Good dispersed camping etiquette

[Tony's Dream]

I've had to tell an adjacent camper about a blatant propane leak. Not even a thank you. What a dick.
Then there was the time at Nascar on the hill (AZ ISM raceway) away from everyone. Kids setup a tent 1 foot from my bedroom window. Their friends next to my genny exhaust. You wanna camp next to someone else? go to the reserve area.

If you don't mind me saying so, you sound a little depressed.  Suffering from depression myself, I understand how you might be feeling.  I have had to rethink my perspective on life several times.  I have decided to leave the rat race in a couple of year to enjoy time on the road.  I find it necessary to focus on the smallest of things in order to enjoy the big picture.  I hope you find happiness soon on your journey.

 

[Qxxx]

 Now I am hearing that some of them are being shut down because of misuse by so many people.  The remaining ones are filling up quicker and becoming more crowded.  I think I will find that once I actually get out on the road I will run into overcrowded sites and I will be greatly disappointed. 

Honestly, this is not really as bad as a few Cassandras and Chicken Litttles make it out to be. There are approx 500,000,000 (500-million) acres of BLM and NF. The places that are closed down are typically close to major urban areas like Phoenix and Flagstaff, and the main issue was overuse. In addition, close in places like that attract the local city nuts who come to the country, get drunk, and wreck everything in sight.

Bob Wells has addressed this exact issue in a number of videos and says, you just have to go a little further away from the cities. Don't be dissuaded before checking things out for yourself. There are places where boondockers do concegrate in big herds, like Quartzsite and Lake Havasu, but 20 miles down the road is no one.

 

[wayne49]

The thing I don't like when camping is dogs.   Barking, some never shut up, people let them walk all over and assume that you don't mind them coming up to lick you.   Like if I just came up and licked your arm it would be ok though?

Then they laugh at you, saying "you are afraid of dogs", because you dislike being touched by their precious dog's tongue or wet nose.

 

[ZoNiE]

We were at a Motorhome Rally on Plamosa Road last January and the guy in the coach next to us fired up his caterpillar to charge his batteries. I told him that really isn't helpful to the rest of us and his problem was not charging, but just shit batteries after looking it all over. He thought otherwise, so we had to listen to it most of the evening and into the night. We were landlocked, so we and the dogs just had to close the windows and endure it.

Guess what? His batteries never charged.

That was our first outing with this club and our last.

 

[maki2]

No one is a mind reader, don't assume they are being deliberately rude.

Every year brings new people who have never before experienced disperse camping. They have no idea at all that you have established a set of rules they are supposed to be following. They get to a spot and see someone camping there and they have never experienced being able to park in a dispersed manner. So they park near to other people thinking that must be a location they are supposed to camp in.

We have all been clueless as to other peoples' expectations at one time or another in our lives. Everything is not always obvious to others.

 

[Cammalu]

The voice of reason Maki. Tony, just follow around behind High desert Ranger and you’ll find the little used spots. You’ll have to be stealth however as he probably won’t like it.

 

[Qxxx]

Yeah, Forrest Gump put it in perspective.
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/31/ca/fb/31cafb9a1e6766cce2a6b1e70b903c57.jpg

 

[MrNoodly]

No one is a mind reader, don't assume they are being deliberately rude.

It might be safe, though, to presume they're not being deliberately considerate. 

 

[ckelly78z]

I think it depends on where you are coming from. I have a 10 acre farm with the nearest neighbors 1/4 mile in each direction. I love a sunny calm day (not windy) that I can hear someone close a car door 1/4 mile away. It is so peaceful, quiet, and serene that I often just sit, and close my eyes to enjoy it.

When I go camping, it always seems that I am hearing somebody else's agenda at work, and those from the city, who are accustomed to tight, apartment dwelling seem to have no respect for personal space, or sound levels once they get outdoors.

 

[WanderingRose]

I think it would be reasonable to presume that in a wide open space one did not want close neighbors, and if many don’t understand that then let’s hope this thread enlightens them.  

 

[highdesertranger]

my question is, where are y'all camping? at the RTR I kinda expect everybody to be on top of one another for the rest of the time no way.

but please no matter where you are, leave the construction generators at home.

highdesertranger

 

[1shemp]

Well,unless you own the land,they have as much right to their lifestyle as you do to yours.Not good,but just a fact of life.

 

[WanderingRose]

They do, but this thread is about what is good manners in dispersed camping.