Keep dogs from barking incessantly. Photo: Shutterstock
Campground Etiquette That Every RVer Should Know
We have all been in a campground where at least one of these annoying activities occured. If not, you might be the perpetrator and not even be aware of it.
Commiserate with me as I list off these actions that we all wish would stop in order to make our camping experience more pleasant. This is not an exhaustive list, but here are some of the annoying things people do in RV parks.
Common campground rule breaking
- Loud and disruptive campers
- Letting pets off leashes
- Leaving dog poop in public areas or your campsite
- Letting kids run around the park unsupervised
- Speeding through the campground
- Ignoring quiet hours
- Overcrowding vehicles
Sometimes there are a lot of RV park rules, but following them is really just common sense.
Unwritten RV park rules that should be common sense
- Walk around, not through campsites
- Don’t leave fires unattended (or create lots of smoke)
- Clean up after yourself in public areas (pools, bathrooms, laundry rooms, central lodges)
- Don’t leave food out and attract unwanted guests
- Don’t leave trash at your site for the next unsuspecting RVer
- Don’t interrupt RVers who are trying to set up camp (or trying to pack up to leave)
- Do something about your continuously barking dog
RVers working together makes a quick fix out of a small park problem
Helpful resources for handling annoying campers
- Check out campground reviews. You can usually find out which campground do not enforce park rules or which ones regularly have rule-breaking campers. You can also find out if there are specific times or holidays that campers recommend you not use certain RV parks.
- Tune in to the only RV manners program called “Hi Lucy”. The program is aired on MyRVRadio everyday and offers RV etiquette solutions to the annoying things people do in RV parks. It’s also a convenient way to share a hint or tip with an annoying neighbor too. Ask them to tune in so they can learn something!
- Search for tips on forums or social media. If there is an annoying camper, there is a video or post or group that gives you all types of answers on how to deal with the problem. Just look it up online and you will find ways to approach the problem that work for your personality.
Surviving RV rule breakers
- Don’t be a nosy neighbor. Be sure you are not the one that is being overly picky about someone else’s actions. Give people space to enjoy their vacation as well.
- Start with the campground host. Don’t take matters into your own hands. This can lead to conflict and a miserable stay beside a neighbor who dislikes you. Let the campground enforce their own rules.
- Rules or no rules. Remember some expectations are not guided by campground rules. Some unwritten rules are common courtesy. If your neighbor has no common courtesy, consider how much disruption is taking place and whether you need to address it or not. It the action temporary? Can you live with it for a few days?
- Documentation. If you feel like a situation is going to require intervention, document when the issue is occurring and provide proof where possible. Use written, video, or eyewitness documentation.
- When to act. If the annoying campers’ actions endanger yourself or others, action should be taken. The level of severity will depend on who you contact first. You may call the campground for minor rule issues. You may need to call the police for illegal activity.
Be a courteous camper
Hopefully you follow all the written AND unwritten rules while camping. If you discovered you do some of these things, I hope you have learned you don’t want to be one of those annoying people in your next RV campground.
Put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand what they are experiencing. They are not the same vacationer or camper you are. They have come to this park based on the parks’ offerings and amenities. Try not to interfere with those reasons, whether they are actual written rules or not.
One of the best parts about RVing is engaging with the community of traveling enthusiasts. iRV2 forums allow folks to chat with other RVers online, and get other perspectives on everything RVing, including products, destinations, RV mods, and more.
Related articles:
- Basic Etiquette That Every RVer Needs To Know
- Campground Etiquette: How To Be A Good Camping Neighbor
Since 2019 Lucinda Belden has been a full-time RVer and travel writer specializing in topics such as living on the road, working while traveling, RVing with outdoor recreation toys, and discovering unique location experiences. She is also the Program Director for MyRVRadio, a non-stationary radio station for RVers broadcasting news, events, culture, expert advice, humor, and entertainment. As a skilled entrepreneur, promoter and travel industry consultant, she and her husband Will Belden organize national events for the outdoor industry, such as the Direction Wide Open RV & Motorcycle Rally. She draws daily inspiration from the full-time RV lifestyle, motorcycling and world travel expeditions.
I know this would get me run of of town on a rail, after being tarred and feathered. But dogs create more problems than all the rest combined. Or maybe I should say dog owners. Not all owners, but way too many are don’t care how much they bark, where they poop and run loose. Inconsiderate people who simply were not raised right
Concur! EVERY RV park we stayed at since Apr has at least one incessantly barking dog.
Currently at Yellowstone National Park. Everyday we have been here there has been at least two incessantly barking dogs. Sometimes with the owner mere feet away? Why?? Why should we subjugate our peace for your flipping nuisance animal?
We are pretty new to camping with our little Jayco trailer and we like to bring our dogs. Many times have we experience loose dogs who come and bother our dogs, whom we work hard to keep quiet and out of others ways. It doesn’t seem fair to our babies that they have to be leashed when they see other dogs loose, especially when they don’t get leashed at home but run free in their own backyard. Plus, I’ve seen others not bother to clean up after their dogs, when we make the special effort to be sure our dogs do not leave any droppings. I just wish people would be more considerate with their own animals.
I blame RV makers with some of this…
Who needs to hear someone else’s boom box stereo speakers or see that annoying glow from the 55 inch television that is built into the side of these newer travel trailers and fifth wheels, these days…?
Same could be said for Trails!
You left out one of the most annoying things people do-walk through your campsite. It’s especially unnerving as a solo female to look up and see some dude inches from your window as they walk through your campsite.
It’s there. ” Walk around, Not through other’s campsite’s.”
I agree Rob my nick pick is the fire 🔥 pit do not put trash and grease in them I can’t stand that don’t make sense
I agree about people walking through our campsite. It not only disturbs us, we have no privacy, but it also disturbs our dogs! Especially the children that run and scream around our site.
Another thing that is very inconsiderate is when people come after we’ve set up and crowd our campsite, come late and make all kinds of noise after 9 p.m. On our first time camping, we had several car full of people/kids and pets, park around our trailer, blocking us in and hoarding our picnic table and fire pit. Not only did they do this, they also made us feel bad for being there, when it is a “First come, First Serve campsite.” They also allowed their dog to be loose, when caused my dog to move towards it as I was tying her up, with her yanking the rope I held, causing me to fall and bang my head on a rock, resulting in a huge black/blue lump and the same of the eye near it. I just wish people would recognize others rights and be considerate towards them. Most of the rude people, we’ve experienced are from bigger cities.
Bob…I’m with You about the boom boxes. Some times you can’t carry on a normal conversation. MOMCAT
Generators suck in any campground, after 9pm I go up to them (mostly in primitive campgrounds) and say “hey, we are here to enjoy the sound of the katydids, the elk bugling, the birds singing….and all we can hear is your generator”, that works, it’s crazy that we would have to say something!
I would add the “ambient” lights around the campsites and trailers. To me just as bad as TV’s.
Just spent three days camped in RMNP next to a family that entertained their kids by allowing them to burn trash in their fire pit all day! My eyes are still bloodshot from the clouds of smoke that poured j to our site the entire time🤬.
First thing I learned camping was that you don’t cut through other people’s campsites, that includes the host site. Thank you for making it number one
Stop trying to “outshine” your neighbor!
Leave your led string lights back in the city.
The place you wanted to get away from.
No one cares you have purple lights under your trailer frame or your awning has “dancing” led lights. Turn them off and
look up at the stars and moon. They are eco friendly too,
Sorry, I can’t moderate it any more.
My eyes are still blinded by the lights.
All that should go for RV parks as well. We are currently at one in Port Aransas that does NOT enforce the rules that they themselves make! Noisy neighbors, kids skating and hollering all night, people not picking up after their dogs poop, people playing loud music as they ride around in golf carts right by our RV at night…mostly on the weekends. I like to party sometimes too, but I am respectful of my neighbors!