Keeping your spot

[Matt71]

Based on what I've read, it seems that a lot of RV parks just let people drive around until they find an empty spot they like.
So, while we're on the road, we'll be doing a lot of sight seeing. This means we're going to be in and out of RV parks multiple times throughout our stays and I really don't want to have to hunt for an empty spot every time we leave the RV park, especially if we're going to be out late and coming back when it's dark. 

How do you go about holding onto your camp site when you don't have an RV, trailer or tow car to leave behind? 

Some places I'm thinking we can put up a tent, but a lot of RV parks don't have room for you to do that.

I'm also wondering if leaving a few traffic cones at the location would be enough to let people know the spot is already taken. If that's even allowed.

Advice?

 

[AltTransBikes]

Once you've paid for a spot, it's yours. Just pay every morning for that night or the number of nights you'll be there. Management will back that up. Leave a couple things at the site, a towel, a coffee mug on the table, a bag of trash. Most campers are sensitive to a site being occupied and will notice the signs but if you're worried about it you can always just write 'occupied' on a piece of cardboard and leave it in a conspicuous place.

 

[SoulRaven]

Most of the campsites I stay at have a post showing the campsite number, and on that post is a clip. I have a nice laminated card I keep that says OCCUPIED on one side, and RESERVED on the other side. I clip it to the post.

 

[rvwandering]

RV parks will almost always assign you a site. Busy state parks and national parks will almost always assign you a site too so you don't have to worry about someone taking your site. For less busy public parks or ones with a drop box where you pick your own site you'll get a tag for the post. Since we don't have a towed car we leave an old plastic table cloth on the table when we leave for the day, just in case. Traffic cones are fine too. I've even seen small ones in camping stores to be used for just that reason or to keep people from walking or driving into slide outs.

 

[Almost There]

I've been known to put two lawn chairs several feet inside the driveway to my site and sometimes even string a piece of rope with an 'occupied' sign on it.

And then one day I found a perfectly usable orange safety cone so it went in the supply bin. I never got around to painting 'occupied' on it so I used to just tape a sign to it. It also came in handy for placing right at my tow hitch because I was forever cracking my knee on it..sigh!

Basically do anything you want so that if you drove past the site you would recognize that it was in use.

 

[sushidog]

Yellow police "crime scene" tape works well too.

For those really serious, make a chalk outline of a person if there is a cement driveway. Splash a little catsup and scatter a few empty shell casings if you are out of control.

Chip

 

[highdesertranger]

sushidog you are not taking it to an extreme are you? ha ha. highdesertranger

 

[WheelEstate USA]

I left a cheapo folding chair at my BLM spot at Yuma and some fool took it. Had a paper plate clipped to it that said, "In use xxx date". I was gone 2 hours.
Good thing I took my new chair with.
Doesn't matter to some folks what you do to save a spot. They're thinking is that you're not there physically and now its theirs...public land and all that.

 

[ZoNiE]

Put up an EZ-UP. Stake it down. There you go.

 

[akrvbob]

When I was a campground host, I had an EZ-Up stolen out of my campsite--I couldn't believe it. They must have watched my patterns and known that on all my days off I went and camped somewhere else.

The joke was on them though; it was old and failing so a camper had given it to me to use for the season and then throw away. He took the risk and stole a piece of junk!
Bob

 

[WheelEstate USA]

That's funny and sad at the same time, Bob.

 

[SoulRaven]

My rule is don't leave anything of perceived value behind, because it might not be there when you return.