By Cheri Sicard
In the video below, the team from The Camping Loop discusses RV etiquette by sharing 10 unspoken RV rules that every RVer should know and follow. If you are new to RVing, this is a helpful video to watch.
Yes, when you check into a campground, they will give you a list of rules to follow, but RV etiquette goes beyond just these. Our host says following these 10 RV rules will keep you from ever being the campground [jerk] or the one holding up traffic!
10 RV etiquette rules
#1 Stay out of the left lane: As our host says, the left lane is a privilege and should only be used for passing, never for cruising along in your RV.
#2 The campsite fire ring is not your personal trash can: Respect the place where people will be building campfires and cooking dinner and keep your trash out of the fire ring.
#3 Only use local or kiln-dried firewood: Untreated firewood is one of the main reasons invasive species get transported into campgrounds. You might think this is not a big deal, but one infested piece of wood can spread like wildfire and destroy every ecosystem in its path.
#4 Don’t leave your outside lights on all night long: We have discussed this RV etiquette faux pas here in the past, and we heartily concur. Respect your neighbors and turn your outside lights OFF!
#5 Don’t feed the wildlife: No matter how cute they are, feeding wild creatures puts them in danger by acclimating them to humans. In the worst cases, it results in animals being euthanized. On the same topic, be sure to properly store your food so that you don’t attract critters.
#6 Don’t let your dog bark nonstop: This is just common courtesy and common sense.
#7 Pick up your campsite: Nobody wants a campsite neighbor whose site looks like a tornado hit it. Keep your campsite tidy.
#8 Have respect for shared or common areas: We are talking about campground bathrooms, showers, parks, playgrounds, picnic areas, and any places that are shared. Be sure to leave them in the same condition you found them, and don’t abuse their privileges.
#9 Allow your neighbors time to set up before you walk over to say hello: They are busy and trying to set up camp. Unless you see them truly struggling, give them some space.
#10 Don’t knock on your neighbor’s RV door: It’s one thing to say “hello” if you see your neighbors outdoors, but you should respect people’s privacy at the campground.
Can you think of any other rules of RV etiquette? Be sure to drop them in the comments below.
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RVDT2697
Don’t knock has some good exceptions:
#11. Don’t keep your dog locked up inside your RV when you leave for the day. No matter how well you think they are trained, they will get lonely and start barking when they hear noises outside. Sometimes for hours on end.
We had one next to us that barked continuously for over an hour and then started ‘crying’. We had no idea if it was sick, hurt or just lonely.
Ref: #7 Pick up your campsite, carry a rake with you to leave things neater than when you arrived. Amazon has several folding/telescopic rakes that will fit in your RV.
Thank you for noting the video and summarizing the main points. I am puzzled by the last one to not knock on the neighbor’s door. I have done this to alert them of a potential problem. Seems an odd point of etiquette, but I do agree there are times of day that are better/worse than others. Have a great day and safe travels!
Old saying #1 If I have to tell you these things; you probably don’t get why they are around and are “unsaid”.
Don’t run your generator all night. We were just camped next to a broken down piece of junk motor home that ran their generator 24 hours a day. The only time it wasn’t running is when it ran out of gas. Then they filled it back up & away it went. This was one of the big noisy ones too. They were told to move on then finally at 10:00 the last night we were there someone showed up with a 5th of whiskey they chugged off an on for an hour before finally hooking up to the motorhome & towing it off. I fully expected to see them in the ditch the next day. Not a good experience.
Should be # 1: Understand that every square inch of grass in the campground is NOT your precious pooch’s personal outhouse – even if you’re gonna “pick it up!”
I’m in a national forest next to Grand Teton. There’s a guy or couple here with a huge trailer and huge truck. OK but they also have a large area fenced off with a dog pen, a very big dog pen. The dog pen has lights on it. The enclosure includes a picnic table. This seems unreasonable to me since it’s a crowded campground for dispersed camping and they’ve blocked off an entire area for themselves. Not cool IMO.
How about not cutting through other campsites? Very rude to see people just cutting through, being too lazy to walk around.