Newbie RVer Etiquette

The RV movement is still going strong, and more and more people are opting to live this nomadic life for various reasons. In 2020, the RV community witnessed an unprecedented BOOM of full-time RVers due to the COVID-19. Although things are looking up with the pandemic, the RV community is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.

With so many new RVers hitting the road and visiting campgrounds, it’s important to provide a friendly reminder for those new to this nomadic community. If you are thinking about joining this mobile movement, an occasional camper, or tinkering with the idea of living a full-time RV life, please know the etiquette.

Here are the rules and guidelines we ask you abide by before taking off!

Things NOT to do while RVing:

• Do NOT walk through campsites.

Of all of the unwritten rules and guidelines out there, this has got to be the most broken of them all. It’s considered rude to walk through a campsite.

We RVers don’t care if you save 10 extra steps going a long way around. By walking through a campsite, you are intruding on a bubble. Would you walk through your neighbor’s yard to get to your side of the street? I don’t think so. Therefore, don’t do it at a campsite. When I’m sitting on my porch, sipping my wine, and captivated reading a book at sunset, the last thing I want is to be startled by some stranger walking in front of me. #dontbethatguy

• Quiet hours are there for a reason.

If the quiet hours say that they start at 10:00 pm, then RVers expect that at 9:59 pm, you’re getting ready to STFU. That means no loud music, your guests are using quiet voices, etc.

Many RVers (usually) fall into two categories: Full-Time and have day jobs; or on vacation.

Do you really want to piss someone off who might have to get up for work the next day or ruin someone’s trip? I’d like to think not, so mind your volume.

• Mind your speed.

From my experience so far, this has to be the 2nd Most Broken Rule. Most R.V. parks have a speed limit of 5 mph. I 100% understand that this “feels slow,” but do you know why? There are several reasons.

First of all, the faster you go, the more dust it kicks up. In an R.V. park, that’s the last thing we want because we may be walking around, biking the trails, or there are (very likely) children playing.

• Don’t hog the laundry.

Using the community laundry is terrific. Yes, you read that correctly…

My 5th wheel has a connection for a washer/dryer hookup in our bedroom. However, I have made a choice to opt-out of it. Why? Because it saves weight, it is one less thing to break, and I enjoy using the community laundry facilities.

While washing my colors and bleaching my whites, I can clean both simultaneously and drastically cut time spent on my chores. It takes me a maximum of two hours to wash two weeks’ worth of laundry and for less than $6. It also provides me a retreat to write my next article or Vocal Challenge.

However, don’t hog the laundry if you don’t want to piss off the RVers in your park. Even worse, don’t forget about your laundry! Do yourself a favor and set a timer on your phone to return to your laundry within an hour. Otherwise, don’t get upset when you find your wet clothes are piled on top of one of the machines.

• Arrive before sunset.

Similar to the speed limit, this is a combination of manners and safety. The only thing that could make the experience of backing your RV worse than attempting it at dark and raining, which I have done, and it 100% sucks.

Behind the wheel is my husband, who is doing his best to see at night, and the other end (outside, potentially getting soaked) is me: Yelling, cussing and trying to show him signals with my hands…that might involve using the middle finger.

We did this once, and it only took one time for me to be convinced: Don’t do this. Not only is it dangerous, but you might be waking up your neighbors who are sleeping less than 10 feet away from your site. #makeagoodimpression

• Mind your smoke.

I’m not talking about your cigarettes, vape, or cigar smoke either. I’m specifically referring to your campfires.

Many RVers like to grill outside and/or leave their windows open for the fresh air. The last thing many RVers want is to walk inside their campers, smelling like ash and smoke. If you find that your campfire smoke is drifting to another campsite, it might be too windy to roast those s’mores just yet.

• Pick up after your pet.

You can count on it: If I see your pet taking a dump on my campsite and I see no baggie in hand, I’ll yell at you. “You gonna pick up after your dog?!” We RVers, are not really shy, so don’t be startled if we politely remind you…with lots of volume.

I’ve seen a variety of animals around the park, even down to the pet pig. I don’t care what four-legged creature you have. If it sh*ts, you picks (up).

• Empty R.V. spots don’t equate to “Vacancy.”

Just because an R.V. spot is empty does not mean that it is vacant. An RVer may be en route and after X-number of hours of driving and traffic and paying hard-earned money to be at an R.V. park. Do you really think they want to pull into their camping spot that is occupied by your cars?

I’m going to give you a hint in Direct-Crystal-Fashion: If you feel the need to take over another parking spot or camping site, you have too many cars or too much sh*t. #brutallyhonest

• Supervise your children.

Okay, you know that I am not a fan of children for those of you who follow me on social media and my Medium page. Hence why I:

- Don’t have any;

- Have referred to them as “Crotch Goblins”;

- Will also refer to them as “Seamen Demons”.

However, that does not mean that I have a whole heart of a Grinch. I will still run into oncoming traffic to save a child and might do magic tricks for the “oooohs” and “awwwws.”

But…supervise your hoodlums, please. I, myself (nor any RVer), does NOT want to watch your kids jumping off the tops of our campers, trying to steal our bikes, asking us to feed them, nor entertain them.

• Don’t leave the dump station unattended.

I have not had personally had this situation happen to me: I’m waiting in line waiting to dump my tanks the person ahead of me is nowhere to be found. However, I have heard countless stories of similar situations like this on Facebook RV groups. To make it worse, some of these folks at the dump station have never dumped their tanks before.

When you’re in line at a dump station (literally taking a dump with your RV), that’s not the time to leave the site to go get a burger, learn how to dump your tanks for the first time, nor do maintenance.

Pump, dump, and GTFO out of the line, people. We got places to go!

• Stopping in Route (DO’s and DON’Ts).

Since COVID-19, I have heard mixed things about stopping at a Walmart to overnight it in the parking lot. Some stores are still allowing a single overnight stay in the back of their lots, while others will politely ask that you depart the premises. However, if the store you are at does allow it, reciprocate the hospitality by:

- Go inside and make a purchase

- Do not pull your slides out (Rest and leave)

Also, if you need to stop at rest stops along the interstate, keep in mind that you should not park in the trucker parking. This is very poor etiquette.

Commercial truckers are strictly regulated by the number of hours they can drive and must stop at certain times. Truckers are also a critical part of the U.S. economy, so please: Be mindful of where you pull off to rest. The majority of rest stops have dedicated spots for truckers, RVers, and standard automobiles.

Polite Things to Do

• Be a good neighbor.

If you hear a knock on your camper door, be courteous. The R.V. community is very welcoming, and you may be surprised that your neighbor could be a CEO, millionaire, or just a man/woman trying to have a good time vacationing with their family.

I’ll never forget our first Thanksgiving in our camper (who we affectionately named “Big Perm” because she’s a big girl with a lot of style). I had everything packed to make our meal…except for a can opener.

I saw a gentleman across the way prepping his turkey fryer to drop a bird in, and I trotted across the lot to politely ask, “Excuse me, sir. I’m very sorry to ask, but I forgot a can opener to make green bean casserole for my husband and me. Would you happen to have one that I may borrow?”

“Oh, hell yes, honey! One second.”

Not only did he come out with a variety of can openers sprawled out like a deck of cards, but his wife came out too, and we traded recipes.

• Heads up: Mail

If you are a true nomad, you’ll find yourself in different locations at various times. As a result, you’ll constantly be gathering your mail on the go, thanks to mail forwarding services.

However, it’s polite to give your hosting site a heads up that you expect a package or mail. That way, they can provide you with guidelines of where to pick up your correspondence, and they will likely keep an eye out for it as long as they know.

We were vacationing in Panama City, FL, and had a sudden repair to make that I was comfortable enough doing myself. Expecting a rather large package, I let the front office know. Not only did they keep an eye out for it, but they personally delivered it to my front door.

• Prep the day before departure.

Always, always, always prep as much as possible to depart the day before leaving. Not only will you feel less rushed and less likely to forget something, but you will also avoid waking up your neighbors if you need to hit the road in the wee hours.

• Assist someone backing in.

Before we became full-time RVers, we made long-weekend getaways to get more comfortable with Big Perm. However, backing in was always our challenge. Chances are that if you are having trouble backing in, so is that man or woman who is casually watching with a beer in their hand.

Do them a favor and be a spotter. Not only will you quickly identify yourself as part of the R.V. community, but you’ll make a friend, and I am sure your new neighbor will appreciate the help to make it a little less stressful.

• Break down your boxes.

Most campgrounds have a dumpster. Don’t be that camper that either:

- Leaves trash next to the dumpster; or

- Dumps large items in the garbage (i.e. should go to an actual landfill);

- Throws their unbroken boxes into the dumpster

Campgrounds can host hundreds of campers at a time. Don’t be that guy/gal who takes up space in the dumpster because you’re too lazy to break down a box or two.

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This article was origianlly published on Medium and CrystalsWritingRoom.