Worst Site to Back Into

[Scott]

Originally Posted by TaftCoach

I even double checked my paper map. It did look like the easiest route in. Lol oops

How would you, the road map, or GPS know that there was a steep hill on a gravel road? It's really hard to tell terrain on those systems. Unless you get a USGS topographical map that let you know it was a gravel rather than a paved road you would never know without calling the campground first, right?

I saw one campground's website that told us not to take the most direct road that the GPS would want you to follow because of a low railroad bridge and to follow the alternate route on their website. I got lucky that I noticed that part of their site as it was a new park for us.

[harryjr]

Originally Posted by Scott

I saw one campground's website that told us not to take the most direct road that the GPS would want you to follow because of a low railroad bridge and to follow the alternate route on their website. I got lucky that I noticed that part of their site as it was a new park for us.

We have seen that a few times. Sometimes in big bold letters all over their info. Sometimes in the fine print.

[Jagiven]

Honestly I don't think I have had any horrible sites to back into. We have had a few challenging spots.

The worst spot I had was actually getting out of one. Backed in no issues. But when we went to leave, the TV hooked up at a different angle, as we tried to pulled forwards I had a large tree branch that was in the way. Lots of jogging to around it. I am now a little bit more careful about thinking about getting out of a site when parking.

[Hollander Mutthaulers]

Lot of tight spots here and I'm betting every one was worth the effort!
Fortunately, my DW, who in earlier years spotted me through 500+ miles of jeep trails in Utah, is an excellent trailer spotter as well. Some camp hosts offer to spot, but my wife is the only spotter I trust and we have surprised more than a couple of camp spotters backing into tight or blind sites.
And the bottom of the steering wheel method? I don't have a problem backing a trailer with my hands at 10 and 2 on the wheel, but when backing without a trailer after a trip, it can be a little confusing at first.

Our tightest spot is a necessary one on every trip - our own parking area behind our house. It involves backing our seven foot wide trailer off a pretty busy street into a nine foot wide drive with a cement post and brick wall as side sentries at the start. Once past that there is a bay window, a slight dog leg, a gate with posts on each side and a cyclone fence along the entire stretch. Backing in on the blind side from the street is the key and my spotter nails it every time. The rest just takes slow patient work with inches on each side. When we get to the back, we drop the trailer and use a dolly to park it on the part of the double slab behind the house, perfect location. At first it took five or more tries to get into the drive from the street. Now it takes one or two and once off the street, we're home.

[Hollander Mutthaulers]

Originally Posted by Scott

I saw one campground's website that told us not to take the most direct road that the GPS would want you to follow because of a low railroad bridge and to follow the alternate route on their website. I got lucky that I noticed that part of their site as it was a new park for us.

Nice little Geneseo Campground in Geneseo, Illinois is on the far side of a low railroad underpass on the way from I-80. They give guests a warning. For east-bound campers there is a closer entrance to the west, but to avoid backtracking when leaving via EB I-80, you need to go through town and around, not under, the railroad underpass; a very easy route to follow.

[Motojavaphil]

I think we all have been confronted by difficult sites. One of my favorites was being confronted by a difficult site and backing into it perfectly the first time much to my amazement, DW’s and the two escorts. They started yelling after I’d put it in park, so I went back to see what the problem was. Seems the ground had been saturated from a hurricane and my 5r was sinking in, down a foot by the time I got back there! Started the truck, dropped it into 4 low and away we went. An unappreciated parking job!

[Racinforthefinish]

Back in the day I had a Shasta motorhome that I thought I could go anywhere in. I went to a local lake with boondocking sites and found a nice campsite on a small knoll overlooking the lake. I had to back in between trees with about four inches on each side, no problem. When I got ready to leave the wind was blowing in gusts and no way I could fit through those trees. I watched and found the gusts would let up once in a while, I got everything ready and when the wind let up I drove through. I never used that site again.

[TaftCoach]

We were at a to really cool, slightly rustic, old private campground in northern Wisconsin. The site next to us would have been great for a pup, rapid, etc. Pulling in was a really big 5er. Everyone around stopped, offered to move everything out of the way for him, and gawked.

His dad, a gentleman around 70 years old said my son loves the challenge, my even better with an audience. Trees everywhere, not much room in front, he wasn't going to bed able to straighten up until he was most of the way in the site.

Guy basically jackknifed into that spot on the first try. Someone asked if he was a trucker, no just a farmer. We were gone before them, I always wondered how he got out.

[TxLoser]

Reviving this to vent…

Backing into a state park site today. Why oh why must they place a big a@& decorative rock right next to the road where my truck arcs around. Is it just for sport? Maybe sites should be labeled like ski runs. Green/Blue/Black. This was a blue that should’e been a green.

[SmokerBill]

Originally Posted by TxLoser

Reviving this to vent…

Backing into a state park site today. Why oh why must they place a big a@& decorative rock right next to the road where my truck arcs around. Is it just for sport? Maybe sites should be labeled like ski runs. Green/Blue/Black. This was a blue that should’e been a green.

The boulder was probably put there to keep people from rolling their tires off of the designated roadway and creating muddy ruts.

[TaftCoach]

I know you were joking but, I think a lot of people would appreciate notes about Abby difficulties in backing into a site.

[Bugzilla46310]

Any spot on this road!

[SmokerBill]

Originally Posted by TaftCoach

I know you were joking but, I think a lot of people would appreciate notes about Abby difficulties in backing into a site.

What are Abby difficulties?

[OntFF]

As was said up thread; I think we've all been in tight and ugly spots...

Worst I had wasn't getting in, but getting out - pad was a little down-hill from the road; had a couple days of rain, and things were slick on the way out - managed to get hooked up, tried to pull out and get up the hill; and it just wasn't going to happen; truck in 4-lo, and just a bunch of 'nope'.

Campground owner had the tractor out and warming up already... Apparently not an uncommon problem on wet days.

[DaveT]

Mine wasn't so much a backing challenge as placement. We were sharing a double site with friends and so had to be "close to the edge." Which meant I had to place the camper where the awning would extend between 2 trees with about an inch clearance on each. Even just dropping the truck into park and letting off the brake would cause enough misalignment that the trees would interfere.

[bstannard]

There is nothing better than a good spotter when backing into a tight spot. My wife calls my cell from hers and she is my eyes as she calmly directs me with no shouting or funny hand signals.

[Murff]

Speaking about backing, the neighbors called the cops about something as an officer showed up yesterday morning. He talked to the neighbors about whatever. When he went to leave in his Ford Explorer police vehicle, he backed into the area in the picture between the red truck and the utility pole guy wire.



I couldn't tell if he hit the rock or not, but besides driving on a neighbors lawn, when he left, he caught the guy wire with the trim under the left rear passenger door and tore it off the police car. I went out the front door and flagged him to stop as he started to leave and pointed out to him that the trim piece was laying in the grass.

I sensed he was a bit embarrassed.

Murff

[Loaded-N-Rollin']

Originally Posted by Motojavaphil

I think we all have been confronted by difficult sites. One of my favorites was being confronted by a difficult site and backing into it perfectly the first time much to my amazement, DW’s and the two escorts. They started yelling after I’d put it in park, so I went back to see what the problem was. Seems the ground had been saturated from a hurricane and my 5r was sinking in, down a foot by the time I got back there! Started the truck, dropped it into 4 low and away we went. An unappreciated parking job!

How did you talk the DW into letting you bring two escorts? Asking for a friend.