Light My Fire, Pros and cons of having campfires. Options

[Cheryl Fuller]

We have been at a few parks that had grills, but we have never used them. Like Rodman, we too, carry a small propane grill in the basement of the motorhome and we use it. Call me paranoid, but those provided grills just seem nasty to me. Ya' never know what has been on there and yes, I know that the fire would burn any residue off, but I would feel the need to use a steamer and a day's worth of elbow grease before I would put anything that was going to go in my mouth on one. Probably 98% of the parks we have stayed at do not have fire rings.

[Lance-a-Lot]

The spouse and I enjoy sitting around our campfire talking, roasting hotdogs, making s'mores, watching the flames dance, and listening to the sounds of the night (whipporwills, coyotes, etc.). Most of our camping is done at state or national park campgrounds with ample space between sites. When we stay at private campgrounds/rv parks we do not have a campfire because in most cases we feel the sites are too close together.

[A3Medic]

I have viewed this site dozens of times for the reviews. This was the first time I looked at the forums and I hit upon an issue like this. I guess this issue really draws the line between RV park people and RV camper people. I am always a respectful camper and am aware plenty are not.
I have been annoyed while sitting around like "a caveman" by some class A people running their generators 24/7. I try to be tolerant and not judge why they seal themselves up in A/C emerging only periodically to walk the poodle. To each his own I guess. I will continue to enjoy RVing in the great outdoors with my kids, just like I did with my parents. Like my parents who taught me, I am teaching my kids to enjoy yourself without negatively impacting others.

[COWolfPack]

Even though we just bought our travel trailer last year we go more for the camping than the RV parks. We enjoy staying at some of the state parks and national forests in our area. It is nice to get out and be amongst nature. Part of the experience we like is having a campfire. It is fun for us sitting around a campfire talking with friends and enjoying the night. It is also nice cooking on a campfire every now and then. Of course where we stay the conditions are more appropriate for having a campfire. The campsite are spaced further apart so we are not right next to our neighbor. However, if the conditions are not conducive to have a campfire (i.e. spaces to close together, etc.) we have no problem not having one.

In the end it doesn't matter if you like having campfires (with the smoke) or not; like running a generator (with its noise and exhaust fumes) or not; like staying up late outside and talking, or like to squirrel yourself away in your RV, it all boils down to respect. The good, respectful camper/RV'er is the one that can go out and enjoy their experience without preventing their neighbors from doing the same. This is the type of people my family and I try to be and the type of people we hope to have around us.

[Jerry S.]

Back again,

I'm almost finished reviewing the almost 30 parks I stayed in last year. I keep having a problem getting my review of a park in Devils Lake , ND to post. I'll give it another shot tomorrow.

Anyway, back to this string. For Cheryl F, Txrv, and COWolfpack: Either you guys never go to the variety of parks or areas (think northeast, midwest, northern plains,etc.) that I do or you go to RV only parks. I just went through my Woodall's and checked the parks I visited for fire rings and/or wood listed under facilities. The states are LA, MS, AR, IL, MI, MN, ND, MT, WY, SD, NE, and IO. 21 of 29 Rv parks indicated fires allowed. These are all full service parks with mostly RVs as customers. Three of the non-fire parks were the 3 casino RV parks in Tunica, MS. I spent the summers of 2004 and 2005 in northern NY and New England and, as somebody mentioned earlier, most parks out that way allow campfires. So you can understand how I find it hard to believe that you can stay at "campfireless" parks 90+% of your travels.

For Texasrvrs: Both Coushatta and Paragon in LA list firerings. Also, thanks for the compliment regarding the summary.

For Lance-a-lot and A3medic: I applaud you for being considerate of others when it comes to having a campfire. A3: I was also a bit put off by the caveman reference. Your retort about generators was appropriate. Lance: I enjoyed my years of tenting in state and national parks in the 70's and 80's and envy your ability to do that. This aging mind and body now needs its creature comforts.

Later,

Jerry S.

[Texasrvers]

Jerry S,

Your statistics about the number of RV parks that allow fires is interesting. Maybe more parks where we've stayed have allowed fires and we just didn't know it. It's possible we just didn't notice the fire rings or fires--especially if they weren't bothering us. I am sure we've never had someone else's smoke blowing right into our coach. That we would have noticed for sure!! Maybe I should amend my statement to say that for whatever reason people did not seem to have fires at about 95% of the places we've stayed.

Also we've never been to Paragon, but we have stayed at Coushatta about 4 times, and I cannot remember ever seeing a fire or fire rings there--or even a BBQ. Maybe my mind is farther gone than I thought. We just may need to make a trip over there to check it out!!!!

[COWolfPack]

Anyway, back to this string. For Cheryl F, Txrv, and COWolfpack: Either you guys never go to the variety of parks or areas (think northeast, midwest, northern plains,etc.) that I do or you go to RV only parks.

Jerry,

Actually I have never been to an RV only park. The campgrounds we have been to have allowed everything from tents to big rigs. We do a lot of our camping in state parks and national forests. Unfortunately at this time in our lives we don't have much time for travel so we normally stay within our home state. Hopefully as we get older we will have more time to travel but that is still some time away. Usually the sites are far enough apart in state parks or national forests to have a campfire without bothering anyone else. We do take the opportunity at times like this and do enjoy a campfire. However, if the sites are so close that we can't have a fire without smoke blowing into our or a neighbors rig, or risking ember damage, we have no problems forgoing the fire.

[RLM]

I have served as a volunteer camp host at a state park. One of the duties was to clean fire pits.
I can assure you that if anyone performs that chore for 45 sites, you will have a greater appreciation for the anti-fire pit group - especially on Monday morning after all the week-end warriors have left.

RVers of all types - tent, trailer, 5W, and motor homes - put aluminum cans, plastic material, and assorted trash in the fire rings. They will drag the biggest part of a fallen tree onto the campsite and start burning it at one end expecting it to be completely gone in a couple hours. Some will try to build a fire so big that it would melt all of the tents in the campground and could be seen from the space station.

I suspect that any self respecting home owner would not want to permeate their home with smoke and fire residue, so why would they want to do so in their or someone else's RV?

There is a time and place for a camp fire as long as it comes with courtesy and common sense.
Perhaps if the individual camper had to clean his/her own fire ring after use, there would be less camp fires.

Now........about leaving the bathhouse in a mess!!!

Rick

[Jerry S.]

Hi Rick (RLM),

I have been waiting for someone to mention that some people will throw almost anything into a fire or use it as a garbage recepticle. I hinted at it in my initial post. I have seen everything you mentioned plus: old wood from furniture, fences, buidlings, etc., every imaginable paper product (newspapers, magazines, boxes, etc.), and numerous non-combustables. Pro-fire participants in this string have talked about using only aged, dry wood. Good for them (and us), but I don't believe they are the majority. Unless your firewood has gone straight from being a tree, with a proper drying period, to being firewood, it is probably inappropriate to burn. If it has been a table, a fence, a porch, a magazine, a paper cup, etc., it has gone through some sort of process which has added possibly toxic chemicals (paint, varnish, ink, wax, etc.). Oops, I'm starting to fall of my pedestal. I can only hope some of my preaching reaches the ears that need to hear it.

Thanks again for bringing this part of the issue to light - without a fire.

Jerry S.

[Cheryl Fuller]

We have stayed at very few Campground and RV Parks - we look for mainly RV Parks. Out of your list Jerry, we have stayed at numerous parks in WY and MT, but have never been any place there that had fire pits. As for running our generator, in the 2 1/2 yrs, we have been rv'ing, only twice have we been allowed to run our generator while parked in our space. It clearly states in the park rules that generators may not be run. The 2 times we were allowed to run it, it was over 100 degrees and the power was out - once at Blazing Star in Texas and once at Terry Bison Ranch in Wyoming. Oh, and by the way, my dogs are Maltese and not poodles....

[mastercraft]

I have been reading about this topic with great interest to see what others have to say. We do both types of camping depending on the time of year and the park we are in. We like to have a small campfire in the fall or winter so we can sit around outside and let the kids roast s'mores, but it is not a concern to us if a park does not allow campfires. We travel and camp depending on the situation. We have local RV campgrounds that have plenty of room between sites and allow campfires and we "TRAVEL" in our RV in the summer.

[Texasrvers]

I know I'm talking too much, but here goes again.

I just wanted to let A3medic know that we (and I think most "RVers") do not like to have generators running next to us either. That's as rude as someone else's smoke blowing in your rig. The only time we have used our generator in a park/campground was one night when the power went out and everyone else was firing theirs up too. Mostly we just use it when we stop at a rest area to fix lunch. We usually park in the truck area and only have it on a few minutes. If it happens to be really hot we might leave it on to run the roof air, but I don't think it can be heard over the truck noise so I don't think it bothers anyone.

Also while we may not sit around a campfire, we also do not "seal ourselves up in A/C emerging only periodically to walk the poodle." Usually our trips are to an area that has lots to see and do outside the RV park. We spend a great deal of time sightseeing and basically use our motor home as a rolling hotel room. However, we can certainly understand how many people like to get away for the weekend and relax by cooking out and sitting around a campfire with friends and never leave the camp. This just emphasizes again how different people are looking for different experiences from campgrounds/RV parks and if you end up at a place that doesn't provide you with your expected experience you will probably be unhappy.

Jerry, we have rarely stayed at RV only parks, and not on purpose even then. But we do tend to pick places that lean toward RVs--especially big rigs--and those usually do not allow fires.

RLM, You need to post this sign: "Your mother does not work here so you will have to clean up after yourself." However, I doubt that will help in all cases. Some people are just natural born slobs and expect the rest of us to clean up their mess. Course that would never be anyone on this forum. We are all very nice people.

Finally, all this discussion has left me with this thought: Building a campfire is so simple even a caveman can do it!

[Cheryl Fuller]

TexasRvers - I don't think anyone here can possibly think you talk too much. I am always happy to see new posts when I come here. I am on one forum that probably at least 10 posts are written every minute, but this one is much slower, so I love seeing new posts. Keep "talking", girl.....

[John Blue]

Texasrvers,

I see we think the same way. We only use our gen. in rest stops, on open roads to run A/C units on roof, and never in any RV park-any place. We also sit outside, walk at night, tour all over the place outside the park, talk to other people around the park, and enjoy life. We have never been a problem to anyone that I know of. Smoke in our motorhome is a problem to me. We use our motorhome as a rolling condo and move from place to place to see the USA. We use Nat. parks, State parks, CORE parks, Good Sam parks, passport parks, and high dollar parks.

We also have been to Conshatta and Paragon number of times and I did not see any fire rings in two parks. Also no one had fires in two parks.

[Jerry S.]

To Txrv and John B:

My mistake on Paragon, Woodall's does not show fire rings or wood in its facilities listing. The listing for Coushatta, however, does show fire rings and (Cheryl's favorite) grills. As many times as I've been to these 2 parks, I can't remember seeing them either. I can't seem to locate my Louisiana park folder and I don't feel like pulling up their websites right now.

Later,

Jerry S.