Jerk Campground Owner

[captain ron]

I have been at a campground in Moline, Il. for 28 days. When I rented the spot I was told it was $350.00 a month plus electric which they said run around 12 to 20 dollars a month. After I paid she said "Oh yea our month is based on 28 days." Just my first clue this place was a rip off. I was told by many people in the area that this guy was an @$$hole. So I tell the people I might be leaving Tuesday (today) and had them read my meter. The electric bill was $47.00, no big deal. But then she tells me I owe her $2.50 for a bag of ice I charged to my campsite, which I never and told her so. She said yes you did and I explained to her I have no need for ice as I have a freezer in my fridge with ice trays. Just a few minutes ago her dad the owner came and said we need to square up, I said I'll stop in the office Thursday morning and pay up. He said I don't carry people and you need to pay me now. I don't have any money on me at this time because I've been giving all my money to my manager so I don't piss it away before my new T-shirts are done which are $1,000.00 plus. I have a show in town tomorrow night then have to leave Thursday for Algona, Iowa for shows Fri. and Sat. He said you better have my money in the morning. I can't get ahold of my manager to get my money and she has to work tomorrow. I was told I had to pay $20.00 a day for the2 extra days by the daughter now he says it's $22.00 so he's getting the money for the bag of ice I guess. If I had the money on me I would have paid the electric bill and left right away saving me $44.00. By the way the place is called Lundeen's Landing. Just venting I guess

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Geeze....

He must think everybody a rip off artist...?  there are still some good people left, isn't there?   ISN"T THERE?

It seems to me that most camping folk are not the type to be scamming others.

Who charges ANYTHING to a campsite?? ?? ??

Good Luck Ron
Nick-

[Hartley]

Ron,

Tell us that you travel with reserve funds???

Sounds like you don't from the story...

If they charge $20 a day. That's $560 a (28 day) Month. If you got the $350 rate.
That was a good deal for you but costing the campground the lost difference.

People get greedy if they think they are losing money. Anything he doesn't make
is apparently irritating the guy and you walked right into their line of fire.

Maybe his bad moods would change if he charged more and stopped messing with people
over the small stuff. He must have some serious expenses that are bugging him.

It is better to try to avoid conflicts even if you aren't the one who started them...

I don't have the answer, But you can sure find the wierd ones....

Dave....

[cody]

I've found some strange ones myself, it's frustrating for sure.  Last year I pulled into a campground after hours, was tired and the note on the door said to find a site and register after 8AM, so I did a quick walkthru and found a site that was available, backed the bus into it and set up, got a good nights sleep and walked to the park office to register the next morning, the campground manager looked at the form and asked how long my bus was, I said 40 ft, he said sorry we can't handle any longer than 35. lol  I told him the site was plenty big and not a problem for me, he told me we would have to head out because my bus was too big, I told him ok, how much do I owe for the night, he told me 25 dollars and apologized to me for not being able to provide a site for me. I'm still shaking my head over that one lol.

[Barn Owl]

Why not pay what you know is yours and then pull up your stakes and leave? Then if he wants to chase you down for $2.50 then tell him good luck! BTW, was everything verbal? Don't they have a fee listing somewhere in print? I would make all of my further correspondence with this campsite in writing, and demand the same from them. That would give you some recourse from that point on. On your way out stop at the office and have a blackwater tank valve malfunction. (That's evil, very evil.....hehehe). Oh man, I'm in a bad mood tonight and reading about A-holes like that just made it worse.

[bobofthenorth]

We stayed at a campground west of Edmonton for 2 whole weeks a few years ago.  Ever since we have referred to it as the campground from hell and the whole family knows what we are talking about.  We knew we were in trouble from the start but we were meeting friends and they wanted to stay there.  He had about 150 seasonal sites and 20 overnight spots that he had just put in since taking over the campground.  For some unknown reason he had put in 20 amp GFI outlets on his new sites.  I've got an auto x-fer switch in the bus so there was no way I could plug into a GFI outlet.  Once I realized what was happening I pulled the neutral safety out of a power adapter and made things work but every so often the owner would come around and tell me that there was something wrong with my rig because everyone else was OK.  Try as I did I couldn't explain it to him.  He would always start out the conversation by saying "I don't know anything about electricity but ............."  I felt like saying "then shut the h*** up and listen to someone who does" but I never did.  Finally one day he brought his electrician friend over to show me the error of my ways.  I explained that the neutral bond in my inverter was tripping the GFI before the auto x-fer switch changed the bond.  He understood immediately what was happening, tried to explain it to the campground owner, gave up and then said "why the H did you put GFI outlets in anyway?"  After that they brought me a regular 15 amp duplex outlet which I wired up myself and used for the duration of our stay.

That was only one small inconvenience that we endured those two weeks.  I don't know what the campground was called but it is on Lac St. Anne.  Don't ever go there.  The lake is a green swamp and the campground is a disaster.  Makes for some good stories now though.  

[captain ron]

Dave, I do have money I just gave it all to my manager to hold on to so I don't spend it when I'm bored. I'm just gonna tell him he's gonna have to wait till Thursday when I'm ready to leave and he'll just have to deal with it. What can he do? kick me out.

[captain ron]

I'm coming back to this area Sunday and I found a campground a friend tried to get me to go to when I first got here that is only $110.00 a month plus a $30.00 membership fee and includes water and electric. I have to pay $3.00 a dump or I can drive over to the dump station for free. I didn't think my Verizon air card would work there but does. I will be right on the river. It only has 30 amp and 20 amp but I can deal with that. I'll just have to rewire my dryer to run off my generator.

[jjrbus]

$110 A MONTH? And it includes electric!  I'm moving to IL!    I stopped and looked at a place in Punta Gorda FL $850 mo plus electric of course. 

[captain ron]

I talked to my  neighbors last night who are seasonal and they say he is a real d!ck. They all put in concrete pads last year and paid for them themselves. He then raised the seasonal rate $200.00 a year. His contract he makes them sign also reads "subject to change" at end of contract. I seen Woodall here a couple weeks ago, maybe I should write a review and send it to them.

[belfert]

If they charge $20 a day. That's $560 a (28 day) Month. If you got the $350 rate.
That was a good deal for you but costing the campground the lost difference.

How many campgrounds are really 100% full over the summer during the week if they are not in a big tourist area?  I'm sure a monthyl guest is a lot less work than a daily guest as the hosts have to constantly check folks in and out.

[Hartley]

How many campgrounds are really 100% full over the summer during the week if they are not in a big tourist area?  I'm sure a monthyl guest is a lot less work than a daily guest as the hosts have to constantly check folks in and out.

I guess that would depend on the attitude of the operator. Some people will look at a person and take an immediate dislike to you. Then any excuse to mess with you every time they get a chance is good enough.

Obviously you must have been a JOCK in High School and didn't learn that lesson.

I run into people like that all the time. There's also some people that come from an old school mentality and if you ride a bike they will assume the worst. Ron is a moving target.. He is both a Bus Nut and Rides a Big Dog too.. Double jeopardy.. Poor Ron, Can't win.....