Glad we have air conditioning in the house when it's like this.
We have air conditioning in the office and concession too, but it can't keep up when the ladies are in there cooking. With the deep fryers on, and the oven or cooktop there's simply too much heat generated for the AC to be able to compensate. Then, they also have to have the exhaust fan on and it just draws in more hot air from outside. I'm working on getting the exhaust fan slowed down...I think that will help fix the problem.
Speaking of air conditioning, I walked around the park yesterday afternoon and took note of several of the seasonal camper's trailer's who had left their A/C on and yet they weren't in the park. Whether by oversight or on purpose, who knows...but it's not fair to the rest of the park. I wouldn't care if we had individual meters at the sites and they were paying the bill...but we don't and so the costs are passed on to the park as a whole and everybody pays for it in the form of increased fees. We'll have to come up with some kind of policy on that. Maybe the penalty should be that I have the right to simply unplug their trailer! I guess we'll see what they say at the next board meeting, but something needs to be done.
A local greenhouse, "Garden of Eden Greenhouse and Gifts" donated a bunch of plants and flowers to the park. Ruth is happy on one hand because she's really good at making the park look beautiful with the flowers. But now she's got lots of work ahead of her to get them all planted!
A good selection of perennials and annuals.
Anyhow....busy weekend and have things to do. Gotta go!
You may have missed my last post about a special Amazon.com deal. Apparently not everyone is eligible, however I bought one, and three other people show up as having bought one in our Amazon.com statistics. The deal is, you buy a $50 Amazon.com gift card, and Amazon sends you a $10 promotional credit. The gift card never expires, but the promo credit needs to be used by August 15th. Valid for Canadians too, if you have an Amazon.com account. But for some reason some people aren't eligible as reader Dugg pointed out in last night's post. But if you can get it, it's a free $10...
Make sure that you're logged into your Amazon.com account, and then click where it says "Click to add the code to your account"
I bought it as an email gift card, so the gift card itself shows up right away in my inbox. Then, the system says that within three days they'll send me my $10 promo code.
When we are in an area that is too hot for our comfort level and we go out for the day we do leave the AC on. If we turned it off we'd be sleeping in a hot trailer. I do agree that if those Seasonal campers are only there on the weekends they should shut down while away.
ReplyDeleteBe Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
For the most part, I disagree with you. Most RV A/C units will be able to cool your trailer down sufficiently when you arrive back at it from your day's outing. And definitely so once the sun goes down. You would most certainly NOT be sleeping in a hot trailer.
DeleteThe whole reason we stay in a full hookup campground is to leave our climate control running so that when we come back to camper at the end of a day it's comfortable. We are responsible about our energy consumption and we always set the a/c thermostat up a bit in the summer and the heat thermostat down a bit in the winter because it doesn't have to be super comfortable just not get unlivable. And sometimes we have to leave our dog in the camper because she's not allowed where we are going so she needs heat and a/c. Please be sure to consider that before you consider unplugging someone's camper just because they are gone.
ReplyDeleteOur park has a rule that pets are not to be left alone. I would not be unplugging someone's camper without contacting them first.
DeletePlease don't forget they may have left the animals inside because it's too hot out side. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteSure enjoy your post
Our park has a rule that no pets are to be left alone.
DeleteThat's a reasonable rule for barking dogs. But extending it to pet fish, iguanas, and even cats---is just micromanagement. Otherwise I agree, an empty RV does not need the A/C running.
DeleteYes, the rule is actually just for dogs. :-)
DeleteYay! But I would hope none of the seasonal weekend campers are leaving even pet fish unattended during the week. You can try to educate them til the cows come home, but it really comes down to sheer laziness. I suspect the only real solution would be to meter the usage---maybe just for repeat offenders?
DeleteUltimately, our main problem is with our seasonal campers. I'm not so worried about the ones paying by the day. However, one of our goals here at the park is to put in electrical meters at the seasonal sites...that is the only fair way, and then we wouldn't care in the least bit if they want to leave air conditioners on.
Deleteso Kevin...this is not "your" RV park...as long as the state/federal authorities are o.k. with the current system...why do you think you should change it? The seasonal campers are paying what they are asked to pay. It includes electric. It is not 1 or 2 hours when you think they should have it. When the rules are changed.. then you have a right to cut people off....until then ..just do your job...don't invent one. Seasonal campers are not "a problem".
DeleteI can't change anything unless the board of directors agrees to it. They don't always agree with me, but I am welcome to continue to make the necessary suggestions and recommendations that I think will improve the park for the good of both the park and the majority of the campers. And when they agree with me, we implement those suggestions and recommendations.
DeleteI could easily come in and "just do my job". But I'd rather do more than that.
If I pay for a site including electricity then I expect to use the electricity as I see fit. Whether I am at the site or not I am paying for the electricity just the same as others.
ReplyDeleteAnother example of why all campground sites should have metered electricity.
DeleteI agree totally.
DeleteI agree with you on that and have seen it often, except when people have meters of their sites.
ReplyDeleteWe very seldom use our AC unless its over 100f and humid. Can always find a shady spot with a light breeze, or go for a swim or shower to cool down.
Then only too cool our coach down in the evening and usually turn it off at night. The Fantastic fan provides a nice night time breeze.
You do things exactly the way we do! We rarely use our AC. We find that with the windows open and our fan going we do just fine. We would also find a nice shady spot to sit outside in the heat of the day.
DeleteUsually in an RV Park that means that pets are not to be left alone outside. I don't see how you could possibly enforce that rule about leaving a pet inside alone.
ReplyDeleteIf the pet is not a problem, we wouldn't even know about it.
Deleteso if the pet dies because you turn off the electric... .you're o.k. with that?
Deletethat was for Kevin not you George.
Deleteor Contessa
DeleteYou need to read the other comments prior to commenting yourself, Barb. I said that I would never turn off the electricity to a camper without first speaking to the owner of the RV.
DeleteIn Yuma if anyone notices an animal in an unoccupied RV the fire department is called, the RV is entered and the animal taken. The owner pays for all damage, a call out fee for the fire department and a large fine. There are residents offering animal sitting services for a fee. I think our friends paid $10 per hour.
ReplyDeleteMakes sense to me!
DeleteBoy did you open the big bag of worms if you usage pays for it you're entitled to use it
ReplyDeleteif you want to increase the fee Per day that Account for the electricity that's your board of Directors prerogative
You said yourself that there is air-conditioning in the concession stand is not doing any good so turn it off
I do trust you shut the air conditioning off in your office when you go out and do your rounds
As far as your housing heat an AC goes that's part of your perks courtesy of the park
As far as the Board of Directors are concern with seasonal campers that is probably been factored into some part of their seasonal fee
I'm not trying to create H/D here but what are you doing about recycling the aluminum cans / bottles are you giving the recycling Windfall back to the park
I'm sorry but I'm one that loves to play devils advocate As well as one that likes to take a stick to a hornets nest just to see what will stir
Enjoy your day and thanks for letting me play with my stick
There wouldn't even be a problem if each site had metered electricity.
DeleteYes, the money from the recycled cans and bottles goes directly to the park.
We use our AC very little and when it is used it is always turned off at night, same goes for the heat. We have always been careful with our resources no matter where we have lived or who is paying for it.
DeleteKevin, I'm with you 100%. I prefer a low rental fee and metered electricity. Pay for what you use. Fair to everyone. Never understood an rv campground owner who would let a 45 ft bus with three a/c units drain his profits when the guy next door has one a/c an is only 18ft and uses a third. Doesn't make sense. Also the fact that rvers are more towards the outdoors and should have greater respect for Mother Nature and the use of natural resources. i'll take metered over any site. That's why we boondock.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with you Chris! I would be like taking a small economy car to the gas station and paying the exact same amount that a full size bus would take. We feell like the ones that use less electricity are subsiding those that use more. We are with you, we like metered sites but boondocking even more! :-)
Deleteyes Ruth.... but you boondock because you don't want to pay anything. Others pay because they want their comfort...and by the way gas is the same price for everyone last I heard.
DeleteWe boondock for many reasons, one of them being because it is free but that isn't the only reason!
DeleteThe total bill for the two is not the same, that is what I was getting at!
Much more beautiful places to see when boondocking. Nothing like waking up in the middle of a pine forest at the Grand Canyon and seeing elk and deer in the woods. Not to mention the quiet of not hearing other people's generator or A/C running. But that's just me. The campground inside the Grand Canyon reminds me of a concentration camp complete with dishwashing stations, laundry and pay showers. Yikes!
DeleteYep we are with you on that, Chris! :-)
DeleteI believe the heat is making everyone cranky! I have been working my burro off scrubbing toilets etc workcamping and am so grateful that electricity is included in my "wage" as I swelter away in 109 degrees!! I only leave AC on when gone if the dog is home alone. The park manager has the AC on in the RV even in the cool early morning!
ReplyDeleteLeah, I am the same way here with our washrooms in the campground and watering all the flowers and everything else so yes it is nice to walk into the air conditioning in our trailer when it is baking hot outside. This however was not what Kevin was getting at, his issue is with some of the seasonals that are gone all week, and it was their units that had their AC running with nobody there. He has no problem with people that are here everyday that have their units running, he doesn't blame them especially with this heat.
DeleteRuth - your reply finally made Kevin's post make sense to me. He didn't say that they were gone for the whole week and left the AC running. It sounded to me like they had just taken off to go someplace to shop or eat or sight see and were coming back. However, I am curious about leaving the dogs alone in the rig. We have never been to a campground that said we couldn't leave the dogs in the rig alone (unless they were a barking nuisance). They all say they can't be left alone tied up outside (or run loose outside). If that were the case, we would never be able to go to a museum or a restaurant or to the store together as one would have to stay home with the dogs. If I owned a sticks and bricks, I would leave the dogs home alone. Since this is my home I don't understand this rule. Thanks.
DeleteYes, I'm sorry, I could have been a little more clear on that.
DeleteUnfortunately, we've had to become very strict with our dog rules. So that is correct, dogs are not to be left alone at all. Having said that, (as I said earlier to Contessa) if you leave your dog alone in the rig and it's a good dog, then we wouldn't even know. But if the dog barks and makes noise (and we've all seen it happen), then at least when I tell them they have to leave the park, I can also say that they were warned not to do that.
I'm sure that we've lost campers as a result of the dog rules being so strict. But the alternative was to become a "no dogs allowed" park.
When I leave my rig the ac goes off I had a 38ft one and when I got back it never took more than 15 min to cool it down. I say go get a beer sit outside for the few minutes it takes to cool down how hard is that. If you don't like beer have an iced tea
DeleteWe are the same way Wendy, although it is very rare that we ever use the AC in the motorhome. We normally sit outside in the shade or if we are inside than we will have the overhead fan one, we find that it works great. You are right it doesn't take too long to cool down a motorhome.
DeleteIf the park had the legal right to unplug a rig they better have a good reason. If they unplugged our rig and we were away and something happened that we couldn't get back that day or didn't intend to come back that day what would happen to our food in the fridge and freezer, or a pet we have left inside or our meds in the fridge that needed to be kept cool. When we pay to stay on a site with services we are expected to use those services as we see fit. That area is then our home to use those services as they are needed using our own discretion. If you metered every site even just for a few days stay that could deter some patrons from using your park facilities so it is not a practical idea and more trouble than it's worth for the owners of the park. The air conditioning is the use of hydro, as is water and sewer use. It is a utility for use in the price of the site mostly for transients and short stay people it is only metered for longer stays which is fine by us. I can see your point but don't fully agree. I personally think short stays everything should be included and that is up to the owners of the park to determine when and when not to meter just like it is up to the camper whether to stay in a park that meters everyone. I personally think that you are over reacting.
ReplyDeleteThis issue is similar to a lot of things that are under dispute everyone has a different opinion. The only opinion that counts belongs to the owner of the park and how they wish to handle things. That decision will then effect what the consumer thinks about it as to whether they will use the facilities or not.
If you had read through the comments you will have noticed that Kevin has mentioned that even if he had authority to pull the plug on a unit he would not do so without contacting the owners. Also the metered electricity would be for the seasonals not the short term guests.
Delete