We are in the process of building an overnight park in Marshfield, MO, which is on I-44. Construction has not started yet as we are awaiting the approving wave of the city fathers. We will have only 17 sites due to land limitations. Since we are close to Springfield and Branson, we thought the overnight aspect might just work. We plan to make the park as user friendly as possible and would appreciate info from RV veterans on what they want and need. We did hire a consutling firm that done a great job on layout. This helped a lot since they knew all the turning radius of the big rigs, the pad widths, and lots of other things we hadn't thought of. So far, we plan on 20, 30, & 50 amp service, free wireless and plug-in internet at each site, cable hookups, phone at each site, handicap accessible shower in each restroom, pool, restaurant (Mexican and very good), concete pads and roads, pull throughs and back-ins, laundromat, and pet area. Any input you folks out there might have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Terry Evans, Evans' RVExpress
If full hook-ups were available, I wouldn't use the shower house as our RV has it's own shower. I would recommend a small laundromat and cable tv hookup. Good luck on your business venture.
Terry: First of all, thanks for asking. If more RV park owners got input from the users, we'd all be a bunch happier! I will address your question from the standpoint of a big rig owner. Others might have different priorities. First, you indicated that you would be offering paved pads. I hope you mean the area where the RV is parked, and not just the patio area. Paving is important. Secondly, please plant the bushes and small trees during the landscaping part so that they don't get in the way of trying to ingress and egress the site. Thirdly, more and more folks are getting satellite dishes. Please bear that in mind when determing the retention and/or placement of trees. Fourthly, please make the sites are wide enough so that, when your slideouts or awnings are out, you are not in your neighbor's face. Fifthly, please provide a dog walk that is centrally located and convenient. Sounds like you've adressed the other issues, turning radius, etc., etc. You should have an excellent park, and we look forward to visiting it.
Sounds like you're on the right track. For overnight use, we like LONG pullthroughs. 70' plus! Makes it much easier. Nice for you to offer wifi, cable, etc. I second the note about thinking about your bushes and trees. Also, keep in mind that there are lots more quad slides now, so width of space needs to be addressed carefully. Good luck! Jan
You are definitely a breath of fresh air! We have been fulltiming since 1995 or there abouts and have witnessed the decline of friendliness in RV owners firsthand. Because you are stressing what an RVer wants, I hope you also achieve financial success in your endeavor and a new trend starts. WiFi and clean showers are important to me (Don't like all the humidity in my rig from showering), while cable TV and a laundromat are important to the little woman. Good luck and hope to visit you someday,
Great that you are doing research on what it takes to please us campers. However I suggest you do some financial research pronto. With only 17 sites (and as deluxe as discussed) this project cannot be economicaly good unless you are just doing this as a hobby.
Been RVing fulltime for the past 11 years, so here is my input. Please do NOT put rocks or rock gardens or any posts, obstacles or fire hydrants near or beneath bushes where we cannot see them or anywhere at the front of the property where we could cut a corner and hit them. Gravel at turning points in the driveway is best - not grass at entry. We don't like to mess up property. Likewise, if you plan on trees, make them near your office and shorter slow-growing trees/bushes near the sites. Don't plant trees where slideouts will eventually hit them in years to come. Think QUAD! We all have satelllites these days and need a view of the SOUTHERN sky. Most campgrounds don't trim their trees. This is a problem. Plan on a wide entry gate if you are putting one in. Security is important to most of us. We don't like scraping or pinstriping coaches that are nearly a MIL. Tight turns are not welcome, nor is traversing the entire park to get to our site. We like quick pull-in's, and we search for wide streets for EZ access to the site. Wide and long pullthrough sites are recommended. Paved streets keep down the dust as the big diesels raise a lot of dust!...and choke out your other guests when going through the park. There should be adequate room for towed cars to be parked next to or in front or rear of the RV without overhanging into the street. Nothing irritates more than to see trucks and cars overhanging the streets and RV's having to ask them to be moved out of the way. Pets: I have them but here is a good rule of thumb to curb those who do NOT pick up after their pets. Give them a plastic bag and a goodie at registration, then tell them that if they are walking the dog that management could stop them and ask to see their "baggie", -- and if they don't have one, that they could be fined or evicted rom the park. This works. There are a lot of vacationers out there who don't realize or observe the pet pickup rules. They should be fined or asked to leave. If I can pick up - so can they. Pets are serious business. Some people want to ban pets - and we pet owners do not want to see that happen. When I rent a property, that property is my territory and people or children should be told not to "walk over and through". (in the rules) Ammenities: Keep in mind a SMALL laundramat as most rigs these days have washers and dryers in them and we don't need a laundramat. If we do - we can go to one in town. Keep in mind that those in big rigs are fully self-contained and don't need a lot of showers. Rarely do I go there. Don't need. Most of us use our rig. Yes, WIFI is important or a modem desk, but phone lines at the site are very welcome! You are thinking in the right direction. Oh, and we love grassy, well kept sites. I think you have the idea. You sound like you will have a great facility-- but now for the fee? Can I afford it? Is it going to be reasonable or a high-end resort? Some campgrounds are pricing themselves right out of the business and many of us are looking to the alternatives in parking. We don't like paying for ammenities that we do not use, esp. in the off-season when we cannot use a pool, tennis court, etc. GOOD LUCK
I don't agree on the previous post about the laundromat being small. We don't all have washers and dryers in our campers and would like to have a nice place to do our laundry and do not want to go to town. Where are the laundromat's in town (the worst areas of town). I don't want to drag all my laundry in a car and back (bad idea). I do agree about the wide entries and some of the units are hard to maneuver in tight spots. No fences, bushes, trees near the road to cause problems turning. Also rates are usually lower in the off season when you cannot use the pool, etc, but I agree some are pricing theirselves out of business. At the beach in the summer, the rates are horrible, but off season they are reasonable. If you camp full time, you can go anytime, but people with children want the summer months. We try to go when there aren't as many children as our's are grown and we are over it! Like the nice quiet campgrounds after school starts.
First of all remember that you are never going to please everbody ALL the time. It sounds like you are looking for only the big rigs and that is ok but you should realize that many campers enjoy their older Class A's, vans, ClassC's. popups and tents. These people don't need 50 amp, telephones, individual internet connections or huge sites. Have a different fee schedule and save yourself some bucks on the what is not neccasary and make more people happy.
I and my husband are 40-50 yrs old, travel on short trips regularly, 32' southwind with a tow car, soon to be a 40' MCI with a tow car, and here's what we look for in a park: the obvious. . .long pull throughs, concrete parking pads (more important than concrete patio area by far), some grass, some quiet, sewer, water, & electric, preferably 50 amp, and if I were going to set up a park, I would have a seperate pet area and make people use it, (one campground we stayed in, a man two doors down came over to the drivers side of our unit with his dog to do his thing, I guess thinking we wouldn't notice it because it wasn't right outside our door! What a slob!). :angry: I would think it would be a lot cheaper to cater to adults than to have a pool and such for kids, but if you wanted to, you could have the pool and playground to one end and leave us, who want peace and quiet, on the other end!(I have 3 sons, barely grown, whom I love, but some people's kids. . .well. . .you know what I mean!) A small laundry room is always nice, because even with our big bus, we won't waste space w/laundry facilities. Personally, I use a Voicestream wireless card for my laptop, $29.00/month for unlimited usage, so I don't need wi-fi or anything, but I would agree that access to plug in to the phone line to use a toll-free number would be important to many. I don't mind paying $20-25/night if it's a nice, clean, green campground, but I like the discounts where you save $$$ if you stay longer! Who doesn't? Be friendly . . .you'd be surprised how many people complain about crabby park hosts! :angry:
One of the previous posts said that you can't please everyone, and that is especially true with campgrounds. Some of the suggestions mentioned above describe the kind of "RV Hell" that we avoid. No trees? Concrete Pads? If I wanted that, I'd save my money and camp at Wal Mart. We want lots of big shade trees. The more the better to reduce our view of the other campsites. We could care less about cable, telephone, WI-FI, and all that. We have that at home. We don't have a TV in our camper, because if we wanted all the comforts of home, we'd either stay home or go to a hotel. We look for sites that are as far apart as possible, with lots of shade, a table and fire pit. "Seasonal" trailers are a big negative; they give you the feeling that you just rented a space at a trailer park. The facilities should be clean and in good repair, and above all else, the staff friendly.
The previous post from "Camper Bob" is true when it comes to people who are looking for a "campground." Most of us are looking for an RV Park, and we like concrete parking pads, no trees, plenty of turn room 50 amps, and so forth. I guess, if you are building a new RV park, you have to decide what market you are going after, the older, smaller RVs, and those who like pop ups and tents, or the newer, bigger big rigs.
QUOTE I guess, if you are building a new RV park, you have to decide what market you are going after, the older, smaller RVs, and those who like pop ups and tents, or the newer, bigger big rigs. And then there are some of us who fall between. We have a 34' 5th wheel and like concrete pads under it, lots of turn room and 50 amp, however, we don't bring a TV or computer along. We prefer to enjoy the scenery and activities and the relaxation of where ever we choose to visit. We can watch TV at home anytime. As for the computer, the email will still be there when we get back. A laundromat is needed. We go for 3 weeks at a time and have to wash clothes halfway through. And I agree that a FRIENDLY staff is the most important feature.
I agree with the post about deciding what market you are trying to cater to. The poster with the million dollar rig apparently isn't aware that he/she are certainly not typical RVers, but if you are catering to the luxury coach market then his remarks are right on target. If you are targeting family RVers then he/she would likely not be happy in your campground. So it might help if you clarified from your business plan what your focus will be. Anything less than 30 ft. wide pads is too tight for our comfort zone, our slides and our awning. The laundry should have twice as many dryers as washers because it takes longer to dry and you end up waiting for the dryers with a pile of wet laundry. I use a wireless card on my pc but I think for the current time there are still many rvers who need and want a dial up jack to connect their laptop. I'll tell you the one interesting innovation I saw in a campground once, the young couple that had just bought it came up with the idea of an RV Supersite. At the end of a row, it had a fenced in patio area with lighting, a nicer picnic table and chairs and a hot tub in the corner. A full grown tree shaded it as well. The fence could be locked while the Rver was off site to keep it private. It was set up so that there was a concrete pad on the outside the fence for the length of an Rv as well. While it was too pricey for this ordinary camper, it was rarely empty the two weeks we were there as any number of luxury RV's used it and paid almost double a night for it. I think it would be nice if Rvers' could choose from an inexpensive basic pad with minimal to no hookups for an overnite all the way to a luxury site for top dollar. Hotels have many levels of service and amenities for different prices, I think a new RV park might be able to figure that out in some way as well. When I don't need something I'd like to pay less. When I want it all I expect to pay more.
I agree you aren't going to make everyone happy ALL the time. I can tell you of some of the experiences we've had and hope to avoid. This is our first year with a pop-up trailer. We like to 'camp'. We take our crew with us to include two girls (15, 11) plus a friend each and the house pet ( a great big 75.5 lb black lab). We ususally like the standard water/30 amp and we're set. We are weekenders so that's plenty for us. Husband likes a pull through and a nice level ground, makes pulling in and setting up quick and easy for him. I like lot of trees so you can't see your neighbors as soon as they step out of their tent/trailer. We stayed at one place and their sewer lines were under our picnic table. ( not very nice) I had to hang sheets up on a clothes line just for some privacy while we were eating. Also, the standard pool, mini golf and game room for the kids to hang out. I also agree with one of the previous posts to keep that in one area of the cg. Give people the choice of whether or not to stay close. Nice CLEAN bathrooms are a MUST. We stayed at one cg and I was a little disheartened by the state of the facilities. There were so many seasonal people staying there I didn't feel as though they catered to the weekenders too much. I also agree with the idea of making it mandatory for dog clean up. We are VERY considerate of our neighbors when it comes to our dog. She is very good and we would like to keep taking her with us. Bag checks are a great idea. Finally, since we are weekend campers I think it might be a good idea to have all the transient campers together. I don't like going to a cg and being right in the middle of seasonal people. I don't like to feel like I'm in a trailer park. So far this year we have been to 5 cg and are having an absolute blast. We love camping and have met many different types of people. Almost all of the campers we have met have been extremely nice. They have all said hello and some even helped the husband back up our first trip with the pop-up. We hope that trend will continue and we wish all happy camping. SFC Nav
Let me add a few comments. We have covered a lot of the country and always look for nice parks. I would say that the Class A market is growing the fastest. Look at RV business and see the numbers. These class a's will require more and more power and space. I would run 100 amp too in addition to 50/30/20 when you put in the campground. I don't need it but some of the newer coaches will. THe need for space to enter and exit is important and most people seemed to miss that you said overnight. This would mean no ammenities and adult market so no pool or other stuff. If you want to be a resort than add those by all means vbut it is not something we are looking for when we just overnight in a park. We do want our sat. and ac and the conviences since that is why we do not go in a tent so we can take it with us. No overhanging branches and hidden rocks or things to hit and please be pleasant. I think you could make quite a good return catering to the higher end market if you set it up. Wifi is impostant for those of us that still work or want to stay in touch and a phone line to the space is ok but I have my cell so I would not use it much. John
Wow, you certainly have gotten a lot of feedback. I'm a 38-footer with one slide and when I'm overnighting I use my shower for storage...so a clean shower is refreshing. We like a little vegetation between us and the neighbor as long as doesn't impede parking. Combo slab/grass sites are nice (and personally I like a fire pit! But that's just me.) A clean, affordable laundry room is a good idea. But one of the most important thing is friendly, helpful staff. Much luck to you & look forward to visiting.
It is nice that you, as campground owners, want input from campers!! We go to Branson every summer and will definitly stop and and check out your place. One of the things that we look for in a campground are LOTS of trees and LOTS of shade! We are not full-timers, we are vacation and weekenders, and we prefer the camping experience rather than all concrete and no trees type of campground. We also try to stay at campgrounds that allow pets, have a pool, and clean bathrooms with showers. It doesn't matter to us if the site is gravel or concrete as long it is level with reasonable space between us and our neighbor. Good luck!!
Rockerpeople - we've probably scared you off of the idea of even trying to start a CG! :blink: We have a pop-up. Just because it's a pop-up does NOT mean we don't want FULL hook-ups. We want water, electric AND sewer. We have a shower and kitchen sink. There is no gray water holding tank in a pop-up, so the only place we can run it to, is the sewer (which CG's generally let us do). (No, don't need/want any ideas as to how to make our own gray water holding tank, guys. ) The portable tanks you can put underneath, they fill up too quickly and you have to always be worried about emptying them. Our potty is one of those self-contained. We don't have to empty it until we leave, so we stop by the dumping station on the way out (a little gift for the CG. ) Don't "bump" people. If someone has reserved a specific site and is paying for it, it's THEIRS!!!!! Don't tell PU people they can't have a full hook-up site because you think they don't need it. Having a pop-up means if we are out in the hot sun, with no shade, it gets REALLY hot inside. We do have A/C, but it only helps to a point. Don't put people right on top of each other (that seems to be the biggest pet peeve with campers). Have an area geared more towards adults only. I don't mind people's dogs/pets being around me as long as they aren't barking constantly, or at every little noise all night long. So far we've only run into very nice, friendly, well mannered pooches. But I can see why some people would want an area with no pets. Even with a pop-up, a pull-thru site is nice. Haven't been on one with a concrete pad yet. Have to admit, that may not "feel" like camping, but once we try it, we may like it. Have to have gravel if not concrete, obviously. Grass, trees, bushes are nice. O.K. - cable hook-up. Hubby would love that. Only had it at one CG so far. Otherwise, he brings his SATELLITE DISH. :huh: Funny, but since I'm an internet "junky", he likes the idea of going camping to get me away from the internet. But HE needs his cable t.v.. At this point, I don't care if there's an internet hook-up, but, I bet if there WAS one, I'd be bringing my laptop (I'd have to sneak it out after hubby has fallen asleep watching his cable t.v. h34r: ) We have one of the bigger pop-ups. We also have a big truck with a crew cab. Put the two of them together, and they are a pretty long item. SHOWERS - when we all say "clean", we mean CLEAN!!! Even a little bit of green/black in the corner grosses me out. Some places have A/C in their bathhouses too. Laundry room - haven't had to use one yet. We've never been away that long. Just take enough clothes for the whole trip. On a longer trip, I could see needing a laundry room. Once again, nice and clean. I think also the suggestion of having more dryers is probably a good one. I've seen people complain about that too. Oh yeah, I heard someone at the last CG we were at tell the owners a FOLDING TABLE in the laundry room would be nice. Keep the ROADS up!! Filled in with gravel, etc. (or whatever you use). Since you say you can only have about 17 sites, I think a lot of these wishes we've all put down won't be practical. Maybe you could open up somewhere else on a much bigger piece of land! With the attitude you seem to have about the whole venture, we would definitely give you a try. Oh yeah, even when we've had sites in the woods, hubby has always managed to get that satellite dish to pull in a signal. I was embarassed the first time he took that "camping" (it's embarassing enough having a pop-up with A/C, shower, stove, oven, microwave, slide-out, fridge, and saying I'm going "camping".) Well, the first time he took it, several different campers (all guys - but you all knew that, didn't you?) came by to ask what "reading" he was getting (satellite dish lingo). Apparently, none of them had been able to get a signal, and he was. Since then, every time he takes it, we have all these people (guys) coming over to chat about it. I was amazed at how many people have satellite dishes at CG's.. Last time he spend over 2 hours trying to get that signal, so a cable t.v. hook-up would be nice too.
