The USFS campgrounds are different from your average resort style campgrounds in the lack of amenities that are available. Many of these campgrounds are dry camps, meaning that they do not offer electrical, sewer, or water hookups. Usually, these campgrounds are located in a forest, next to a lake, by the ocean, or by a river. Some USFS campgrounds still offer water but as the water systems age or become unpotable, the wells are capped off and are no longer available. Water systems require weekly or monthly testing by trained water specialist, there are not enough trained water specialist in the United States to properly ceritify the safety of the water systems that remain, so often the water systems are shut off for the safety of campers.
The ranks of the USFS has greatly dwindled in the wake of budget cuts, lawsuits, and misuse of the campground facilities. Many of the campgrounds in the USFS system have been closed due to neglect, damage to the facilities by vandles, fires, and lack of funds to properly maintain them. The lack of funds may be due to lack of personnel to make sure that campers are paying their fees. Many people seem to believe that if there is noone in the campground to enforce paying, they do not need to pay, so there is again a lack of funds to do repairs.
The USFS has been forced to enter into contracts with private companies to maintain, protect, and service the campgrounds. These companies hire campground hosts to live on the premises in order to enforce the rules, maintain the facilities, and collect the campground fees. Often these campground hosts are retirees that live full-time on the road in their RVs. These companies pay a portion of the monies collected from campers to the USFS, they put a set amount of the fees into repairs in the campground, and they pay whatever staff that are required to achieve adherence to the contract. There is no ownership whatsoever of the facilities by these companies, they belong to the United States and it’s people, they are stewards of the land.
As a campground host, otherwise known as a work-camper, I have found this lifestyle has its own rewards, they meeting of people from all walks of life. I have however, seen that a good many campers today, do not know how to camp. Fire safety is a big pet peeve for me personally. I have three to six campers every weedend that leave the campground with their fire still blazing, this is the most irresponsible occurance that can a camper can commit. Everyone knows that it only takes a spark to get a fire going, yet they are willing to walk away from a burning fire-pit, to go to bed, to go hiking, or worse to go home. In the year 2017, California alone had six fires that burned hundreds of structures, cost untold millions of dollars to extinquish, and cost numerous lives. One spark.
All of the articles on my blog come from being a camper from the time I was eight years old. I bought my first RV when I was 30, a tent trailer. I traded the tent trailer for a 26′ bumper pull trailer, then a 5th wheel, and I now have a 38′ Newmar Mountainare Class A motorhome. Once I retired from the Motion Picture Industry after a 39 year career, my wife and I sold the house, and moved into the motorhome. We have been traveling, managed an RV Park in Washington, worked at a lake in Southern California (I was the Maintenance Manager), and are planning our seventh season as the campground hosts at a campground in the Los Padres National Forest, in Southern California. We love the Full Time RV Lifestyle. See my course on https://howtofulltimerv.com
