We've been to both, with and without an escort. The only time it bugs us to have an escort is at the RV parks where we've been to several times and they know us, yet they still feel the need to escort us, which makes no sense.
I haven't read all the replies, but wanted to add my experience. My parents owned a KOA campground for 15 years. My sister and I were the employees, and we ALWAYS walked everybody to their site. Why? Well, our insurance carrier required it, and my father also thought it was good customer service. Some people got offended, some people loved it. We never insinuated that our customers couldn't drive, but honestly, there were MANY times that our trees would have been hit had we not walked people to their sites. Many, many times. We also had to direct/witness the people pulling on to our sites - it was a CYA that saved us many times when drivers hit trees and tried to sue us for the repairs. If they had listened to our directions, they wouldn't have hit the trees. But try to get an old retired full time RV'er to listen to a 16 year old girl when she says "swing wide". I've also had people hand me the keys and say you pull it/back it in when they see the site. Good thing my father taught me to drive backwards first, with a 20' flatbed trailer on, and with the rearview mirror covered up. I could only use the side mirrors. I drove in reverse all over those 20 acres of roads/sites for months before I ever got to actually drive forward. And you know what, that is how I'm going to teach my kids to drive, too!
I don't believe most RV'rs, including me, realize how many Campground Rules and actions are as a direct result of insurance requirements placed on the Campground.
We have been to parks who escort and some that do not. Either way is fine with me but the escort is nice if the park is large with winding roads. We stayed in one park in California once where there was no escort and we parked and drove our towd to find the site because the route was very complicated. Then it would have been really nice to have the guide. What I do not like and refuse to use is the person that in some parks insists upon directing you into your site. Over the nearly ten years that we have been fulltimers we have developed a way around these people. My wife just goes out well behind employee who is doing the arm waving and talks to me quietly by radio and I simply ignore the fool. We have seen far too many cases where and RV was directed into a tree limb or other obstruction by a park employee. They don't want to pay for the repairs so let me park myself. If you fear for your utilities, you are quite welcome to stand over them while I park, but let us do things our way. This is our home and we don't need or want some new employee directing us.
From what I've read since I started this thread (thanks for all the great replies), most people would like an escort if it is a big park or if the roads are confusing. Otherwise they can find the site themselves. Most experienced RVers prefer to park their rig their own way and can probably do so with out any problem. In many cases these people know more about backing and/or positioning an RV than the employee does. From the park's view they might need to send an escort because of their insurance, and/or they may want to send an escort to watch over their utilities and landscaping. After all not everyone handles a rig equally well, and even the best of drivers have accidents once in a while. The problem I see is how does the RVer know about the park's insurance policy that requires them to send an escort, and how does the park know how well the RVer can drive which dictates whether he may or may not need an escort?
Ummm......gee, Kirk. Considering the employees to be fools should get you off to a good start in any park. You can talk with your wife on the radio, and I will stand there and protect my utilities. If you get it parked the way I want it parked, I will jump in my golf cart and leave you to have a good time. But if you are out over my grass or infringing on the neighboring sites, I will ask you to make adjustments. As a fulltimer, I was guided into a tree one time. Whose fault was it? It was mine, because I wasn't paying attention. I wanted to be upset with the lady guiding me, but in the end, I realized if I would have been watching instead of talking, I would have noticed the branch hanging down.
QUOTE Well, let us all know the name of your park. That way we can all avoid a conflict. I have been trying to get that info for years. She claims to have met me in the Florida panhandle, but I don't remember.
We don't need to be escorted as we listen to the registrar while they're giving directions and we study the campground map before proceeding. Unfortunately, some people don't and meander all around wondering where their site is! Also, I prefer my wife park me as we have a good routine (signals, etc) that we've used for 17 years.
For every courteous and competent escort, there is always two or three of those who: 1-Use hand and arm signals that even a Navy carrier pilot couldn’t decifer. 2-Races off in front of you like he’s the pole position at a Nascar event. 3-Takes the long scenic route thru the camp ground thru the lowest hanging tree branches. 4-Doesn’t under stand that I don’t need to be within microns of the connections for the hoses and lines to reach them. 5-Doesn't have that little gyro thing in their head recognizes level ground. 6-Have some toy ranger badge fixed to their hat implying authority. I’ve found it best to have a little tolerance for the process, stop short of the site, tell the guide we’ll take it from here, and thank them for their help. QUOTE(Lindsay Richards @ Jul 12 2009, 07:47 PM) [snapback]17527[/snapback] If the husband and wife park the coach, it gives them a great chance to yell at each other. And if you're already set up in the campground, that's a great spectator sport.
QUOTE(RLM @ Aug 4 2009, 11:53 AM) [snapback]18081[/snapback] it best to have a little tolerance for the process, stop short of the site, tell the guide we’ll take it from here, and thank them for their help. This sounds good to me. I almost always stop short of the site so that I can get out to see where the utilities are located and to check out how level the site is. This avoids a lot of repositioning which I especially don't want to do it I'm not intending to unhook the toad.
QUOTE(RLM @ Aug 4 2009, 09:53 AM) [snapback]18081[/snapback] ...And if you're already set up in the campground, that's a great spectator sport. :lol: Now don't tell ALL the secrets!
Funny this was brought up...just two days ago we were "escorted" to our site. The grandma-type lady offered to let my two daughters ride along in the golf cart, which they thought was THE BEST. So did we until she sped off! We just stopped and waited for her to realize she had gone too fast, and come back for us, but after several minutes she did not return! Without a map (they never gave us one) and more than a little nervous now (because a complete stranger has sped off with our kids!!) we decide to just proceed and maybe the campground makes one big obvious loop and we would catch up with them. Not the case--we ended up down a dead-end lane of tenters with our 29 foot trailer. So we became the evening's entertainment as we backed down this tiny lane. It was actually good that the kids were not in the vehicle--a few choice words may have been uttered at this point. It was not until we were almost all way backed out, with the help of random tenters along the way, that the "escorter" returned with our kids. My daughter said she kept telling the lady that she was going too fast and she just kept going faster. Not the perfect end to a full day of driving, but at least we can laugh about it now. Normally we LOVE to be escorted however. Usually it works out just great!! I too would never rate a CG lower for not providing an escort, unless there was a good reason that one SHOULD have been provided.
I've never had an escort to a site, ever. Is this just a service for motor homes or extremely large pull behinds? As long as the sites have numbers, just give me a map and my trusty navigator-the wife - and I'll be fine.
Sometimes it is not necessary, but in large camps it is certainly nice. I think the KOA in Colorado Springs was the first to "escort" us to our site. Yeah, we would have found it, but after a long day on the road it was great to have this service.
Honestly, we have had an escort at several of the cg's we have stayed at...I appreciate them because especially when it is a new cg for us or when its dark..also, I try to occupy the kids inside who are so excited to get out of the motorhome so my husband does actually get help from the escort at times...trust me, I would much rather someone else get the job than I...its often not a good way for husband and wife to start off there camping adventure...
So far escorts are not necessary, unless there is no map. However, at times, they can be to helpful. YMMV God bless, John
