When Kevin and Alecia Watson of Paving New Paths made their campground reservation, they looked forward to an uneventful and restful week.
After a few days, things quickly went south between their family and the campground staff.
The couple didn’t violate any rules, but they had to pack up their things and hit the road.
Let’s take a closer look at the whole story so that you can avoid a similar situation.
Why Did These YouTubers Get Kicked Out of a Campground?
After a few days of relaxing, Kevin and Alecia began to experience electrical issues at their campsite. While this isn’t uncommon, a campground will typically prioritize fixing the issue and be apologetic.
That was not the experience that Paving New Paths had at this Montana campground.
The couple’s power eventually became inoperable, and they had to use their neighbor’s 30-amp connection to power their RV. Once the neighbor needed his power back, the couple had to use a 15-amp connection to keep their lights on and use the essentials in their RV.
However, it was far from enough power for them to do laundry, and was constantly tripping their surge protector.
Kevin and Alecia reached out to the campground staff multiple times regarding the issue. Their voicemails and emails went unanswered, and the couple grew frustrated at the staff’s lack of availability and communication.
When they were finally able to reach an employee, the situation escalated quickly.
As the couple’s neighbor was leaving, they stated they were more than happy to simply use that electrical connection for the rest of their stay. This seemed like a fair solution to the problem, but the campground wasn’t satisfied. Instead of using the other power pedestal, the staff informed them they would need to pack up their things and move.
However, they weren’t asking them to move to a different campsite, but another campground.
Luckily for Kevin and Alecia, the campground refunded all of their money and sent them on their way. Their next campground conveniently sat a short distance from Glacier National Park and accommodated them four days early.
In the end, the campground did the couple a favor by canceling their reservation and forcing them to leave.
Who Is Paving New Paths?
Paving New Paths is a family of four sharing their traveling adventures on their Facebook and YouTube accounts. They hope to inspire others to pursue whatever path brings them joy and fulfillment.
The Watsons launched into sharing their adventures in January 2021. Follow them on Facebook or subscribe to their YouTube channel if you’re interested in following their adventures.
Can Big Rigs Really Drain an RV Park’s Power?
It’s not uncommon to encounter a park with power issues due to RVs using too much power. However, “draining” an RV park’s power is not a good description.
If an RV uses too much power, it will typically trip the breaker to the power pedestal to avoid damage.
During peak seasons, some RV parks with faulty or outdated electrical systems will experience electrical drops. This is typically because the campground packs in lots of RVs, many running one or multiple air conditioning units to keep cool.
This is why many RVers use an electrical management system, which shuts off power during both surges and drops in voltage.
Keep in mind: These are 5 Reasons to Avoid a Motorhome.
Is It Legal for a Campground to Kick People Out?
A campground is a private business, so it can reserve the right to serve or not serve nearly anyone. They’re well within their rights to ask a guest to leave, whether they’ve violated rules or not.
A campground may be required to refund all or a portion of any fees, but a camper may be out of luck, depending on the situation.
If a campground asks you to leave and things escalate, you may just want to find a new place to stay. Getting a different campground quickly can end up being less of a hassle.
It’s likely not worth fighting to stay in a campground where you’re not wanted.
Push the limits: Here’s a little bit about breaking campground rules.
Why Might a Campground Kick Someone Out?
A campground might kick someone out for several reasons, but mostly because the campers have violated rules. Whether you realize it or not, you’re likely clicking or checking a box indicating that you agree with the rules and policies of the campground.
If they ask you to leave, there’s a good chance you violated a rule.
Being ignorant of the rules won’t excuse you from needing to follow them. Campgrounds have asked RVers to leave for violating rules like receiving packages, having guests, and being too loud at their campsites.
You must take note of any unique rules or policies when staying at a campground.
A campground can also ask you to leave if they catch you violating any local laws or ordinances. In this case, they could ask law enforcement to intervene, and having to find a new campsite will be the least of your worries.
Learn from These RVers: Read the Reviews Before Heading to a Campground
Kevin and Alecia read the reviews for the campground and saw quite a few bad ones but dismissed them. It should be a major red flag when there’s a consistent theme of negative reviews for a campground.
You can save yourself a tremendous amount of stress by putting in a little bit of effort to read reviews before booking a site.
Find a third-party website like Campendium, and don’t just trust the reviews listed on a campground’s website.
Have you ever had a campground ask you to leave?
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I experienced a similar circumstance it unfortunate I never got to the campground but I made a reservation at South Bay Campground in South Bay Florida now I live in Fort Lauderdale so it’s kind of like a week just to get away and have a good time but I had made a reservation paid for it and about a month later I got a phone call wanting to know if I would use a 30 amp instead of 50 amp being in Florida I told them now that I needed to 50 amp to run my AC units well then I get a second call same thing they wanted to buy a 30 amp connection for me but I informed them I need my AC I have animals so basically they refunded my money and what it boils down to is they don’t care about Floridians they’d rather get the money from the snowbirds because they’re gonna stay three months instead of my one week and I believe this might even be a Palm Beach County campground as well if I call Palm Beach County I’ll inform them of how asinine these people were but I thought something you might want to know give you a heads up on South Bay Campground
@Brian Hipsher,
Wow….I guess the global supply chain shortage applies to punctuation marks as well! 🙄
@Captain Quirk, 😆 my take on this is everyone at the park was better off without this guy.
Are you sure he didn’t violate rules? The park I’m currently in says you can’t run your own washer and dryer without prior authorization.
So you have 45′ rigs with 2 and sometimes 3 a/c units, a washer and dryer, dishwasher, two full bathrooms. These utility hogs belong in a mobile home park, not a campground. That way they are paying for all utilities they use.
I sit here in my little class b, one a/c, no washer and dryer or dishwasher. One bathroom, used by one person, not a family who decided its still a good idea to have 4 kids, yet paying the same amount as these hogs!
Kick them all out. I don’t want to subsidize them.
South Carolina had a campground throw me out with no refund (1 month stay $400). They over booked a group for a weekend and told me to move into a wooded (no services) storage area or leave. I had to have the police show up because he threaten to shoot me. I need to be protected. southern people protect southern people. Police officer would not do anything for me…Lost $ 400.