What Are Your Pet Peeves Rv'ing?

I did re-read your last few posts on this subject and what I got from them was that you feel perfectly okay with walking thru somebody else's space without asking. You even went so far as to say we should construct some sort of barrier or string up some crime scene tape. Yeah, like I carry a roll of that around with us at all times. We have different feelings on this subject and that's okay by me because we are all different and we all have a right to our feelings. So how about we call this off before It goes any further. I certainly don't care to start a pissing contest here as that was certainly not my intent when I chimed in with my two cents worth. I apologize if my remarks offended you, again that was not what my intent was.............

Have a safe ahd enjoyable RVing season ahead........................

Regards, BankShot (aka Terry)

 

Terry, consider it put to bed. But I have to add, honestly, that I think the thread went "over the top" with the posting of a big picture of a big dog and the veiled inference that the dog's actions could be unpredictable.
Camping is family fun. Families bring children and children hoot 'n holler and run and play and ride bikes and act like kids. The sight of water will have them running with their tubes and floats pell-mell toward the beach. The adult concept of private property falls to the lure of splashing water on your big sister, and not being the rotten egg. The idea of that dog lying in wait, unseen, for someone "uninvited" makes me shudder.
A patch of rented grass cannot come before the safety of children who aren't thinking of anything but fun, or even a senior couple looking for an easy path to the river shore.
I just think that some times we have to take the high road for everyone else.

 

Well said Jack B. I think we all have a tendency to go a tad too far at times when certain subjects come up for discussion. Thankfully most RVers are courteous and we rarely encounter a problem with anyone on our travels. Other than of course those crazies that pace us coming down on ramps to interstates. On our last trip we watched a family of five pull in across from us. Within minutes of hooking up and getting their stuff unloaded and set up, etc. all three kids, two boys and girl, were out front on the road throwing a football and having a blast. The sound of their laughter and yelling at each other, etc. made me feel like a kid again as it brought back a lot of my childhood memories of camping trips with my parents. Thanks for your words of wisdom here, we all need to just be respectful and considerate of our neighbors when we go RVing. It's one of the best things I've ever gotten myself into and something just a few short years ago I said I'd never do. Talk about never saying never.....

Regards and safe travels.............BankShot (aka Terry)

 

I take issue when I am singled out in a thread. This will be my last post.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

Paying a reasonable price for a site in an RV park and needing quarters to run the showers. Parks that charge an extra fee for RVers with a pet. People who play their music loud enough for everyone in the general vicinity to hear it - unless it's music I like, of course!

 

I've changed the pic to one less "threatening". My reply was to someone who couldn't understand why anybody would have a problem with someone walking through a site. I just pointed out that my dog will bark at a stranger if they enter the site - otherwise, he couldn't care less. Most rangers will tell us they didn't even know we had a dog.
No more posts from me about this.

 

My pet peeve would be park owners who don't upgrade their facilities. Internal roads have potholes and mud. No gravel or grading in years. We had this experience recently in Pendleton, Indiana. Roads were so bad our motorhomes's back wheels were deep in the mud. Perilous experience. Lucky we weren't totally stuck. The owner was cheerful when he took my money, however.

 

My pet peeves are RV parks that charge extra $$$ for more than 2 people, charge extra for using air conditioning, restrict the size and breed of your dog or have an additional fee for your dog.

We travel with our disabled adult son and our dog. I refuse to go to parks that have these additional fees.

 

Stayed at a small and simple RV park in Minnesota that had a daily dog fee! If it was a refundable deposit maybe I would understand, but to pay everyday for your dog...too much.

 

Is your dog a "service dog" for your son? If so, just like hotels & restaurants, they have to let the dog in and IMO shouldn't even charge for service animals.

 

Breed restrictions come from two issues. One, many insurance companies require parks to restrict breeds that are considered dangerous and will not insure any loss that results from those breeds being allowed into the park. That is out of the hands of the park and a park would be very irresponsible to take on that potential liability without insurance coverage.
Two, many people are afraid of certain breeds of dogs. A person camped next to a pit bull or Rottweiler may very well cut their stays short and choose never to return effecting the park's bottom line. More likely, the guests will just have a less enjoyable stay, perhaps opting to remain inside at all times. This will also result in fewer return visits and possibly negative reviews. Not a good outcome for the park.
As for additional person fees and dog fees, these are usually used primarily as management tools. Fees discourage large groups and multiple dogs. That may very well be the reason the park has them. It is sure easier to allow the potential guest to decide they don't want to stay at a particular park because the fees are too high then it is for the park to have to inform them that their group or pack of dogs is too large. As a park owner I speak from experience that multiple large groups and large numbers of dogs in a park create problems. The facilities become overcrowded and everyone loses.

 

I am trying to understand this from your perspective. Our dog is a well trained Rottweiler, who has never bitten anyone. She is always on a 6' leash when we take her out. She is old, and we don't want to leave her home with a pet sitter. We always try to book an end spot, so we can try to keep her out of view. Whenever I consider an RV park, I check their website and if I don't see breed restrictions I call to ask if they allow Rottweilers. So from what I am reading here, 3 adults is a large group, and one well trained dog could have a negative impact on a campground's business.

We generally stay in Federal, state, county and city campgrounds because of these issues and although I would like to give some of my business to private campgrounds, I now see that will not be happening.

 

From what I've seen and learned over the years many large breeds of dogs, especially the Pits, Rots, Sheps, Dobies, etc. have gotten bad raps due to a percentage within the breed that have been "trained" and brought up wrong by owners who aren't responsible types, etc. When my son was still crawling around on the floor we would take him over to my brother's house who owned a 105 lb. American Staffordshire Bull Terrier. This dog was about as intimidating as they get and yet he was gentle as a lamb with our son who would pull his ears and crawl all over him. Was he vicious? Only when someone threatened the family, never any other times. My brother raised this dog with love and all the proper guidance and training. And yet just down the street a neighbor owned the same type of dog and thought it was funny to watch his dog rip into other dogs and even kill one in a fight on one occasion. Let's face it, the people next to you or across from you haven't a clue as to how your dog has been trained or in many cases, not trained so it's no wonder they get a tad leery when they are exposed to it out in the open. Heck when we walk in a park and see a large dog like one of the breeds being discussed here, coming towards us on a loosely held leash, I become just a little cautious and will normally cross the road to keep a good distance between it and us. Again, these types of dogs have gotten a bad rap from the start and being as intimidating as they can be, you have to understand the average person being confronted by one of them isn't exactly going to stick out their hand to pet it for fear it may be taken off at the wrist. It isn't fair but unfortunately that's just how it is. And the funny thing is that personally I've never had to fend off a large dog like these but I did have to protect myself from a 8 lb. Chihuahua one time while walking in the park. Came at me on a loose leash and actually jumped up and ripped a big (well actually little) chunk of flesh right off the backside of my hand. The real funny thing was that the other dog the people were also walking was a fairly large Doberman who just stood there calmly watching everything unfold. Go figure.....

Regards, BankShot (aka Terry)

 

First we love dogs and have had several over the years. However, I feel the many dogs (ours included), large or small, with or without training, may be great with their owners and family, but they may also become very protective of those people when strangers approach. That's why I am still cautious when anyone claims their dog is the sweetest dog ever. I absolutely believe they are telling the truth about the dog's demeanor when it is at home around just them, but when that dog is out in public where there are loud noises and strangers, it may act completely different when someone walks up to the owner. In fact just yesterday we (with no dog) walked by a lady with two poodle-like dogs on leashes. One of the dogs was very calm and friendly and came right up to us to be petted. The other dog barked and growled a bit and was very standoffish. The lady kept saying he really was a sweet dog and she had no idea why he was acting that way. His behavior wasn't what I'd call aggressive, but it wasn't friendly either. So you just never know what might cause them to act out of character at any particular time.

 

Well, our search for a park to spend the winter at continues. I'm sure we will get this all figured out.

Thanks to all for your answers.

 

The dog breed restriction issue is really pretty simple to understand from a park owner's point of view. Insurance requirements aside, you may know that your pit bull, Rottweiler, etc, is as gentle as a kitten, but I don't know that, and there's no easy way to verify it. If I own a park, that's the dilemma I face in deciding which breeds to allow. Some parks have found it easier to just not permit pets at all. I think it's informative that even the venerable "Four Paws Kingdom" dog centric RV park in NC has breed restrictions.

 

uh-oh this was probably predictable: a thread really takes off when people start defending their favorite breeds. It seems every breed has a rooting section and owners are the most vocal.
The fact is someday RV Parks will probably restrict based on size and weight rather than breed.
We live in a very litigious society and every large dog can be dangerous.

Many years ago a much younger me bred, raised, and raced Alaskan Malamutes. A large dog that can be aggressive and takes strong willed and knowledgeable training along with vigilance. They can be a handful and will test your will. I am daily surprised at the people calling them huskies and walking right up to give them a pat. Huskies are safer family pets half the size, but often similar in coat color. Unless I can positively identify a Huskie, I stay clear of Northern breeds.

I am surprised that Malamutes don't appear on the list of forbidden breeds. They would be barred if the decision was based on size instead of breed specific. I still have a soft spot for some of the Mals I've owned, but would never have one now...very headstrong, can be dangerous.
As you can see from my avatar our dog likes to "drive" the host cart that is at our Texas winter park. She is a Red Heeler and our very loyal traveling companion. When children ask, "may I pet your dog?" I can say "yes", instead of jumping up and grabbing the leash of a 100+ lb dog.

It won't be long before RV'ers are arguing the weight and height of their dog to gain entry to a park.
The breed list will be so long that every entry problem would require AKC arbitration. Size and weight, regardless of breed, will be the obvious answer.

 

Just to break the tension, what if my Rottweiler identifies as a cocker spaniel?
Seriously, we will just find places we are welcomed. Every campground I've reviewed so far allows my dog. It's not that big of an issue, sorry for ruffling any feathers on here.