All she wanted, she says, was a straight answer. The woman behind @juls.crawford shared on social media that her family has been trying for a long time to learn how long they may keep their camper at home to load and unload, and that instead of an answer they received a threat of fines. She tells the story with plenty of sass, and she says it involves “our lovely neighbor,” who also happens to be the president of her homeowners association.
@juls.crawford
No Time Frame in the Rules
She says her family has lived in the neighborhood more than five years, and she jokes that picking a place with an HOA was a big mistake. They own a camper and pay to store it elsewhere, because the association rules ban keeping it on the property. According to her, the rules do allow the camper to be at the house for loading and unloading, but they give no time frame. Is it 12 hours, 24, 48 or 72? Nobody, she says, will say.
She shares that they asked in person and in writing, several times. After the first complaint, her husband asked the president what would be reasonable. She says the president answered verbally with something like “I don’t know, something reasonable, probably around 72 hours.”
A Written Claim That Did Not Match
The plot thickens, as she tells it, when the president later put something in writing. She says he claimed that she had come up with the 72 hours, and that he had proposed a 72 hour limit to the board. The problem, she says, is that her husband sits on the board and does not remember any such proposal. She adds that the last board meeting was in November of last year. She jokes about a carrier pigeon and calls the situation “the HOA Bermuda Triangle.”
The Latest Complaint
The family normally unloads within 24 hours, she explains. On the most recent trip, her husband got home the next day and had an all day meeting, and between groceries, work and the kids, the camper sat for about 48 hours. She points out that driving it back and forth would likely have caused yet another complaint. They took the camper back to storage, and she notes that nobody lives in it.
The result, she says, was an email accusing the family of “blatantly abusing” the covenants and threatening fines. She says this is not the first complaint, and that there have been years of neighbor drama. She teases that the camper is not even the craziest part of the story.
Her Question for Everyone
She ends with a question. Is it unreasonable to unload in 24 or 48 hours when the rules set no time frame, or is it unreasonable to threaten fines while refusing to provide one? If the standard keeps changing, she jokes, she would need a permission slip, a board meeting and a detailed itinerary just to unload her camper.
This is one side of a dispute. The president is not named, and she does not describe how it was resolved, so there is no way to know what the association would say. Still, the question she asks is one many HOA residents will recognize.
What Online Voices Said
Responses to her post ranged widely. Some urged her to push back, with one person saying that if a rule is not in writing, it does not exist. Another suggested replying in an email that until the association shows the specific timeline in its guidelines, the family is not doing anything wrong. Others simply said they were glad to live where there is no HOA. One person offered a skeptical but sympathetic reply, asking what is being loaded, since their own unloading takes a few hours at most, and still agreeing that without a definitive timeline there is nothing definite to live by. These are opinions from strangers, and the right answer depends on the actual documents.
How to Handle Vague HOA Rules
If you ever find yourself in a similar spot, a few steps may help you avoid fines and protect your position.
Get the governing documents. The covenants, rules and regulations and any board resolutions should be available from the association. Ask for the current versions in writing, and ask specifically whether any rule sets a time limit for loading or unloading a recreational vehicle.
Ask questions in writing. A verbal answer, like “around 72 hours,” can be forgotten or disputed. A polite email asking for a written answer creates a record, and the reply or lack of one can matter if fines are threatened.
Check the meeting minutes. Associations usually keep minutes of board meetings. If someone says a rule was adopted, the minutes should show when. Board members can generally review them, and in many places owners can too.
Review the fine process. Most associations must give notice, a chance to respond and often a hearing before fines are imposed. If you receive a violation letter, respond on time, in writing, and ask for the rule that was violated.
Follow the stated process for disputes. Many associations allow a request for a hearing before the board, and some states provide mediation or complaint channels. A lawyer who handles community association matters can review your documents for a modest fee.
Keep a log. Note the dates and times a vehicle arrives and leaves, along with any messages you send. It makes a calm, factual case if the matter escalates.
Why These Disputes Linger
Disagreements over rules that are loosely written tend to last because each side reads the gaps differently. Owners want clarity so they can plan, while boards want flexibility. The best fix is usually a written policy, adopted by a vote and shared with everyone, that sets a clear limit. For her family and others who store a camper off site and bring it home only to load, a simple and fair number would end the argument. Until then, as far as her account goes, the question remains open.
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