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Saturday, July 7, 2007

RVers, Display “Zee Papers” With This Handy Hint

Fellow RVers, why is it that RV parks insist that we display our receipts in the windows of our rigs? Can they not remember that they assigned us a space for a few days or weeks? Is it that they want us to remember to leave on the correct day? Do they think we are going to sneak out and someone will secretly occupy our spot without paying? Why all the fuss? No campground host I’ve ever spoken with has a reasonable answer to this question. If you have the answer, please tell us in the “comments” section below. OK, so they want us to display our papers (reminds me of the old Casa Blanca movie) how do we “display” “zee papers” if our windows are covered up with an external sun shade that buttons to the coach? How is a 5th wheel owner supposed to display it in the “driver’s side window” when he’s out driving his truck away from the campground? Well, here is how one 5th wheel owner solved the problem. He put “zee papers” in “zee plastic document protector” and hung it on the door to his coach. Plastic is good because when they turn on zee sprinklers in the wee hours of the morning “zee papers” won’t get wet. Jim

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posted by Jim Twamley at 7/07/2007 10:50:00 PM

37 Comments:

  • Seems that quite a few parks and campgrounds now put a post at the front of the site for "zee papers" which makes it more tricky to back into "zee site."

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at July 14, 2007 5:15:00 AM PDT  

  • I have no problem with this policy as long as the information on the registration slip contains only my name, rig description, DOA, & DOD. Almost all State campgrounds require it. I suspect it is so their security personnel can ascertain no unpaid campers entered and set up,during "closed" hours.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at July 14, 2007 6:02:00 AM PDT  

  • Be careful! Often the paperwork contains a camper's private information. We've encountered several campgrounds that put our address, phone number, and drivers license numbers on those papers! We always check the papers and black-out private information before we display them. We never ask before doing this, and we've never been questioned about it. In all our years of RVing, we've never seen campground personnel so much as glancing at these papers. Even with our private information blacked out with permanent marker, we would never put the papers where people can get their hands on them; in the right light, that information can still be seen.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at July 14, 2007 6:02:00 AM PDT  

  • Perhaps it's a holdover from State Parks. In Indiana we used to have to attached it to a post in front of the campsite so the rangers could see it. When it rained you couldn't read it, but it was there.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at July 14, 2007 6:12:00 AM PDT  

  • If this is the biggest problem anyone encounters on the road, whew, lucky them! I think this is sort of a non-issue. What's the big deal anyway? We stick it on the windshield and don't worry about it. I've never had a campground owner/manager ask to see it if it isn't visible.

    By Anonymous mcleff, at July 14, 2007 6:52:00 AM PDT  

  • This former RVer and current park owner agrees. We find it to be an invasion of privacy to see the receipts on display. There are many other less-intrusive ways available for tracking who is to check out on what day.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at July 14, 2007 6:58:00 AM PDT  

  • This former RVer and current RV park owner agrees. There are many other ways a park can keep track of who's who.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at July 14, 2007 7:03:00 AM PDT  

  • I have more improtant things to worry about! Get a life!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at July 14, 2007 7:21:00 AM PDT  

  • I just never comply and have never been asked to! Do you zee what I mean!

    By Blogger Don, at July 14, 2007 7:31:00 AM PDT  

  • Come on, silly people. Such a minor issue. Many campgrounds have an "after hours" check in procedure, and displaying registrations only verifies payment. Keeps sneaky people from coming in late and pretending to have paid. We see it in state parks all the time.

    By Blogger M&M_Perry, at July 14, 2007 8:02:00 AM PDT  

  • They tell you to put it on "rear view mirror!" Huh??
    My dog eats those receipts anyway so We don't end up complying.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at July 14, 2007 8:12:00 AM PDT  

  • "Of all the campgrounds in all the country, you had to pull into mine.."

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at July 14, 2007 8:13:00 AM PDT  

  • as a periodic workamper and avid camper, I agree that this is an invasion of privacy and it is not necessary. The camps where we have volunteered give the campers a card similar in shape to the handicap card hung from the rearview mirror which simply contains the date the camper expects to leave. The camper is asked to display it somewhere on the front of the camper so when the camp personnel so a "head check" they can see it.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at July 14, 2007 8:48:00 AM PDT  

  • Too trivial. Obviously folks have found a way to deal with it. It seems reasonable that an RV park needs a way for various employees to check sites and paid occupancy.

    By Blogger Ken and Helen, at July 14, 2007 9:20:00 AM PDT  

  • Lets worry about improtant things, like the rice crop in China, and let the small things take care of themselves. Who cares, in the window or out of the window... "big deal". Whow wasted their time thinking up this petty problem???

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at July 14, 2007 9:25:00 AM PDT  

  • I don't know what state you are in but in Michigan it is against the law to drive with anything hanging from your rear view mirror? So in parks were you want to go in and out with your tow car and you need the form to get in and out of the park you must be careful were the registration is hanging. I just lay it on the dash and have never had any trouble, it sure isn't something I worry about, as long as you have a reciept if ask you are fine.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at July 14, 2007 10:24:00 AM PDT  

  • Well now, Like what was posted. As long as there is only unit,& date of stay, I have no problem. Anything else...I just don't do it. To inc. Military & both state & Feb. parks. However, one should be ready & willing to take greaf over it to.
    Bring it on.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at July 14, 2007 12:09:00 PM PDT  

  • I agree. a bogus request. There is a wonderful new gadget that would help campground owners keep track of guests and give them a print out each day of guests that were leaving....(a computer)

    By Anonymous Alan, at July 14, 2007 12:52:00 PM PDT  

  • Were your RVs set up to live off the grid; with large water tanks, solar panels, and gewgaws designed to aid boondocking...Like my 74 Travco,... then ze paperz would not be an issue.
    Personally, I cannot believe that humans flock to crowded rv parks, instead of parking in the reasonably pristine wild. My RV will sustain itself, and me for a full 30 days-should I decide to, and I do...without plugging into anything. Why doesn't yours? might as well rent a condo for a week, as to park in an expensive, restrictive, exclusive (no 10 year old RVS!) fussy fidgety fickle-pants park. Why did you buy an RV? to ... fret over and collect ze paperz? >skeptical-face smiley<

    By Anonymous Travconian, at July 14, 2007 2:18:00 PM PDT  

  • I frequently forget to put the tags in the windshield, but nobody has ever asked to see them anyway. What's really embarrassing is that when I do remember to post them, I usually forget to remove them when we leave. Doh! It's a nuisance, but not really a big deal to me.

    By Anonymous Kat Prawl, at July 14, 2007 3:17:00 PM PDT  

  • In every campground I've been in they always want your vehicle license tag number. Why can't they compare that with their check-in lists?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at July 14, 2007 4:57:00 PM PDT  

  • Wether it's a class A,B or C, a pop up, or a trailer they all have one thing in common. I haven't seen a single state that will let you drive, pull (or god forbid push) an rv down the road without one. And each of these things is unique. What is it? It's a license plate. Shouldn't or wouldn't a park-keeper register this info too? If they did then all they would have to do is observe the plates and see if they match the list they would carry. Simple solution.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at July 14, 2007 6:54:00 PM PDT  

  • I fully agree with the person above who said "Lets worry about important things". If they want my receipt in the window, so be it. I do from time to time cover my windows and if they want to get off their cart and walk up to the window they will probably see the receipt through the coverings. At least I have complied with their wishes. That's their problem if it can not be seen. I fully agree that there should not be any personal information on the document in the window. Again, i have greater things to concrn myself with these petty wishes.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at July 14, 2007 7:43:00 PM PDT  

  • I stay at one of the 1000 trails parks in FL and we had to display a colored card that had our last name and check out date.

    By Anonymous Pat, at July 15, 2007 6:24:00 AM PDT  

  • I am sure the practice of having campers display their name, space number etc. began with the U.S. Corps of Engineers campsites. Many times there is no agent on duty at the gate, and they needed to know on review the next morning who had paid (& for how long),and who had not. If at a private park you do not wish to display the paper work I am sure they would just accept your proof of payment, but that could inconvenience you. It is really no big deal. Why start your camping experience with a problem that really doesn't exist?

    By Anonymous Ken Pelfrey, at July 15, 2007 7:06:00 AM PDT  

  • Most do this for the hired help who goes around and checks the spots in eary AM to see who came in during the night and needs to pay, there are better ways to do this but puts more work on the operators, this way they have put the monkey on the RV owner's back and saved them selfs some work.

    By Anonymous John, at July 15, 2007 3:20:00 PM PDT  

  • The parks that require this should install holders at each site in which the persons occupying the specific site could place a form issued by the park showing the site number and dates paid for. This would eliminate problems created by variations in camper styles and existing state or local vehicle ordinances. Just a thought.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at July 15, 2007 4:13:00 PM PDT  

  • Twice we have arrived at our designated camp sight only to find a free loader.
    It is not our place to tell them to move, and management was surprized they were there. The first time they had stayed 5 days without paying.
    Maybe putting something in large letters will help both the owner and the poor camper such as us who had to wait for them to vacate as the campground was full.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at July 15, 2007 8:38:00 PM PDT  

  • I have no problem with this. All NF, NP, COEs & SP require this so I do not understand why anyone is upset. Unless the big rig people are not used to "camping" and certainly would not go to the National Forest. :-) I believe this is not an unreasonable request if it helps a full staff run a smooth operation at the campgroung/RV park. There is probably many unscrupulous "RVers" who have prompted this action. Lou

    By Blogger Lou, at July 15, 2007 10:06:00 PM PDT  

  • Looks to me like some people have too much free time on their hands - get a good or do some volunteering!

    By Anonymous John, at July 16, 2007 4:57:00 AM PDT  

  • Regarding Comment about Boondocking: (I hope I'm not getting too far off thread.) Campground camping and boondocking are really two different activities. Many people feel uncomfortable away from the security of having a campground manager and other campers nearby. And even if their rigs do have all the equipment such as generators, large tanks, solar panels, etc. there are still a lot of things that you have to worry about when boondocking; such as watching your tank levels and the proper place to empty them, that aren't a worry if you have full hook-ups.

    But another thing is that boondocking is hardly even available to many people in the Midwest and East. Most of the Forest Service and BLM land is in Rocky Mountains and further West. There is a scattering of National Forests in the Appalachians and the South, but there may not be many true boondocking sites there. Even in the West, there are few boondocking sites near populated areas. And the Forest Service, sometimes under pressure from environmental groups, is closing down more sites each year. The remaining sites could be completely legislated away in a couple of paragraphs, by an administration sympathetic to radical environmentalists.

    Chris

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at July 16, 2007 12:27:00 PM PDT  

  • Interesting use of time! I've got high gas prices to protest!!!!

    By Blogger First Century Pioneer, at July 16, 2007 1:41:00 PM PDT  

  • LOL...
    I look at this like people complaining about a Network TV Program.

    If you don't like the program, change the channel. If you don't like the policy, don't stay there!!
    Aask about this policy when you make your reservations!

    Agreed...
    Much more important issues to address!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at July 16, 2007 2:29:00 PM PDT  

  • I don't mind posting my form, at all.. what's the big deal... it is a simple request in this day of "rules and regulations"... as someone else has already said.."get a life"..

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at July 17, 2007 7:51:00 AM PDT  

  • I agree re: the personal info. I have solved this minor problem by blacking out with marker. I have no visable way to hang a tag so I use a suction cup that can be removed easily and hang it on it's hook

    By Anonymous geri, at July 17, 2007 4:54:00 PM PDT  

  • As a park owner, I'm glad that this is such a sore subject to a few of the travelling public. When discussions regarding check-in passes are a topic of conversation,it means that we must be doing most thing right. We ask our guests to display their tag so that when we are walking security at night, expecially, we know what units should be on that particular site. Since we allow our campers to entertain daily guests, this is our way of knowing that they have left the park after visiting hours are over. Certainly don't want to get involved in a privacy issue, just want to know who's in the park and whether they belong.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at July 19, 2007 2:22:00 PM PDT  

  • I for one would never allow anything but name and date of departure on anything I post. Maybe instead of rebelling about this we should rebell about the cost of a private parks price. I have not paid a dime for a year and a half for camping and I am full time. Lets get together and stop paying these prices. Soon they will be up over $40.00 per night. Praise the Lord for open land and flying J.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at July 20, 2007 3:04:00 PM PDT  

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