enforcing their own rules. If someone arrives after hours with a VERY load vehicle, etc, I feel it's the campgrounds responsibility and right to just park them on the entrance road until morning. I've been in campground where the security drives around in golf carts and trucks you can hear a mile away, it's no wonder they don't enforce quiet time, the campers hear them coming and all noise quits till they're gone. It's up to the campground to start enforcing quiet times, and rules!!!

[Racerguy]

I just quit letting it bother me.It's only one night in a lifetime.

[acadianbob]

Originally Posted by Racerguy

I just quit letting it bother me.It's only one night in a lifetime.

Perhaps the best solution of all. Wish I could pull it off personally . . .

[lindy]

We have found though that the best solution to NOISY people at night is a good set of
EAR PLUGS, does wonders to quiet things down real quick

[Malco]

I don't find it quite as bad when the loud party people are young(being not so old as to remember what it was like to be young myself),but when they are old enough to know better,and sometimes even have a few kids of their own with them that it truly gets annoying.

[Jeep4Two]

As I see it quiet hors are quiet hours. If a big 1 ton dually with hopped up exhaust pulls up after quiet hours, I have to agree with another poster. The cg operator should park them and let the roll in at 7am... If I was kept up by a loud late arrival, I would at a minimum be asking for a refund of my nights fee.

What I wonder is why the truck makers don't do something to help quiet these diesel engines. I know it's possible as there are semi trucks with quieter engines than most 3/4 or 1 ton pickups. Not to mention plenty of smaller diesels that sound almost like gas engines (neighbor has a BMW suv with the diesel, took me quite a while to even realize it was a diesel).

Recently when camping in Brown County State Park in Indiana, we arrived to a group of college students, likely from IU, just across from us. They were drinking it up and having a great time. We figured they would be loud and rowdy that night, but they turned in before we did. They also broke camp and were gone by 8:30am.

Loved the early breakfast story by the way!

[Idle_Idylist]

Originally Posted by Racerguy

I just quit letting it bother me.It's only one night in a lifetime.

I agree. You never know what the situation was to have them arriving so late. It could easily be you and although YOU don't think what you're doing is annoying or bothersome it may be to someone else.

[EastlakeRoo]

All I have to say is I love my Sons Sound Machine. I probably couldn't hear a chainsaw going outside our trailer because of the white noise. I'm use to it and love it.

[giff]

We have been camping for several years. We started with the tent moved to pup now in ultra light (surveyor). I must say we have always been careful of the noise we are generating. I think coming from the tent and working our way up it made us very aware of noise and how it travels in a campground. Most of our camping is in NY state parks, some with electric some without. I agree most of the time the weekends are the loudest times. I imagine the folks that make noise too late, early or just all of the time without concern for their fellow campers are the same that you would not like to have as neighbors at home. We live in a rural setting and at times can hear the "neighbor" about 1/4 mile down the road yell at his dog, or wife or kids...now grandkids. Generally alcohol is involved. I believe the parks do not enforce the sound rules like they should at times.
I would like to know from those that have had this problem in a campground how to best handle it... or what has worked for you?

[bean]

I have found that turning on the A/C fan helps a lot with masking outside noise.

Bean