Developing RV Park Question

[426smartin]

Originally Posted by StevL

The developer is scheduled to take a drive through Coastal Georgia RV Resort & CreekFire Motor Ranch late this week. We will be discussing pros and cons from each of these parks from my point of view (which is somewhat limited, I know what I like).

Thank you all for you opinions.

Me thinking out loud.... would it make a difference if it was located on Lake Murray? For those not in the know this is located just outside of Columbia, has 525 miles of shore line, about 42 miles long, 6 miles wide, has plenty of room for boating skiing, fishing, etc. Several major bass tournaments are help here each year, the one state park on the lake is booked solid from spring into fall.

I'm sure on the lake brings in another dimension of politics & regulations.


Steve

have them swing by here---nice place

for lake development!

www.anchordownrvresort.com/‎

[PKI]

These parks are worth investigating.

This one is run with very low overhead. You check in on an honor system. The sites are concrete with grass lawns. There is a big storm shelter and a free laundry. Price is $35 a night. Can't figure out why this park was built, but we were glad to find it and will remember it.

Hanks Trail RV Park, 1000 E Hanks Trail, Woodward, OK 73801 (580) 256-7275


This place was built as an incentive to obtain approval for elements of another project. It is quite nice with paved streets and concrete sites. The operation is not low overhead. A worker sweeps and straightens the site after you leave. Gated for security, a nice pool, berming to block the wind, and very nice landscaping. Not much of a destination draw, but a very nice park. Price is $50-60 a night.

Yanks RV Resort, 40399 Livingston Road, Greenfield CA 93927 (855)-926-5778 | info@yanksrvresort.com

These parks bracket the scopes for a nice facility with no destination amenities. Might give them a look with Google maps. Phone call might be worth a dime.

[Oct Prime]

Originally Posted by Isaac-1

Personally when traveling and trying to make a reasonable number of miles per day, I would love to find just a place to plug in for the night on a bit of gravel if the price was right ($20-$25 per night for a 30 amp outlet), with a centralized dump station and water fill point (appropriately separated from the dump station), maybe with a self pay kiosk. A laundry room and a picnic table would be a nice bonus, no need for a pool, shower house, or any other fancy amenity in an overnight stop.

I agree.
I wish there were more affordable basic type places off the highways for just a safe, comfortable night's sleep.
I was telling my husband the other day that I wish state rest stops would offer overnight only stops with basic utilities and security, with a lot for RVs and a separate lot for truckers. 12 hour maximum stay. Just park, eat dinner, get cleaned up, and sleep for the night at a lower rate--$10 or $15 per night.

[StevL]

Originally Posted by 426smartin

have them swing by here---nice place

for lake development!

www.anchordownrvresort.com/‎

I actually spent a week there this past spring. I liked the place, I would have had a little more space between the interior sites, a lot of kids stuff I could do without but it probably attracts many people with kids. I was on two different sites, one was extremely unlevel the other was okay. I understand a neighborhood developer did that park....?

Steve

[StevL]

Originally Posted by Oct Prime

I agree.
I wish there were more affordable basic type places off the highways for just a safe, comfortable night's sleep.
I was telling my husband the other day that I wish state rest stops would offer overnight only stops with basic utilities and security, with a lot for RVs and a separate lot for truckers. 12 hour maximum stay. Just park, eat dinner, get cleaned up, and sleep for the night at a lower rate--$10 or $15 per night.

Maybe this would be a good option, I’m hearing more and more wanting this type of park.

Steve

[StevL]

Originally Posted by wildtoad

Putting a nice park on the lake with good views of the lake would be a better draw. Would need some docks, boat launch, perhaps equipment rentals, and could charge a higher price than down town Columbia. I used to live on Lake Murray and it is always busy once the weather turns warm. The builder would need to be sure to have deep water access as they drop the lake down during the winter months for maintenance and shallow coves can go dry.

Tom

Tom,

Well thought out, thank you. I lived on Murray for 33 years, knowing how scana is with docks it may be impossible to get permitted. Not w that the deal is being made with Dominion this could be a permitting nightmare until the dust settles...?

Thx,
Steve

[Isaac-1]

As I see it the government has a natural monopoly on nice parks on lakes with nice views, and I don't see how a commercial park can effectively compete with the space and views found at so many COE, State, Municipal and National Park campgrounds. Sure they can compete on amenities, and the truly high end resort parts can compete on spacing, but overall it is a hard sell to get people to pay 5 times more to get resort features.


Perhaps it would be helpful here for people to post links to their top 4 or 5 rv parks for each type of destination, overnight stop without amenities, over night stop with amenities, short term destination park, long term destination park, and resort destination park.


For me, the one that stand out for overnight stop with amenities in the large park category is:


Amarillo RV ranch in Amarillo Texas, as they have an assembly line check in system and seem to have about 75% turn over daily if the day I was there is any indication. As well as a reasonable number of amenities, indoor pool, nice laundry room, small camp store, free donuts first thing in the morning (perhaps to encourage early check out) with a nice large lodge like common room.



https://amarilloranch.com/



For RV park at a tourist destination, I have a close tie between
Musicland Kampground in Branson, MO nice scenic hillside spaces, lots of trees, camp store, pool, laundry room, plus discount ticket service for local shows.



Branson Musicland Campground & RV Park | Good Sam Top Rated in Branson Missouri for RV Parks & Campgrounds


And the KOA Hotsprings National Park, Hot Springs Arkansas
It too was much the same as Musicland Campground with hillside shaded rv sites, though with slightly denser spacing, good camp store, on site cafe, as well as operating an on demand shuttle van to and from the nearby downtown historic district a couple of miles away (price of about $3 per person as I recall)
https://koa.com/campgrounds/hot-springs-national-park/



I don't really have any outstanding examples to offer for the other categories, I have stayed at one no frills roadfront kiosk pay station gravel site rv park off I-80 in Nebraska that I would like to recommend, on the low end no frills, but it needed some maintenance, fresh gravel, power post repair, and was not in a good location due to excessive road noise (too close to the road).

[rvethereyet]

Originally Posted by OldBeaver

>>>
...this got him thinking but he also realizes he knows nothing about the RV community let alone the revenue stream from a rv park.
<<<

He should forget the idea. Heavy capital investment into something one knows nothing about is a recipe for bankruptcy.

what could go wrong?
R and D is important.

[StevL]

Originally Posted by rvethereyet

what could go wrong?
R and D is important.

Let me put this in perspective, this person did not become a one percenter by making poor uneducated decisions. The cost of making one RV park in central SC is pocket change for this individual. He own multiple mountain & beach homes personally, a yacht, and travels using Netjets.
I promise you he will not make an uninformed decision.

Being a builder/developer you would think he know houses. He took three years to decide to invest in rental homes, two years into it and he now has 70 rentals and growing.
When an idea arises he leaves no stone unturned, even if profitable it depends how much profit, he may walk away entirely if he feels he can make more money somewhere else.

The next year or two will tell, this has become a thought because of his daughter and son in law really like mountain falls, not as rv people (they have never had one) but as a development they watched grow. The conversation then became Columbia does not have one of these resorts. They quickly figured Columbia could not support a resort like this…. On to smaller thinking.

Thank you everyone for your input!
Steve

[Busskipper]

Originally Posted by StevL

Let me put this in perspective, this person did not become a one percenter by making poor uneducated decisions. The cost of making one RV park in central SC is pocket change for this individual. He own multiple mountain & beach homes personally, a yacht, and travels using Netjets.
I promise you he will not make an uninformed decision.

Being a builder/developer you would think he know houses. He took three years to decide to invest in rental homes, two years into it and he now has 70 rentals and growing.
When an idea arises he leaves no stone unturned, even if profitable it depends how much profit, he may walk away entirely if he feels he can make more money somewhere else.

The next year or two will tell, this has become a thought because of his daughter and son in law really like mountain falls, not as rv people (they have never had one) but as a development they watched grow. The conversation then became Columbia does not have one of these resorts. They quickly figured Columbia could not support a resort like this…. On to smaller thinking.

Thank you everyone for your input!
Steve

With this info/input - he will not invest in a Park.

------

JMHO,

[Solo_RV_Guy]

Originally Posted by MRUSA14

It's not all that easy. What about the $million (or several millions) that the developer borrowed or invested to build those improvements that are being bulldozed?

Considering that I'm intimately familiar with the property, people and money involved, and you are not... all I can say is the current investment in the entertainment side is not close to 7 figures, not by a long shot.

[eddieelk]

Google "RV parks for sale, or bankrupt". You'll see what's on the market. Eddie Elk.

[Durango382]

Keep in mind that the RV industry sales-of-units numbers are now higher than they were the last year pre-recession - and yet new parks (available spaces for those new units plus existing units) numbers haven't grown nearly as much. I'm not familiar with the eastern area, but in CA I can tell you we have more parks closing than we do new ones opening, even given this. The owners of the land the parks that are closing sit on, see they can make more money doing something else with the land, and anyone considering building a new park sees (at least once into it) that the permitting process is time-consuming and costly - and again, there are more profitable uses for the acreage than RV parks/campgrounds. After purchasing the property, that time period of getting the permits means no revenue coming in, and that for any businessman is not a good thing unless you know once you get those permits the revenue will justify that no-revenue period. The parks I am familiar with here were in the permit phase for at least two years - one has to be prepared for that, and have the pocketbook to go along with it. And that's assuming the permits can even be gotten. CA is not friendly to anything remotely potentially harmful to the environment, and RV parks to someone not familiar with them (like the planning departments of many cities and counties) are a huge environmental disaster waiting to happen.
So if your friend was thinking about doing this in CA I'd say he's either a fool or wants a hobby more than a business, but elsewhere, maybe he's smart?

[mentalarson]

Where does this guy think the economy is headed over the next 10 years?
I think America's debt will catch up to us...

I've met many seniors who do not have sufficient savings on which to live or it's all in their house.

In my home area in NW WA, monthly parks fill up as soon as they are built at about $400-$450/mo.

Does your area have a demand for affordable senior housing?

It seems like the ultimate rental property.
If you customer doesn't pay, I'm pretty sure they can be removed from the park pretty quickly. They won't wreck your carpets, etc.

100 spaces at $400/mo generates some decent revenue.
+ Trade 1-2 spaces for people to manage and maintain the place.
+ No need for all the retail level stuff people have mentioned.
+ Just need a safe, clean place with a little privacy if possible an laundry and maybe a meeting room/club house.

I believe if you do the math a monthly park can be a cash machine that is far better than any other form of monthly rental and much less work than nightly where the constant flow of new customers can ebb and flow.