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My husband and I have a truck with a pop up truck camper. We camp during the shoulder seasons. My sister camped in the past but was a city girl until a year ago now that she has moved back home. She will be driving her SUV and either sleeping in a tent or her car. We plan to camp at state parks, mainly for her sense of safety. We usually boon dock. Lately though, we have stayed at state or county parks or BLM/USFS campgrounds on the Oregon Coast as homeless are living there or the area has been closed or posted no overnight parking. We plan to occupy one site if possible as her SUV is a smaller one. The price for a state park is roughly $25 per site plus $10 for an additional vehicle.
My question is how should we break this down? Should we pay the $25 and she pay the $10 or should we divide by 2 so each pays $17.50? Sometimes, there may not be room so we will have 2 sites. We are doing the cooking in the camper as we have the stove and propane plus have the fridge although it is small. We are leaving in 2 weeks and can't wait for the adventure to begin.
I've gone camping with family under similar circumstances, we were the "extra" vehicle. Since my brother was going with or without us, it made sense to him to just charge us the extra vehicle fee. We, in turn, helped out when possible and paid for a few things. Do what works for you. Have fun!
Wow..... you guys do a lot more careful accounting than we do between friends and family. I'd probably just tell her it costs $10 extra per night for her vehicle, plus food and propane for the trip, and let her make a contribution she thinks is fair.
My question is how should we break this down? Should we pay the $25 and she pay the $10 or should we divide by 2 so each pays $17.50? Sometimes, there may not be room so we will have 2 sites. We are doing the cooking in the camper as we have the stove and propane plus have the fridge although it is small. We are leaving in 2 weeks and can't wait for the adventure to begin.
Don’t you get residual cooking smell when you use the stove?
We favor an electric grill outside on the picnic table.
I guess we sound cheap but this frugality of hers goes way back. She has more money and a larger income but it seems we always pick up the bulk of the expenses. But, we are experienced campers and she isn't so she is going with us. We are bringing the majority of the food but she is bringing her own lunches. If she wasn't with us, we would do more dispersed camping which is free and what we prefer as crowded campgrounds are not our favorites. For example, last spring we ended up in with the yurts and were awoken early in the morning by someone vomiting loudly. Perhaps she will see the inequity of it all and pitch in. When we were growing up, she was the favorite. I got $600 for college; she got a $5000 wedding. Anyway, I suppose I should put this aside. I have a skewed sense of fairness.
Twnkle: yes, we would split it 3 ways as we did when we spent a week at a cabin.
Fluffy: we use the tent or regular sites without hookups. Our solar is only 140 watts so wouldn't power an electric grill, I don't think. Besides, we are soup and sandwich eaters when we camp.
I will just allow things to proceed along. Besides, DH and I are going solo in October where we aren’t so constrained so w3 can go on 4x4 roads.
I guess we sound cheap but this frugality of hers goes way back. She has more money and a larger income but it seems we always pick up the bulk of the expenses. But, we are experienced campers and she isn't so she is going with us. We are bringing the majority of the food but she is bringing her own lunches. If she wasn't with us, we would do more dispersed camping which is free and what we prefer as crowded campgrounds are not our favorites. ...
Perhaps she will see the inequity of it all and pitch in. ...
I wouldn't count on it if I were you.
We have a relative like that. She's forever insisting that we do things that are more expensive then we normally do, then leaving us to pick up the major portion of the tab.
For example, she'll insist we all go out to dinner at this wonderful restaurant she's come across. In addition to her entree, she'll order appetizers, a bottle or two of wine, desserts and often even a side or two for the table to share. She's quite the hostess.
When the bill comes, she says, "Let me see, I had the grilled salmon. That was $28." She'll lay a twenty and a ten on the table and say, "That ought to cover it."
Leaving us to pick up the tab for the tip, tax, and all the appetizers, sides, desserts, and wine.
We have tried to get her to understand that the bill should be split evenly at least. The most we are ever able to get her to do is to cough up another twenty and it ends the evening on a petty note.
Now when we go out together, we tell the waiter when we order that there will be separate checks. If we don't order it, we don't pay for it.
I would suggest figuring out the campsite money ahead of time. List the various places you would camp if you were traveling by yourselves and how much that would cost you. Explain that you are willing to pitch in this much to the campsite fund.
Figure out how how much it will cost to camp at the places she wants to stay at. If she wants to camp at more expensive places, that's on her.
She may decide that camping is not her cup of tea. Or she may pony up the extra money.
In any case, there is no need for you and your husband to be picking up the tab for her more expensive tastes.
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