10 year old rule.............

[mjstef]

what do folks think about the 10 year old or newer rule for long term monthlies IE: Snowbirds, construction workers? In my experience many snowbird units that old are showing their age and most traveling workers with a unit that old look terrible for example Window A/C units or Blue Tarps for awnings Ect. Units like this detract from the property as well as making other guests uncomfortable if they are next to them. How does an owner of a CG restrict what comes into his park without making people mad?? Even asking for photos ticks people off.

[mjstef]

what do folks think about the 10 year old or newer rule for long term monthlies IE: Snowbirds, construction workers? In my experience many snowbird units that old are showing their age and most traveling workers with a unit that old look terrible for example Window A/C units or Blue Tarps for awnings Ect. Units like this detract from the property as well as making other guests uncomfortable if they are next to them. How does an owner of a CG restrict what comes into his park without making people mad?? Even asking for photos ticks people off.

[FatDog]

my memory is probably faulty, but mjstef do you own (or operate) an RV park ?

stick/brick neighborhoods try to tackle this sort of situation with what they call CCR's,
and it often isn't popular with people either,

but if i had a beautifully maintained 20 year old Airstream i'd sure wish there was some provision for exceptions

[mjstef]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by FatDog:
my memory is probably faulty, but mjstef do you own (or operate) an RV park ?

stick/brick neighborhoods try to tackle this sort of situation with what they call CCR's,
and it often isn't popular with people either,

but if i had a beautifully maintained 20 year old Airstream i'd sure wish there was some provision for exceptions </div></BLOCKQUOTE>


I managed one for family for 6 years and may end up back in it again so this was one of the questions that has always bugged me. We always informed prospective monthlies about the rule and offered them the opportunity to send in photos if they liked but always ended up getting nasy-grams from Corporate when they called and griped..................

[TXiceman]

We had a 12 year old 5er when we full time in it and no problems...If they ask, we just up the year made to a 9 year old RV. Never had anyone question it.

We now have a 29 year old trailer and we preface it with "it is a 29 year old VINTAGE Silver Streak". No one has questioned it beyond asking.

Personally I think the RV parks need it as a fall back position in case they get some less than desirable unit.

Ken

[FatDog]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">... We now have a 29 year old trailer and we preface it with "it is a 29 year old VINTAGE Silver Streak". No one has questioned it beyond asking. ... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
although the 10-year rule makes sense i was always afraid of the kind of response i'd get from some 18-year-old workerbee with an attitude working the front desk if i had an immaculate 12-year-old showpiece,

i'd hate to get denied entrance by someone who had no vested interest in doing a good job, the opposite of how a family run place typically operates

[Moder2]

The park I am at has a 10 year rule, but it is not enforced.

My opinion is that it is a good idea to have the rule, and to offer an management exception for those that are older and well maintained. I hate to judge people, but I don't like being next to junk either... Again, I hate to pass judgment on someone based on what they own, but my experience has been that those that take care of their stuff are better neighbors, and those that don't care about their stuff are normally trouble. It is kinda hard to write a rule that is enforceable that says "we will take your old stuff, but it needs to look nice" and then objectively define "nice".

It would be nice to make a statement like that especially since I have seen some 3 year old units that look worse than most that are 15 years old!

Basically I think these rules are just that, a way to keep out riff raff, and in most parks they are probably handled in a similar fashion. If your close to the 10 year cut off, and stumble on a campground that troubles you, I agree with Ken, most people aren't familiar enough with specific models to be able to tell if one is 9 yrs old or 12 yrs old...

Bottom line is keep your stuff looking nice, and you shouldn't have any problems.

John

[AFChap]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">many snowbird units that old are showing their age and most traveling workers with a unit that old look terrible for example Window A/C units or Blue Tarps for awnings Ect. Units like this <STRIKE>detract from the property </STRIKE> as well as making other guests uncomfortable if they are next to them. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
The problem is that none of the above statements are universally true. 10 years isn't all that old! We've stayed in a few parks that had more than one rig partically covered with a blue tarp. That didn't make me as "uncomfortable" as rigs with multiple appliances and obviously junked cars outside, and license plates on the RV that expired years ago. And all this was in at least one park that had clearly stated rules against ALL of those things!

I think rules need to be clearly stated up front. AND those rules need to be uniformly enforced (which means they must be enforceable!). And any property owner should have the right to have reasonsble rules prescribed for the use of their property!

Restricting what renter can bring onto your property and/or do while on your property WILL ALWAYS offend someone. If you have to answer to someone "upstairs" (corporate, etc), what you are going to do needs to be run by them first so you can reach an agreement that all levels of management agrees to, AND will be willing to deal with the results of (which includes complaints from people who don't like the policy).

[TXiceman]

Think how the owner of a 12 or 15 year old Prevost or a Foretravel would feel if he is told his unit is not worthy enogh to park in the RV park. The older high end coach is probably still worth more than many of the newer units.

Ken

[Blue74]

I just look to spend my money somewhere else.

Both of my trailers where 8 to 10 years old when I started to full time but they are well cared for. The Alfa will be getting all new awning fabric this winter and have started to upgrade the electrical systems. I too have run into this but took the trailer by and had no problems there need to be some flexibility in the rules.

Paul

[Andrew Taylor]

I'll be glad to tell you what it is, or at least what started it. It's class warfare at it's finest.
Many times discrimination is hidden in a rule.

Least you think I jest, I have seen more that one instance of people moving from town to a new rural suburb. Lets say that across the road, is old farmer Browns place. Mr. Brown has lived there since 1946.

Now Mr Brown happens to have some old tractors and pickups around his barn. Not a trashy barnyard, but the equipment is there. For some reason the people at the new suburb have a problem with this. But they don't have the nerve (a common thing these days) to have the common sense to let Mr. Brown know that they have a problem.

So next thing you know, The county sends Mr. Brown a letter demanding them to move them. Never mind the fact they have been there for thirty years.

Nor do any of these people make an attempt to be a good neighbor to Mr. Brown. Besides, he's far too "hillbilly"� of a fellow and quite beneath them. Conversely, Mr. Brown is a man who would help anyone who needed it.

I am my RV travels, I meet all types of people. I also loath anyone who looks down on someone with an old rig. In some cases, that tired old RV may be the only thing keeping them from being homeless.

In a dead end job, RV life can actually help you achieve middle-class. By giving up some things,(room being the most) They can pocked money instead of giving it to a landlord.

I am NOT talking about troublemakers, drunks or druggies who have no intention if bettering themselves. Those people should be excluded or incarcerated. However, calling someone riff-raft based solely on rig appearance is by far short-sighted. Some of these people are the most friendly-out going people I have ever met. So what if they use their RV for work? At least they are trying, and not resorting to living off of welfare.

Why can't people live and let live??

Let me tell you a story about so-called -Riff-raft

IMHO, some of these people deserve to be helped, not excluded. I once parked next to a 1967 Ford Econoline motor home. That thing was a wreck. The campground wanted to kick them out because of the ugly blue tarp on the roof. The young couple had a newborn baby, and they were new to town. The husband had a new job, barely hanging on, but they had least had their foot in the door.

My farm was 250 miles away. On that farm, I had a 1976 Dodge Shasta Motor home in fairly good shape I could not find a buyer for. I called my brother, and asked him to start the old unit up, and drive it down here. I gave them that old motor home. It was junk to me, but vital to their survival in that town.They were shocked to say the least. It was a good feeling. But this is not the end of the story.

Three years later, I woke up and went outside to find a familiar shape in my driveway. There was my old Shasta! No worse for the wear, clean as a pin, new tires, the title in the front seat, and a envelope with a $500 check, and a thank you card. Seems these people had managed to save enough and were buying a house.Great! They didn't have to give that unit back, but they did!


So you see, for some people, RV'ing is not only for recreation. Campgrounds also know this, and some of them try to stop them. They know that struggling people cannot buy a less than 10 year old Rig. They fear that these people may have trouble with the rent, so they cater more to people who "have it together"�

I'd rather boodock the rest of my life than cater to a CG who would exclude the common working person. I'd rather be camped next to the Clampetts any day than the jerk in the diesel pusher who does nothing but sit in his captains chair and looks down on the rest of us like it was a royal throne. Besides, The hillbillys would help me if someone tried to rob me. All the guy in the Diesel pusher would do is call the office and complain about the noise!!!

So instead of complaining about that old unsightly rig next to you, if you REALLY want to improve the situation, Why not get some men together and help to spruce it up or better yet, Why don't you give them your old one and help your fellow man? Old rigs have very little value, and it would be more appreciated by a needy person than the dealer, who will most likely scrap it anyway.

So these campgrounds can exclude all they wish, nor will I spend a dime there. I can remember when I was affected by this silly rule, and now since I have my means, I simply dont need them.

Just like the old car hobby. wealthy people buy into it, and quickly make up rules to "exclude" the common working man, and spoils it for everybody.

No, it's not only about trashy rigs. It's about discriminating against people who do not meet the statis quo. Discrimination is often hidden in rules that make sense, but once looked at more closely, Will not hold water.

Don't believe me? FACT: Caboose lake campground, Remington Indiana. MY restored unit was refused. The attitude didn't start until they seen my 15 year old son. The rig was the stated issue.

I had the sneaky suspicion that it was discrimination, so I decided to set them up. I sent the wife over there by herself three weeks later with the SAME rig. there was no problem getting in....same person. Of course, when the mistake came to light, they wanted the unit out of there. But I had enough evidence for a lawsuit.


Andrew Taylor

[K-Star]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Andrew Taylor:
Don't believe me? FACT: Caboose lake campground, Remington Indiana. MY restored unit was refused. The attitude didn't start until they seen my 15 year old son. The rig was the stated issue.

I had the sneaky suspicion that it was discrimination, so I decided to set them up. I sent the wife over there by herself three weeks later with the SAME rig. there was no problem getting in....same person. Of course, when the mistake came to light, they wanted the unit out of there. But I had enough evidence for a lawsuit. Andrew Taylor </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

If they asked you to leave the second time (after the mistake was caught) how does that give evidence for a law suit? What I see is that this CG asserted the rule consistently, albeit late the second time. They did indeed assert the rule both times. It doesn't make it a good rule (I think it is terrible rule too) but it was consistent.

[Route 66]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">But I had enough evidence for a lawsuit. Andrew Taylor </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

What was the outcome of the lawsuit?

[TXiceman]

Several years ago we camper near an older GMc motorhome which looked a bit worn. It was an older couple in it and they had bought it a few months earlier and the older gentleman was having a great time redoing the old coach. He and his wife were doing all of the work on a shoe string budget, but they wanted to travel and they did want the coach to be safe and eventually look good. He had redone the interior, rebuilt the engine and transmission and it was their first real trip out in it. His next step was to repaint the exterior himself. From the quality of the interior work, there was no doubt that the exterior was going to look equally well.

The point was that he bought what he could afford and was taking a great deal of pride in what he had done. They were like a couple of kids showing off the old coach. I don't think he would have been any happier with a newer Prevost.

Ken