Courtesy is simply defined as behavior marked by respect for others.
It seems simple and obvious, but please don’t shrug this off thinking these will be angry tirades written to scold people about leaving trash in a campsite or playing music too loudly. In fact, I’m not pointing any fingers or scolding anyone. I need these reminders as much as anyone, which is probably why I’m motivated to write them.
After all, we all just want to have fun, enjoy our camping experience, and get along with each other when we’re RVing and camping. We can all benefit by observing these occasionally overlooked campground courtesies and thereby we may all enjoy our camping experiences that much more.
Pet owners must be sure their pets are not stealing the neighbor’s peace. Photo by Peggy Dent
Two examples of basic courtesy
It begins with me. I need to remember to close my RV door quietly when I take my dogs out at midnight, so my neighbor who is sleeping in his fifth wheel, just a few feet away from my front door, won’t be disturbed. I might want to close the door a little harder than necessary just to make sure that it’s completely closed before I head off to bed, but if I do that, it’s likely that my 83-year-old sleeping neighbor might not be sleeping once I close the door.
On the flip side, when my neighbor leaves in the morning, in his diesel truck, before 7:00 AM, I deeply appreciate his courtesy of not idling his truck outside my bedroom window for any longer than he needs to exit his site and get on the road.
Courtesy goes beyond park rules
These courtesies are not posted park rules, but behaviors marked by our mutual respect for each other. This respect begins with a perception that we’re not alone in the campgrounds and we need to be aware that all our actions could have an impact on others. We need an awareness that everyone has an equal right to an enjoyable camping experience and to be afforded basic campground courtesy.
Boondockers need to be very mindful not to disrupt or damage the beauty of the natural environment. Photo by Peggy Dent
Boondockers not exempt
Even when we’re boondocking and there isn’t another camper within miles, our behaviors can still impact others. If, for example, we leave our trash out and it attracts local wildlife like raccoons, rats, cougars, or bears, these animals may become habituated to checking the boondocking site, which could put future boondockers, with pets and children, at risk. Campground courtesy applies to boondocks too.
Courteous pet owners ensure that their pets don’t damage fragile habitat. Photo by Peggy Dent
Another example of bad etiquette
Here’s another example. We frequently camp in and among Canadians and we have observed that as a group, they spend more time outside than inside, regardless of the size and type of their rig and regardless of the weather.
Last year, for example, we spent several months camping on Vancouver Island and the weather was wet and foggy for most of that time, but our Canadian neighbors were undaunted by this cold, damp weather.
Even with no solid anchors, these Canadians made their tarps functional and cozy. Photo by Peggy Dent
As a side note, I have to say that our Canadian neighbors who love the outdoors, have made campground tarping an art form, and some of their elaborate tarp constructions literally took my breath away.
But back to the example. When I observed that our campsite neighbors spent most of their time outside, I needed to be more mindful of the direction of the wind. To apply basic campground courtesy, if the wind was blowing directly across our site into their site and they were outside, it would have been discourteous to start a smoldering smoky fire in my fire pit.
Certainly, they didn’t expect me never to build a fire, but I needed to make sure that it was not the kind of fire that just smoldered and made a lot of smoke particularly when they were outside.
Common courtesy would say that the smoke from my fire shouldn’t be a reason my neighbors couldn’t enjoy their camping experience. In a similar vein, loud music from my neighbor’s radio, shouldn’t diminish my enjoyment of a quiet place to relax or read.
But here’s the basic problem
It’s too easy to get lost in our own thoughts, what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and completely miss the fact that our behaviors impact others. We’re usually so wrapped up in what we’re doing that we never give others around us another thought, and campground courtesies get lost in all the distractions.
Everyone just wants to enjoy the beauty and serenity found in camping. Photo by Peggy Dent
It is, therefore, my hope that writing these posts about a few overlooked behaviors will raise everyone’s awareness and help us form habits of thinking about the people who are around us now, AND the ones who may follow us later, into a particular campsite or boondocking hideaway and these thoughts will lead to a habit of campground courtesy.
See also: 5 Things You Should Never Do At A Campground
Peggy Dent is an author, writer, and full-time RVer, traveling around the US and Canada. She’s traveled more than 130,000 miles in a motorhome, over the past 20 years, and is currently writing for the RV industry. You can contact her through her website at www.APenInYourHand.com
Thank you for this article, there were good pointers in it. My wife and I try to always be inconspicuous when camping leaving others to do their thing without bothering them. Most of our provincial or federal parks don’t have power to the sites, sometimes people will run their generators until late in the evening and that can cause quite a stir among the other campers. It is disrespectful and should not be happening. There are times set out by the parks for running generators these days and people can be ejected from campgrounds here in Canada when campers chose to ignore the park rules.
I notice you have four dogs. In your article you say nothing about barking. Do your dogs bark? Are they quiet? Do you pick up after them all? You do not touch on any of these problems. Are you guilty of these?
This is the main reason I do not stay are like to stay at RV Parks. Dogs are generally bad news.
When I had my Doberman, he was mostly quiet as I trained him to be but I still had to keep him close at hand from chasing other females dogs. He never barked unless something was wrong or he thought I was in some kind of danger. But my point is he was a dog and did bark at times. He is gone now and I travel alone.
Nonetheless dogs are a serious pain in the parks when you need quiet to read, or just quiet to enjoy your thoughts and or the countryside or sleep …
So, Dents,, are your little doggies quiet?
RvBob
RvBob
Thank you for your question. We do have 4 dogs. No they do not bark and we use an X-Pen to make sure there is separation between them and other dogs. They are never outside without one of us being with them. We are righteous about picking up and I agree that dogs out of control in RV parks is a major problem. I didn’t not address dog issues in this post because it was an introduction to a future series of articles and no doubt one of those will be devoted to the dog issue. Again thank you for your comments
Generators! Quiet hours at this camp are from 10pm until 6am, one camper runs his generator nonstop for 16 hours from 6am until 10pm every day saying “hey, that’s within the rules!” I guess I should play loud music all day and say the same thing.
Thank you for your article. It serves as a good reminder to all of us.
One thing that always was/is a pet peeve is laundry. Some campers come in and take up all the machines with no regard for others who need clean clothes. 🙂 We try to plan to have at least part of a day set aside for laundry as most others do. And, yes, sometimes we do forget we have a load in the dryer for one reason or another. I try to make sure their laundry isn’t just tossed aside in a pile but try to fold it as neatly as possible.
Thanks for some very interesting articles!
Some RVers are ignorant by nature, it is not their fault, it’s the education or lack of that is responsible, what can you do, they feel entitled and they abuse it.
Good reminders for all of us as we “share” our love of the outdoors. One thing you didn’t mention was light pollution. We’ve noticed more and more RV owners with extensive outdoor lighting including rope lighting around the ground of their campsite. Sometimes these are left on all night. We have also noticed porch type lights next to the RV’s door and those are sometimes left on all night. I guess that lights can make someone feel more secure but we are, after all, camping and darkness is part of that experience.
Regarding the comment about lighting: RVers who use rope lighting, or other lighting under the rig, are generally not being showy or trying to overcome some insecurity. The lights are there for rodent control. In fact, if their light is spilling a bit onto your site, within reason, you can thank them for chasing off mice and rats from the immediate area.
I appreciate your article and the subject, one issue that bothers me is trash in the fire pit. I would not cook food over most fire pits because of the trash I find in them, trying to burn toxic materials in a fire other people may cook over is just being lazy.
I the desert southwest we have to have lights around our rigs.pak rats are bad here.
We have the soft blue ones.
I agree with you, in general, however with one exception. Sometimes I forget the porch light. I would take the dogs out, turn on the light, bring the dogs in and then head to bed. I would discover the light the next morning. So, in some cases, just a friendly reminder is all that is needed.
Sadly the lack of manners in our society is the root problem, not just people being thoughtless while camping. You see it in people’s driving, rudeness in stores and restaurants, oblivious to the world on their cell phones, etc., etc.. My generation, read “fossil”, was raised to have manners, but sadly for whatever reason I see more and more people of my age acting just as badly as some “young punk”. I have not as yet given up, but I fear some do after the 50th time of policing someone else’s campsite and then listening to their neighbors yelling over their 120 decibel stereo while dodging dog turds. A little at a time they either just don’t go anymore, or quit caring about their own actions. And no, I sure don’t know the answer. Hopefully there will be more like yourself trying to keep us all on the right path. Keep up the good work !
Loved the pictures of your beautiful dogs. We have 4 as well. They are always on leash and we keep them very quiet. They love camping and especially love to lie by the fire at night with us. We enjoy seeing other campers dogs and rarely is their ever a problem with barking dogs. However one time in Florida while we were camping with our well behaved dogs (we had 5 at the time- 2 were 14 year old chihuahuas and one was a 15 year old Rotweiller – Lab mix) The people camping a few sites away from us that mostly stayed in their camper came up to us and told us to shut up our dogs from constantly barking and ruining their time at the campground. We told them that they must be hearing the two German Shepherds on the other side of them that were continuously barking the whole time we were there. They were even barking when they were telling us to shut up our dogs who were at the time quietly laying in their outdoor beds not making a sound. That was the only time anyone ever complained to us about our dogs. They were extremely rude people and I told them they should have made sure who was barking before they accused our dogs of creating a nuisance. Their answer to me was “Well you have 5 of them so we figured it was yours” Sounds like that Robert above thinking that since you have 4 dogs and didn’t say anything about dogs in your article they must be guilty of misbehaving. Some people are just always negative and think the worst of everyone no matter what. The funny thing with us is that many of our camping neighbors over the years who have watched us setting up and unloading one dog after another later on told us they thought they were going to be in for an awful time when they saw us with 5 dogs laughed about it to us and complimented us on what well behaved dogs we have. Anyone can see from how your dogs are behaving to have their pictures taken that they are well trained dogs. Australian Shepherds are among the smartest of all the dogs. We have since lost our Chihuahuas and our Rotweiller – Lab but we still have our 2 bird dogs and a rescued Chihuahua-Yorkie mix and a rescued Yorkie. They travel with us all the time.
I’m sorry, but I have to comment. My experience with chihuahuas is not a good one. They are the most noisy and irritating dog species on this planet. When I lived in a mobile home park for three years a lot of people had one or more. All I wanted was peace and quiet but these dogs would never shut up. All I had to do was open my rv door and wala the never ending barking would begin again!
I understand your dogs are old and they most likely are more quiet than the younger ones.
But they are notorious barking dogs. Just because they are small does not mean they make good rv park animals because the folks that came to your rv must have already had a bad experience with chihuahuas or they would not have singled you out.
When your loving dogs exit this world please consider another breed.
When and if I enter a park and I see chihuahuas, I will either get as far away as I can get or turn around and find somewhere else to stay.
I too have had nothing but bad barking experiences with that breed!
Also I firmly believe having more than one dog or cat is more than enough for an RV. Try thinking of others’ okay.
Happy Rving from RVBob…
You failed to mention the people who arrive after dark across from your spot and leave their headlights on while backing the camper in , which always takes about 6 attempts …Ugghhhh.
All this talk about things that bothers people and NO ONE has said anything about KIDS riding or running through your camp site all hours of the day and night. All while their “parents” sit on their $ss’s drinking and auguring with each other over some trivial $hit!!!
Turn your lights off at night. If you like lights go to WalMart.
Thank you Dave! I was waiting to see a comment about lights. Light pollution has become a huge issue at campgrounds. I would suggest turning off your outdoor lights no later than 10 p.m. if you want to be a courteous neighbour. We camp to spend nights under the stars and other people’s excessive use of outdoor light destroys that (i.e. rope lights, string lights, spotlights etc.).
I’m amazed that people feel wind chimes are ok at RV campgrounds. I see and hear so many. Sure, they may sound nice, but when one is right outside your bedroom window on a windy night it can drive you crazy. If I was outdoors near someone’s camper playing a musical instrument all night, people would definitely be upset. Wind chimes are no different. Not making -any- constant sound that your campground neighbor may not wish to hear day in and day out should be added to the courtesy list.
I know dogs are another blog but I also must comment. To dog owners, not everyone wants to pet your dog. Do not allow them to run up to every stranger for a petting – or treat. I had my arm in a cast and did not want dog smell on my cast. Dog owner became offended and said so. It is your dog and not mine. Today I have to be rude and not make comment or eye contact with dog walkers because the walker allows the dog to go up to strangers.