backing in

[nostradumass]

why do some campgrounds send you up a one way access road and have you back your rig into a site from the passenger side, am I missing something, but isnt it easier to back in from the drivers side? I am pretty uneasy doing it the other way when i am backing in without help
Bill

[TW]

Hi Bill, I think, that some of the campground people are not RVers! and they like to fill in a certain way... just thinking
TW

[AFChap]

It seems most RV parks want their streets to be one-way. And a one-way street with back-in sites on both sides of the street is going to have some backing in from the driver side and some from the passenger side just as streets have both left and right turns. Sometimes we can choose which we want to do, sometimes we just have to deal with the only choice we have. Unfortunately, sometimes that only choice is a bit ugly!!

[chasfm11]

Some of the CGs have a shared power post. Both sides have to face the post area so they alternate the parking directions. While we didn't have to back in there, the Circus Circus lot in Las Vegas was like that.

[paz]

I think a lot of campgrounds are designed by people who have never been in an RV. They try to fit as many spaces as they can into the area they have to work with. Not only do they frequently make you back in from the wrong side, but roads are too narrow, they put dump stations on a curve, they put high curbs along the dump station or (worse yet) at the parking area for check-in so you can't get your motorhome steps to deploy. Also, older campgrounds have sites that are too narrow and/or too short for today's RVs.

The biggest problem we have is that many utility pedestals are too close to the pad and interfere with our slides since we have 2 slides on the driver's side. If I position the motorhome so the pole is between the slides, then sometimes I can't get the utility bay door open all the way. To make matters worse, because some utility poles are too close to the pad, they get backed into. Then to protect the utility poles, the campground installs 6" diameter, concrete-filled metal pipes. With vertical pipes in place to protect the utility poles, there is even less room for slides.

We were in one campground that had each pad lined with combinations of large rocks and vertical poles to make sure everyone stayed on the pad. If you had slides on both sides of your RV, you simply would not have been able to camp there.

[BookIIRoadtrash]

I will not do a Blindside backup. That right there is telling me the folks of the campground do not need my money…and I’ll go down the road. Book2

[Tom N]

Quote:

Originally posted by book2roadtrash: I will not do a Blindside backup. That right there is telling me the folks of the campground do not need my money…and I’ll go down the road. Book2

I see you have a 5th wheel. If you had a motorhome with a backup camera with sound, 2 mirrors on each side and a side cameras on each side you may feel differently.

BTW, weren't you the fellow that was complaining yesterday about motorhomers posting on the Excel 5th wheel forum concerning sunshades??

-Tom

[BookIIRoadtrash]

yeah, and they told me there are no differnces between the two...backing is backing...Book2

[doc]

I really don't like to do the blindside thing, but can accomplish it. The problem I see in many parks and CGs is the narrow streets and 90 degree sites. Trying to get into such a site with a good sized rig from a street that is barely wide enough to drive down and other rigs parked right out to the curb line is sometimes pretty challenging.

[Ed-Sommers]

In my opinion, if you cannot do this simple procedure, you need to go to an empty parking lot and practice till it IS easy.

As long as there are no impediments in the space itself, there should be no problem at all.

Ed

[Gary RVRoamer]

Campsites are often set at an angle to the road rather than perpendicular. They have you back in at the least angle, which means it will be the "blind" side on one side of the road and the driver side on the other. So you have a 50/50 chance of getting the easier side...

[Eddie Foy]

A man has to know his limitations.

Quote:

Originally posted by book2roadtrash: I will not do a Blindside backup. That right there is telling me the folks of the campground do not need my money…and I’ll go down the road. Book2

[TXiceman]

With my "comeonbacker" and her walkie-talkie, we can tackle anything. But I still prefer to back off the drivers side.

Ken

[AFChap]

Quote:

if you cannot do this simple procedure, you need to go to an empty parking lot and practice till it IS easy.

True that we must know our limitations, but I have to agree with the above statement. Being able to safely back the rig is one reason we have mirrors (required by law). If your mirrors are not adequate, get better mirrors! We should practice until we are competent and reasonably confident in handling whatever rig we are driving in any situation we might encounter.