RV Park thoughts, suggestions & ideas.

[EddieWalker]

Easy access to propane is a plus, either a supplier nearby or you sell it there at the park.

Car rental—have some sort of an arrangement with a local car rental co where they will deliver and pickup rental cars at the park.

hitekcountry,

Propane is a good revenue source. I need to be trained and licensed by the state, but that's not a big deal. I have a pad in place for it with parking for RV's that don't have removable tanks. I'm not gonna do the moble thing, but might let my supplier do that. My thinking is that you'll have to drive up to the tank to get propane, or bring you tanks.

I've never heard of car rental. I'll have to look into that one. Not sure how it would work or if it's something that I want to get involved with.

I did consider golf cart rentals, but have decided not to. It's a huge complaint from RV'ers with minimal return for what's involved. I'm undecided about allowing people to bring there own golfcart. It will probable be soemthing I'll allow until it becomes a problem.

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

You've already gotten a couple of my recomendations, but I do have a concern to mention... You said there would be plenty of light, concrete, open skies were suggested for satelite service.... Personally, that aint camping.... I'd like to be able to sit in the dark near a campfire, able to see stars in the sky(not street lights).. I also like trees(better than TV, I can get that at home).. Anyhow, my point is(and you may already be planing this) I would recomend sectioning off different areas for the condo's on wheels, tents, and everyone in between.. I have to admit, we stayed at a KOA last year and my son brought his laptop to watch DVD's on, he turned it on and had wireless connection.. .. It was actually pretty cool, but thats not why we were there... Too much lighting would be my first complaint about a campground..

HGM,

I agree that lighting can get out of control. I two types of roads. Main roads and campsite roads. My thinking is to put the large street lamps on the main roads for maximum safety. Then at the front of every site, I'm going to have a post with the site number on it and a low wattage light. Lots of low watt lights spread out every 50 feet should give enough light to see, but not make everything very bright. I'm not sure of the wattage yet, but will wire the lights with 12/2 to be sure. I'm thinking along the lines of a house post light that some people put in front of there homes, but I'm open to any suggestions.

I'm also unsure about lighting my trails. I figue nobody will be on the ones through the woods, but around the lake is another story. It's pretty open and on warm evenings, it will be very nice to walk around the lake after dark. I need something to light the trail so people don't trip, but I don't want to have to mow around lights on the ground. I saw some hanging lamps as DisneyLand that I really likeds, but I hate the idea of changeing bulbs on lamps up in the trees. Again, any suggestions on this would be very helpful.

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

Some ideas from a camp ground we go in Colorado. An amusement center for the kids and kids at heart. A small building with coin operated pool tables, video games, air hockey, etc. to draw in families and generate additional cash flow. Outside, horseshoe pits, ladder golf, rental bikes, small miniature golf course , etc to generate more cash. A small pond heavily stocked for fishing for a fee. Adults love these and don't seem to mind spending the extra money since it gives the kids something to do while the adults rest and relax.
Firewood for sale for evening campfires.
Maybe contract a local stable for horse back rides.

Hi Bill,

You touched on an area I'm having allot of trouble with. Activities for the kids and parents. I might do the video game thing, but I'm unsure. If I do, it will be in the store. What I really want is a playground area. I just don't have a good spot to put it. The lake will be stocked with fish and as you know, they don't need a fishing license to fish privately owned waters here in Texas. I'll sell fishing supplies in the store, but otherwise, fishing will be included in the price to stay here.

Firewood will also be for sale at the store and I might do a delivery thing. It depends on the demand and how long it takes, but I'm thinking about taking orders for it by the wagon load. Then at a certain time in the afternoon, I'll deliver it to each site that bought it. Kind of make it a one time thing every day. If anybody wants wood after that time, they will have to bring it back themselves if we're not able to do it for them.

The main activity will be two swimming pools next to the store. One will be a shallow kiddy pool, the other will be a 4 foot wading pool. There is a huge insurance savings by only haveing wading pools.

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

Some friends of ours bought an old abandonned camp ground. Cleared the area of roads and camp sites first. Then,,, I came in and put 6,000 ft of underground schedule 40 piping,. Each site now has 100 amp service, a phone line, and cable line.. Of course there is an upcharge to the site for the extra's. The point being, camp grounds around here are old, very, very old. There is no properties available to expand or make any kind of decent changes.. This is New England, where the pilgrims landed, so open property of any kind is mega expensive. If one finds open property, then it is years of fighting, meetings, lawyers, and more meetings with various government officials just to open a new campground. That is, if you have a continuous cash flow and can afford to play these games,... When these people went with 100 amp service to each site, phone and cable.., it was the best move ever. Most all surrounding camp grounds, (probably 300 of them in a 100 mile radius including several states) offer 30 and some 60 amp service. A few have phone services, and they were the first with cable,, It is the cable,, (tv and internet) that was the big draw...

Larry,

I've never heard of any place putting in 100 amp service. Why so much? There is a rumor that RV manufacturers have considered building RV's that will need 100 amps, but the 50 amp barrier is too much for most parks. It's easy to put in 50amps with a new park, but very expensive and difficult to upgrade to it.

Another rumor is that RV's will get longer with a pivot point in the middle like some city busses. Not sure if that will ever happen or not, but they are trying to do all sorts of different things.

When I first decided to build an RV Park, I was living in California. I thought I could build one there, but soon realized it was just about impossible to do so with all the envirionmental restrictions and permits required. Not to mention extremely expensive. I spent a few years looking around the country to find this location.

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

I bet this is going to be a real fun thred!
I have always been afraid walking n a campground at night without lights. Ideal I think along the roads are low lights, on posts say about 3' to 4' high. It provides lighting but it is low lighting.

Okay so lets dream a little here. How about a Lazy River? Eddie I know you have a great deal fo experience digging, I jsut love those man made lazy rivers where you plop into your intner tube and drift along the currents in a big loop. Plenty of water jets spray at you and challenges to avoid, perhaps some low rapids. Yup lazy rivers are great family fun. Giet big truck tire inner tubes and the whole family sits on one innertube.

For a pool I also love a swim up bar at one end of the pool. Even if you dont' serve any alchohol, people can bring their own beer or whatever and sit in the pool and their hsuband can be on the other side of the bartop/countertop and be the bartender. Swim up bars are fun.

See this link
http://www.fowlie.ca/old/et/images/aug2001/pic12.jpg
Just go to Google and search on pictures ,and Google "Swim Up Bar."

I also like a place to string a laundry line.
A restaurant that serves breakfast 24/7 is really welcome. Love to go out to breakfast when camping.

I also vote for wireless internet. You could rent the modem cards that slide inside the laptops for thsoe people who don't have wireless built into their laptops. Plus it doesn't ahave to be free you know. You could have that be a seperate business, have a local business partener who is an expert in computer networking, have him invest $$ and split profit with you. In other words, don't get involved in the Internet, provide that as a business opportunity and take a cut of the profit. Hav ethe other guy provide the hardware & expertice and maintence. Any problems you jsut call him/her. You sell the network log in to the campers. Sure do think wireless is the way to go. you might even get your local phone company to be your business partner for the internet protion. Ask at your phone company for the business development manager.

I think trails that are off leash trails for the dogs are a great idea. People love to walk their dog along an approved trail. Within the campground they can be on leashes, but I think a special trail area for them is welcomed.

I'll add this to the thread so you have your ideas and suggestions in one thread. design your buildings so that you can rent out the restaurant to a restaurant operator. Even if you intend to run it yourself, design it so that it can be run as a seperate business and have a seperate entrance, loading and storage etc. This way if you get tired of the restaurant business, you can lease it out.

Something like a corn maze might be fun. I know that is not doable by you in texas but perhaps someone on the boards can come up with an idea based off the concept. i like to do tings with my family that we can all do together and mazes are fun.

If you have tornados then an underground shelter big enough to hold your population of campers. I know you are not thrilled with basements but for safety if you have high storms, and I'm in a camper and there ae tornado warnings, I want to be able to go to a shelter. Somehow you might be able to have the shelter serve another purpose as well.

Love water sprots when camping. And oh before i forget, definately a kiddie pool. The best ones I ever saw were form our public park system in Milwaukee. they were just like a saucer. You walked in with 1' of water and it gradually very gradually got deeper to about pehaps 1 fot to 15". A fountin in the middle lightly spraying out water makes it fun. the kids run under the fountain/sprinkler. the moms and dads sit on the edge of the pool with their fanny's jsut at the water line, their legs sticking towards the center and watch the kiddies.

If it is really really hot by you, how about some msiters set up by the sand volley ball park. And badmitton to, we palyed a lot of badmitten when camping. I ahe to admit this but we ahd a lot of arguments if the birdie was in our out so I always had to stake down a rope to have hard boundries. it would be great to have a badmitton court with boundries installed. i woudl ahve rather walked to a badmitton court rather than take up and put down our court every week-end.

oh another idea, a way to sting patio lights. Could incorporate with a way to ahng clothes. We loved having our campsite set upw tih patio lights. What I did was take 10 gallong buckets filled with cement and stuck an aluminum pole in the middle. I then strung the lights on these movable poles. It would have been great to have something permenent that we could have just attached to.

That is what I can think fo for right now. If I think of more I'll add to the thread.

Hi Rox,

Thanks for suggesting I start this thread. I've already received some great ideas!!!!

I like the lazy river idea, but it's just way beyond me to make one. Just having the pools is more than I realy want, but people have to have a pool at a park. Even though very few use them, you will lose a large number of guests if you don't have one.

My original pool plans had a swim up bar area. I really like them too, but after looking into it, I've cut it out. Instead, I'm putting in seating areas that will allow people to sit and face each other. Kind of similar, but I think more user friendly and cheaper to build. The pool will have a large beach entry with four of these seating areas and several garden spots with one waterfall. In my experience, most people like to hang out around a pool more than actualy swim in it. My goal is to build a resort type pool that you'd expect to find in Hawaii or the Islands. If I make it attractive, it will atract people and be a huge asset.

The kiddy pool will be right next to the wading pool, but only 2 feet deep. It will be shaped like a triangle with the longest side haveing a beach entry. I want a fountain in the middle of some kind, but still researching it. Maybe a few palm trees with water flowing over them, or some elephants with water coming out there trunks. Lots of options. LOL

I'm not a fan of the laundry line, but wont stop people from doing so if they wnat to. I know some people like to air dry there clothes, but I'm putting in three laundromats to make a profit. Most will want to use my dryers, so I'm fine with them line drying there clothes, but they will have to do so at there site with there own line. There will be plenty of trees for this. hahaha

The resturant is soemthing I'm still researching. It's not going to be much of a resturant, but more of a dinner. Simple meals for a fair price to allow guests a place to eat out. Since we last talked, I've added another 1,200 feet to that building just for the resturant. I'm also going to plan on adding on a wing for a larger eating area down the road if I need to. Better to plan now and be ready than to have to struggle to figure it out when it's too late.

The maze looks like a fun idea. I'll have to think about that one. Corn wont work, but maybe an evergreen shrub? Something I could plant and let grow over time would be fun.

One idea that Steph and I came up with is a game we're going to call Safari. We want to hide carvings of animals throughout the park and have kids or anybody who wants to, find them. They won't be dificult to find, and we'll have a list of the locations of all of them, but they will have to draw a line for what they find type of thing. We want it to be simple, but make it so they have to actualy look for them. The current plan is to have a list representing each continent with a list of animals found there. They have to find the animal and mark it on there map. Then they turn it in and get a button with the RV Park logo on it as a prize. Every time they come here, they can get a different game map and after they have done them all, they will get a special prize. Maybe a hat or a plaque. The advantages are this will force them to see the entire park. It will keep them busy. It will give them reasons to return. The buttons will be advertisement if they wear them, if not, it will give them something to talk about to others.

I haven't thought about badmitten or volley ball nets. I did think about a basketball court, but haven't come up with a place for it. My first priority is a kids playground, then I'll try to put some sand courts in too. I think that's something that would get some use that won't cost much to build or maintain.

Thank you,
Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

Lots of great ideas coming at you Eddie. From what you describe, this will be a top notch park. A couple of details we have appreciated over the years are campsite trash pickup, along with plenty of trash cans located throughout. Another nice touch we've experienced is daily newspaper delivery. We had this at an upscale RV resort and it's an option at some Yogi-Bear parks.

Depending on your layout, walkways here and there to eliminate the need to cut through other peoples' sites would be good. Hayrides, kids activities and a good website work well too.

Rob,

You bring up a good point. Garbage pickup can be a real issue. I've been to parks where they had dumpsters at the front entrace. Before you saw the office, you had to pass the dumpsters. A huge turn off in my opinion.

My original plan was to give each guest a garbage bag for everyday they paid for and have them leave it in front of there site for pickup first thing in the morning. Then when Golfgar was here, he suggested I put wheels on my dumpsters and pull them around to pick up the garbage bags. I liked this method allot, but lately I've been thinking it's too time consumeing in man hours. Storage of these dumpsters is also a concern.

Now I'm thinking about putting dumpsters on my main roads all over the park. People will carry there garbage to the dumpsters and I'll have the garbage picked up every few days. With two dozen dumpsters, I think the garabage company will work with me. If not, there are several to choose from. I hate the idea of garbage trucks running around the park, but if I do it on off days, I should minimize the negative aspects of it.

The other issue is having garbage cans overflowing. This is the most common eye sore that I've seen in RV Parks. One or two cans just isn't able to handle the amoung of garbage people have in an RV. Especialy if they have been on the road for a awhile.

Any suggestions on this would really be helpful.

I like the hayride idea. Soundguy just did one with pictures that I really liked. It could be something that I have going on every evening that people can get on and off when they wanted. It would make a loop around the park and be something fun for anybody who wanted to ride for free!!!

I haven't considere delivering newspapers to each site. I'll have to think about that one. I wonder what it would cost? hmm One thought was to have several papers from the area available in the resturant for people to read while having breakfast or a cup of coffee. I want a bunch of tables set up at the windows looking into the wildlife preserve. In my mind, I think it would be amazing to have a cup of coffe and watch some exotic deer or antelope feeding or just walking by.

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

Eddie, i thought of another idea. Dirt Bike tails with plenty of hills. This is a good one for you as it is another earth moving project and doesn't involve buying anything other than diesel fuel and of course your time.

My nephew would spend literally all week end riding his dirtbike on the dirtbike trails and dunes.

Rox,

I only have 68 acres. No room for dirt bikes. LOL

But it's funny you suggest that because the guy who owns 400 acres across the creek from me was thinking about opening a off road park. He wanted to know if I'd be willing to put a bridge over the creek so people could stay in the RV Park and ride there ATV's on his land.

He wasn't too interested in doing anything himself, but wanted me to collect fees and maintain the place in additon to building the bridge. The land would be perfect for this since it's about the only land of it's size with big hills and lots of elevation changes.

My concern is the amount of noise it might generate and how people would get there ATV's to the bridge. I don't want them riding through the park.

I don't think it will happen, but he's still around and nothing has ever been done to the land. It's just allot of jungle sitting there.

Another option I might bring up with him is to make some trails for Mt. Bikes. There isn't anything like it for people to ride there Mt. Bikes on and I think it might be a money maker. Of course we're just talking here, there's no plans for this right now. hahaha

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[BB_TX]

Eddie - Just a couple more comments on the place we go.
They have a rather unique setup where they divert some Rio Grande river water thru a series of something like 15 ponds. The ponds are stocked with trout once a week. They charge a camp fishing "license" of something like $10/wk and anyone can fish for no additional charge in any pond. Except for one pond. That one is heavily stocked for kids. They can throw a hook in and catch a fish within a minute. The kicker is that in that pond they charge by the inch! I forgot the exact amount but it ends up costing something like $2-$3 per fish for decent frying size trout. The kids talk their parents into letting them fish and it ends up costing them $20-$30-$40 by the time they are thru. (I know, my grandkids cost me a lot each year ). Of course trout would not work in the summer time in TX, but catfish, brim, bluegill, etc. might. The adults like to fish the free ponds, the kids love the pay pond. The camp fishing license and the pay pond pay for the stocking.
And the bikes. They are old, somewhat ragged, single speed, bikes they rent by the day or week. About $10/wk if I remember right. And they keep almost all them rented all the time. It is a fairly large campground and lots of room for riding. Those bikes have no doubt paid for themselves many times over.
This campground is also somewhat unique in that it only allows couples and families. No singles. They have a few cabins that rent out a year in advance. Almost impossible to get one. They have a few older travel trailers they rent. And they have an untold number of RV camp sites for tents to the largest motorhomes. They have a variety of sites from wide open to heavily treed. They have strict rules about noise after hours, no 4 wheelers or dirt bikes, no barking dogs. They promote family friendly. They do not advertise anywhere. Yet they have an incredible business. Some people have been coming back every year for several generations. And some come May opening and stay til Oct. closing. Many come to work the summer in the restaurant, store, gift shop, etc. They have found a successful formula. You may have heard of them. Fun Valley, just west of Southfork CO.

 

[EddieWalker]

We have done a little RV type camping, when we had our cabover campers.. A couple idea's.

Cut the lights. We were at a place that had an overhead light next to our site. Kept our site too bright, and shone in the window even with the curtian pulled. Make you lighting non-intrusive. Lights should not shine at you or in your face. Nothing worse than walking in relative dark, with a yard light or building light glaring in your face. Lights should glow, and light the path, not your eyeballs.

Have something for kids to do. Rental bikes, horseshoes, put-put golf(KOA here has a short, nicely done course), fishing, nature trail, nightly campfire circle, games etc.

Once a week have a greeting/snacks in the clubhouse. People meet, talk, remember your establishment later...

Level pads... leveling of an RV should be minimal.

Tent sites should be level, have a nice table, and seperate enough to have a little privacy.

Sponsor Boy Scout and Girl Scout campouts. Good way to get lots of people in. Check out other organizations like that.

Have a weekly cookoff; ie chili or something.

Hey Rob,

I gotta have enough lights to avoid injury and liability issues. I know what your talking about with the lights set just right to go through the windows!!! hahaha I've seen that several times and don't understand it.

The lights in the sites will be pretty low, so that shouldn't be a problem. They will aslo be on the drivers side of the site at the entrance. I need to light up the site number and make it safe for people to walk the roads. Anything is just being wasteful.

I'm an Eagle Scout, so I like the idea of doing something special for the Scouts. I'll have to see how the tent sites turn out and if there's any room for a large group of tents. I'd love to have an open field or pasture that I could set aside for groups like that. Give them a special rate and have it open for all sorts of youth groups. Good PR.

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

We like shade, enough space where the rv's are not packed in like sardines, with enough room to put up a screen house, a walking trail, clean and supplied shower/restrooms. Make the roads wide enough to maneuver, no sharp bends in the road with trees close to the edge of the road or low branches to snag the rubber roof of your rv. Limit the gas scooters running up and down the roads, not a curmudgeon but a half dozen kids and or adults riding a couple hours past your site tends to get tiresome. A well stocked small store with firewood available, raccoon proof garbage cans and last but not least a friendly staff.

Dozernut,

The Good Sam's Club has a rating system that the do on every RV Park. There have revised the site size for a maximum score because of the larger rigs and slideouts. They want 50 feet from the middle of each pad to the middle of each pad for maximum score.

I'm also with you on wide roads with gentle turns. There are allot of sites on complaints on RV Parks, but you have to talk to the owners to find out what ther complaints are on RV owners. The biggest complaint is they cannot drive. Imagine that the average owner of an RV has never drove anything even close to that size before in there life. They are older people with slower reflexes, poor vision and less concentration. To be blunt, they can't drive and will run into everything. I saw one park where they regularly run over the boulders along the roads and another park where a guy drove off the road over 20 fee to hit a storage shed. If they can run into it, they will.

The majority of my roads are one way. There are very few options on how you can get around. Guests will have to follow the roads around one of two main loops to get anyplace. I'm hoping this will force more people to walk, but who knows? KOA wanted me to join them as a franchise and we spent some time on park layout. They have allot of money into there new parks and designs and my layout if very similar to what they are doing.

As to the biggest complaints by RV owners, number one is bathrooms being dirty. Number two is an unfriendly staff. One RV park owner told me that he has his staff wave at anything that moves. Wave first, find out what it is second. I like that.

Thanks,
Eddie