Choosing A Campsite (36-4)
Tips from the RV Lifestyle Road Test Teams.
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Over
the years, we have had the pleasure of visiting hundreds of
campgrounds throughout North America, and it seems that every
trip we learn a bit more about the subtle nuances of selecting
the ideal campsite. Here are some valuable suggestions, compiled
from the insights of our expert RV staff.
The real key to picking the ideal campsite is to contact the
campground operator early enough to have a choice of sites within
the park. For many of the popular Canadian locations, this could
involve up to three months lead-time before your trip!
If you and your family plan well in advance, and, quite frankly,
very few families do, the key information to share with the
campground is the size and type of RV you will be traveling
in, the type of site you prefer - whether it is shaded or sunny,
close to the waterfront or close to the restaurant, within short
walking distance of the shower facilities (but never right beside
them - or you might as well set up a toll booth and collect
quarters every time your neighbours walk through your campsite).
In some areas, the terrain will dictate your preference - if
you travel with small children, you may prefer to be at the
end of a row of campsites, where the traffic will be limited.
You may also want to avoid wooded areas at the edge of the campground,
to keep the kids from wandering off into the wilderness, and
areas that border hilly terrain or water, to keep the kids from
getting into mischief (or danger).
In most cases, you will want to have a campsite that is on high
ground, rather than at the low end of the campground, where
heavy rains may cause the ground to become quite soggy (or worse).
This is especially important if the campsites are on grass,
rather than on gravel or paved pads.
If you travel with pets, proximity to the dog run might be a
real convenience. If you have mobility issues, you might ask
if there are sites that have level and paved access to the campground
road system. For all of these considerations, and more, the
best person to consult is the campground operator.
Now for the real challenge. How do you choose the best campsite
when you haven't booked long in advance, and there may only
be a few sites to pick from?
First, consider the type of RV you are driving - if you have
a large rig, and backing into a campsite is a challenge at the
best of times, try to find a pull-through site, and if there
are two or more pull-through sites pick the one that is the
easiest to drive into, and out of - you would be surprised how
many pull through sites are just a few metres away from a hairpin
turn in the campsite road, close to a steep hill, or adjacent
to the only mature oak tree in the region.
The configuration of your RV is the next consideration in the
selection of a campsite. Most RV's have the electrical, water
and sewer hookups on the driver's side of the vehicle, toward
the center and back of the chassis. For practical purposes,
the water hose and electrical cord is easy enough to hook up,
and you can buy a longer hose for a few dollars, but the specialized
electrical hookup extension is more expensive, heavier, and
more bulky to handle and store. The sewer hose is the cheapest
of the extensions that you might require, but the least desirable
item to have running the length of the RV - it's a matter of
drainage while you are in the campsite, and cleaning, handling,
and stowing the longer hose when you are on the road - it's
just not that pleasant a task, even when the hose has been properly
rinsed and prepped for storage. For this reason, pick a campsite
where your sewer hookup will be close enough to the valve on
the RV to avoid using that extra long hose extension.
These days, many campsites offer cable TV hookups, and in the
majority of locations we have visited the connection is on the
same service pole as the electrical hookup. Carry a 25-foot
coaxial cable and you should be fine. Keep in mind that many
RV's have a switching box that toggles between the roof antenna
and the cable TV input - if you have hooked up the cable, and
the reception looks like a Northern Ontario snow storm, this
input switch is probably the culprit.
If you are in an area without cable TV, make sure that there
are no trees in your campsite that will overhang the roof of
the RV, which could interfere with the roof antenna.
When you pick your campsite, keep in mind the clearance that
you will need to extend your slide-out sections, awning, and
ramp if you have a "toy hauler".
Pulling In At Night?
No matter how many years you have spent on the road, there will
always be times when you have to pull into a campground after
dark. If you know what your arrival time will be, call ahead,
and ask the campground operator if someone can "wait up"
for you, to help you find your site. There are a few really
good tricks to parking an RV in the dead of night, based on
the prime directives: a) try not to disturb the neighbours,
and b) try not to bump into anything. There is also a certain
degree of pride that every RV driver has, when you can back
into a site in the dark of night in one perfect manoeuver. This
is often magnified by the fact that despite the number of kids,
spouses, and miscellaneous relatives on board the RV and in
the general area, there is rarely anyone who can really direct
you as you pull into the campsite - believe me, we have tried
every system - hand signals, two-way radios, primal screams
- nothing works as well as the "flashlight guidance"
system, but a rear vision monitor is a handy addition, if you
have the technology, you can be certain that you won't back
up too far, or have a close encounter with the big tree at the
back of the site.
Here's how it's done. Take out a flashlight and survey the site
before you commit to a path of approach. Place other flashlights
(the small lantern types are ideal for this task) at the electrical,
water, and sewer hookups. Hang or tape a small flashlight to
the RV, at the location of your water and electrical inlets.
When you back into the site, or even when you pull through,
you will be able to see the alignment and position of the rig
relative to the site by the positions of the flashlights.
When you park the rig, the first thing to do is level the RV.
If you pull a trailer, unhitch first, then chock your wheels
and lower the stabilizers. Once the RV is level and stable,
the first hookup to connect is the electrical service, followed
by the cable TV wire. This achieves two main functions - it
gives you power to operate without draining your deep storage
batteries in the 12-volt system, and it lets the kids turn on
the entertainment systems, so the remainder of the docking process
is nice and quiet. Once you have power, take out the various
hoses and connectors that you will need for the full campsite
installation, and place them at the appropriate locations, then
extend your slide-out sections if your RV is so equipped, and
complete the RV system connections.
On the Road Again
After your sojourn in the campground, the technique for gracefully
pulling out of the campsite is as important to your RV reputation
as the finesse displayed upon your arrival. While the family
completes their packing, and stows all of the interior gear,
you should take the time to survey the campsite, and carefully
stow the RV accessories and miscellaneous chairs, tables, and
equipment in the appropriate compartments. Our Road Test Teams
always travel with bins that fit perfectly into the storage
compartments, and all of the sporting equipment goes in one
location, chairs and tables go in another compartment, rain
gear and miscellaneous items fit in the closest compartment
to the main entrance to the RV. Any items that the family in
general will require are stowed on the entry side of the vehicle;
all of the RV components, tools, and campsite gear are stowed
on the utility side, along with the driver's miscellaneous equipment.
We always follow the same routine when disconnecting the RV
from the campsite. The first system to pack up is the sewer
hose - and there is a technique to assuring that your hose and
valve fittings are relatively clean. While the sewer hose is
hooked into the campsite facility, empty the black water tank.
When the tank is empty, close the valve. Then open the gray
water valve, to let the soapy water from dishwashing and showers
clean the fittings and the sewer hose as it leaves the RV. If
the fresh water tank is not at least 1/3 full, we run the water
in the washroom to fill the gray water tank enough to perform
an effective system flush. When the holding tanks have been
emptied, and the sewer hose is flushed, we put on our rubber
gloves, and carefully stow the sewer hose in a plastic bag,
which goes into a plastic bin that fits into the designated
sewer component storage compartment. We then re-charge the holding
tank, and disconnect the water supply hose.
To facilitate easy hook-ups at the next campsite, all of the
RV electrical cables are coiled neatly and wrapped with Velcro
ties, then stowed in the electrical access compartment. The
potable water hose is drained, coiled, and the two ends are
screwed together to keep dirt and bugs out of the system, then
the hose is stowed in a compartment with items that will not
be affected by moisture, and definitely nothing that comes into
contact with any of the sewer hose components. The sewer hose
and all related extensions, couplings, support systems and clamps
is stowed in a separate compartment. Holding tank chemicals
are stowed in this compartment, especially when there are small
children aboard, and the chemical bottles are carefully packed
into plastic bins, and supported so that they will not tip over
or become damaged along the route.
When the various hoses and cables have been stowed, we turn
our attention to the RV components that have been extended for
use in the campsite - all slides are retracted, the TV antenna
is lowered and locked, the awning is rolled up, the stabilizing
jacks are raised, and so on. If we have LP gas systems that
have to be shut off for travel along our appointed route, we
add this to the procedure.
Don't Leave the Campsite Without
Us!
Whenever we travel, we use a simple ribbon system to remind
us to properly stow all of the RV equipment. Each system has
a colour coded ribbon that hangs from the driver's sun visor:
red for the electrical hookup, white for the cable TV wires
and TV antenna, blue for the fresh water hose, black for the
sewer hose, and green for stabilizing jacks, awning and tie-downs,
electric entry steps, and so on. We walk around the RV and look
under each of the four corners to be sure that we haven't forgotten
to disconnect anything, and that we haven't left anything behind
underneath the unit. When we are satisfied that each of the
RV systems is "ready to roll", we remove the ribbons
from the sun visor, count noses to be sure that the whole family
is on board and comfortable in a seat belt equipped position,
take one more close look to be sure that there are no obstacles
in our path, and hit the road.
For more insights into RV campsite selection, visit the website
at www.rvlifemag.com, and browse the archives - you'll find
a wealth of information in the "more features" section,
when you follow the link at the bottom of the center column.
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