Voices |
| A Guest
Editorial Free Camping: Where the Campground Industry Stands
Public Lands: Back country backpacking and tenting in the wilderness are great ways to experience our nation’s incredible outdoors. As long as we can afford it, anyone who wishes to trek into the wilderness and camp on our public lands should be given the opportunity to do so. Free or fee. Semi-developed campgrounds offering campers a level site on which to pitch their tent or pull in their pop-up, travel trailers or modest motorhome, running water and a flush toilet in a nearby rustic restroom, and a park ranger interpretive program or two is a nice perk of living in America and if the nation can afford to give away this level of camping, then we Americans deserve it. If, on the other hand, providing free camping to the public is not affordable or a legitimate activity of government, let’s charge a fair rate to recover the costs of providing this taxpayer benefit, Fully developed campgrounds offering paved roads, groomed sites to accommodate the smallest to the largest RV, three-way or more utility hookups, tiled and heated restrooms, laundries, camp stores and recreation programs should not be operated by government entities on public land. Some may say that if the government operates these facilities and charges a market rate for overnight sites, what’s the problem? The problem is that government should govern - not operate businesses for the benefit of a portion of its population.
Friends Driveways: The perfect place to camp for free.
Shopping Centers and Store Parking Lots: Fine. Provided that the shopping malls that allow overnight camping or RVing in their parking lots conform to all laws and regulations regarding the operation of a campground within the jurisdiction. The laws and regulations under which campgrounds operate were adopted to protect the campers and the general public. The same levels of protection should apply to free camping. Everyone who provides accommodations - for a fee or free - for RVers should play by the same rules.
Highway Rest Areas: See shopping centers. If the state wishes to allow overnight free camping in rest areas, then the state should comply with its own established rules for overnight stays in camping facilities as well as complying with its own rules for the operation of the rest area. If the state limits the maximum stay in a rest area, then the rules should be followed.
Truckstops: See shopping centers. Truckstops, too, should comply with campground rules and regulations. No one objects to truckstops owning and operating a licensed campground. Aside from some (fool) hearty RVers for whom the challenge is in beating the system in every way possible or whose income levels fall far below the typical RV buyer, who else would want to camp regularly in a truckstop?
Fairgrounds Same issue. Comply with the laws that apply to the private sector and charge to recover costs. My tax dollars frequently wind up supporting county and state fairs, or at the very least, these are nonprofit organizations that are exempt from taxation but are operating a campground business and taking large amounts of business out of the private sector. Charge fairly and pay taxes like the rest of us! What Irritates Campground Owners About Free Camping *look at all the kinds of free or cheap camping we have to compete with! How many other industries has such a range of free competition? Why does everyone seem to find offering free camping such a great thing to do? *in most states, campgrounds comply with a detailed series of laws and regulations which costs big bucks. I’ve got to protect my investment against the guys who do what I do - provide RV accommodations - but don’t comply with the same set of rules. *where can you go to get a free hotel room a free meal or free fuel? Why can you go anywhere - truckstops, rest areas, McDonald’s restaurants, public lands - and get my service for free? *I’m not allowed to run grey water on the ground. I pay dearly to test water quality. Those free campers dump their holding tanks directly into a sewer and sometimes right on the ground, run dishwater down the middle of the parking lot and fill up their holding tanks from the hose behind the store *How can I charge a fair rate in order to both make a living and save to refurbish my campground to keep it fresh and current and up to guest expectations, when so many others are giving away my service for FREE! *Some clubs, organizations and companies serving the camping consumer seem to take pride in helping their members and customer’s figure out how to camp for free.....and they don’t seem to understand why I resent having to advertise in their publications, join their organizations, and offer discounts to their members. *I pay a lot of money in taxes and it just burns me up to see my money being used to build facilities to compete with me and make it harder for me to earn a living. I don’t mind good competition but do I have to provide my competition’s investment capital? *The press and the media seem to be in love with camping...... at national parks, state parks and everywhere except at commercial facilities. That’s real hard public relations to compete with and when those public land groups give camping away for free or at a sharply reduced rate, that just compounds the unfair advantage they have by being the darlings of the media.
A closing note..... Sometimes it seems so petty to be concerned about free camping. But when I get tempted to overlook the problem, I stop and remind myself that operating a commercial campground catering to the typical traveler or vacationing family is primarily a small business operation. And operating a small business successfully is probably one of the greatest challenges one could take on in life. The odds are against success from the outset and at every turn there appear new obstacles to success. So, when something like free camping seems to be taking away 50, 100 or more camper nights, it’s just another obstacle along the road. Compound those nights lost across the country and throughout the industry, and before you know it, we’re talking real money and lost income. Finally, with today’s economic and consumer pressures to improve campgrounds and RV parks and to provide more and more amenities to the guest and still hold down prices, free camping - when it takes place right under your nose - is an irritant and in many cases, a real and significant loss of business. Comments? Criticisms? What do you think? Please share your views on this subject with ARVC. We value your input.
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