campground sites - can you leave them empty?

[vannstein]

IDK if this is the right place to put this question, but I've noticed some campgrounds have signs that say you have to have a shelter/structure up when you are not there. Is this a rule at most campgrounds?


I have to work so I'd only use the campsite for sleeping and then go into the city every day, and I'm not sure how safe it would be to leave even a tent up with no one around all day. I'd imagine some sticky fingers would be eyeballing my tent before long, no pun intended.

 

[LoveCareThinkDo]

I'm a camp host at a National Forest campground. Our rule is if you pay money but don't leave any equipment in the site and then leave and someone else comes and pays money and leaves equipment in the site the second person gets the site.

I have yet to hear of a single person ever getting their tent stolen, either in these forums or in any of the campgrounds. I think petty thieves know that is one thing that will not be tolerated. Plus, it just takes too damn long to take down the tent.

Sent from my SM-T510 using Tapatalk

 

[vannstein]

Great points. Where I'm at you don't need to talk to someone or reserve a site, you just fill out a ticket and put the money in it and then select your site and there's a post there where you stick the money/ticket.

I assume the hosts come around to collect the money later on without talking with you.


The thing with the structure is that I'd be sleeping out of the van and would have no need of a tent. I was thinking of carrying a $5 tent just to pop up quick for looks.

 

[maki2]

You would want something sturdy enough to hold up to some wind. A $5.00 tent is not going to be very strong. A used tent might work better, of course it does not matter if it leaks. You could possibly find something like that at a thrift store or garage sale. I stopped at a garage sale today, they had a tent and said I could have it for free but I did not want another tent.

 

[WanderingRose]

A tent and/or a chair, plus your tag on the post, would count for your site being occupied for the rules.

People do it all the time, and theft in campgrounds is rare.

 

[B and C]

I carry a small "pup" tent for times when I want to reserve my spot for when I am not there. It was the cheapest one I could find. It takes up very little storage space.

 

[bullfrog]

A small cheap pup tent that is low and staked to the ground works well. At the self pay places I usually wait for someone to tell me to pay and make them watch me put it in the box if someone comes later to empty the box as I have been victim to having my envelope stolen from the box and had to pay twice.

 

[B and C]

Never had a problem at the envelope places. Tear off the tag and put it on the dash or tape to drivers side windshield. The envelope and tag are both numbered. But I generally only stay one day in those places.

 

[crackedpan]

when I camp at a self pay spot, there is usually a drop box for the money envelope. when I leave the spot for the day (I travel in a van) I always leave my camp chair and something on the picnic table if there is one. I so far have not had any trouble with theft. i just like to show the spot is taken.

 

[RoamerRV428]

ya'll got cell phones with ya right? take a video of you putting money in the envelope and down the slot.

for us we just leave a camp chair and we have a sign that says, WE CAMP HERE and WE LOVE IT or something like that....little thing we bought on our travels....we just leave that in a chair and hope for the best on return to the site. never had a problem ever

 

[bigsallysmom]

I carry a wooden sign that can be seen from at least thirty feet. White with black letters. "OCCUPIED". Can't miss it. I prop it up facing the direction others would come from. I learned this from a woman who carries a shoulder bag with the same words. She hangs it on the number post before she leaves the site. When it's not used as a sign it carries items she needs for setting up.

 

[Elbear1]

Im a camphost and the rule is if you reserved the site it doesnt matter. You dont have to mark your territory.
If its a walk-in site and you paid for it you should get a tag to hang on your post showing the dates paid for. Again no equipment marking needed. Let the hosts know what youre doing and youre double assured.

Now if theres no host at all leaving a cheap tent up will be a good idea.

 

[highdesertranger]

the metal box or pole or whatever that you drop your envelope into is referred to as the "Iron Ranger". I am surprised nobody called it that. highdesertranger

 

[MrNoodly]

Most of the campground sites I've used have a post at the mouth of the site where you clip your receipt, indicating the site is occupied. Sometimes people will forget to remove them when they're done with the site, so if you see a receipt on a site that looks otherwise abandoned, get out and check the dates on the receipt.

 

[bullfrog]

With the lack of campground hosts which seems to get worse every year around here and the number of new RVers thinking an "Iron Ranger" is a well built Law Enforcement ranger that collects fees instead of a "secure" container with a slot you can put your money in, I hoped to avoid confusion as most visitors leave their brains at the gate. LOL!!! You wouldn't believe the number of campers that use the envelopes as fire starters and the number of receipt slips from the last campground they were at hundreds of miles away that I find clipped to the posts! I had a collection from when I used to collect them of almost every park!

 

[RoamerRV428]

I never heard it called that.....when we trailered our horses to the state parks etc there was always a honored system to pay for use of trails and horse camping/trailer parking. Years and years we just shoved the money down the slot......never heard that name ever before. huh interesting

 

[INTJohn]

Like others have mentioned a cheap camp chair & maybe a few other items of lil value that let peeps know the place is occupied but also I carry 3 orange cones with me all the time and these can be placed across the drive entrance as well.......

The cones can also be used for whenever you need to park along the roadway for wha ever reason too -
break down, etc. they're cheap and if ever stolen easily & cheaply replaced ( I've never had 1 stolen)

Ain't sayin; jez sayin.............INTjohn

 

[LoupGarou]

If you’re referring to camping on public lands at night then leaving stuff at the site during the day while you went somewhere to work. That would certainly be frowned upon by authorities. It puts you into the non-recreational user category.

 

[MrNoodly]

Meanwhile, south of Flaming Gorge, it's common for locals to set up camp one weekend, leave their travel trailer there during the week -- tying up the spot -- while they go back to their regular lives. Then they return the next two weekends. This is possible because there's a 16-day limit on dispersed camping instead of the usual 14. It's frustrating because all these excellent camping spots are monopolized.

 

[LoveCareThinkDo]

there's a post there where you stick the money/ticket.

I think you might want to look for a box (often a large pipe, sticking out of the ground, with a slit near the top) to put the money in. It is often near the front entrance or a message board or one of the bathrooms. I have never ever seen a campground where you leave the money on the post at your campsite. There is just too much chance of people coming along and taking all that money.

Sent from my SM-T510 using Tapatalk