RV Park thoughts, suggestions & ideas.

[rox]

Eddie,
I wasn't unerstanding clearly your swimming pol concept. Are you saydig that you are going to have the seating inside the pool or outside the pool?

As for clothes lines, when we drive around looking at sites one of the deciding factors, among others is if there is someplace i can hang a clothes line. It is not about washing and air drying clothes at all. It is about wet swimming suits and towels. Take a family of 4 where the 2 kids have each invited a friend along, now you have a bath towel and a beach towl for 6 people that is a lot of clothes line space, plus the swim suites. If you have plenty of trees that is ideal. If you run into an area where the trees jsut don't work out you might consider sinkng some posts, moms really do need clothes lines. Especialy when you rent a place for the year, you go back week-end after week-end and if you dont have a clothes line it makes you unsatisfied with the site. dad's don't deal with this issue but moms do. keep mamma happy

I'm loving the thread it is so much fun to hear everybody's ideas. I neve was at a campsite that had garbage cans at each site or garbage pick up at the site. Everyone I was at had dumpsters throughout the park and you walked down and emptied your garbage into the dumpsters. Most did have recycling dumpsters as well.

I know I threw out some kookie ideas but I thought it would be fun to talk about the "ultimate dream" campground and then, we all know, reality sets in.

I ws kind of surprisd you had the propane donw by the RV storage sheds. is it ar away form the office? I was jsut thinking what a drag it will be to canstantly ahve to run down there and fill propane, or else ahve staff down there. This could be mitigated by only selling propane between 9 & 11am and 6 & 7pm. Would cut down on running down to the Propane fill area from the ofice. But again perhaps it is not all that far.

What are you thinking would be a rate for a full year rental? Will you offer full year rental? Can the campers & rv's stay on their sites all year long? Will you be open all year?

 

[EddieWalker]

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.

Bill,

It sure sounds like a place I'd like to check out sometime. My ultimate goal is to create just such a place. One that people will want to return to every year and even plan on spending there vacations here. I've talked to some RV Dealers about giving first time RV'ers a special discount and maybe even helping them setup the first time.

I truly believe that if I can get them in here one time, they will come back again. This is what I'm working towards.

One thing I don't want to do is charge for everything. I want people to pay for there space and have the rest included. I'm very hesitant on renting anything and will not let anybody on or in the lake. It's a huge difference in my insurance rates. I'm hopeing that the pool will be so nice that nobody will want to go in my "snake and leach infested" lake. hahahha I'm gonna put some signs around the lake to try and scare people out from trying to sneak into the lake. Snakes and Leaches should help!!!

Anybody have some ideas on scary signs to keep people out of the lake?

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

Eddie, Are you going to have an age limit on the rv for perm. sites?

WhyNot,

No age restriction. If they can pay the monthly fee, than they can stay here. There RV will have to be street legal, but I'm mostly concerned with evicting them over how ugly there RV is. This is just another reason why I'm seperating the long term sites from the overnighters. Long termers are usualy in a lower financial class with older rigs. Most are retired with very limited incomes. They need a place to live and I'd like to be that place.

Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

consider a popup/tent section. "reserved" if you will...

We love the convience of the popup but dont want a full RV so we still have to hike to a bathroom. which for some campgrounds can be quite far (relitivly speaking at 2 am) the popup/tent section = more seculded, more trees, tigher spots we we arnt lugging around a 53' beast.

schmism,

You bring up a good point. In an earlier reply, I said that I'd make popups stay in the pull through sites with teh other RV's, but now I'm rethinking that.

I can see how they won't use very much power, water or sewage, so it's not fair to charge them full price for those services. I have a mental block to them being in the tent sites, but maybe I should rethink that. My roads to the tent sites are kind of tight, so that's my biggest concern. Pulling and parking a trailer might be an issue. If they can fit, then it shouldn't be an issue.

It will probably be one of those things I'll decide when the time comes. Let them stay in a tent site and see how it works out. I'd hate to sell them a pull thru site at a discount and then turn away a full sized RV.

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

Eddie. If you have an area that is kinda not in use where you could put 3 or 4 12X12 pen/stalls that could be used for horses you might be surprised how many takers you would get. I don't know about east texas but out here there is a constant string of people pulling big goose neck horse trailers up and down I-10. I have one. One thing that is far and few between are places where you can stop and unload horses for the night. We call them horse motels. Most of us who pull big trailers kinda use them for RV's also. You just might be surprised how many people this would pull in. The stalls really would not need anything except for water and maybe dumpster to put poop in. We always plan our long trips around friendly horse stopping areas. And any place that has a store, diesel, and food close by is a sure stopping place.

Jim Brown,

You've brought up something I haven't thought of or even heard of before. I don't know anything about horses, so it's all new to me, but I sure can see how this would be soemthing people might find usefull.

Can you tell me more about horse stalls? How big would you make the pens and how many horses can you put in them? I'm guessing that you wouldn't want your horses in the same pen as somebody elses horse? How much do you pay for horse storage for the night? Do they need a roof for rain or the cold? Are trees good or bad?

Very interesting.
Thanks,
Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

Eddie,
Let me know when you need the animals for your game preserve. We have a relative that breeds all of them (giraffes, zebra's, antelope species etc. etc.) They have a ranch down near San Antonio that you can visit. They'd also be a good resourse for how to care for them. They breed mainly for zoo's, not exotic hunting operations, so the animals they have are extremely tame.

Gordon,

Thank you!! I will ask for sure when I get to that point. One of the reasons I liked Texas to do this was the ease of gettting most any animals I wanted. I've been to a few auctions to check out prices and what's available and was very pleased. Yearling elk bulls for $200 -$220 each. Axis deer, fallow deer, blackcuck for under $300 each. Zebra are pricey at $2,000 and up, but that's about the most for what I want. Giraffes are way too expensive to even consider. hahaha

Eddie

 

[Bird]

Eddie, the Destiny RV Resort, less than a mile from my house, on I-35 has a 4 bay coin car/truck/RV wash that is the first thing you pass when you turn into the place. I have no idea how much money it makes, but they have a big sign on it that it's "Open to the Public" and I see cars, trucks, and RVs being washed there when we go by.

 

[EddieWalker]

Eddie,
I wasn't unerstanding clearly your swimming pol concept. Are you saydig that you are going to have the seating inside the pool or outside the pool?

As for clothes lines, when we drive around looking at sites one of the deciding factors, among others is if there is someplace i can hang a clothes line. It is not about washing and air drying clothes at all. It is about wet swimming suits and towels. Take a family of 4 where the 2 kids have each invited a friend along, now you have a bath towel and a beach towl for 6 people that is a lot of clothes line space, plus the swim suites. If you have plenty of trees that is ideal. If you run into an area where the trees jsut don't work out you might consider sinkng some posts, moms really do need clothes lines. Especialy when you rent a place for the year, you go back week-end after week-end and if you dont have a clothes line it makes you unsatisfied with the site. dad's don't deal with this issue but moms do. keep mamma happy

I'm loving the thread it is so much fun to hear everybody's ideas. I neve was at a campsite that had garbage cans at each site or garbage pick up at the site. Everyone I was at had dumpsters throughout the park and you walked down and emptied your garbage into the dumpsters. Most did have recycling dumpsters as well.

I know I threw out some kookie ideas but I thought it would be fun to talk about the "ultimate dream" campground and then, we all know, reality sets in.

I ws kind of surprisd you had the propane donw by the RV storage sheds. is it ar away form the office? I was jsut thinking what a drag it will be to canstantly ahve to run down there and fill propane, or else ahve staff down there. This could be mitigated by only selling propane between 9 & 11am and 6 & 7pm. Would cut down on running down to the Propane fill area from the ofice. But again perhaps it is not all that far.

What are you thinking would be a rate for a full year rental? Will you offer full year rental? Can the campers & rv's stay on their sites all year long? Will you be open all year?

Hi Rox,

There will be two swimming pools right next to each other. They will be between the store building and the laundromat building. Those buildings will be connected with a covered walkway that will have picnic tables and also be part of the wildlife preserve. Imagine sitting at the picnice table, in the shade. You look one way and you see the pool. You look the oposite direction and you see into the wildlife preserve with the possibility of seeing an animal that you have no idea what it is!!! Maybe an Axis deer, maybe a Gemsbok or even a Muntjak!!!

The main pool will have a beach entry starting in front of the breezway. Once you walk down into the water, you will have you choice of a sitting area that is in the water. Imagine a four leef clover with the leefs spread out. Each of the round areas will be sitting areas built into the sides of the pool. Cheap and simple to make, but very nice to sit on and face the person your talking to who's also in the pool.

Next to that pool, seperated by a wide walkway, will be the kiddy pool.

On the other side of the pool from where those picnic tables are will be several flower gardens and cement pads for laying out in the sun.

If you need somthing to eat or drink, the store is right there. If you have to use the bathroom, you will have seven individual units to choose from with total privacy.

I misunderstood about the clothes line. I'm gonna save every tree I can to give the park as wooded feel. I want people to come here instead of the State Park. In order to do that, I have to offer everything they do and then some. So yes, there should be lots of options for running a line to dry swimsuits and towels.

It's dificult to describe the layout, so it's easy to get confused. I have two roads that go to the State Highway in front of my land. One road is the entrance road. It comes in about 800 feet and then turns to the left to the store. Along the side of the road is a pasture with a white vinyl three rail fence. I'll have a few longhorn steers in there. Just before the road turns is my small 3/4 acre pond. You will look across this pond to see the store for the first time.

If you want propane or to dump your holding tanks, you can continue around the front pasture to the dump station. If you went strait, you would be at the store. At the dump station, you can either dump your tanks or buy propane. This is across the road fromt the store and in plane site of the office. I'll have a bell there for propane sales too.

After getting propane and/or dumping, the road heads out past my current home. You will be driving along the front pasture again, but this time on your way out. Right after my home is where the RV carwash is. It's off to the right so you can pull off the road to it, or keep going. After that you have the choice to turn right to the storage units, go straight to exit the park or turn left to go back into the park again.

The entrance and exit road goes around the front pasture with the longhorns in it.

I'll have to work on creating a map in digital form so I can post it. It's pretty simple, but unlike any RV Park I've ever seen. I have more land than most parks and I'm using all of it. Your average RV Park is on less then ten acres.

When Nat was here with his wife and another couple in there RV's they mentioned that I might get people who want to rent sites on a yearly basis just as a weekend getaway. I hadn't thought of that and still don't know if it will happen or not, but I'm loving the idea if it happens. My monthly rates will be in the $300 range with water, sewage and garbage included. It's just not practical to go any cheaper for people wanting a weekend getaway. They can save money by not using any electricity while they are not here, but I'd guess they'd have something on all the time.

There are seven dead end roads for the long term sites. If there is a demand for this, I could designate a road as just for those types of guests, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Imagine the wildlife preserve shaped like an odd sided triangle. Along the short side is the store, pool and laundromat. On the left side is the short term sites. On the right side is the long term sites. Ther eis a two lane road all around the preserve. Off to the right of the long term side road are seven dead end roads spaced 160 feet apart. If you went down one of those roads, you'd see RV's backed into sites every 50 feet or so.

Long term sites are all backin sites so the people staying there can park in front of there RV. It's a different layout and design from short term sites with pull thru sites and wide sweeping turns.

Yes, I'll be open year round. One thing that is very popular further south are RV Parks for the snowbirds. People who live up north who come down to Texas for winter to avoid the snow where there homes are. Most of them head all the way down to the Rio Grande area along the Mexican border, but some stay at other places. It's not unreasonable to expect to have a few stay here during the winter months. It's also not unreasonalbe for some to want to leave there RV in my storage area and reserve there space for the next winter.

The RV storage will also have potable water for filling there water tanks. The thought here is that people who live in the city can come here, get there RV, go on there trip, bring it back and have everything they need right here. No need to find a place to dump, get propane, wash thier RV or find drinking water. To me it sounds like a good deal. hahahha

Thanks for all your ideas. There is no such thing as a "kookie" one!!! hahaha

Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

Eddie, the Destiny RV Resort, less than a mile from my house, on I-35 has a 4 bay coin car/truck/RV wash that is the first thing you pass when you turn into the place. I have no idea how much money it makes, but they have a big sign on it that it's "Open to the Public" and I see cars, trucks, and RVs being washed there when we go by.

Hey Bird,

I was there two years ago and met with the manager. She told me it was a huge draw and a real money maker. She didn't tell me how much, but from the way she described it, they were very pleased with it.

From what I've seen, that's the only RV Park with one. It's kind of an eyesore the way it sits out front like it does, but they realy didn't have a choice. I'm hoping to camoflage mine with the trees and put a green metal roof on it to help blend in even more.

I don't want big rigs coming in to use mine unless it's doesn't have a trailer on. Then it might be ok, but I'm putting up a sign at the entrance saying no tractor trailers, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[Highbeam]

"Anybody have some ideas on scary signs to keep people out of the lake?"

How about "Sewage treatment lagoon, non-potable water, look out for brown trout". HA!

I'll admit to being of the younger RV crowd. My parents never had one and I packed mules and camped in the woods growing up. I bought an RV and really enjoy the RV recreation as compared to hotels and disney land with my kids and friends.

So I am a truck and trailer type RVer, no big mohome for me. I have been to at least a dozen parks to develop a liking for a few things. We lounge around outside of the RV in chairs letting our young offspring play together while we drink, eat, converse, and be merry.

The first concern is that the line for checking in should never be allowed to extend out onto the public street. I have sat on the street blocking traffic along with a line of RVs behind me while waiting to be checked in, leave plenty of back up room.

The spots need to be seperated by a good distance, the 50 foot on center figure you mentioned is decent so long as the 50 feet is landscaped so that it isn't mistaken by your neighbor to be their "yard". Ever have a football thud into the side of your RV?

Behind each row of RVs should be green space of sufficient width to recreate. The next row should not be right the heck behind you. Again, landscaping goes a long ways.

My favorite parks used cloverleaf layouts so that there were central areas and perimeter areas and the parking lot feeling was lessened.

Angle the spots so that I can back in without jacking my RV to a 90 degree angle.

We all should understand the difference between camping and RVing. They are NOT the same and while I expect to see, hear, and coexist with other campers at a park I do want to be able to escape somewhat so more space is better.

Nobody likes to camp next to the dumpster. They stink and are frequented by folks coming from all directions to throw their trash out at all hours. Noisy dumpster lids and noisy bottle smashing. Likewise the bathroom structures should not be immediately beside camping stalls. Same problem with traffic noise, lights, rifraf.

Generators. If you have hookups to every site then this is not problem. If you have sites without hookups then a strict policy needs to be set and policed. I like sites with hookups for this reason, much quieter.

Speedbumps. I don't like driving over them but I find them very necessary in a dense RV park environment to slow down the hooligans making beer runs.

Irrigation. The best parks have soft grass because they water it. They also water on particular days and post this info so that you can pull in your gear.

I like the availability of coin operated (or even free) showers. It is much more pleasant to wash up in a full sized shower than in the typical RV shower. Less mess, moisture, etc.

Ice machines, or some form of available ice to keep our bourbon cold. A convenience store would be a fine place for ice and other essentials like coffee.

I can't think of much else. In my case I camp in the RV for a week or so and then go home so my needs are going to be different than the full time RVer and also different than the tenter. I don't mind driving home in a bug covered RV since these guts are the mark of an accomplished RV.