Let's redesign RV parks!

[ronspradley]

All I want is for the site to be level enough that I can run the refrigerator without leveling...............ronspradley

[Luckiest Dreamer]

I just love the comments from those that say they never have trouble backing into a site no matter what side they are backing from. I occasionally do, and I drove 18 wheelers for a living with many of the years working the yard backing a hundred trailers a day! I felt as comfortable going backward as I did forward. Backing with the view from the drivers side is the best way to do it. After all, that side is closer to the driver and usually the most visable. The other side can easily become blind to you if the need to jacknife is there.
These parks are designed to get the most money for the owners. Using every square inch of ground for revenue is more important for them than making it easy and safe for your backing!

[Wayne M]

Originally Posted by Wizard

Arch, I slightly disagree, Fishing Bridge in Yellowstone has 10" post in the grouind that is only 3 ft tall. While backing, no mirror can go that low. Those buggers will take a marker light off in a heartbeat

Just to disagree with the disagreement. My motorhome has power adjustable mirrors. Before I back in I point them down since I want to see the back lower corner areas. I'm not interested what is a quarter mile behind me. When we leave I always check my mirrors and adjust them again when we are straight and level again. It is all a one finger operation.

We have also been in a few of the campgrounds mentioned. My biggest worry are those real tight turns with the boulders mentioned on the corner of the turning area.

What I try to remember in some of those camp grounds is that they were originally constructed when an RV was only 20-30 feet long. Oh how times change.

[Arch Hoagland]

@Wizard.....Wayne M is correct. My mirrors are power adjustable with a good range and I can see down on the ground by my rear wheels. But I know what you mean about some of the campgrounds having small posts or rocks placed strategically around the campground so as to cause problems.

Makes you wonder sometimes where their head was when they placed the decorative items. Obviously they never maneuvered around a campground.

[FIRE UP]

Ladies and Gents,
While I haven't read all the replies, I might make a comment on some things here. Backing a vehicle does not come easy to many folks out there. Lets face it, we've all seen people who have the hardest time backing out of a parking place at Costco, the Grocery store and many places. The do it only because they have to. Most of those kinds of people NEVER improve.

They don't improve because they don't have to. They get by. But, in the RV world, you MUST be good at backing. Maybe you started out with a small truck and camper, then progressed to a Class C, then an A. No matter what you had/have, you must and will be required to back it, at any given time for various reasons. Some RV rs take it more seriously than others. You can tell by watching them maneuver into a camp spot, especially one that's a bit difficult.

Backing a single axle vehicle without any trailer has its issues. Backing a trailer is a whole 'nother set of circumstances. Backing a 5vr is even more different. Some RV pilots really take pride in backing, while others are like the ones in the Costco parking lot, just get by. If you ever want to see some real professionals, park at a trucking warehouse and watch those pros at work.

Now many of you might say, "we don't have to be that good". Well, that's certainly up to you. The better you are at backing, whatever you own, the less of a chance you'll have in damaging your equipment or, anyone else's at camp sites, RV parks, parking lots, town streets, anywhere. The "Blind side" is always critical. A hint here, try and get a real good look at the entire area of the "Blind side" before you start to move. Know distances, widths, heights etc of an intended area of parking.

That way when you start to back, you can concentrate more on stuff you can see because you have a better idea of what you can't. Ladies and Gents, I drove a Fire Truck for over 35 years. We were required to back up almost more than we drove forward. We had short little trucks, intermediate trucks and tractor trailers, some with and some without a "tiller man". For those of you that don't know what tiller man is, it's the driver of the rear end of a tractor trailer.

Now, talk about a strange backing sequence, you, as the driver, are backing one part of the rig/setup, for a given direction, and that person's backing the other part, in some cases for another direction at the same time.

So, backing an RV is way more natural for me than most of the RV pilots out there. Some of you have large truck experience too. That helps immensely. RV parks are primarily all about money. The more spaces they can cram into a park, the more income they have per given night of stay. How you get into those, sometimes is not too high on the priority list for the design of the park. So, hence, it behooves you to practice tight condition backing, on a semi-frequent basis so when faced with a tight situation, you're way more at ease with your intent.

OK, enough babbling. By the way, I don't know if any of you have ever been there but, Elk Horn Ridge RV Resort, on the eastern edge of the City of Spearfish, South Dakota, but it certainly is one of the most "roomy" RV parks I've ever had my pleasure of staying in. If I recall, they have over one hundred, 75' spaces, all pull though, all slanted. Talk about ease of entry and exit for your spot. It doesn't get any better than that. Even their back in spots are way roomy. And there's a large, nicely kept lawn, in between all the spots and trees are planted. It's going to be a top notch RV resort. It's a new RV park, only a few years old. There's lots to see and do in that area, using that park as a base.

Take care folks, happy RVing, Happy Thanksgiving.
Scott