Building an RV park

[VoidHog]

I have a plan to build a small RV park. I didn’t see a particular forum about this so I am posting here. I have found a 2.5 acre unrestricted piece of land near a popular boating/fishing destination. I intend on having a residential type RV park, where people can come to live more long term. It will be year round since I am in Texas. I want to build a friendly community of beavers (HA Neighbors! Thank you Siri! I had to leave that in!) who are interested in things like water conservation, solar/wind power, and fruit and vegetable gardening. I don’t intend on cramming these RVs together. I would like to give them a little more space since it will be more of a residential type feel. I am a truck driver and will not be able to be there all the time. I have a good friend who is an electrician I told he could live there for free just to have a presence around when I’m not there. And I would pay him to do electrical work and ask him to mow the lawn and water the garden occasionally. We have already talked about it and he said he would be down. I know that I’m going to have to install septic and a well, And I know a few other things but not much! Y’all have any advice or ideas?

[Jim.B1]

With all industry reports showing double digit growth in the RV market, my suggestion would be to build an RV Park/Resort with "no" long term permanent residents.
The demand for "RV Parks/Resorts" is growing very fast.
Transient and monthly RV'ers do not feel comfortable or welcome when they are blended into these mixed parks, nor do the long term residents like it.
Focus on one type of park only.
Provide level sites, reasonable space between sites, 30-50 amp service, cable TV if possible and definitely good wi-fi.
A pool is nice for those staying longer than just a few days, a good laundry facility and very importantly, hire staff that like dealing with the public.
So many negative reviews on parks are usually referring to bad staff.
All the best with your project.

[jacwjames]

First thing I would do is try and figure out how well the area is suited for a septic system and what the regulations are regarding an RV park. This will determine what the number of potential RV's that could be placed within the lot. This in turn would dictate the financial requirements to build.

I just built a house and the area the drain field was placed had good drainage but I still needed 110 ft of drainage per bedroom with specific spacing between each line. I took up a lot of space to put in a 5 bedroom system. Couldn't imagine how much space it would take for an RV park not even knowing what what the requirement is.

Good luck on your plans and hope it works out for you.

[Superslif]

Personally 2.5 acres is not a whole lot of area to deal with, especially if a sewer system needs to be installed. If your target market is long term / seasonal rigs, just the infrastructure costs will not be recouped with only 15-20 sites.

[Badlands Bob]

You will be installing a community type water system off of a well. This will have certain requirements involving water testing and probably some type of certification for the operator.

[VoidHog]

Thanks! I do not plan on allowing daily or weekly stays. I would allow month to month but I would let the renters know that it is a long term park and that at least three months would be preferred. (I won’t force them to stay over a month if they don’t like it but hopefully they do!) There would not be any staff “technically” besides my friend living there mowing the lawn occasionally and doing electrical work. Since there won’t be daily or weekly renters we wouldn’t need somebody there at all times to admit them. The reason I am interested in doing this is because I lived in a park like this for almost two years. There was no staff and no pool or public restrooms or facilities. The RVs were all owned by the landlord though, and they were the old beat up run down type. He had them all super close together as well... We could always hear the neighbors yelling... it was that kind of park... haha. I liked it a lot because it was simple and private. I do not plan on installing any laundry room or pool or public showers/restrooms. I know many RVs have washer dryer hookups and the RV I stayed in had a washer and dryer. I want it to feel like living in your own yard with a few neighbors in their yards. Since it is so close to a very large beautiful lake I can hopefully expect to get some nice older couples or single people renting. I plan to have some rule along the lines of “well maintained RVs” as in I don’t mind the age, if you have a beautifully redone classic RV or a nice airstream with no dents or a new one - it just has to be nice looking. I want to attract friendly homesteader types who will be interested in having their own gardens. I do not plan on installing concrete drives or pads. Some nice gravel or something. I want to call it “Back to Nature RV Sanctuary” (Don’t steal my name!! LOL) At first I would like to meet an RVer (or couple) who is interested in my idea and have them get the first pad and they can help with ideas and inspiration and tell me what they like so I can make it nice for them and future renters. I do want to put a little hangout area - maybe a small building with a grill outside and an stove/oven and fridge inside so they can do parties together or invite family for the day. I’d like to have a vending machine in there with lightbulbs and toiletries or little things they might need, and maybe a coke machine too. I really want to build a close knit community (am I trying to start a garden cult?? &#128518

[deaton]

One first step I would suggest is that you contact your county environmental office or county engineer and find out what the specs will be on the septic.

Here in Comal county, Texas, they are very particular when it comes to the septic system specs and the number of connections will dictate the size and it gets expensive real quick. I can build a house here in the country without a building permit. But to add a driveway or a septic, I need a permit and the process for the septic is a PITA.

[Big Oil Guy]

2 1/2 acres is not much room for such an operation as you visualize. Already mentioned: the septic system requirements, buildings that may sit on top of the leach field, proximity to the lake, and water well testing/certification are all concerns that I would have before sinking any money into this project.

I hope you can work out all the details and realize your goals!

[Arch Hoagland]

Have you ever owned a business?

[cimplexsound]

I live fulltime in Pahrump, Nevada. I have a half acre of land. I am installing about 4 concrete RV pads with RV carports these will have full hookups. 30/50 amp when I'm finished. The power lines run right along the property line so getting power is very easy. It cost me about $2000 to have grid power put in. I have a 20,000 watts towable diesel construction type light tower generator that is hooked into the electrical system on the property to provide centralized backup power. It's an older generator but runs really well. Been well maintained built by a top manufacture. Each RV site will have a power pedestal with a meter like the ones in the RV parks. Concrete wall around my property with a cast iron remote control security gate so residents can open the gate from inside their car. So the property is secure. I am Planting grass now for a large lawn and laying a concrete driveway that goes right up to the RV sites so there's no driving or parking on dirt. Planting some palm trees and sycamore trees that do well in a desert environment around the edges of the property to give lots of shade. Septic tank and a 2000 gallon artisan water tank that is refilled frequently so there is always lots of water and it is spring water quality. There will be a small bathroom/shower laundry building with a game room. Residence will enjoy free laundry and a picnic BBQ area. I'm in the country about 4 miles northeast of Pahrump so it is a very quiet peaceful neighborhood. Nearest neighbors are a 1/4 mile away. Rent will be about $250.00 a month plus electric. solar power, central propane system to all sites and satellite internet to the property for which I charge a nominal surcharge every month. No kids, these sites will be for seniors, snowbirds and working folks. The property is smoke free. Dogs only under 20 pounds. I am living on one of the RV pads and will be renting out the other 3 by invitation only. My ideal tenants are long term tenants that want to stay in one place for a long time. The only exception would be snowbirds during our infamous snowbird season here. All my sites are by month only. I already have a good friendship/ relationship with some prospective renters so the sites will probably fill up quickly once I have all construction completed. Thought I'd just share how I'm setting up my property right now so just in case it give you any ideas. Fortunately my good friend I bought the property from is a professional welder and I get my materials at wholesale prices so it saved me a lot of money. Putting grid power in is the most expensive part of this whole process.

[Arch Hoagland]

Originally Posted by cimplexsound

Attachment 193783

I live fulltime in Pahrump, Nevada. I have a half acre of land. I am installing about 4 concrete RV pads with RV carports these will have full hookups. 30/50 amp when I'm finished. The power lines run right along the property line so getting power is very easy. It cost me about $2000 to have grid power put in. I have a 20,000 watts towable diesel construction type light tower generator that is hooked into the electrical system on the property to provide centralized backup power. It's an older generator but runs really well. Been well maintained built by a top manufacture. Each RV site will have a power pedestal with a meter like the ones in the RV parks. Concrete wall around my property with a cast iron remote control security gate so residents can open the gate from inside their car. So the property is secure. I am Planting grass now for a large lawn and laying a concrete driveway that goes right up to the RV sites so there's no driving or parking on dirt. Planting some palm trees and sycamore trees that do well in a desert environment around the edges of the property to give lots of shade. Septic tank and a 1000 gallon artisan water tank that is refilled frequently so there is always lots of water and it is spring water quality. There will be a small bathroom/shower laundry building with a game room. Residence will enjoy free laundry and a picnic BBQ area. I'm in the country about 4 miles northeast of Pahrump so it is a very quiet peaceful neighborhood. Nearest neighbors are a 1/4 mile away. Rent will be about $250.00 a month plus electric. I may eventually add solar power, central propane system to all sites and satellite internet to the property for which I would charge a small surcharge every month. No kids, these sites will be for seniors, snowbirds and working folks. The property is smoke free. Dogs only under 20 pounds. I am living on one of the RV pads and will be renting out the other 3 by invitation only. My ideal tenants are long term tenants that want to stay in one place for a long time. The only exception would be snowbirds during our infamous snowbird season here. All my sites are by month only. I already have a good friendship/ relationship with some prospective renters so the sites will probably fill up quickly once I have all construction completed. Thought I'd just share how I'm setting up my property right now so just in case it give you any ideas. Fortunately my good friend I bought the property from is a professional welder and I get my materials at wholesale prices so it saved me a lot of money. Putting grid power in is the most expensive part of this whole process.

So the gross income will be $750 a month before expenses. Doesn't seem like that is very much money.

[Isaac-1]

I knew a woman that built an RV park about a decade ago, 35-40 gravel spaces packed in side by side, some trees, on 7-8 acres of land (much of the space wasted due to hillside, creek that floods going through it, etc.), cost to build it was over $150,000 just for electrical hookups, plumbing and septic system, I am not sure how much she spent on gravel, still the place was always muddy (well red clay that would ooze up through the gravel). (site had municipal water) This was a park with no structures other than a laundry room in a small portable building. I know at one point the local cable TV company quoted here $30,000 to wire the RV park for cable access, this was with cable TV being available at the end of the driveway.

She ended up selling it, I don't know for how much, but I know she was glad to be out of it.

[cimplexsound]

Originally Posted by Arch Hoagland

So the gross income will be $750 a month before expenses. Doesn't seem like that is very much money.

I haven't really settled on a number yet. I could charge considerably more depending on how fancy I make the property. The property is already paid for, and I only pay $59 a year in property tax. So I put very little $$$ into the property to keep it maintained. A lot of the property runs off green or solar type power to reduce energy costs. I have retirement pensions in combination with rent. So I own my residence I don't pay rent or a house payment to anyone else. So income or profit is not an issues here. Now if I put in a nice Victorian garden of coarse people can expect to pay more like $600.00 a month. I could include electric, Wi Fi and cable in rent and go even higher. Because I can pick up a wide range of materials for really cheap and sometimes almost free I am still exploring my options. I am still playing with the blueprints of exactly how I want the property to look. The property serves as a private residence for me and helps me make a little money on the side. So this won't be like a regular RV park. By the time I finished It will be like a vary private upscale resort for members only. It will be much nicer than most of the RV parks in Pahrump. But again it is by invitation only because the residence here are upscale retired people to the working middle class type folks. These are the kind of people who never skip out on their rent.

[cimplexsound]

Originally Posted by Isaac-1

I knew a woman that built an RV park about a decade ago, 35-40 gravel spaces packed in side by side, some trees, on 7-8 acres of land (much of the space wasted due to hillside, creek that floods going through it, etc.), cost to build it was over $150,000 just for electrical hookups, plumbing and septic system, I am not sure how much she spent on gravel, still the place was always muddy (well red clay that would ooze up through the gravel). (site had municipal water) This was a park with no structures other than a laundry room in a small portable building. I know at one point the local cable TV company quoted here $30,000 to wire the RV park for cable access, this was with cable TV being available at the end of the driveway.

She ended up selling it, I don't know for how much, but I know she was glad to be out of it.

Remember my property only has 4 RV sites.