"My Question is WHY???"

This is by no means a "rant" nor is it a "rave" but I have often wondered why some RV parks and campgrounds that are located either right on or next to a beautiful lake or rive have the spaces with waterfront views set up so that a Class A or any other front facing type of RV has to BACK IN in order to hook up properly. If you decide to go against their "parking setup" and pull in to face the water, then you need to have a whole bunch of additional hoses that you can toss under and across the coach in order to get hooked up and to some I would imagine that just doesn't happen for them. Why wouldn't the park either have put in two sets of hookups so both a Class A and a 5ver would be able to have river/lake views. We ran into this one time a few years ago and ended up leaving because we thought we'd be able to wake up in the morning, pull open the front blinds and sit there with our coffee and watch the fish jump and the early morning boaters out enjoying their morning water time, etc. Instead we would have been looking straight across into another RV parked in back of us, or I should say in front of us. Just curious why this would be done. Hmm, let's see, which would you rather look at with your morning coffee, the lake or river in front of you, or the guy taking out his trash and watching his dog do his morning drop? Has anyone else run into this or am I the only one who thinks a river or lake is much mo betta to look at than a dog taking a dump.................. Would love to have a few RV park owners/mgrs. who happen to read this that are set up that way, jump in and give me a good explanation of why this was done in their park.................???

The troublemaker, BankShot..............(aka Terry)

 

If the best view requires me to pull in instead of backing in, that's what I do. Park rules permitting of course. I carry 50' of 50 amp cord, and another 25' of 30 amp, plus 75' feet of water hose and 50' of sewer hose. It's rare that I need all of it, but it's there if I need it. I refuse to let a little thing like the distance to the hookups dictate my enjoyment of the site. If I need more, there's usually a Walmart not too far away...

 

I've seen a few Class A gassers with back windows but that window is where the bedroom is and I doubt too many folks would want to sit in bed with their morning coffee just to watch the river flow by. Some beds are situated cross-ways in the coach which would more than likely give one a royal "crick" in the neck having to sit with your head turned to one side to see out that window. If however the bed was facing lengthwise in the coach you could just sleep facing the window I suppose and do your morning viewing that way................ This has always made me wonder why some parks are set up this way. We did stay at a park in Oregon a while back and got a pull thru right down by the lake which turned out great. However all the pull-in/back-in spaces alongside the lake forced any Class A unit to back in and face a bunch of other RVs across from them, or bring additional hookup hoses and cords, etc. so they could face in and run everything under the coach and then up to the front in order to hook up. Again, I just ask "WHY" was this done in this manner.........???

BankShot................( aka, Terry)

PS: We normally carry extra hookup stuff also but it's just a royal PITA to have to use it all so we simply no longer go to those parks that are set up this way............

 

I go by the quality of the view and the length of our stay. When I can get a nice ocean view or a great view of the ships entering a lock, I don't mind pulling out an extra power cord, another water hose, or a couple more sewer hose sections for week or so stay. Not for quick over night stay though. Monday, we'll be on a site that looks out at the St Lawrence Seaway and the entry/exit of the Eisenhower Lock for the week, and I'll pull into a back in site at Robert Moses State Park. The sites are electric only here, so the only thing I'll need to pull out is the 25' 50 amp extension when we move to that site. Right now we're on a standard back in site with a forest view out the front window, and my electric bin is close enough to the power stanchion that I've only got about 6 feet of power cord pulled out.

 

Thanks Mike, I would imagine that I'm not the only Class A Rver that has run into this situation and probably not the only one to have pulled in the anchor and moved on either. Like Dutch stated when you are going to be a at given park for a while then I guess it's not a major problem to pull out a few extensions to get hooked up, however the only problem with that is those extension usually end up right in front of the entry door and next to the patio area where we like to sit and sip a glass of wine, etc. Having to be right next to a bunch of hoses and wires and especially a sewer hose isn't exactly the greatest site to behold while you are sipping that glass of wine, let alone eating a meal. Perhaps I am a tad too picky but by golly when we pay the bucks some of these parks charge now, we expect a tad better hookup situation than having to go thru that. So I suppose that would partly be a "rant" if you anyone cares to call it that................

And away we go, BankShot............(aka Terry)

 

I'm with you Terry. I don't like having to "trip" over the power and water but I really hate having to string the sewer hoses under or around the coach so that I can nose in. My service bay is in the left rear (like most) and I have a 50" extension cable and spare potable and sewer hoses so if I have to, I can. I will not do the sewer hose though. I will usually wait until I have to dump and then I will do a drive around the block to swish things around a bit then back in. Do the chore and then nose in again. It takes about 15 minutes but I would rather do that than stumble over or have to look at a sewer hose.

We have stayed at a number of parks that had "shared" service pedestals with a view. We have been fortunate in that most of the operators made sure the nose and tail sites had been appropriately assigned. I hope more camp operators take notice and do the same.

Darrell

 

I agree with Terry that it would certainly be preferable for parks to set up site utilities on sites with a "rear view" to accommodate motorhomes, but since it's rarely done, I just roll with what's there and enjoy the view. For us, the parks we typically stay at that have great ocean/lake/river, etc, views are state or national parks where we're paying as little as $10-$15 per night and rarely more than $30, so it's hard to complain too much about the amenities. I carry enough power cable and hoses to usually route it away from our outdoor activity areas even if it's not the shortest route to the stanchion. In those situations where the sewer hose would be a nuisance, I don't pull it out until it's needed, and when I'm done dumping, I cap the hose at the dump port end and stow it under the coach out of site where it's handy for the next time. That only adds a couple of minutes to the job, so no big deal there. Life's too short to stress over the minor annoyances...

 

Any such setup would create a situation where you and your neighbor share the front yard. That is unacceptable to most people. The utility side of your rv serves as a privacy barrier between you and your neighbor.

 

Speaking strictly for ourselves, I think we'd be more willing to share "front yards" with a neighbor than having to sit next to the electrical/water/sewer hookups. We usually don't dump our tanks till the day we leave so most of the time the sewer hose is not the big problem. It is however a tad inconvenient to have to run extra lengths of all three hookups, especially the electrical where running an extra 25 feet of 30 amp cord does indeed affect the "efficiency" of the amperage we receive at the coach. If I am not mistaken a regular 30 amp output ends up inside the coach at about 24 amps so that leaves little leeway for running several high draw items at one time. Hey, it's all part of the RVing lifestyle and we have learned to adapt when this does happen. And it really isn't all that often either so my original question was just more out of curiosity to find out why this was done in some lake/river front parks. It really only affects Class A, C,& B RVs that have to end up facing away from the water in order to hook up in the right manner for them. Thanks for adding your comments and opinion on this westernrvparkowner.............

All the best, BankShot.............(aka Terry)

 

We do not allow any rig to park "backwards", so the extra hoses and cables do not come into play. Any views can easily be enjoyed by merely sitting in your yard, even if your choice of rv means a window faces away. The vast array of rvs with different configurations often means what is ideal for one rig is less than ideal for another. Thus, the configuration of any park must be a collection of compromises.

 

Your park is obviously not a state or national park, where we most often find the sites with the great views from the rear of the site. Fortunately, the sites we prefer are large and usually have good foliage cover separating them from the neighboring sites, or at least enough space that it's not an issue. Here's one example:



And the view out our front window:

 

As long as the hookups for this site are at the driver's side rear then all is good to go IMHO. However at some parks that offer water facing sites such this site does, the hookups are at the right passenger side front and there's where the rub is for us...............

Regards, BankShot................(aka Terry)

 

While I applaud your "sticking to the rule" approach, (usually the sign of a well run operation) I think you may be disappointing a good number of your guests. I see many instances where two families are camping next to each other and want to face each other irregardless of a "view". We have done it many times and I have never been approached by an operator and told not to do this. It's very easy to do in motor home but not so easy sometimes in a Fifth or TT but I've seen it done by both lots. It seems to be a harmless maneuver. I know of a few parks that manage the placement of rigs to take advantage of a view. I have never stopped to think if the layout was created on purpose or not but it sure worked well for the guests. I good example was the out facing sites at Westbay Marina & RV Park in Victoria BC. Having said that, they may no longer have "shared services" as they have just rebuilt from scratch. Even so, it seems there are more motor homes on the road these days and it would be nice to be able to take advantage of the front picture window.

Darrell

 

Unfortunately, you cannot always count on people traveling in groups with the proper mix of rigs to make your scenario always work. When you let on rig,even if it is traveling with a group to park in reverse, youwill have someone else who will want to do the same thing, even if it impedes on their neighbor. Not good.

 

I realize that this would be cost prohibitive in most cases but the way to make a river/lake view fair for everyone would be to install two separate hookup points in those sites that have the water views. One at the right front side of the site and the other at the rear left. Again, costly in most cases but that way all types of RVs would be able to enjoy water views with no hookup problems. If we ever decide to open an RV park by a river or lake I will be sure to do this, count on it...............

BankShot.............(aka Terry)

 

Another possible way to satisfy both motorhomes and trailers would be to have shared hookups in the middle where the direction for parking alternates. Of course this would only work ideally if there was a motorhome for each trailer in that particular area. Otherwise some RVs would be parked the wrong way for the hookups.

 

Most class As have bedroom slideouts these days, so no rear windows. Our old '89 Southwind does have a back window, but never really considered the view to be important out that area.
It is nice to park the rear bedroom near a stream though, so we can listen to running water as you sleep (if the weather is good).

 

Nope, the electric only hookup is to the right of the coach, but just one 25' extension added to the stock power cord reaches it easily. That probably adds all of two minutes to my setup and tear down time there.