Dear Dr. R.V. Shrink:
I have a question about RV dump etiquette. My wife just yelled at me for asking a guy at the dump station to hurry it along. I’m not bold or rude. This guy just pushed my wrong buttons. First he dumped, then he did a complete scrub as if he were going to deliver a baby next. Then he filled his very large water tank, which took about fifteen minutes. I was a little annoyed, but still had my anger in check at this point. It wasn’t until he started washing his motorhome windshield and the rest of the front end with a little dish scrubber. He could have done that at his site. He was treating the dump station as his own personal truck wash, while the rest of us patiently looked on. I know everyone else in line felt the same way I did. I felt it was my duty, since I was the next up to bat. Do you think I was within my rights? My wife thinks I should just have done the slow burn and waited my turn.
--Sewer Skewer in Laredo
Dear Skewer:
I would usually say to turn the other cheek and wait a person like that out. However, when someone shows no courtesy for those waiting in line, a little educational priming might go a long way in breaking rude habits. Even in this rare occasion there is no need for you to come across harsh. I would politely ask this person if they were aware of the line and suggest they wash their rig somewhere else. If that effort is met with resistance, I would find a park manager to handle the situation. You do not have to be the dump station referee. You will probably never have this happen again. If anything, most campers hurry along because they know they are holding you up. You never want to end up in a fight with a guy packing a sewer hose. Patiently waiting in line stinks, but sometimes in life you have to deal with a little dung and it can be a total waste of time.
--Keep Smilin', Dr. R.V. Shrink
##RVT844
9 comments:
Most of the time the water at the sewer dump is NOT POTABLE.
if we camp at a site with no sewer, when we get ready to leave, we will usually go to one with full hook ups, dump, wash out hose, etc. much better than trying to dump at the busy dump stations and usually much more level too.
Seriously? I would have immediately asked the camper to wash his rig at an appropriate car wash. The problem today is we all let this sort of behavior go unchecked. Perhpas teaching manners is a lost art, and this camper obviously was never taught them! It's never to late to learn if we only take the time to point rude behavior out.
Judy, I'm with you there. In addition- alot of these same people probably leave their vehicles parked at the gas islands while they eat, shop inside, etc.
Drew
There is no reason (other than stupidity) that he cannot dump the tank, fill the fresh water and clean the windshield all at the same time.. Just clean the spigot before you attach your freshwater hose.. You dont need to stand and listen to the goop run out of the dump hose
While I would have agreed with Judy in the past, these days you never know when you are yelling at a person who has a gun and is crazy enough to use it on you! About 7 years back, at Morro Strand Beach campgrounds, in Morro Bay California, one RVer was shot dead by another just because the first guy yelled at the second one to hurry up and vacate the site he was waiting for! Ya' never know any more. So silence is the safest decision.
I'd ask him if he plans on making a career out of his dumping episode. I see this behavior all the time and they don't give a rat's ass about anyone else. Like trying to load materials in the loading zone at Home Depot with a bunch of parked, abandoned vehicles whose owners are taking their time. If they have a phone number on their vehicle, can them and have some fun.
We travel full time and have often encountered problems like you have described at the dummp station because these people did NOT stay in the campground! They stayed at a Walmart or somewhere and just came in "to dump"! That is why they need to fill fresh water tanks,wash windshields and do other things that responsible campers do at their site because they have NO site!
Many times we have encountered this problem because the person was not staying in the campground. They stay for free somewhere like Walmart and then come into a campground to dump! That is why they need to fill water tanks, wash windows and all the other things that those of us who pay for a site do at our sites!
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