High Dump Station Fees Discussed

Above, the dump station at Malibu Creek State Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The topic of campground charges for using their dump station came up at RV Travel.

This involves people stopping at a campground that they're not staying at while on the road. I had to do this in September while on the way home from Ridgway, Colorado. The sewer cap at my campsite was wedged tight and so was the empty neighboring campsite's. I decided I wasn't going to waste my time in struggling to get one or the other off. So I just left.

Along the way, I stopped at Alpen Rose RV Park in Durango and used theirs. They charged a fee of $15.00, even though I was in their computer as a two-time customer. I'm used to $10.00 fees for dump station usage, but felt $15.00 wasn't too outrageous. So I paid it, emptied my tanks and was on my way.

When I lived in California, I would use the dump station at the Malibu Creek State Park Campground. A $5.00 fee was charged.

The article begins with a couple's experience with a KOA Kampground that charged them $50.00 to use their dump station.

Here's a snippet:

John and Casey reported, “KOA charged us $50 to empty our tanks yesterday. Is that the going rate now?”

“Hold on,” Cliff interrupted. “You mean all you did was dump your holding tanks? $50 is outrageous!

In agreement about dump station fees

Almost everyone around the campfire agreed that KOA’s fee was far too expensive. Newbies Jeff and Marla wondered, “Why not just empty tanks at the campground where you spend the night?” Cliff explained that often small-town parks, for example, may not offer sewer hookups or a dump station.

There were reasons given why fees are charged by campgrounds. They include inconsiderate campers, environmental regulations and to help pay for amenities.

To read more, go here.