Two things you can count on as an RVer. You will either have pleasant campground neighbors, or you will not. Fortunately, annoying neighbors are the exception rather than the rule.
Here are seven types of campground neighbors you could encounter sooner or later, and a strategy for maintaining your sanity if you do. Add your own categories in the comments section below. But be nice. Campground neighbors are people too.
Barking dog, shouting kids. Family friendly campgrounds I understand. They’re meant to be raucous and kid-friendly. That’s the fun in them. But a dog that barks at everything that moves? Really? Strategy: Keep an ultrasonic dog whistle in your pocket.
Mr. and Mrs. Friendly. Either or both spend as much time in your campsite as you do, assuming that you are now their new best friends and any time away from them is missed fun time. Strategy: Paint little red dots on your face and casually remark that you might be coming down with chickenpox.
High maintenance. You wonder how these neighbors get by. They assume that you have the perfect answer to everything. They ask your help in fixing everything from what’s broken on their RV to how to raise their grandchildren. And they assume that you know everything about RVing – and will ask just about everything. Strategy: When asked, give the most outlandish answers and impossible solutions until the questions stop.
Hearing-challenged late night TV watchers. Do you really want to hear every word of the Jerry Springer Show rerun that your neighbors play loud enough for the entire campground to hear? Strategy: Present them with earphones that plug into their TV.
The borrowers. Since you’ve carefully planned out the amount of everything you’ll need for your camping trip, the Borrowers will need some integral part of your supplies, like half a dozen eggs, and there goes your frittata. Strategy: Ask to borrow things from them, like their TV or coffee maker.
Late night partiers. Huge campfire with copious smoke blowing in your bedroom window, lots of alcohol, big voices including lots of manic laughing, and an ability to ramp up the noise level as the night progresses. Strategy: Avoid the urge at 6 AM to play Reveille on your bugle outside their bedroom window. Or, on the other hand…
Never see, never hear. The ideal neighbors. You begin to wonder whether their rig has been abandoned, or they’ve been abducted by aliens. Strategy: Leave a gift basket of fruit on their doorstep.
You can find Bob Difley’s RVing ebooks on Amazon Kindle.
Nancy
Wow! Some thoughtful information here….I am fixing to begin my very first RV trip of snowbirding and this certainly will be helpful. TY
Anonymous
The scenarios rarely happen . 99.9 percent of the time or for the neighbors are courteous and pleasant to have around