Everyone is familiar with the situation of having nightmare neighbors either firsthand or hearing about it elsewhere. No one wants to live next to or across from “that house” on the block. The same applies for neighbors in the campground. Everyone is there to relax and enjoy the outdoors. Here are some ways for you to ensure you’re not “that campsite”.
Light and Noise Pollution
Camping and campgrounds are a great place to get into nature while still having some comforts of home. Not letting your comforts of home disrupt your neighbors or the entire campground can be tricky and not always done with a physical intrusion. Two main culprits of this are light and noise.
RVs are parked close together in a campground and a super bright flood light can be very annoying if it’s shining into the other RVs parked nearby, especially at night. Obviously lighting up the awning area is necessary when the sun goes down so you can see what you’re doing and where you’re going. Make a reminder on your phone to turn it off at the start of quiet hours, so it isn’t on overnight. Or opt for softer white lighting or Amber lighting. We suggest the RV Porch Light which is available in white or white and amber combo lights. Amber lighting even has an added benefit of not being as attractive to bugs as white light is. You can also use a lit Assist Handle outside your RV door after the main light turns off such as our Illumagrip or Attune line of handles. These add lighting to help you find your way to the door and up the steps but isn’t so bright that it disrupts anyone else. The Attune is especially easy since it is solar powered so there is no need for any wiring.
Everyone loves music and it is a great way to set an atmosphere. However, not everyone loves your music or wants to hear music on all the time. It is very easy to not realize that your music, podcast, TV, etc. are too loud when in a campground. Some people want their favorite tunes playing and some want to just listen to the wind in the trees when they are camping, and both are great! If you want to listen to music that is fantastic but be conscious of its volume or use earbuds, especially at night, to allow everyone to experience the camp environment they desire.
Slow down, take it easy
Everyday life can feel rushed and that causes us to move faster in our lives whether it’s driving during our morning commute, working around the house, at the office, or even shopping at the store. When you’re camping in your RV slow down and take it easy, especially when moving around the campground. Drive slow in your vehicle and watch out for people walking and especially kids playing, same goes for if you are riding your bike around the park. Take it easy and relax as you move around the park for the safety of everyone trying to do likewise.
Keep your site clean during and after your stay
When you’re camping, most of your activity happens outside and a lot of those activities involve eating using a lot of disposable items such as plates, cups, and cutlery. This can lead to a lot of garbage and food on the picnic table and around the site in general. Keeping your site clean and all your food stored properly is important not only for enjoying your site but also your neighbors enjoying theirs. Trash can blow into other sites or get picked up by someone’s dog as they take it for a walk.
Putting everything stacked up in the fire pit before you leave also doesn’t count as cleaning up and just gives more set up work for the next people unlucky enough to use that site. Dispose of trash in the park dumpsters so you leave the site the same or better than you found it. Proper storage of food and drinks and removing trash also keeps unwanted visitors away at night such as Racoons who love nothing more than a free picnic. Nobody wants to be woken up at night by, nor clean up the morning after, a couple of raccoons who got into the soda and are now fighting over left-over hot dogs from the previous evening’s dinner.
Keep your firewood local
Ending a day of camping by sitting around the campfire is the tradition of all traditions when you’re camping. It’s the perfect way to wind down and recap the day and enjoy a treat and beverage as you relax into the night. When enjoying your campfire make sure you are using wood from the area. It can be purchased locally or foraged for (if the park allows that). Keeping your firewood locally sourced greatly helps reduce the transportation of bugs or diseases that could be carried on your firewood that could infect the living plant population wherever you are camping. This small step can have a big impact on preserving our favorite places to camp.
It just takes a little intention to make sure you and your camping neighbors all enjoy their time away camping in the RV. We hope to see you out there, happy camping!
