Some time ago I started a thread about RV parks and campgrounds that have Google Earth street views available to actually drop down and drive thru their facility. I just finished contacting Google Earth and asked them if there might be a possibility of having their Google Earth teams contact the RV parks they pass by on their travels and actually ask the owner's and managers, etc. if it would be okay to do a drive thru and have this feature made available to RVers everywhere who would love to be able to see that actual space or spaces they are reserving, etc. prior to getting there. I know from past experience we used this feature with JGW RV Park in Redding, CA. It made it so easy to actually drive thru and stop at several different sites and make sure that we would be able to get in and out of them without having slide out problems, etc. This also allowed us to see the views we would be looking at out the front windshield of our coach as we sipped our morning coffee or evening glass of vino. I have no clue as to what their response will be but as soon as I get that response I will post here again and let everyone know. I know several of us on this forum have from time to time said how neat it would be to be able to do this so let's see how far we can take it with the good folks at Google Earth. I'd love to see this done in as many parks and campgrounds as can be convinced to become part of it................. Regards, BankShot.............(aka Terry)
Yes, please let us know what they say. I'd think the state and national parks would be interested at least.
Wiil do Dutch - Doubt I'll get a quick response on this as they will want to discuss it with the "team" I would think. But as soon as I do I'll give everyone a heads up as to what their response is. Just kicked back, popped open a tall cold one and have the chips and salsa at the ready. Was going to mix up a margarita but an ice cold beer just sounded mo betta so open one I did. Enjoy your weekend to the max.................... BankShot................(aka Terry)
I imagine there will be a few parks that will not welcome this. You know, the ones who have a large gallery of photos, most of which are pictures of the owner's dog, several flowering bushes, one nice RV and a lot of beautiful scenery shots that can't be seen or accessed from the park but that they'd like you to think will be right outside your window. They're going to really love you seeing that the sites aren't long enough to park your vehicle, so everyone parks half-way out into the driveway leaving you three inches of clearance.....that's if no one is coming in the opposite direction. Other than that, I'd LOVE to see that feature!
I've been thru a couple of parks that I can almost guarantee will never let a Google Earth vehicle beyond their entrance for fear that RVers would find out the real truth about what the place is really like beyond that entrance. But I also think that a smart business person owning and operating a park that isn't trying to cover up a bunch of stuff, would be more than happy to receive the free advertising that would come from a Google Earth vehicle showing their park to the traveling RV public. I know if I were a park owner I'd sure welcome them in and tell them to stay as long as they wanted........... BankShot..............(aka Terry)
I would be ambivalent at best and maybe even opposed. While I have nothing to hide, it sure could hurt my business if they came thru when a group of RVs traveling together were decamping from their RV and had their stuff strewn about. It would be nothing but a snapshot in time of how the parks actually look. Come thru in early April, while the trees are bare and the flowers, grass and landscaping is dormant, the park will look much worse than it does a month later when everything is in bloom. As everyone knows, photos and pictures can be deceiving. There is a reason that EVERY business that advertises a product promotes it as professionally as possible within their budget. McDonalds doesn't film their newest burger by ordering one at a restaurant and then unwrapping it. They present it professionally. Yes, the one you get at the restaurant often looks different from the ad. But that is the part of the point. The public knows any product shown in an ad will almost assuredly not appear or function as well as the one in the ad. If my ad for my parks show them to be "10s", the assumption will be they are probably "8s" . If they show in Google Street View as the correct "8s", the assumption will be the parks are actually "6s" " . And, heaven forbid, the street view people get a bad snapshot like I mentioned earlier, the parks may show as "7s" and people will assume they are "5s". My entire livelihood is at stake with how my parks are presented. Controlling that presentation is important.
westernparkowner - You make some very good points on this subject and from a park owner's side I would have to agree with you overall. However as an RVer, I rely on seeing pictures of the park or campground that are "real and factual" and not made to look as tho the park was a beautiful resort when in actuality it is nothing like a resort. The comments you made about companies such as McD's making their burgers look way better than they actually look when you buy one, is so true. Ad companies always try to make a product or anything else they are representing, look as good as it can be made to look, that's the advertising business. A well run, clean and functioning RV park should not have to show pics that show it to be something it isn't, but we all know this is done. When I pull into a park I want and expect it to be as the pics show it to be, nothing less and if more then I will be even more happy to be staying there. We have stayed now at several parks that allowed Google Earth to come in and drive thru and in each case when we got there we saw exactly what we saw on the Google Earth street views. Times when construction or changes is/are going on inside the park, etc. can and should be taken by RVers as part of the business growth. of the park. The point I made about being able to see the actual space being assigned or reserved is nice for us as we have run into situations where we've been told over the phone that the space we are reserving has plenty of space to accommodate our full length slide out plus lots of space on the patio side to set up our stuff, etc. We arrived to find out that was not the case as it wouldn't allow us to open the slide all the way if we wanted to set up chairs and a table on the other side, and vice-versa due to either trees or bushes on the slide side or the slide hitting into the power pedestal. Some of us are picky I admit but all we expect is to drive into a park and see what we've seen in the park's picture presentation and not some run down and somewhat trashy park with very few to sometimes none of the amenities shown on the park's website. No doubt your park is a nice one and if it is within our travels at some point I'd love to stop by and stay over a night or three. By the way, what is the name of your park if you don't mind telling us in this thread? We live in No. Calif. and travel the west coast and into AZ, NV, OR and WA on a regular basis. If you'd prefer shoot me a PM and let me know and we'll give it our best shot to try and get by and shake hands................. Best regards, BankShot............(aka Terry)
