Most campgrounds I have been at make some distinctions. You pay more if you want water. More if you want electricity (hydro in canadian parlance). And some will give you a discount if you are in a "primitive" site.

I question whether those behemoths should be considered 'camping'. I draw the line at in door rest rooms :).

Sent from my iPad

On Jul 27, 2012, at 3:44 PM, Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM> wrote:

> I think this is an excellent suggestion, but as I spend about a month a
> year in my camper, and my work involves me with the people who make these
> decisions, I doubt that it is going to happen. Their mentality is toward
> what they think "most" people want. The pay for lots of surveys and studies
> and are probably in a position to know.
> 
> Be lucky there is any camping! I was in—get this—a Georgia State Park last
> week and no camping of any kind was allowed there!
> 
> I have established dozens of small (most are tiny, actually, and for
> paddlers but some are bigger) campgrounds around my state as the result of
> my stewardship with the Alabama Scenic River Trail. And where a couple of
> tents can be put up, a westy can usually be accommodated. But not always.
> The operators are not charging by the foot these days, but "for the
> experience." My Senior Pass helps a lot—over 62, ten bucks will cut your
> camping costs in half for the rest of your life—but it doesn't help most
> people who want to take their families out. I can think of places on the
> gulf coast where camping in a westy or tent at a state park is more
> expensive than nearby lodging.
> 
> When they see a small camper or a tent coming, they know they are making
> money. They are not going to turn back now.
> 
> As for impacting the situation, I suggest you write a letter. What the
> camping customer wants always figures in to some decision somewhere up or
> down the line.
> 
> Jim
> 
> On Fri, Jul 27, 2012 at 2:15 PM, Poppie Jagersand <poppie.jagersand@yahoo.ca
>> wrote:
> 
>> Boats pay overnight marina mooring charges per foot. Moderate boat =
>> moderate fee; large boat = large fee.
>> 
>> How come we don't have something similar for national park campgrounds (as
>> well as state, provincial  and other public ones)?
>> 
>> A decade or two ago many of the public campgrounds I stayed in charged
>> $5-10/night and were very basic. Now many have been rebuilt with large
>> gravel pads for RV's more facilities etc and charge 20, 30 sometimes up
>> towards $40.
>> While $40/night is a drop in the sea for someone in a $100,000 RV, it
>> might be the full price of the Walmart tent for the family in the spot next
>> to them. We all have a part in the public lands and there ought to be
>> options for everyone.
>> 
>> In some small fraction of campgrounds there are walk-in tent only areas.
>> In even fewer cases these tent areas are in the nicest part of the
>> campground (Twojack lake in Banff is an example where the tents get to be
>> near the lake shore).
>> It is not that it is that easy to be a tent camper these days. Among 100's
>> of campgrounds I've been to in the Canadian rockies less than 10% have a
>> decent tent-only facility.
>> 
>> Aside from the economic fairness, one simply does not get the same
>> experience in a tent when walled in by RV's on all sides, and much the same
>> goes for being in the VW camper walled in by monster-size RV's.
>> 
>> Has anyone seen constructive attempts to create different size categories?
>> Talked to officials and have them seem to understand?
>> 
>> So it would seem possible to have more categories with charges
>> proportional to footprint.
>> 1. Tents
>> 2. Vehicles less than 18"
>> 3. Vehicles vehicles and combinations above 18"
>> 
>> Surely some campgrounds have vehicle restrictions, but they tend to be
>> motivated by physical obstacles for these large vehicles, not the desire to
>> create fair pricing and an enjoyable stay for everyone.
>> 
>> Any thoughts?
>> 
>> Any chance to have impact on this?
>> 
>> B.t.w. It is not that I harbor a hatred against the RV people. Most of the
>> ones I meet are perfectly nice.
>> 
>> Martin (and "Poppie '82 Westie")
>> 
>>