Inconsiderate RVers

[Bob_C]

Just didn't want you miss a key....

[FL420]

Originally Posted by bob caldwell

Decided to post pic to annoy those that dislike lights....lolAttachment 203794Attachment 203795Attachment 203796Attachment 203798Attachment 203801

Well Bob, I'm beginning to understand your signature line, especially the "Retired....but work part time as a pain in the arse...."

Are you sure you're just a part time PITA? You seem to have posted an average of more than 6 posts every day in the short year you have been on the forums and I detect a strong recurring theme that I find irksome.

In 18 months of full-timing I have yet to stay in an "RV Resort," or "Kampground" and only twice in a commercial "RV Park." IMHO those places are for folks who seem to like to "Glamp" instead of camp or only feel comfortable packed in close quarters like sardines in a can and in brightly lit high density urban-type environments.

I, OTOH, prefer to camp in campgrounds with other people who like to connect with the flora and fauna found in the natural world removed from the sounds, lights and smells of the urban environment. You will likely find me in dispersed camping sites above 9,000 feet or on a beach or in a National Forest, State Park or Corps of Engineers campground on a lake or river.

Some of my most cherished memories are from camping with my family at The Santa Catalina Island Airport. My DW and 3 boys were mesmerized while lying on the wing of the plane while learning how to find Polaris using the Big Dipper and observing how Polaris stayed in the same position all night while the Big Dipper rotated around it while always pointing at it. They also learned how to spot satellites and took great delight competing at who could spot the most.

Another great memory was teaching my Boy Scout troop how to harvest abalone off the rocks of a tide pool at midnight under a full moon on San Clemente Island. I was teaching them how to use a signal mirror when a helicopter carrier unexpectedly came around the northern tip of the island and passed close aboard the cliff over the ocean where we were camped. I had the boys flash the signal bridge with the mirrors and the sailors replied with Morse code flashes from their signal lamp. The boys were thrilled. On that same trip we snorkeled in the kelp beds right below our campsite and tracked a radio-collared rare San Clemente Island fox to her den.

That Bob, is what camping should be about. Not glamping. Camping.

Now, I still try my best to avoid places and people who like to drag the city with them into the quiet, peaceful and dark countryside. Unfortunately, that is getting harder and harder to do. Fortunately, only a small percentage of people think as you seem to and are as insensitive to how they are ruining the experience of camping for so many others.

If you stick to RV Resorts, RV Parks and KOA type commercial parks and I stick to publicly-owned lands and campgrounds we shouldn't have a problem. If I stray into your "hood" somehow and you want to light up your coach like a billboard for the Mustang Ranch I will keep my mouth shut and deal with it.

If you stray into my "hood" for some reason and refuse a friendly, polite request to quench the outdoor lights after a reasonable hour(e.g.-10PM) we will have a problem.

I have a string of very subdued blue LEDs fastened under my coach. They come on at dusk and turn off automatically 2 or 4 hours later. The single dim LED illuminating my flag is pointed straight up into the air. I will honor any sincere request to turn off the blue lights. I may even take down my flag but don't count on it.

I recently affixed a 6 LED docking light above each side view camera on my coach. They point toward the rear of the coach but I can swivel and lock them in any direction in a 180 degree arc. Any person close to me who refuses to play nice may find a very bright light illuminating his entire rig until his lights are switched off.

If someone insists on choosing what music or what TV program I must listen to in the campground I hope they like Vietnamese music. I have a CD of it and boy is it annoying to Western ears.

Here are some pix:

[Bob_C]

Did I strike a nerve?.....lol.....At least most of my posts are about try'n to help someone.....but, it's always fun to those that take everything so serious, to poke 'em once in awhile....lol do

[Bob_C]

One more thing....hav'n been an Eagle Scout, a Sea Scout, and hav'n a dad that was a District Commissioner and receivered scouting's top award, The Silver Beaver, gave me a little inside to CAMPING.....but times have changed, and so have our lives and our likes and dislikes....so, you go camp where you want and I'll do the same....see ya!

[FL420]

Originally Posted by bob caldwell

Did I strike a nerve?.....lol.....At least most of my posts are about try'n to help someone.....but, it's always fun to those that take everything so serious, to poke 'em once in awhile....lol do

It's not what you say so much, it's what you do.


I just can't figure out whether you are shameless or just clueless.

[Bob_C]

Pick one!....

[Gordon Dewald]

Inconsiderate or intolerant. Is there a difference.

[oatmeal]

Originally Posted by FL420

I have a string of very subdued blue LEDs fastened under my coach. They come on at dusk and turn off automatically 2 or 4 hours later. The single dim LED illuminating my flag is pointed straight up into the air. I will honor any sincere request to turn off the blue lights. I may even take down my flag but don't count on it.

Well, that right there is the problem. You're very much against outdoor lights...unless they're yours. Then they're okay.

What you're saying is that your lights shouldn't bother people. But that's how other people feel about their lights.

Originally Posted by FL420

I will honor any sincere request to turn off the blue lights. I may even take down my flag but don't count on it.

You're acknowledging that you know your lights could annoy people, but you put the burden on them to decide it's worth the risk to ask you to turn them off (they don't know if you're a nice person or a threatening drunk), and even then, to have their sincerity evaluated by you, and even then, maybe you'll cooperate and maybe you won't.

I think it boils down to the two different types of people: those who assume it's okay to do what they want until someone pushes back, and those who moderate their own behavior so others won't have to push back.

It would be nice if all of one type was drawn to one style of camping, and all of the other type was drawn to the other style. Unfortunately, that's not how it works.

[Bob_C]

And my LED lights are dimmable.....running lights never on in parks

[Mike and Cha]

Originally Posted by oatmeal

Well, that right there is the problem. You're very much against outdoor lights...unless they're yours. Then they're okay.

What you're saying is that your lights shouldn't bother people. But that's how other people feel about their lights.




You're acknowledging that you know your lights could annoy people, but you put the burden on them to decide it's worth the risk to ask you to turn them off (they don't know if you're a nice person or a threatening drunk), and even then, to have their sincerity evaluated by you, and even then, maybe you'll cooperate and maybe you won't.

I think it boils down to the two different types of people: those who assume it's okay to do what they want until someone pushes back, and those who moderate their own behavior so others won't have to push back.

It would be nice if all of one type was drawn to one style of camping, and all of the other type was drawn to the other style. Unfortunately, that's not how it works.

X2...Well said.

[Gordon Dewald]

Originally Posted by oatmeal

Well, that right there is the problem. You're very much against outdoor lights...unless they're yours. Then they're okay.

What you're saying is that your lights shouldn't bother people. But that's how other people feel about their lights.




You're acknowledging that you know your lights could annoy people, but you put the burden on them to decide it's worth the risk to ask you to turn them off (they don't know if you're a nice person or a threatening drunk), and even then, to have their sincerity evaluated by you, and even then, maybe you'll cooperate and maybe you won't.

I think it boils down to the two different types of people: those who assume it's okay to do what they want until someone pushes back, and those who moderate their own behavior so others won't have to push back.

It would be nice if all of one type was drawn to one style of camping, and all of the other type was drawn to the other style. Unfortunately, that's not how it works.

X2 - too bad there were not signs so you did not have to find out later.

[Stuff-Happens]

Originally Posted by DoC808

Just a quick question, why do people leave their outdoor lights on all freaking night. It's like daylight here. I'm in Salt Fork State Park and five RV years all around me all have their outdoor lights on and they're inside. What the hell. Be a little bit considerate for everybody else.

Answer: They leave their lights on all night so that they can run their generator all day and annoy those around them... Lots of folks leave their “city “ and then get quickly tired of outdoors nature ; then want to give the campsite a “ city “ look.... As campground hosts we frequently see his happen.... I’d like to see the USFS, BLM, & other agency’s put limits on genset run time, noise levels & campsite lighting... Also hate seeing campers try to turn their natural site into a garbage dump... Yes, it happens....

[Gordon Dewald]

I think the price of fuel will soon educate the folks who run their generators endlessly.

As for the lighting we have always been told by police that the first thing to prevent burglary is to clear access to your house and have it will lighted. With all of the fear about home invasions, etc. many people will feel safer with lighting.

Our RV park has one street light at the end of each street. Not surprising there are a number of people who ask for better street lighting.

[FL420]

It's an absolutely beautiful night here on the Lake of the Arbuckles with the almost full moon making the water sparkle like diamonds. The air is full of fireflies all around us.
There's not an artificial light in sight to ruin the magic. What a night!