Must have items for RV park

[catfishhoward]

I'm looking into putting 10 RV sites on a piece of property near Destin FL and was wanting opinions on must have items most full time RV'ers are looking for? The lots would be separated by 75' from each other giving more privacy. The roads and RV pads would be gravel but I would have a 10' x 40' concrete pad next to each RV site with a fire pit/grill and picnic table. I would have a dog park and small laundry house but no bathrooms or no office. I would operate the business from a web site where you could make the reservations and pay for the stay and I would take phone calls and be around the park day to day cleaning and mowing the grass (I would be on call). Since I'm wanting to rent to full time RV'ers I would rent for minimum 1 week at $225 or monthly at $750. Each site would have sewer hook up, 30/50 amp, cable tv, wired internet, water and trash included but power will be extra 0.14 a kwh.

1. Do you have to have small pond/lake?
2. Do you have to have bathroom?
3. Do you have to have office?
4. Do you have to have playground?
5. Do you have to have trees or clear of trees?
6. Do you have to have horse shoes, cornhole or activity area?
7. Do you have to have gazebo at each site?
8. Do you have to have RV cover with tin roof?
9. Do you have to have laundry house?
10. Do you have to have fence around the property?
11. Do you have to have gate entrance with code?
12. Do you have to have cable tv?

 

[MapNerd]

1. Do you have to have small pond/lake?

Nah.

2. Do you have to have bathroom?

Most of us have our own so I’d say no.

3. Do you have to have office?

Not if everything can be handled digitally and/or there is a website that tells me everything I need to know and gives me points of contacts for common things that crop up. Since COVID started, most campgrounds have pretty much shutdown their offices anyway, making it kind of obvious that for the most part you don’t need one these days as long as there’s a way to get in touch with someone.

4. Do you have to have playground?

I have kids so SOMETHING would be nice. Personally, I think playgrounds are a waste of money because they’re really expensive and rarely used, to say nothing of the liabilities they introduce. The money can be better spent on other entertainment items that will see more use imo.

5. Do you have to have trees or clear of trees?

I like trees when they are not at risk of touching my RV. I like to see trees cleared at least 6’ back from both sides of the road and any overhangs trimmed to provide 15’ of clearance. Nothing worse to me than using my RV to trim a campground’s trees for them.

6. Do you have to have horse shoes, cornhole or activity area?

These are the cheap and easy things I’d invest in before putting in a playground or tot lot. A couple of hammocks in nice spots are also great.

7. Do you have to have gazebo at each site?

A gazebo? No, I don’t think I’d even use it much. Something a little nicer than your typical campground picnic table would be a nicer touch in my opinion, like comfortable outdoor patio furniture at each site. If you really wanted to provide something like that, I’d probably go with peragolas before I went with gazebos.

8. Do you have to have RV cover with tin roof?

No. My RV is already covered. I’d offer that you should maybe not allow them, even for extended stays. It’s a visual detractor and likely to make your spot feel less premium than I think it’s going to turn out.

9. Do you have to have laundry house?

Not everyone has laundry facilities in their coach so if there’s not a laundry facility within a 10m drive, I would say this would be a decent place to spend.

10. Do you have to have fence around the property?

Not if it’s relatively remote, which your place appears to be. Fences are shockingly expensive and I don’t really like them myself. Let nature do your fencing and use large shrubs, bushes fences and landscaping.

11. Do you have to have gate entrance with code?

I’m fine with an open campground. It’s always something you can add later if the need arises (I hope it doesn’t)

12. Do you have to have cable tv?

We don’t watch much TV so for us it’s a no. I think for many though m, it’s going to be a yes.

Site plan looks interesting. Based on the layouts, it looks like some are intended to be pull-ins and others are back-ins? I make that assumption based on where I see the little red picnic tables, which is usually on the passenger side of the coach when parked - unless that’s not what those represent.

 

[AbdRahim]

I am simple.

Level site -gravel is good
Clean bathrooms are a must
Office and store
Internet is preferable to essential
Cable (haven't chosen anywhere yet without it) - could do without it, if there were sufficient local channels
Laundry - nice to have

 

[catfishhoward]

Thanks for the replies. I'm staying in a RV park while I look for a home/land and there are a lot of motor homes that like to pull in but I might need to make them all back in sites, I don't want to lose a travel trailer rental. Harder discussion I have is small lake or no lake. 10 acres with a small lake is expensive so I figured making the sites really nice would be better money spent and since I'm only talking about 10 site they should stay rented.

 

[MapNerd]

10 acres with a small lake is expensive so I figured making the sites really nice would be better money spent and since I'm only talking about 10 site they should stay rented.

I wouldn’t put a lake in if it were me. Spend the money on the things that will make me want to come back. A lake, as nice as they are, wont be it. I rarely think about a campground and say, boy that little lake was the real deal seller for me. To me, its the quality of the site and whether or not the place is well maintained and full of friendly people.

Also, this is just me, but I really don’t like when people violate quiet hours. Drives me b-a-n-a-n-a-s but unless its really late, we usually just deal with it.

 

[RKins]

Everything looks good to me.
We have our own bathroom, so don't need one.
Laundry is desirable.
Office - not if everything can be taken care of online.
Is there good cell coverage at the property? If so, I don't need cable, as I stream via cell. Over the air tv is usually enough for us to get local news and weather.

 

[catfishhoward]

Everything looks good to me.
We have our own bathroom, so don't need one.
Laundry is desirable.
Office - not if everything can be taken care of online.
Is there good cell coverage at the property? If so, I don't need cable, as I stream via cell. Over the air tv is usually enough for us to get local news and weather.

Yes the property I buy would have good cell phone coverage since I work from home for a Land Surveyor. I was thinking about having a Ethernet connection at each site for truly high speed internet but I'll have to look into those options once I have a property. The park I'm at now has horrible wifi but it's just a weekend camp ground mostly so I went out and got Sprint to tether and stream but since their merger I have horrible service so I went with Cricket 2 weeks ago.