When RV travel day goes sideways, here’s what to do.
Arriving at an RV park after dark is prohibited in some places and discouraged in others. Although plenty of RVers travel after dark, it’s always best to arrive at your destination during daylight hours. We’ve found it’s safer to arrive, park, and set up when you are alert and can see your surroundings.
Of course, at least once, my husband and I have talked ourselves into continuing on our trek, had a minor mishap because of it, and arrived at our destination after midnight. We didn’t try to back into a spot but ended up spending the night (a cold one) in a parking lot. These days we plan our travels where we will stop and we get along much better.
How to Handle Late Arrival At RV Parks
There are plenty of RV parks that allow late arrival, but it’s always better to take an extra day of travel, even if you are close to your destination, and come into the park early the next morning if you can.
If you have to arrive late, here are a few thoughts to keep you safe and sane and from annoying other campers.
1. Call the camp office and make sure you are aware of check-in times.
Each campground is a little different in what you can and can’t do after dark. The one we are currently staying in has no check-ins after 5 p.m. and absolutely nobody is checked in after dark. We also escort each rig to their site and help guests back in.
Please be courteous about being on time. Rules are there for a reason and we do everything we can to accommodate people when we can.
2. Communication is key.
Make sure you have the campground’s office number written down and you can also ask for an after-hours number in case you need help and the office is closed. At our office, we love people who keep us updated on their arrival time and will do all we can to provide them with the best experience at our RV park.
Late arrival? Some RV parks may not be able to check you in after a certain time. Photo by author Terri Nighswonger
3. Make sure you can easily locate a flashlight and other tools.
A late arrival is not always planned but, in an RV, there shouldn’t be any reason not to have your set-up tools, hoses, and cords, in a specific place. The flashlight is the first tool you need to get your hands on. Leave one in your truck or motorhome within arm’s length and things will go much faster.
4. Make sure you have practiced set up in daylight.
Let’s be honest, there are a lot of people out there that have never owned an RV before. They come into our park every day. From my experience, there are also a lot of people renting RVs. They want to try it out before they make a big investment. I get that. Do your research first and then put yourself in the best possible situation for a successful stay. Arriving at night will not allow you to do that.
5. Have a physical copy of the park’s map
If you have planned your stay and you’re not just dropping by on your way to another destination, make sure you have a printed copy of the RV park map. You never know about internet strength and it will help you find where you are going.
6. When you arrive at night, be courteous of others around you.
If you are a late arrival, be courteous of your fellow campers. Choose a site away from others if you can. Avoid yelling commands when backing up. Use a phone or a walkie-talkie. If possible, just plug in your electricity and save the rest of the set-up, leveling, sewer and water, and possibly even detaching, until morning when you are rested and can see what you are doing.
If someone nearby offers help, take it. RVers are a friendly bunch and will usually bend over backwards to help or give advice.
Final thoughts
Above all, know the park’s rules before you arrive. At the park where I am currently a work camper, we have check-in and checkout times for a reason. Guests choose their site prior to their stay so if you decide to come in the park at midnight and try to park somewhere, with or without a reservation, you will be asked to leave as soon as you are discovered.
If we have room to reserve you a site, you won’t be able to come back until the appropriate check-in time. We do occasionally offer overflow parking but you can’t always count on it being available.
If you plan your trip well, take into consideration setbacks on the road, and are courteous of others, you’ll have a great stay and will enjoy RVing for years to come. Make trip planning easier on yourself and find more great destinations along your route with the RV LIFE Pro tools.
Terri and her husband, Todd, are full time RVers and work campers. They have been living full time in their RV for nearly three years with their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Newton, and their Mini Aussie puppy Remi. They are currently wintering in Arizona with plans to continue their travels next summer. Writing is Terri’s passion but she also loves hiking, kayaking and anything she can do outside.
I don’t think the people who need to know these rules will read them here. They just expect that they can do anything they want at whatever hour unfortunately.
Nice article, Terri. Good points we should all consider. I remember arriving late once and the site reserved for me was taken. Another time I couldn’t find my site in the dark and had to call for after hours help. Embarrassing situations to be sure but sometimes it can’t be helped. For those whose vacation time is limited, the days can get long when there’s lots to see and distance to cover. Sometimes arriving late is the reality and it’s all part of the adventure.
This article is geared towards people who don’t think & lack consideration for others. Thought it was going to discuss a new trend amongst RV camps. Disappointing.
Most campgrounds, in my experience, will have a packet ready for you when you must arrive late. This packet will be in an obvious place at the office – perhaps tacked to a bulletin board. It will have a map and other instructions. A call on your part during the day will ensure that such a packet will be prepared
I can’t tell you how many times* I was awakened in the middle of the night by some obnoxious motorhome owner who pulled into the campground well after midnight, and then proceeded to spend the next 2+ hours very noisily setting up their RV and campsite for the night.
There’s just no excuse for that kind of outrageously rude and irresponsible behavior.
* tent camping on a 15,000 mile, around & through the USA, motorcycle tour
Ditto
Thanks Mrs. Nighswonger for the timely information. I’m currently weighing my options, RV or Tiny House. I have to say, I’ve done well downsizing items that will fit into either option. However, storms are my issue with both, and do RV Parks allow Tiny House setup?
Sincerely,
Tiffany Cotton
Any place where I will be escorted to a site and then watchdogged is not a place I would ever stay. I prefer to choose my own spot, a d I don’t need any “help” backing or setting up.
Just stayed in a “campground” a few weeks ago. Called to see what time we would be there because the person guiding us in went to bed at 8:00 p.m.
Believe me, we expected to be there by 8:00 p.m. but were delayed by 4 hours because of traffic jams!
Many do not allow tiny homes!
Really? I do late check in all the time. So many camp grounds are doing contact free check in and there is no one there to interfere even during the published check-in time.
#6 is big. You don’t realize how much noise you make parking and setting up until you do it in a quiet campground/RV Park. We don’t arrive late (we will wait till next day) and we don’t arrive early. Arriving early takes away ftom the time thr campground or RV Park has to gets sites ready.
I’ve been late check in before no big deal, call the office before dark, drive threw spots are the easiest, backing shouldn’t be a problem if you are experienced.
For the late, late check in just dry camp it, then deal with hook ups in the morning.
KISS
Happy trails, PJ
As a Workamper I appreciate the courteous guests who plan properly and arrive before dark. I’ll send over backwards for them. I do not want be interrupted during my dinner or shower to an arrivng guest who forgot the gate code, can’t find the site, or can’t back in and now expects us to help them out.
I like reading these type of articles every year. They help me to brush up on my camping curteousy. We only manage one or two camping trips a year and it is easy to forget some of these things. It is interesting to see how different people can be in their reaction to requirements made of them.
Some people are early birds and like to got up and hit the road as soon as the sun is up. they are ready for bed as soon as the sun goes down. That is OK for them, but it’s not our cup of tea. We enjoy a morning walk with our dogs when the weather is not too hot, a nice hot breakfast, and take our time to clean up and unhook. ready for the road before checkout cutoff ( with the occasional late departure, with permission from the campground ). Since we travel on a Thor Hurricane class A, it doesn’t take long to setup when we arrive, but we usually arrive afterhours, and have our reservation package ready for pickup at the office. Usually, the directions are pretty good.
in more than one occasion we found ourselves too late to get to our planned destination and have to arrive at a campsite without reservation late in the evening. but we still found a list of available sites at the front office late window. we had to leave early in the morning, so we called the office and left a message without phone number to have them call us next morning to pay for our stay over the phone.
Everyone was happy and we were able to get back on track with the rest of our schedule.
my point is that RVing is not like traveling by Plane and having hotel reservation and fixed schedule. RVing give us the freedom to change plans, take it slow. or totally change plans and end up in a totally different place than what we had planned.