By Dave Helgeson
Camping pet peeves: What are yours? Many have written about campground etiquette in the hopes of educating new RVers. I recently saw a Facebook post asking the question, “What’s something you see while camping that makes you cringe?” Many of the nearly thousand answers went beyond standard campground etiquette, stating valid concerns worth sharing.
My thoughts are that maybe new RVers will pay more attention if they hear these camping pet peeves directly from other campers, rather than being preached at concerning proper etiquette. Straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. Read on to view select answers, read my thoughts on the subject, and then feel free to share your own. The answers have been categorized for convenience.
Camping pet peeves of RVers
RV sewage
- Taking off your sewer hose and not cleaning it, then putting it loose in the same area as your water hose! Also, putting that sewer hose on the picnic table… Eweeeeee!!
- Watching someone dump at their site, then stick the sewer hose so the water spigot is inside it so they can rinse it.
- Cleaning sewer hoses on the picnic table.
- Seeing people not use a sewer hose—they just dump it near the sewer and then use a water hose to spray it into the opening in the ground. I have seen it more than a few times.
- People emptying their black tank without gloves!!
- People cleaning out their tanks in flip flops.
Frames and slide outs
- Lippert frame failure. Gets me every time.
- When the Schwintek starts to grind and pop.
- Chassis weld cracks on a trailer less than one year old. And Schwintek slides; stuck outward at a severe angle to the frame.
Camping pet peeves from nature
(Just an FYI for newbies.)
- Spiders
- Snakes
- All those worms/caterpillars that are everywhere at the beginning of spring. Don’t even want to go outside.
- Bugs
- Mosquitoes
- Bears
- Ticks
- Spiders/webs in bathrooms
Picking up after oneself
- Folks not picking up their dog’s poo.
- Garbage left behind. If you brought it in, you take it out!
- Cigarette butts on the ground.
- Wads of toilet paper all over.
Visual and noise distractions
- Someone that shouldn’t be wearing yoga pants
- Fat people shirtless or in skimpy swimsuits
- A clear stream with old white guys walking around naked
- Loud music
- Speedos!
- Yapping dogs. You know the ones that don’t stop barking
- When people bring like 5 dogs and they bark constantly. Then they go out adventuring during the day and leave the dogs barking at the campsite.
- #1 People walking thru your site. #2 People who think you need to hear their music!
- Campers lit up like the Vegas strip.
- Giant 5th wheels, RVs and campers who set up big flat screens outside.
- Rookies trying to back their trailer up and their wives nagging at them while they try to do so.
- Loud generator at night. I go camping to escape the city noise.
Children
- Kids playing in the fire.
- Children with no supervision.
- Little bitty grandkids around the fire and their parents say, yeah, go ahead and throw that stick in there!!!
- Kids on electronic devices.
Other camping pet peeves
- Hoses with regulators on the wrong end
- Drunken people near campfires
- Nasty bathrooms
- Trying to back a fifth wheel into a pop-up camper spot!
- A campfire left burning at night
- People leveling their campers with stabilizers
- People that speed through a campground, thinking they’re at Daytona speedway!! There are children, and people trying to walk and ride their bikes!! Slow down or get out, you are selfish, and braindead!!!
- 3/4T trucks towing triple axle trailers, and then saying something like… “I hardly know it’s back there!”
- People trying to burn soda and beer cans in the fire
- Tenters setting up in RV spaces
- Trucks pulling RVs that are too big for that vehicle. Accidents waiting to happen.
Camping pet peeves – Author’s thoughts:
Reading through the answers reminds me of why my wife and I prefer camping in the boondocks. No neighbors, and the price is right. However, we have boondocked where other less-thoughtful campers had before us and we had to deal with dog piles and trash in the firepit. I also found it interesting that cracked frame and poorly functioning slide-outs were mentioned among the answers – newbies beware. Note to self: Bring spray bottle containing bleach for the picnic table!
Hopefully, any newbies reading this will understand what makes other RVers cringe, and act appropriately when camping.
##RVT1094
That is a pretty complete list of campground irritations! My two in order of importance are barking dogs, and people who assume their campfire smoke is fine and dandy (we try to camp away from them who consistently have campfires — especially the ones who don’t have a clue when it comes to starting and maintaining a fire.
Golf carts are my pet peeve. The electric one’s are a little better but the gas one’s are loud. The constant back and forth are a nuisance and, if the road is not paved, creates dust preventing one from keeping their windows open and enjoying the country air. The road noise from the wheels on the dirt or rocks is deafening. Kids joy riding around the campground, most too young to be doing so, playing their music louder than necessary. Not stopping at stop signs and creating a safety hazard. Going through occupied campsites so they don’t have to go around. What ever happen to walking? The other is the constant cars going in and out only going a short distant. No one walks up to the office or club house. Everyone takes their car, again creating more dust and noise than necessary. The golf cart has become the new revenue source for many campgrounds. This is one amenity that IMHO is not necessary. A little exercise never hurt anyone.
I have to admit that the thing that aggravates me the most are those “Best Little Whorehouse” RV’s that are trying to assist the Aliens during landings.
Most of the other things I can just shake my head at. Although, as a dog owner, I really feel for our 4 legged friends that are left alone for extended periods of time. Extensive barking can also be pretty irritating. We’ve been working on our lad to limit his barking. He’s pretty good about it but can forget himself sometimes.
He’s 2 years old and my wife still calls, all 80+ lbs of a him, a puppy! She spoils him. I could only wish for all the attention he gets! Maybe not!
I definitely agree with the ‘landing’ lights statement. They serve no purpose other than to Show Off your rig. I can see it it see it in the daytime. No reason to light up the entire campground after dark.
The “landing lights” serve a purpose and it’s not to show off our rig. We’re full-time RVers. When we first started our journey, we were working at a campground in Jackson, WY. Co-workers had a string of lights under their RV and car. We assumed it was for “decoration” but I was curious and asked about the lights. “The lights deter small critters from entering our coach and car,” I was told. Rodents are not fond of these lights and, as others may have discovered, small critters can cause thousands of dollars of damage to an RV. Since most of our volunteer work is in state and national parks, small critters are common residents. The only objective evidence I have is our personal experience – we’ve been using lights under our coach for 6 years now and the small critters who live among us have, thus far, decided our coach is not habitable. Win – win situation for all.
Mostly all good ones. I don’t think we should judge others on their clothing regardless of their weight or if kids want to use e-devices. New generations like new things and have learned a lot of ways to do things better than some of us older generations.
Pet peeves? I didn’t count but I think almost half of these are due to someone not minding their own business. If what I do affects you negatively, then you have a valid concern, (sewer hose on the table or generators during quiet hours). But speedos and yoga pants? Come on! At worse, I get a good laugh and a reminder to age gracefully and not eat seconds.
Yep!
Agreed: people need to “mind their own business”, unless it is illegal & dangerous. A pet peeve: “permanent/fulltime camper residents” that setup their fulltime residents in the middle of “camping areas”. Don’t want to camp in a fish bowl & watched under a microscope. Those of us with experience camping-be great role models & when appropriate offer help/suggestions always be kind. Camping is our get away from life stresses-time away from work-trouble people. It’s to enjoy fresh air, create healthy positive time away, clear your mind, & time for relaxing. Remember many of us had our chance/time at raising our children. The adults are not our children to supervise. It’s their time to learn-grow. Remember RVs have wheels to relocate at any given negative experience. Make a “positive-stress free nature filled memories”! A good reminder is to live by: Boy Scout Law: A Scout is: Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, & Reverent.
My biggest pet peeve is pet owners who blatantly ignore “leash laws.” We recently stayed at a beautiful RV resort where numerous occupant’s believed that the leash law only applied to when they were “walking” the dogs around the resort. Based on what we saw over the course of our week stay, the law was not enforced when their dogs were left unattended outside their rig or left free to roam at their campsite. This is not only a direct violation of the leash rule which states that all dogs must be leashed at ALL times, but it is dangerous to other dogs walking by with their owners as well as the unleashed pets themselves who could dart into traffic. As the owner of a small dog who was viciously attacked by a large dog at an RV resort, I find this to be an alarming and unacceptable trend.
Lights!
“A clear stream with old white guys walking around naked”
Where in the world did you see that?!
I know! That one seemed oddly specific 🤣
As I sit outside under a clear and starry sky enjoying my favorite beverage, gazing at the stars, listening to kids laugh and squeal in the distance, warming by a campfire when suddenly a camper down wind decides to burn their trash instead of walking it the 50 yards.
If you are too lazy or unable, ask me. I will gladly walk your bagged trash to the dumpster and invite you over to for refreshments.
See you guys down the road.
People in golf carts zip around thinking the rules of the park and the road don’t apply to them.
Trash is a big issue with me, I can’t count the times we have had to clean up trash around the sites we use. At a very nice camp ground in Georgia we were about 100 feet from a dumpster and witnessed vehicle after vehicle throw a bag of trash at it as they drove by. Empty trash cans with trash laying on the ground around them people walking away from picnic tables leaving their mess for others. It is disgusting how little respect is shown by some people, I wonder if they would appreciate people dropping trash in their front yards
So agree!
Most are good ones…however I don’t really care how someone dresses. I’d like to add: the camper with the smallest camper parking in the largest pull through site, when there are plenty other options. Have some consideration!
Several times when using the FCFS state park systems, that huge space was the only one available and therefore was assigned to us. All that space was really nice! Our little Class B did draw us a few nasty comments though.
My pet peeves:
The LOUD GUY. There is always one guy with a booming voice that can be heard three sites over. Seems like we always get stuck near them.
Booming stereos. If I can hear your music in my site, it’s too loud. Why can’t you just listen to the birds and the wind?
People who light up their sites like a runway at O’Hare. What are you afraid of? Jeez, stay home!
Or the Lady Laugh! The loud cackling drunk lady that laughs at everything lol
I’m tired of the ENTITLEMENT attitude of campers,also the RV’S you can see from the moon,I want darkness so I can enjoy the night sky as I’m enjoy a nice glass of bourbon.
Somebody mentioned ‘Tenters setting up in RV spaces.’ Well, how about RV’s in tent sites! We camp with family that use tents for both the kids and adults; we have a Class B self-contained unit. We want our sites side by side!
Pet peeve 1…the guy with the gazillion ton diesel pick up that believes he needs to idle it for 30 min before driving away…usually at 6 AM….
Pet peeve 2….campers who have no clue how to build, tend or extinguish a fire. Minimal flame and smoke 24 hours a day..even when they have left for the day. I may be extra picky because I was a girl scout outdoor director. We taught our girls how to prepare a fire for it’s specific use and that a smoking fire is a bad fire. Yes…call me a fire snob..lol.
👍
Why do cramped campgrounds (95 per cent of all of them) even allow campfires? When you rely on open windows for ventilation you have no choice but be bathed in your neighbors smoke, which is even nastier after they have all passed out by the fire at 2 A. M. Fires were fir warmth and companionship while out on The Range, not while jammed in a state park in the hot summer. Just put a yule log video on your outdoor tv screen, will ya?
What about the people who cook over fires? Camp fire is part of the camping experience for the majority. I appreciate your aversion to the smoke but smoke happens.
Read our RVtravel.com poll where we asked our readers “Do you believe there should be ‘No Campfire’ zones in RV parks?” See how more than 2,000 of our readers responded: https://www.rvtravel.com/poll1948/
“Why do cramped campgrounds (95 per cent of all of them) even allow campfires?” Because 99% of the campers in the campground want to have a campfire!
What is wrong with a kid throwing a stick in a fire? nothing
Campfires and especially campgrounds that sell wet wood.
Someone that shouldn’t be wearing yoga pants
Fat people shirtless or in skimpy swimsuits.
Wow how shallow are you, you must have the perfect life. Nothing else to worry about in life except how somebody looks. Maybe this is the one place they can wear these clothing items or go shirtless and feel comfortable doing so. I suggest you just stay home if you’re that easily offended. Don’t throw stones at glass houses!! Unreal this is even mentioned on the hit list!
well said
It’s a joke, The list includes anything you can possibly come up with. Try to keep up.
I agree!
Not just shallow but also lacking in empathy and plain ignorant.
After reading all that, it appears that “Angry Bob” is everywhere! 😉 🙂
Fortunately most of the complaints were minor and would not bother me as they would not affect me negatively. I find I am happier if I don’t try to make everyone live their life like I would. If it has no impact on me~~~why worry? IE. Flip flops in the sewer wading pool, only if he tries to enter my RV!
Chill and enjoy, don’t sweat the small stuff
👍
Nice comment.
Dave, I hope this is just a compilation of peeves that people have mentioned and not your personal list. It would be a very thin-skinned person who was irritated by all these things. I do wonder though where the old white men were skinny dipping!
Nope, not my list, just a compiled from a Facebook post. Although I do agree with some of them.
I don’t care what others do or wear as long as it doesn’t affect me. Why should I get peeved if someone chooses not to use gloves or has a bare midriff. Chill. Live and let live.
I agree with you John. If someone wants to be unhygienic or wear weird clothes it’s really none of my business but we quit going to RV parks completely and finally sold our rig because of many of these other problems like strings of lights on all night, loud music and people smoking or lighting campfires under our windows then letting them smolder all night. Polite behavior doesn’t seem to exist any more. Sad but true.
Some less expensive generators are loud , not really intended for a camp ground. These are annoying even during the day.
All of them sound bad to some degree. Thankfully, we only have encountered some of these. Either we are traveling too little or we have picked great places to stay. 🙂 These do remind me of something we learned very early, the greater the separation between campsites, whether by distance, natural barriers, or both, the better. 🙂
People smoking weed near us and us smelling that crap at our campsite. Legal or not, keep that stuff at home or inside your camper – it STINKS! Also, loud, rowdy people making noise way past “quiet time”, quieting down when a park ranger or other “monitor” shows up, then cranking it up again as soon as they leave. More than one call in a night to a particular campsite should result in ejection.
If some people have not got something to Whine about by 10a.m. they find it!!
Being offended by obese people is not acceptable. Obesity is a medical disease not just overeating or no exercise.
Yeah, you keep believing that.
Once while camping in Paso Robles, CA. We were trying to leave the campground on a Sunday morning. Someone backed their pickup under their 5th wheel and left it there, blocking the roadway leading out of the park.
They went inside to pack. We had to wait for a neighbor across from them to move their pickup so we could leave.
Pack up everything first, then hookup and leave or leave room for others to get around your rig.
Poorly posted campground rules. Especially rules that recently underwent a change, without a new posting. My best example is generator hours that change, without the new hours being posted/communicated at camp check-in, or available online.
Why the fat-shaming? Being fat is almost always due to genetics, metabolic disorders, medications, etc. We need to stop assuming all obesity is a choice.
I don’t think my fat belly has anything to do with genetics. I quit smoking and have a new love affair with food!
Congratulations on quitting smoking, Jeff! 👍 That’s a huge accomplishment! Have a good evening/night. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
I agree. This society we live in shames everybody for something, yet each person is just trying to live their lives and enjoy a bit of camping fun like everyone else. People who are super-critical of others perhaps need a good look in the mirror.
I do not believe anyone said ALL obesity is a choice. Some obesity is related to biological conditions, but I know a number of people who fell into the obese category, decided it wasn’t healthy and lots huge amounts of weight and are no longer obese. No, obesity is NOT almost always due to the factors to which you have attributed it to, just as gluttony is not attributable to genetics, metabolic disorders, or medications.
OMG! As a volunteer firefighter and medical first responder, let me tell you how the majority of calls relate to obesity and the trouble it causes for Fatty McFatterson and subsequently for first responders. It may or may not be your choice (really?) to be obese, no matter, it will certainly have an affect on first responders when (not if) you have an emergency. If I wrench my back due to an obese patient, it will probably keep me from responding to a CPR situation when I’m really needed. What do you think it’s going to take to move an obese patient/carcus out of an RV? And let me tell you about the stench from poor hygiene… Diet and exercise people, learn it, live it.
I agree, I admire that people feel comfortable and as long as they are not naked and Have bottoms covered & at least a bra top if a woman, it is good. I don’t need to look!
My biggest pet peeve is the drunk guy who starts waving a gun around and threatening to shoot people. Or the drunk guy who starts sawing down a live tree in the middle of camp. Or the drunk guy who yells at his wife all night. Or the drunk guy who races through camp like it’s NASCAR. Or the drunk guy who harasses other campers. Or the drunk guy who blasts his music super loud at night, and turns it back up after the cops leave. Basically, abusive, disorderly or dangerous drunk guys in general.
The sewer hose on the table got me! One of our first purchases was a folding lightweight table. I do bleach the camp table because I set things on it but eat at our table. No gloves while emptying the tanks? I have a composting toilet that I empty at home. At the campground I empty the gray tanks. I have combined my black tank and gray tanks to double capacity. Hence all waste water is gray water! I still wear gloves and the gray water hose has its own plastic bin.
Towed vehicles backing into spaces with the dear wife’s comments is not a pet peeve, it’s entertaining!
I had heard about people putting the sewer hose on the picnic table but never really believed someone would do something so gross. Then a few years ago, sure enough, our neighbor put their hose on the table to rinse it. All the rinsed stuff went on the ground -Ewwww! I now spray bleach the table everytime and throw on a tablecloth.
In 10 years of hauling my RV around the western U.S., I have rarely noticed any of issues described here,and I only stay in commercial RV parks. My focus is on exploring new areas, an occasional sip of whiskey, a bit of sun and the company of a good woman. I take little notice of how others choose to spend their time. (and apologies for that naked in the stream thing…it was hot out and I didn’t know anyone else was around)
Many of these are none of your business and aren’t hurting anyone.
Guilty 🙂
My major complaint is LOOSE DOGS! Signs all over saying they must be on leash at all times and the owners saying “Don’t worry Fido loves everybody!” Well my dog doesn’t and your dog is pooping in our area. Leave Fido home if you can’t obey the rules.
how about the owners staying home?
Along with cigarette butts and filters add sunflower seed shells and pistachio shells. Trash ’em or burn ’em, but don’t throw ’em on the ground!
If the tenter paid for an RV site they have every right to be there.
Most of these are valid.
Some are just grousing about ” none of their business”!!
Kids on electronics, people struggling with backing in, regulators in the wrong place. Etc.
Even dumping without gloves or with sandals is cringe worthy but no one’s business.
I don’t think I saw abuse of generator hours. It’s annoying enough during allotted times. Since getting solar on roof and a suitcase, we RARELY use ours. Hardly ever even take it anymore
Thank you, Dave! 🙂 Safe travels to lots of ghost towns! 🙂
People who leave their dogs off leash when the camp rules state otherwise..ie keep them on six foot leash at all times.
It would be nice if RV rental outfits included a camping etiquette list with their units. Like not walking through others campsite as a shortcut.
Laminated and attached somewhere obvious within the rental