SOUNDING OFF: New RV park may pose problems

Good job on reporting details on the construction of the RV park at Crystal Cove State Park. “Campground raises new concerns,” Nov. 21).

I live just down the road, less than two miles, have been RVing since 1981, have traveled all over the U.S. many times and know of the problems in many of the parks.

I am surprised to read that the spaces will be adjacent to the school’s recreation area as this will present problems for both the school children and the people who are assigned the spaces.

One problem will be the exhaust from the coaches. Most “” about 85% “” of the newer coaches are diesel.

Owners start these many minutes prior to moving; engines must be warmed up. So, with the normal prevailing wind from the ocean inland, you can guess that the fumes will be a problem.

Beside the fume problem, noise of the diesels should be considered.

Another problem might be the children playing baseball. Since coaches are made of aluminum they could be damaged by objects being thrown over to the RV area.

There are more problems in designing the hookups for motor homes. Many have the waste hoses drop from beneath the coach, but someone designed a hookup stand which has the electrical outlets, TV cable, water and the sewer connection in one stand.

The sewer connection is placed above the road level; this means the sewer hose from the RV hangs down to the road level and up to the stand’s opening. The waste does not flow uphill.

The correct way to design the waste opening is to place it slightly below the road level. We fight this situation constantly, but a little change in design would be the solution.

One other problem is containment of the waste in hoses. All hoses are made of plastic and have a steel insert. But they do puncture and almost every time a coach leaves a site they leave behind waste on the road. But the fact that the waste opening is poorly designed for RVs means the hose sometimes is damaged by the curbs around the waste opening.

People who do not own RVs or have experienced using RV parks do not know of these problems and should consult experienced RVers.

In locating the waste openings, the best solution is placing the opening in the center of a 12-by-12-inch sloping concrete pad, and slightly below a level RV concrete pad. This will work for all RVs, not just those that are built on a high truck chassis.

ROBERT W. STERNFELS lives in Laguna Beach.