Had a strange experience; we stayed at the YHA in Hervey Bay, which also allow camping, they've got powered & unpowered sites, we've got our solar panels and batteries etc, so we opted for unpowered; very reasonable @ $24 per night, but when we packed to leave, I asked where I could top up the trailer with water; then I got a surprise, I was told that as I was on an unpowered site, I had no right to their water, that water was expensive and if I needed water I should have paid for a powered site. When I get home I'll check my water bill, but isn't water around $2-3 per mega-litre? As my tank is 75 litres and maybe I used half, 30-40 litres of water is around 10c or less, unless the water in Hervey Bay is more than $3 per mega-litre. That's never happened to me before; is this a common attitude with camp-site owners?
KFT said
11:17 PM Sep 17, 2014
I have commented previously that the term "unpowered" is misleading.
They should be called unserviced sites if there is no water supply either.
perhaps a call to fair trading about misleading or deceptive advertising is in order.
frank
Reed said
01:17 AM Sep 18, 2014
What a bunch of cheap folks.
Commercial RV Parks in the US have a number of levels of service
Full Service: Water, power (50 amps at 110 V or equivalent 25 amps at 220 V), sewer, and usually TV cable service
Non-full service: Water, power as before but no sewer. There is always a sewer dump
Forest and National Park campgrounds sometimes have power and water service at a few sites. Generally there is a water point and sewage dump at a National Park CG. National Forest CGs usually have a water point but no sewage dump. BLM CGs have a spot to park but that is it. Bureau of Land Reclamation can be anything from full up (no sewage dump at site) to a nice spot to park.
Since we are 95% boondockers (aka free campers), we "camp" (if parking in the wilds in an 11 m 5th wheel can be called such) preferably at "dispersed" camping spots, aka free camping wherever we can on federal/state lands. We do go to an RV Park if we cannot dump waste water and need to wash clothes. Protocol with grey water (wash water) is that dish water may be tossed in most places and the grey water from the tank can be dumped if it goes through a standard hose if expressly permitted. We were camped in the side yard of an inn at Majahual (north of Chetumal in Yucatan, Mexico) and asked if we could dump grey water. They said "Sure, the flowers need the water!"
Reed and Elaine
Jonathan said
06:44 AM Sep 18, 2014
Hi all ..
Being a full-time GN (as are many others on here) I don't really see it as a problem ..
Regardless of where I am or where I'm likely to travel, the availability of quality water is a basic need that is simply addressed
by planning ahead. I've been in caravan parks where I wouldn't drink the water unless I filtered it first ..
If one takes the basic needs for granted (without proper personal preparation) then, of course, one is likely to be surprised ..
Full-timers are always at home and live the practice .. Not being critical about any individuals at all, but many GN's also spend much of their time at home where
they can just turn on a tap and expect to find clean/drinking water ..
I think it all comes down to our own "comfort zones" .. and what we expect out of life ..
Golddetectornomad said
07:58 AM Sep 18, 2014
When I tent whilst prospecting if I have an unpowered site I am still allowed to use the shower/toilet ablution blocks...using water....I've topped up my water Jerries at the same parks...I'm still paying about $22 p.n. for a small piece of ground for the night....hardly cheap.....I expect unpowered site to mean just that..unpowered site....not waterless site/showerless/toiletless site.....I'll bet Smiffy that was one of those places that allows three tiny shiny sheets of toilet paper to come out before disappearing inside the roll holder again....one for up...one for down...and one to shine............. Australia is basically now a Nation of Greed and acquiring "stuff" to impress others who have "stuff".. every one for themselves... and consequently little trust of, and in, each other......our Grey Nomad demographic is going the way of the Dinosauer with still having basic respect and care for each other.....go to any Lifestyle show where "elderly" Australians are likely to gather and you are likely to still see courteous lines waiting to enter...and at the food queues....even at the Urinals..I even answered the bloke next to me's, mobile phone as his hands were full...but I was not prepared to hold' his' while he answered his phone...I have couth......<sorry girls I don't know if the Ladies push and shove in there!>..lol...... Basically respect and not looking to retire on the next deal you do in your business, will bring your customers back....trouble is we are seen at too many Parks as potential problems to their daily lives... not customers.....my epistle from the Mount for to-day........Hoo Roo
-- Edited by Golddetectornomad on Thursday 18th of September 2014 08:01:42 AM
Hylda&Jon said
01:18 PM Sep 18, 2014
It wouldn't cost the place much to fill your tanks but I'm sure it adds up when everyone else expects free water too.
Easy solution...Don't expect things for free and you will have less disappointment.
Lesson learnt...Ask first.
Cheers.
smiffy said
06:06 PM Sep 18, 2014
Overall I was very pleased with the camp ground: its a YHA hostel that also allows camping, it had a great kitchen, 3 fridge/freezers, TV room, bar/bistro, cheap meals, $2.50 coffee/hot chocolate, $10 pizza's, $6 breakfasts, happy hour ($4 schooners etc), it had a pool, spa, tennis court, bike hire, and all for $24 a night. I probably spent $200 there during our 3 night stay. It wasn't as if I just pulled in and asked for free water.
SnowT said
08:48 PM Sep 18, 2014
Well that place is on my Short list of NOT where to stay...
I think I still have access to an empty house Block above the beach in Hervey Bay.. I just need to ask..
Juergen
Bevandy2 said
09:38 PM Sep 18, 2014
What Reed says about America is what we need here, and it will come eventually, the ACC are working on these issues with caravan parks, as we all know we don't want jumping pillows, etc ad nauseum, so many of us don't stay in the upmarket caravan parks because they are too expensive, (we won't pay for what we don't use), and they have not yet learnt that they are losing business because of this single minded approach.
Your experience is disappointing Smiffy, we Queenslanders pride ourselves on our hospitality and tourism, they could have told you "OK, but we need to add a couple of bucks to your bill for the water" at the end of the day it usually gets down to individual operators, what surprises me though, is unless I have miscounted, Hervey Bay, with it's smallish population has something like about 16 caravan parks, one would think they would be bending over backwards to have your business and get you telling all the world what a wonderful caravan park you stayed in.
Like I said, it's the operators, don't let that diminish your love of our beaut state.
Also, there is often conflict between caravanners and caravan parks, with councils caught in the middle.
Caravan parks argue with councils that they should not allow budget camping because it detracts from the parks business, whilst councils strive to attract the RV business to their towns.
Recently in a town that shall remain nameless, we found that the caravan park lobby had succeeded in Council refusing budget camping at the showgrounds, so we were forced to stay in a caravan park which, for that location, was unashamedly gouging prices, a total rip off, it will only be through the strength of the clubs that this kind of thing can be dealt with.
We presented the ACC's advice on this to the council, with our documentation, but it is an issue that goes on.
The local Chambers of Commerce are a good resource to register your complaints, as is the council for that area, and we do that through our club, but don't let it go, make a splash and lob the complaint where it will be heard.
I had heard from Austrlians that free camping was a fairly difficult thing to do legally. In US, if it is not expressly forbidden, it is permitted. We were "camped" at Buenas Aires National Wilife Refuge on the Mexican border. There are about 100 free sites there but you have to go to the Wildlife Refuge HQ to say where you wish to camp (they give you suggestions since many are for truck campers only). They want to know where you are and the Border Patrol wants to know where you are since the valley is a prime drug trafficking and illegal alien route. The drug traffickers want to avoid you as do the illegals. Folks do put out water for the illegals (anyone that wants to cross 100 km of desert to get a job and avoid the violence in Central America has my vote). There are sensor fields out there and the Border Patrol is tracking foot steps and they will investigate. If they know the steps originate at a camp site, then they are not interested. The 3 km nearest the border were closed for camping. There were Border Patrol vehicles every hour or so with helios during the night - and no one has ever been bothered by the illegals in years.
There are two beautiful dirt roads near the border that the New York Times has written as being among the two most interesting and beautiful drives in the US. We camped at Harshaw Canyon on the east road out of Patagonia, AZ (know this sounds like it should be Argentina but is just east of Nogales)) which has great dispersed camping but people are afraid to camp there as well. Harshaw leads to the Duquesne road which is one of the two most beautiful roads.
The second is the Ruby Road (named after a wild mining town of the 19th C) and is NW of Nogales and goes by a small reservoir called Pena Blanca with great campsites. This lake and the road (now Forest Road 39. that goes to the west to several of the primary birding places in the US, Sycamore Canyon and California Canyon (the only place is US where the 5-striped Sparrow is found and nests). Since it is the only road anywhere near the border, it also has a strong Border Patrol presence. We saw a guy hauling a 9 meter travel trailer across there during hunting season. I would not go past Pena Blanca with a rig and our current 11 m rig is probably to large to get up the winding road to Pena Blanca.
Almost anywhere in southern NM and Arizona is great for free camping/boondocking/dispersed camping in winter (a bit warm in summer). It is BLM and Forest Service land, and following sensible protocols, it is for free. There are some BLM spots you have to pay $25 or so for 6 months of camping (that comes to about fourteen cents a night if you spend all 6 months out there). Western Arizona gets quite crowded and forget it. Texas has almost no public lands except National Parks.
Had a strange experience; we stayed at the YHA in Hervey Bay, which also allow camping, they've got powered & unpowered sites, we've got our solar panels and batteries etc, so we opted for unpowered; very reasonable @ $24 per night, but when we packed to leave, I asked where I could top up the trailer with water; then I got a surprise, I was told that as I was on an unpowered site, I had no right to their water, that water was expensive and if I needed water I should have paid for a powered site. When I get home I'll check my water bill, but isn't water around $2-3 per mega-litre? As my tank is 75 litres and maybe I used half, 30-40 litres of water is around 10c or less, unless the water in Hervey Bay is more than $3 per mega-litre. That's never happened to me before; is this a common attitude with camp-site owners?
They should be called unserviced sites if there is no water supply either.
perhaps a call to fair trading about misleading or deceptive advertising is in order.
frank
Commercial RV Parks in the US have a number of levels of service
Full Service: Water, power (50 amps at 110 V or equivalent 25 amps at 220 V), sewer, and usually TV cable service
Non-full service: Water, power as before but no sewer. There is always a sewer dump
Forest and National Park campgrounds sometimes have power and water service at a few sites. Generally there is a water point and sewage dump at a National Park CG. National Forest CGs usually have a water point but no sewage dump. BLM CGs have a spot to park but that is it. Bureau of Land Reclamation can be anything from full up (no sewage dump at site) to a nice spot to park.
Since we are 95% boondockers (aka free campers), we "camp" (if parking in the wilds in an 11 m 5th wheel can be called such) preferably at "dispersed" camping spots, aka free camping wherever we can on federal/state lands. We do go to an RV Park if we cannot dump waste water and need to wash clothes. Protocol with grey water (wash water) is that dish water may be tossed in most places and the grey water from the tank can be dumped if it goes through a standard hose if expressly permitted. We were camped in the side yard of an inn at Majahual (north of Chetumal in Yucatan, Mexico) and asked if we could dump grey water. They said "Sure, the flowers need the water!"
Reed and Elaine
Hi all ..
Being a full-time GN (as are many others on here) I don't really see it as a problem ..
Regardless of where I am or where I'm likely to travel, the availability of quality water is a basic need that is simply addressed
by planning ahead. I've been in caravan parks where I wouldn't drink the water unless I filtered it first ..
If one takes the basic needs for granted (without proper personal preparation) then, of course, one is likely to be surprised ..
Full-timers are always at home and live the practice .. Not being critical about any individuals at all, but many GN's also spend much of their time at home where
they can just turn on a tap and expect to find clean/drinking water ..
I think it all comes down to our own "comfort zones" .. and what we expect out of life ..
When I tent whilst prospecting if I have an unpowered site I am still allowed to use the shower/toilet ablution blocks...using water....I've topped up my water Jerries at the same parks...I'm still paying about $22 p.n. for a small piece of ground for the night....hardly cheap.....I expect unpowered site to mean just that..unpowered site....not waterless site/showerless/toiletless site.....I'll bet Smiffy that was one of those places that allows three tiny shiny sheets of toilet paper to come out before disappearing inside the roll holder again....one for up...one for down...and one to shine.............
Australia is basically now a Nation of Greed and acquiring "stuff" to impress others who have "stuff".. every one for themselves... and consequently little trust of, and in, each other......our Grey Nomad demographic is going the way of the Dinosauer with still having basic respect and care for each other.....go to any Lifestyle show where "elderly" Australians are likely to gather and you are likely to still see courteous lines waiting to enter...and at the food queues....even at the Urinals..I even answered the bloke next to me's, mobile phone as his hands were full...but I was not prepared to hold' his' while he answered his phone...I have couth......<sorry girls I don't know if the Ladies push and shove in there!>..lol......
Basically respect and not looking to retire on the next deal you do in your business, will bring your customers back....trouble is we are seen at too many Parks as potential problems to their daily lives... not customers.....my epistle from the Mount for to-day........Hoo Roo
-- Edited by Golddetectornomad on Thursday 18th of September 2014 08:01:42 AM
It wouldn't cost the place much to fill your tanks but I'm sure it adds up when everyone else expects free water too.
Easy solution...Don't expect things for free and you will have less disappointment.
Lesson learnt...Ask first.
Cheers.
I think I still have access to an empty house Block above the beach in Hervey Bay.. I just need to ask..
Juergen
Your experience is disappointing Smiffy, we Queenslanders pride ourselves on our hospitality and tourism, they could have told you "OK, but we need to add a couple of bucks to your bill for the water" at the end of the day it usually gets down to individual operators, what surprises me though, is unless I have miscounted, Hervey Bay, with it's smallish population has something like about 16 caravan parks, one would think they would be bending over backwards to have your business and get you telling all the world what a wonderful caravan park you stayed in.
Like I said, it's the operators, don't let that diminish your love of our beaut state.
Also, there is often conflict between caravanners and caravan parks, with councils caught in the middle.
Caravan parks argue with councils that they should not allow budget camping because it detracts from the parks business, whilst councils strive to attract the RV business to their towns.
Recently in a town that shall remain nameless, we found that the caravan park lobby had succeeded in Council refusing budget camping at the showgrounds, so we were forced to stay in a caravan park which, for that location, was unashamedly gouging prices, a total rip off, it will only be through the strength of the clubs that this kind of thing can be dealt with.
We presented the ACC's advice on this to the council, with our documentation, but it is an issue that goes on.
The local Chambers of Commerce are a good resource to register your complaints, as is the council for that area, and we do that through our club, but don't let it go, make a splash and lob the complaint where it will be heard.
Join the ACC and we will do it for you. www.australiancaravanclub.com.au/index.php
Bevan
There are two beautiful dirt roads near the border that the New York Times has written as being among the two most interesting and beautiful drives in the US. We camped at Harshaw Canyon on the east road out of Patagonia, AZ (know this sounds like it should be Argentina but is just east of Nogales)) which has great dispersed camping but people are afraid to camp there as well. Harshaw leads to the Duquesne road which is one of the two most beautiful roads.
The second is the Ruby Road (named after a wild mining town of the 19th C) and is NW of Nogales and goes by a small reservoir called Pena Blanca with great campsites. This lake and the road (now Forest Road 39. that goes to the west to several of the primary birding places in the US, Sycamore Canyon and California Canyon (the only place is US where the 5-striped Sparrow is found and nests). Since it is the only road anywhere near the border, it also has a strong Border Patrol presence. We saw a guy hauling a 9 meter travel trailer across there during hunting season. I would not go past Pena Blanca with a rig and our current 11 m rig is probably to large to get up the winding road to Pena Blanca.
Almost anywhere in southern NM and Arizona is great for free camping/boondocking/dispersed camping in winter (a bit warm in summer). It is BLM and Forest Service land, and following sensible protocols, it is for free. There are some BLM spots you have to pay $25 or so for 6 months of camping (that comes to about fourteen cents a night if you spend all 6 months out there). Western Arizona gets quite crowded and forget it. Texas has almost no public lands except National Parks.
Reed and Elaine