Building a Small RV Park - Year 2

[Jim]

I’m glad to hear, since I still want to come visit can I drop off mine at your house, I promise they’re overall well behaved and we’ll just be down the hill ( or around the corner or whatever it is )

I'm sure your children will be just fine, Marc. Bring them with you and I'll put you in the nicest site I have available. But if they misbehave, I'll have to sell them to the neighboring maniac down the road. . .

 

[Neal]

I'm not down the road, I'm in Richmond. Good grief!

 

[Jim]

I'm not down the road, I'm in Richmond. Good grief!

Oh lord, lol.

 

["EZ"]

Wow! I'd love to know what happened for you to have to implement a rule like that!! Give us the juicy details!!

BTW.........remember when resturants had smoking and non-smoking areas? I always said they should offer a no-children area too. I can't tell you the number of times I've had a $100 dinner ruined by people's kids running rampant or crying non-stop. No way to enjoy a nice romantic dinner with that going on. Some people refuse to make their kids mind in public and are too cheap to hire a baby sitter. I've seen parents let their kids DESTROY the place and then get up and not leave a tip on the table. Then it takes the staff 20 minutes to make the place presentable again before they can use that table for the next guests.

 

[Landsub]

Last year was busy as Trish and I got a crash course in Design, Development, Operations and the End Of Year Shutdown of Deer Springs RV Park. And here we are, 2.5 months away from opening for our second season. I want to continue documenting the improvements we make, but the original thread is HUGE and it's probably a good idea to put some distance between it and future developments, upgrades and changes.

Yesterday was cold but we forged on with the new cement pad at site 8. It's 15' x 55', 6" thick with steal rebar throughout, poured over a base of Crush-N-Run rock that was the original parking pad for last year. So the foundation is very strong and the cement will have a good 2.5 months to cure before the first guest pulls in. Here are a couple of quick pictures that Trish shot.

I can't take much credit for the actual pour or the finishing as I'm the guy with his hands in his pockets, lol.

View attachment 10483
View attachment 10484

Our biggest complaint with RV parks is the shower facilities. Most do not have hooks shelves or bench seats for towels, clothes and/ or shower bags. At the very least hooks should be added.

 

[Headhunter]

Why Do RV Parks Have Age Restrictions?

Should all RV parks be available to everyone? Are age restrictions unfair for families, or are they a necessity for a target market?

camperreport.com

Here is something I just read in Campers Report. It is about Camp Sites with age restrictions.

 

[Jim]

Why Do RV Parks Have Age Restrictions?

Should all RV parks be available to everyone? Are age restrictions unfair for families, or are they a necessity for a target market?

camperreport.com

Here is something I just read in Campers Report. It is about Camp Sites with age restrictions.

Thank you, HH!

 

[Landsub]

I think there may be some misunderstanding as to what has driven this decision. It's not necessary me that is having the problems, it's the client base that I cater to.

It’s important to note that camping comes in many flavors. There are those who prefer no more than a tent. There are those who want more comfort, but don’t require full hookups. There are those who don’t mind spending a few dollars more to have water, power, sewer, concrete pads, etc. There are campgrounds for adults only as well as campgrounds for Class A motor homes that are 36 feet or longer.

There are campgrounds for each of these groups, and those campgrounds cater to the wants/needs of that group. I don’t think there is any campground that can cater to all of that at once, so each must pick their target market and do their best to attract that metric. And yes, in the process, they will lose the other visitors. Not because they don’t want to provide a good camping experience, but because the wants/needs of those others is not compatible with the services that campground is offering.

My target market are those people who are often (but not always) a bit more mature and want to experience the outdoors in a camping environment with comfortably unique amenities, extreme quiet, and where the other campers are like minded. This group is often a bit better off financially and bring with them a mature mentality. They’re more interested in enjoying a quiet evening watching the moon come up and the fireflies lighting up the field. When they leave, I seldom have much to do to get the site ready for the next visitor, and things like that make it possible for me to keep pricing at a minimum.

The change of policy that excludes children under twelve isn’t because we don’t like kids. I have several myself, and several grandchildren as well. Love them all. But my target market and average visitor has raised his/her children and they are now out having fun on their own terms. They like children, but they no longer want to go camping with them. They’re not bad folks, they just want a quiet and peaceful camping experience where they can mingle with other campers of similar age.

Our park is small, and we can’t provide services to all groups, so we have to chose who is the best fit. And in the process, we have to make tough decisions. This has been one of those tough decisions, but it’s necessary if we want to continue providing the services that our target market is asking for.

When/if we do a cross country, we WILL be contacting you for a reservation. Hang in there you are doing the right thing.
BTW, we are old enough to remember when the first 55 or older retirement villages were springing up and the blow back they were getting.

 

[Landsub]

TO ALL RV PARKS.
keeping clean restrooms and showers are not enough. Don’t forget when people are visiting, they will be dressed and carrying shower bags. Where do they store them while in the shower? Hooks are the cheapest and quickest answer. Benches would be better.
just FYI

 

[Jim]

I finally heard from Starlink Business.

First I had to confirm that I still wanted the service, then pay the $2,500 for the equipment, which I did. And now I'm waiting for delivery. The confirmation email said that it should ship in the next couple of weeks.

From the Starlink website: "Starlink Business users can expect download speeds of 150-350 Mbps and latency of 20-40ms, enabling high throughput connectivity for offices of up to 20 users, storefronts, and demanding workloads across the globe."

So yeah, it's a good day here at Deer Springs RV Park!

Now if it would just stop raining . . .