Design Your Dream RV Park

Sounds promising BretMundt and that you are doing your homework prior to taking "the test", if I may call it that. I believe from the responses you received to your original post, you have a good idea of what many of us look for in an RV park. Like you said you can't please 100% but if you can please 80% I'd say you'd be well on your way to having a great RV park. Any chance you could let us know at least what state or states are planned to be your test ones? We will for sure come visit a park like what you are planning to build if one of them happens to be in one of the western states? Good luck with all this, I hope it is a very successful business venture for you...............

Regards, BankShot...............(aka Terry)

 

Thanks for your insight.

From my industrial construction experience, I have a solution that the commercial world doesn't know about that will solve the problem of multiple electrical hookups. There would have to be a different electrical enclosure than is currently used, but I believe it would work and I have the connections to have something made, if necessary.

By creating a flexible and adjustable electrical connection, it would be easier for legacy parks to accommodate rigs of any type and size.

With guidance from experienced park operators like you, I'm sure we can come up with a solution to many of the issues that you face and have experienced.

Governments want to accommodate businesses that help increase the value of their communities, you just have to speak their language so they are willing to help you with the issues of gutters and pull off lanes.

Interesting thoughts on the separate mens and women's facilities.

Nothing surprises me in how people tend to abuse things that are their for the enjoyment of everyone.

Obviously some policies would need to be put in place and enforced.

Regarding RVs damaged by poles, etc. I agree that any damage is not the fault of the park owner, but the park owner can make provisions to help give the RVer a chance to keep from damaging their rig by strategically and intelligently designing access into and out of spaces and the park.

Thanks so much for your insight as a park owner.

Your input is greatly appreciated.

I understand that there needs to be a fine balance of what is good for the RVers and what is good for the RV park owners/operators.

You've provided that balance.

 

BankShot/Terry, funny you ask that question!

Again, I will defer to the RV Owners Community.

I'm sure that you have been driving along the road on your way to your final destination and thought, this would be a great place for an RV park!

I humbly ask you and other RVers to make notes of those places and let us know.

We will prioritize based on community vote which ones we start first, etc.

Sound good?

 

Great insight NYDutch!

I believe that many developers have stinkin thinkin.

They get stuck in the rut of 'this is the way it has always been done" and they just move forward witht the mindset, "the customer will just have to deal with it, I can't please everyone".

That is a failure mindset and a cop out.

I find that most people don't want to think or solve problems because its too much work.

They have become mentally lazy.

I have 3 kids and I remember very well, the challenges of changing a diaper in a bathroom that wasn't family friendly. i was grateful and happy when companies and government started providing family bathrooms where we could easily get our kids dressed and undressed and'/or cleaned up after a diaper explosion on the road!

State and National parks are required by law to accommodate handicapable people. its ADA compliance and there are a ton of facilities that are grandfathered in and won't / don't upgrade because of the cost.

As we go forward in time, more and more of these ADA compliant bathrooms will be built and renovated.

I think that each park will need a code of conduct that every RVer will agree to.

Any other ideas?

 

DocJ,

Thanks so much for chiming in!

You have some great ideas and insight that we really need.

I believe that with feedback and input from RVers who are interested and committed to making things better, we can improve things dramatically for every RVer that follows us.

Anything else on your dream list or want list?

Anything else that irritates you or that you'd like to see done differently?

Your input is invaluable!!!

 

More excellent input from you NYDutch!

I think that we can come up with a masterplan that can be adapted for individual locations.

I understand that the layouts / amenities of the site will vary based on intended use.

The answer is that some parks will be for overnighters on their way to a destination and others will be for the experience.

I figure the parks would be designated as such.

What do you think about a drive in movie at an RV park?

Could be kind of cool, community focused?

Regarding a shortage of RV parks, I'm just going on the statistics and comments that I've read and complaints that other RVers have made.

I'm sure there are areas that need more parks and there are areas that are set with more than enough.

Again, I would defer to the active RVer community so we don't make decisions in a vacuum.

It has always amazed me that large corporations rarely ask their customers what they want, they make "educated guesses" which aren't right a large % of the time when they could have just asked their customers and gotten it right!

I really value your input.

Keep it coming!!!

 

To at least some degree, such as designating parks for overnighters, etc, you're "reinventing the wheel" since KOA has already established similar designations for their franchisees. They also survey their VKR members from time to time related to changing tastes and new features, as do most of the subscription or club based RV park chains.

In my opinion, a drive-in movie theater at an RV park is a terrible idea. The night time noise and traffic alone would be enough to irritate many RV'ers. And consider also that many RV'ers would have to break down their site to patronize the drive-in in their Class B's, and other RV's that don't have a separate vehicle available. As an astute business man, I'll assume you're also aware that the few remaining drive-in theaters typically only cover their movie rental costs at best with the entry receipts. The snack bar is the profit center that pays the rest of the bills. Friends of ours spent about $40,000 two years ago for mandatory film to digital projection upgrades for their two drive-ins (3 screens) using refurbished equipment. They expect recovering that cost will take many years since it's an upgrade that will help maintain their current average head count, but of itself will not bring in new customers. Like RV parks, drive-ins are not a high profit business, which likely accounts for why many of both are family owned and operated (read "cheap help") almost hobby operations.

And regarding park shortages, as I said, there are only shortages some of the time, not all of the time. Would you build a large hotel that would only be heavily occupied 4-5 months a year versus a smaller one that could maintain a high average occupancy year round? RV parks in summer season destination areas tend to fill up on weekends, but not so much on week days for instance. In the winter, the popular snowbird areas do better since they cater more to retired RV'ers that tend to stay longer. But the parks in those areas can be pretty desolate in the 7-8 month off season. If you can come up with a park that can be easily resized seasonally with a corresponding reduction in features and staffing, that would help to some extent, but you would still have a lot of unproductive fixed overhead sitting there for much of the year. As I'm sure WRVPO and other park owners can tell you, it's not an easy business, and RV'ers can be a pretty fickle bunch when it comes to deciding where to park.

 

Good luck reinventing the wheel and trying to please all your customers. I find it interesting that you believe businesses, large and small, do not actually try and meet their customers demands. How do all those companies succeed?
It is also interesting that you have so much construction and development experience and also believe that government entities actively encourage development of businesses. It has been my experience that the opposite often occurs. RV parks are often placed in the same bucket as mobile home parks, low income housing, prisons and all the other NIMBY projects, they are welcome anywhere but here.
Finally, if you have a utility hookup design that can be placed in different locations, meets all the health and electrical codes and can be retrofitted into existing parks economically, why aren't you patenting it and then selling it? That would be a highly desirable product that would quickly be profitable with a lot less investment and potential pitfalls than building parks from scratch.

 

One more time from the peanut gallery out here. In our fairly short time RVing (6 years) we have stayed at many different types of RV parks. The ones we choose for overnight stays are not the choices we would make as our destination park. We are a lot more conservative in what we expect from an overnight park as opposed to the ones we choose as destination parks. We can do without many certain amenities in a overnight park, other than cleanliness of course, than we can or will in a destination park. Being fully self contained we rarely use the bathroom facilities in overnight parks or much of anything else they offer. After a day on the road all we want is a clean and safe place with working hookups and with easy access and egress from the nearby interstate. Satellite RV reception is nice as we like to watch the evening and morning news from our local channels, something cable doesn't offer. Destination parks are of course used as overnighters but few overnight parks are used as destination parks from what we've come to see and learn in our travels. Who in their right mind would want to stay a week in a park situated right on a busy interstate with a double set of railroad tracks right out back of the park. Not us. But for a simple overnight stay we will certainly use that park if it is clean and safe, etc., and at the end of our normal daily travels. Lots of really great responses from the RVPR crowd. For sure if we run across a plot of land that we feel could be a great place for an RV park I'll post a heads up on it. Again, hope this works out for you as well as for us, the RVers who are always looking for a park with what we feel will be a great place to toss out the anchor, be it for a single night or a 10 day stay.....................

Regards, BankShot...............aka Terry)

 

When I first read this, I thought of seperate loops for different camping styles:

Loop 1: lots of trees, no hookups, fire rings for campfires. Maybe dirt parking pads.

Loop 2: electric, or water and electric only, some trees, maybe campfires allowed in 1/2.

Loop 3: full hookup, short term parking. Concrete pull through sites. Very few trees, No campfires.

Loop 4: full hookup long term parking, concrete pads, very few frees, no campfires.

Just my 2-cents.
Chris g.

 

That might work in some areas, Chris, but seasonal usage variations could be a problem.

 

You left out Pet loops and children loops. Then you also need loops with trees, concrete, campfires, dog free adult only. However some adult only fans want dogs, some want dogs but no campfires. Others want the dogs, no kids but don't want trees. Some families with kids also have dogs, but in other families the kids are very afraid of dogs. Some families like evening campfires, but other families are afraid their kids will get burned. Trees, full hookups, campfires, highly improved pads, adult only, pets, long vs short length of stay are 7 binary variables. Going back to math class, I come up with the need for 128 different loops to cover the different combinations. That's going to be a pretty darn big park even with only 10 sites per loop.
Then what do you do if you have 11 guests who want the same combinations, make one or more of them compromise on their choices? When you advertise a certain amenity, you need to have it available or you are setting yourself up for customer service failure. Kind of like when you check into a hotel that has smoking and non smoking rooms and your selection is sold out. You are going to be highly upset if you don't get your number one choice, whereas if the hotel only had one option, you just resign yourself to the policy. The same thing would happen if you had these different loops. Someone who chose your park because you specifically had pet free,or campfire free or adult only loops would not be happy should they arrive and their choice was no longer available. Sometimes less is more, since expectations are not elevated and then not met.

 

Nydutch, and westernrvpark owner, I know my idea is a stylized view of a possible RV park and wouldn't work in the "real" world. I know there are so many preferences among the RV community, that you will never please everyone.

Just my 2-cents.

"The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few".

 

I recognize this thread is several months old but I thought I'd give my thoughts:

1 - My first and foremost consideration for choosing a campground is the space between rigs. The more the better. I loathe the parks that cram you in so tight you can't keep your blinds up cause your neighbors are RIGHT next to you watching you. Hate that and I won't stay at an park like that ever again. I would pay $100 a night to have a space between us and the neighbors.

2 - Wide roads so that backing in is managed without encroaching on someone's space on the other side of the road. Nothing worse than having to ask someone to move their vehicle or picnic table or something just to park.

3 - Shower's with multiple hooks, and a bench to sit on to put on socks/shoes. And please, put a ledge or something in the showers to put soap/shampoo on without having to place it on the floor.

4 - We recently stayed at a campground in the Collington, NC (OBX Campground) that had wonderful lights right above the hookups. The electric post was about 5 feet tall and mounted on top was a wonderful, modern light that shined not only on the electrical outlets but also on the space #. It provided just enough life to get around and not trip over something when walking the dog in the middle of the night, but was in no way too bright or obtrusive to affect sleeping. I strongly encourage anyone starting a camp ground to consider such a light.

Of course, cleanliness in bathrooms, a well maintained yard and picnic tables, etc., are all important. We don't have children so we don't care about amenities for kids. We stayed at a campground in Ocean City, Maryland that had an area for quiet campers (i.e. those that don't party all day/night and don't enjoy the sound of children). That was a very nice idea and appreciated.

 

All good suggestions.

 

If I was going to design my own RV park, it would have all of the features that Bankshot listed, plus a few more:

The park's electricity would be solar powered
There would not be an age restrictions on RVs, like other parks have
It would have a movie theatre and a library.

 

Dream is very peaceful and quiet park; tucked away so not a lot of thru traffic. great for fishing or just enjoying its serenity. The Mountain View in the distance is also gorgeous. People are very friendly and eager to help here also.

 

I've been researching this for quite a while now.
1. Concrete or paved roads/pads are high on the list. Gravel comes after that.
2. Pull through sites are highly desirable.
3. Amenities at the site such as fire rings and picnic tables.
4. Bath house.
5. Rules that are enforced, especially quiet time rules.
6. Some people like trees, others do not. Attempt to offer both if possible.
7. Quiet/serene/picturesque. Preferably out in the country but close to a town.
8. Fishing pond.
9. Full hookups
10. Wide lots.
I'm closing on property and considering what I want to put in. No single park can appease to everyone's tastes, but the trends should probably be adhered to. My lots will be much wider than average lots, probably around 35 feet wide versus just enough room to squeeze an RV on the lot. I have trees and will have them between each pad, but there will also be an area with no trees. The park will have around 26 pull throughs,with the rest being back in pads. Driveways will be wide enough for 2 rv's to pass by each other and enough room to back in without a lot of extra added stress that small lots provide. There will be a fence in doggy park and probably a playground - depending on how much the insurance rates go up by having one. There will be 14 acres of walking trees created in the rear of the property. This is all tree'd area. Eventually 5 acres of it will be devoted to a pond but still leave plenty of area for trails. The property has an active stream to supply fresh water to the pond. My campground will be in a very nice area outside of town, ranches and farms nearby, but within 3 miles of a supermarket and 4 or 5 miles lots of restaurants and other types of businesses including Lowes, Walmart and Tractor Supply. 3 miles away from the Interstate, easy access. Very little traffic noise day or night. Definitely going to install some sort of wifi - included in the cost of the nightly/weekly stay, ATT has pedestals on this road fortunately for me, and there is fresh water coop with a main line running next to the street - no worries about wells. Not sure about pricing yet, not anywhere close to having to decide that, but I will be looking at nearby parks and seeing what they charge. However, the nearby parks are the sardine can style parks that cram as many rigs in as they can on the small amount of land that they have. I've heard anywhere from $35 to $60 per night for a basic park, I'm guessing $60 for pull throughs, they take up a lot of land. They are popular yes but create the need for more driveways. 3, 1,300 foot long driveways will cost a lot just in gravel so I'm going to have to price accordingly for pull through pads. There will be a contact number for emergencies or issues with neighboring RV'ers - you know, the ones that get drunk, stay up all night, play loud music, are obnoxious and unruly? I don't want that type in my park and will be asked to leave. Those are my thoughts on an RV park. Later on down the road I'll put in a swimming pool and hot tub.