Enough is Enough! Ever Rising Campground Fees

This week on the RV Podcast:

• Enough is Enough. RV’ers have had it with ever-rising campground fees
• The BLM wants to charge RVers up to $600 to boondock in the Arizona desert. 
• And speaking of Arizona, we have the details on a large chunk of highly desirable RV property near Kingman and Route 66 that’s going to be sold off in 5-acre parcels later this month
• All this plus the Social Media Buzz and your questions coming up in Episode #514 of the RV Podcast

You can watch the video version from our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel by clicking the player below.

If you prefer an audio-only podcast, you can hear us through your favorite podcast app or listen now through the player below. Click the CC logo on the right side of the player, and you can follow along in a word-for-word transcript of the podcast as it plays.

RV CONVERSATION OF THE WEEK – Rising Campground Fees

This week’s conversation of the week is about a topic that has been simmering all summer. Our email and social media have been filled with angry comments from RVers who are up to here over what many feel is price gouging by RV campgrounds all across the country.

As the demand for camping space has continued to grow after those crazy COVID days, so have prices. It’s insane: $100 a night is no longer rare, with $70 a night very common. 

On top of that, campgrounds are doing all sorts of other things… Charging more on weekends or holidays, adding various extra charges, like making you pay more to reserve a specific site, making it harder to get a refund when you have to cancel, and charging extra for having friends stop by to visit or to bring along a pet.

And we’re not even talking about taxes – tourist taxes, county taxes, state taxes!

It’s crazy, and people are crazy mad.

Campgrounds are businesses

Let’s get one thing clear right off the bat. Campgrounds are businesses. Many have huge expenses and limited seasons, and they need to cover costs. Their costs are going up fast, too.

To be competitive, many have had to upgrade their Internet wireless networks – no cheap undertaking. Add swimming pools. Leash-free dog runs. Build cabins.

We get it. They are hard-pressed to afford all this and have to raise prices to afford it.

We want campgrounds to do well and stay open or we won’t have anywhere to camp.

Before the Internet, you would call a campground or just show up, pay the camping fee, maybe a tax, and go camp.

When the internet began, reservations could be handled online and campgrounds started adding reservation fees. They had to invest in costly software to manage the reservations. That was the first fee just like when ticket sellers do this when you go to a show. Hotels do it. Airlines do this. It seems to be a normal cultural thing.

But over time and especially the last couple of years, many other fees started getting added to the tab. Now some in our TV Lifestyle Community say they fully understand this:

“It’s a free country – choose to pay it or move on.” – said one of our social media community posters.

Said another:

“It is a matter of Supply and Demand…. There are a whole lot of new RVers now…. This creates a crunch on the decent campgrounds… i like site “x” and so do others… Therefore a lock fee for that site….”

But by far, RVers say the fees are becoming way too much. 

Let’s break it down.

Campground Reservation fees:

This is the one most people don’t mind paying. Usually the reservation fee is for the whole reservation, but sometimes it is per day, which is when some start to mind.

One member said: “In North Carolina state parks this fee is $3 per night. That really starts to add up if you are booking for 2 weeks.”

Campground Visitor fees:

Some campgrounds charge $5 or $10 for each visitor who comes to see you at a campground. Many of our followers said they understand this fee when you are at a resort, or if there is a water park, and extra people will make the facilities and roads busier, affecting everyone.

But many others said they were really bothered by this fee if they were having a couple over at their campsite and all they were doing was visiting and hanging out at their rig for a few hours for cocktails.  

Said one: “I don’t believe they should charge more for visitors unless they use the amenities. But to just come to your site, no.”

Another comment: “Visitor fees make sense if using pool and shower facilities.  However, if someone just comes to site to say hello and eat our food at a picnic, seems a bit overkill to charge that visitor fee.”

Campground Fees for Dogs

Some campgrounds charge an extra fee per dog, or they may allow one dog to camp for free but charge for the second dog.  Many said this fee is usually just $5 or $10, and they do understand if the park has dog runs or special facilities for pets.

But this also bothered many of our community members.

Said one: “I have experienced pet fees which I don't think should be charged as I clean up after my dog, and she does no harm to the campground.”

Campground Fees Per Person:

Some campgrounds set a number of adults and children who can be at a campsite and if there is more than that number there is an additional charge.

One member was at a campground where only ONE person was included in the nightly charge, so if you are a couple, you had to pay $10 a day for the second person

And sometimes, this applies to campers who have more than one child.

From a member: “Another fee is a fee for each child. Some will allow 2 adults and 1 child and any more children are often $10 per child per night. Both my sons have 4 kids and that adds $30 PER NIGHT to the regular site cost.“

Campground Fees for Vehicles

Some campgrounds charge you if you have a car.

From member: “Campgrounds in places like Minnesota are charging an extra $10  per night for our car because it wasn’t hooked up to the RV as a tow vehicle!”

And another: “Colorado also charged an extra $10 per night for the RV and $10 for the car adding 80 bucks to our tab on top of the nightly camping rate.” 

Campground Site Lock Fees

This is by far the most controversial one. 

You make a reservation. You pick out your campsite BUT if you don’t pay a site lock fee you may not have the campsite you choose if another person comes, makes a reservation and agrees to pay the camp lock space OR if it helps the campground to move you so they can get someone else into that spot for a longer period of time.

Many in our community said they don't mind the site lock fees if it is only $10, but when it is maybe $10 a day or more (one person saw a site lock fee of $100) they think it is excessive. 

Thoughts from members: 

“The lock fees make sense to me, especially for parks that are routinely full. Way too many people feel free to cancel at the last minute or to be no-shows. Often it’s too late for the campground to resell that site. Either folks will be more likely to show up because they don’t want to lose the money, or the campground will be able to recoup some of their loss if they don’t.”

“Reserving a specific site suggests that it in some way a premium site due to size, location, or proximity to friends. If the particular site is reserved the campground is giving up the ability to use it for a larger rig (so they’ll have to turn away that reservation), and giving up the ability to juggle spaces so that the most spaces are full at any given time. If folks care that much about assuring that particular site, there is a likelihood that it will cost the campground additional revenue.“

Another member: “I think the lock fees are really unfair. If you're going to show me the available sites, then I should be able to choose the one I prefer without paying an extra fee. Otherwise, don't show me the sites and I'll understand that it's at the discretion of the campground.”

And another: “I do not like the use of the new fees for locking in sites or for dogs. When you are already paying $100+ a night and then add in those fees, I think it’s too much.”

Other Campground Fees:

State parks increasingly have one fee for residents and another fee for nonresidents.

Cancellation fees are also rising.

Early check-in fees are more common and late checkout fees are getting more expensive.

Not common yet, but if you opt for a site that doesn't have sewer hookups, the campground may charge you to use the dump station. Depending on how many days you are staying, you have to compare the increase in the nightly cost vs. paying for the dump station on the way out. 

 A “hidden fee” of prohibiting the use of dog bones at the electric pedestal.

Said one poster: “We have a 50-amp trailer, but we only need 50 amps when running both air conditioners. However, some campgrounds are forcing us to book (and pay more for) a 50-amp site rather than booking a 30-amp site because we would have to use a dog bone to connect our plug to their pedestal.”

And if that isn’t bad enough to make you think about boondocking somewhere… listen to this!

The U.S.  Bureau of Land Management is seeking public comment on new proposed recreation fees and land management plans for six areas, including long term areas near popular Quartzite and Yuma. Visitors out there have jumped from 4.9 million in 2019 to 6.8 million in 2023 and BLM says its budget can't keep up.

Crazy, huh?

Ironically, a new podcast sponsor – Greenwood Ranches – came on the podcast this week to announce the opening of their latest land for RVers – 5-acre desert ranches at $49,900. The property is at higher elevation and thus cooler than many desert spots. We announced details in the podcast. Information is at https://arizonarvland.net

But with campground prices constantly rising, a lot of RVers are looking to buy their own property where they can come and go as they want, stay as long as they want, and develop their property as they want.

SOCIAL MEDIA BUZZ – Wendy Bowyer

Wendy Bowyer reports on the hot issues most talked about this past week on social media and our RV Lifestyle Community group.

In the RVLifestyle Community‘s General Discussions Space, Greg had a question about water use in the RV when the temperatures drop. He is planning to leave northern Alberta in late October and travel to Arizona. He will have the trailer winterized when he leaves Alberta, but is wondering when he gets south of the Montana Pass and the temperatures aren't so drastically cold, what he should do?

Lots of helpful suggestions here, especially for our snowbirds!

Marc and Brenda always carry some jugs of water in those conditions, as do others. Bud uses jugs of water for the toilet and sink and asked if Greg's holding tanks were heated.

Ari said he and his wife carry bottled water for drinking and cooking. Then for washing hands, brushing teeth, doing dishes, and other gray water situations, they use a dish tub and dump the water elsewhere so it is not going down their drains. They also use RV antifreeze to flush the toilet to prevent the black tank from freezing. 

In the Community's Troubleshooting & Maintenance Space, we asked if anyone ever had a strange or surprising breakdown and solution.  Lots of good stories in this one!

Mary had a tire lose pressure in a remote area of Utah. She called roadside assistance, they arrived and the issue was an extension piece so the tire was fine. She felt very fortunate it wasn't a blowout!

Cindy broke down at a gas station by the Route 66 Casino in Albuquerque, where they had a two night reservation. She called roadside assistance for help but no one could find a tow on a Sunday afternoon. They were stuck in front of a gas pump, and when all seemed lost, a man walked up and asked if they needed help. Coincidentally he was a mobile RV tech! He got them able to drive to their reservation and returned the next day to fix what had broken. What are the chances of an independent RV mobile tech walking by at just the right moment?

Then Eric, once when he and his wife were camping and the kitchen slide would not retract. His wife is in a Cougar RV group, explained the problem, and someone told them about a small box in the storage area that had a reset button. Problem solved.

So many stories because it is always something, right? But I love how these all had happy endings.

Meanwhile over in our RVLifestyle Facebook Group, we had a post from Vicki showing her paper towel roll completely unraveled. Anyone ever had that happen? Vicki wrote: Road construction hits different in a travel trailer!”

That is so true!

What I loved about the hundreds of comments is that so many could relate and many had solutions. Those solutions included rubber bands to paper clips to bungee cords to Bobby pins to a new paper towel holder that comes with a clip to prevent this from happening. So good to see all the help!

RV Questions of the Week

QUESTION: Our RV is a year old. When do I need to clean and check the roof and what do I do?

ANSWER: It’s time right now. I always recommend cleaning the roof of your RV at the start and end of every season. If you are parked under trees a lot – especially pine trees with those pesky needles and pine cones – even more often.

Usually spraying it down with a water and lightly going over it with a soft-bristled brush or broom is enough to clean off the debris. Take care around solar panels. Put an old T-shirt or sweat shirt over a broom and gently clean the panels off.

As for checking the roof, look for cracked or missing caulk. Over time, caulk dries and cracks and can peel away, leading to leaks. Using a good sealant like self-leveling Dicor 501 is something you can do yourself.

Scrape off the cracked caulk, clean off any residue and put down some new. Just be careful up there on the roof. If it makes you nervous or you have balance issues. hire a mobile RV tech. And while you have a tech up there, have them check out and clean out your air conditioner as well.

QUESTION: This is for Jennifer. How do you get your hair done on the road. Or do you even? It always looks good. I wonder if and how you find salons to visit on the road. Advice, please. We do a lot of long trips and I look pretty shaggy when we return. – Marci

ANSWER: Jen shared how she fund salons in different towns… by asking the locals!

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Jennifer will be doing an “Ask Jennifer” special livestream on our RV Lifestyle Community Thursday Sept. 26 at 7 PM 

She will be talking about prepping for an RV Trip… getting food, clothing, packing and planning done for a successful RV Road Trip.