Parking the "wrong" way

[Carlos]

We mostly try to avoid RV parks, but we have desires to go to a few places where there simply is no boondocking, such as a recent visit to San Diego.  We had two different neighbors come and go.  Both parked the wrong way.  Meaning facing into the space.  This meant they were traipsing out into our area.  One complained that a friend's smoking was offensive.  Well, we are outdoors, and you could have parked with another 10' of space and your rig separating us.

How common is this?  Do you ever tell people, "Hey, turn it around?"  Tell the camp hosts?  I hated it, my wife hated it, and our dogs hated it because one had a yappy aggressive dog.

 

[sandsys]

People seem to have two reasons for parking backwards. One is to get the view from their front windows. The other is to face a friend's rig to share the space between. Obviously, the second was not tru in your situation. So, was the back view of a lake or ocean? In either case, sorry to have to tell you this but inconsiderate people don't care what you think.

Linda

[Carlos]

The front view was a sandy berm, the normal view was the rest of the campground.  I'm not sure if they thought the sandy berm was prettier.  The first RV had its shades drawn the entire time.  The second was a tiny Class B so I don't think they had much "sitting around" space inside and were outside most of the time.

 

2 minutes ago, sandsys said:

In either case, sorry to have to tell you this but inconsiderate people don't care what you think.

Well, I guess they have to put up with the smoke or whatever then too!

 

[Kirk W]

 

 

1

4 hours ago, Carlos said:

We had two different neighbors come and go.  Both parked the wrong way.  Meaning facing into the space.  .......................

How common is this? 

I don't remember ever having had someone do that in a commercial park. I have seen it occasionally in a state or county park where there was some view that a motorhome might want to face behind the site, but never in the site next to us. 

[Carlos]

View didn't seem interesting to me.  Well, and especially with a closed curtain.

 

[Ray,IN]

The picture shows they left room on their door side so they do not have to enter your site. Look at the situation like this; at least you do not have a group or partiers staying up till the wee hours with bright lights and loud music.

Is it possible to have a friendly conversation with them about the yappy dog bothering you both?

I'm a - the glass is half-full person.

Edited April 19, 2019 by Ray,IN

[sandsys]

Maybe their hookup connections are on the wrong side?

[sandsys]

Maybe they are new and still afraid to back their rig?

[Carlos]

The connections were dragged under the rig, and barely fit.  No idea if both were newbies.

 

[2gypsies]

I would say they probably wanted privacy from their front window instead of facing the road but if the curtains were closed...… ?  We've been in some public parks that have narrow roads or one-way roads and you would need to go the wrong way to enter front first.  The camp hosts will ask them to leave and come in the correct way.  We hosted at one and that's what we had to do.

[Matthew]

On 4/19/2019 at 12:28 AM, sandsys said:

Maybe they are new and still afraid to back their rig?

I have co-workers who are "afraid" to back the company vehicles into the main garage.  I ask them how do they park in their personal garage?  They drive in!  And how do you get your vehicle out of your garage?  They back out!  Well if you can back out why can't you back in? 

Mental block, fear or who knows?

[Carlos]

Really, you don't see how it's harder to back into a confined space than to leave from it to open space?

Ran into a couple who was asking why all hoses and cords are "too short."  They were parking the wrong direction, never crossed their minds.  

[bobsallyh]

I worked for a corporation that , if you don't back into a parking place, take a day off without pay! When the program fist started, I thought it was stupid. But after adhering to the rule, it's great. Backing accidents are Numero Uno in the insurance industry. Just sit in parking lot sometime and observe. Put it in "R" and go until somebody hits you, screams at you that they are walking past the back bumper, etc. Been retired since 2002 and I still back in. A retired trucker that is parked beside us at the RV park that we are in discussed this subject the other day. He also had to back in and still does so today.

[sandsys]

1 hour ago, bobsallyh said:

I worked for a corporation that , if you don't back into a parking place, take a day off without pay! When the program fist started, I thought it was stupid. But after adhering to the rule, it's great. Backing accidents are Numero Uno in the insurance industry. Just sit in parking lot sometime and observe. Put it in "R" and go until somebody hits you, screams at you that they are walking past the back bumper, etc. Been retired since 2002 and I still back in. A retired trucker that is parked beside us at the RV park that we are in discussed this subject the other day. He also had to back in and still does so today.

My friend, a retired sheriff's deputy, still backs in as well. It makes an emergency departure must faster.

When I took the RV Driving School class my first request was to learn how to back my particular rig into a parking spot.

Linda Sand

[folivier]

Think about this:  when you first get to a parking space your awareness of surroundings is fresh.  So it is safer to back in.  But when you get to your car if you have to back out, you unlock the door, load your groceries, etc. get in, buckle up, start the engine, then back out.  Your awareness of the surroundings is stale, things have changed.  

I always back into a parking spot unless it is not possible.

[Kirk W]

 

 

 

Quote

Why Reverse Parking is Safer

Backing into a parking space requires pulling past it first. This gives you much better visibility of the spot itself and could help you avoid hitting a motorcycle, grocery cart, or debris. These smaller objects are often hard to see as you turn and pull forward into a parking spot with cars on both sides.

Backing in gives you optimal visibility as you exit your parking space. This is important because you will be entering the vehicular and pedestrian traffic in the parking lot.[3] Rear-view cameras can provide improved visibility as you back out of a parking space, but most are not as good as the visibility you have looking out of your windshield.

Backing in allows you to exit your parking spot more quickly in case of an emergency.

 

[TherapyBound]

I can easily see making this mistake as a newbie. A kind word from a neighbor could put it right.

It sounds like you were angry with them for several reasons (parking "wrong", "yappy" dog, not liking your friend's smoke). I wonder if a friendly word about parking etiquette would have gone a long way? At least that way, if they refused to back in, you'd know they were jerks and not just new people overwhelmed by the whole thing. If they were new at it, they may have appreciated the insight.

Edited May 21, 2019 by Bigthinkers

[Carlos]

Being that we have generally avoided RV parks, I wasn't sure about saying anything.  Maybe lots of people do this?  Hence my question here.  I'm not going to be the know-it-all who got it wrong.

Backing in would work better if others understood what you're doing.  But in many busy lots, it creates confusion, and once someone almost backed into me because after going past the space, she assumed I was going to continue.  So I always park nose in.  

[Twotoes]

Looks like you are at Silver Strand State Park? My ex girlfriend is a FedEx driver in San Diego. She always backs into a space in her FedEx truck and her personal truck. As far as your neighbors not backing in, most campgrounds hosts, when notified, will ask the campers to pull out and back into the space as it was designed to do, hence all the hookups on the drivers side of the space when backed in and aligned with the hookups on the RV. As far as the dogs barking, another thing to tell the host. As far as the smoker, he is on your space and not doing anything illegal but could be a good neighbor and smoke downwind if possible. 

[Dutch_12078]

Two situations where I will pull in instead of backing in: With the motorhome, when there's a fantastic view to the rear of the site and it's allowed, and with our SUV, when I need to be able to fully swing open the rear door for loading. Since for us, the fantastic rear views are typically at state or national parks, there usually isn't another site close enough to be an issue. 

[Ray,IN]

Off-topic, not related to RVing;

I hadn't given much though to backing into a car space until one time a couple was standing by my truck waiting for me. They had backed in, or pulled through, either way they could not open their hatchback to put their groceries into the car after I had pulled into the space behind them. Why blame me for their actions was my question to them, I was told I should have been more aware and left room for them to open their hatchback. I just tipped my hat, wished them a good day and returned to the store to shop in the fishing equipment section for an hour.

I have enough trouble watching my own business.

[Sehc]

You didn't get vaseline on your wipers? I would have apologized for their stupidity and then move my vehicle.

[TherapyBound]

Do people really carry jars of revenge Vaseline with them?

[LindaH]

11 hours ago, Ray,IN said:

They had backed in, or pulled through, either way they could not open their hatchback to put their groceries into the car

This is the main reason we drive into a space, not back in.  We have to load groceries, or whatever, into the back and it's very difficult to do if we've backed into a space and have another car behind us.

[Dutch_12078]

1 hour ago, LindaH said:

This is the main reason we drive into a space, not back in.  We have to load groceries, or whatever, into the back and it's very difficult to do if we've backed into a space and have another car behind us.

Yep, it's particularly a problem with our RAV4 that has a side opening rear door rather than a hatchback.