Community Forums

mikell · 09-19-2011, 07:34 AM

I have fallen into a campground and am looking fo advise and wisdom to make the experience nice. I would like to ask questions and get ideas if the mods will let me. The place was built in the early 60's so it needs a bit of upgrading on a limited budget. So is it OK to post questions or not.

Thanks Mike

Big Bear Local · 09-19-2011, 09:04 AM

I run a CG above the City of Los Angeles. PM me and I will help any way I can.

Mark

Bill Adams · 09-19-2011, 09:17 AM

As long as you don't spend all of your time trying to promote yourself there would be nothing to prevent you from asking all the questions you like.
Bring 'em on. You may be very surprised by the answers.

RVRon · 09-19-2011, 09:41 AM

I say that it's pretty refreshing to have a CG owner asking advise on a RV board. Go for it!!

mikell · 09-19-2011, 10:11 AM

Well it's the little things. Like our dump station has dumps and hoses on both sides it's a drive thru type. what kind of fitting do you prefer on the end?? A nozzel or a on off valve. For fresh and rinse??

Our station was partially taken out by a LARGE 5th wheel

The bathrooms were built in the 60's and were tiling the floors and brightening the paint a bit.

What kind of sinks should I put in and lights above the mirrors. I'm thinking some motion activated lights but there will be a couple in each on 24/7

If you want to know where I'm at probably a PM were doing great so I don't really need to advertise too much.

What about drive through spots with only electric for travelers that don't really need everything. Pull in late leave early they could still use the dump station for free.

Thanks

Mike

BransGram08 · 09-19-2011, 12:03 PM

For the faucet at the dump station, we prefer just a plain old hydrant that we can attach our own hose to rinse our holding tanks. Same with the potable water. I like to use my own hose.

The sink type doesn't matter so much in the bathroom, but I like to have soap and paper towels (I hate hand dryers) or better yet, a Purell dispenser.

Motion lights in the bathrooms are great too, so long as they stay on long enough to not leave you in the dark while in the bathroom stall.

Having a few pull thru spots with electric for people passing thru would be great. Especially if you are close to a main highway.

The biggest and most important issue is a LEVEL site. We recently stayed at a campground that had a "slight slope" to the camping site and it was near impossible for us to level.

Francesca · 09-19-2011, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikell

What about drive through spots with only electric for travelers that don't really need everything. Pull in late leave early they could still use the dump station for free.

Thanks

Mike

Hi, Mike

If you've got the room...
I wouldn't even go THAT far!
You've probably checked out the Walmart thread- there are a lot of us out there just looking for a place to park overnight.
If you have the room for a big area, no hookups, where people can just park, use the washrooms, maybe dump, etc, and charge a reasonable nominal fee, I think you'd have a lot of customers.
I'd probably establish a gone-by time to keep it strictly for on-the-roaders...
You might even get some truckers!

Good luck with the venture

Francesca

sdennislee · 09-19-2011, 09:59 PM

Don't care about sinks but like the faucets that turn on when you stick your hands under them.

Agree with the Walmart thread an area with out hookups at a reduced rate with an out by (insert time here).

Level is a must

I like to connect my own hoses to a bib for flushing black tank and filling fresh water.

50 Amp sites

Fire pits made out of an old steel rim are nice

I've noticed dog walks are popular with both the pet owners and the other guests who are not too fond of dogs

Clean power for those of us that haven't bought in line surge protectors and autoformers yet.

Most of all friendly staff, I overlook a parks short comings when the staff is friendly

faye · 09-19-2011, 11:20 PM

If you allow truckers, i think rvers in general will not want to stay there.

mikell · 09-20-2011, 05:29 AM

Well we don't have room for trucks we have lots of large trees but no plce to really turn something that big around.

A place ot hook your own hose. Ok we have that I just never seen anyone use it. I'm going to re work the dump station by next year to make it cleaner easier to maintain and more user friendly so suggestions and pictures are welcome.

Clean power not too much I can do about that without a major investment right now.

We have a SPGA tournament next spring and someone said I can rent temporary power hookups. Has anyone heard of such a thing?

Our office is very small 8 x 10 and we have no store what items should I carry We have local maps and power adapters .Wal Mart is about 2 miles away.

Thanks

Mike

Dave and Jaime · 09-20-2011, 05:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikell

What about drive through spots with only electric for travelers that don't really need everything. Pull in late leave early they could still use the dump station for free.

Thanks

Mike

Electric only pull thru's would be nice but only if they provide the 50 amp service that many of our class A's require. We have large holding tanks and don't need individual dump stations or fresh water all the time. Since your CG was built in the 60's, I'm guessing it probably only has 30 amp service. If you want my business, it would have to be 50 amp. Also, many of the older CG's don't have wide enough spots to accommodate modern MH with slideouts. Would do much good to upgrade to 50amp if your spots aren't wide enough for big rigs. The big rigs are the ones most likely to need a pull thru, electric only spot for the nite.

RVThere · 09-20-2011, 06:39 AM

So I guess a question should be "What would convince someone to drive 2 miles past the WalMart late at night to your campground?"

- Quiet and darkness - two things you can't get in a Walmart parking lot
- a billboard on the highway so RV's know there is a camground at this exit catering to overnight travelers
- clear directional signs from the highway exit that you can see at night
- easy payment if office is closed (or an office that stays open until 9pm)
- big easy access sites that do not require that you drive your noisey DP through the campground while either going in or coming out
- as mentioned previously, a level site as I may not even drop my jacks if I'm only there to sleep for a few hours

mikell · 09-20-2011, 08:13 AM

I guess nothing would convince people to in a large fully equiped unit to skip Wam Mart and pay to stay with us unless they needed to dump or add water even our bathroom showers are smaller than most units

All our sites are quite large and have lots of trees good thing bad thing.

New overnight sites will be 20-30-50

Well lighted and quiet alot darker than WalMart but safe feeling your not boondocking. restrooms and office are well lighted. Currently upgrading the lighting.

billboards are a bit out of the budget and just getting the state to put signs up is proving to be a task but were working on it.

As for payment we live onsite or a cash slot by he office door.

They will be level I have a good friend who's business is to move dirt and make it exact with GPS wether it's a parking lot or college football fields (niether of which is flat) so it WILL be flat.

WheelingIt · 09-20-2011, 09:10 AM

Agree with everyone about the sites, signeage, dump station etc. but thought I would add a few female touches to the ideas. Some of these are little things that you can always look at later/down the line, but they always make me appreciate a park:

1/ clean, fairly modern bathroom and showers. Personally this makes a big difference to me in how I view the park. I'm always impressed when the park goes the extra mile like adding some little decorative or warm touches to the bathroom, but just having a good bathroom is a bonus.

2/ laundry with working machines. A few industrial size is nice.

3/ pet run. A big bonus for those with pets. There's cute little things you can do for pet owners like providing a doggie bag with a biscuit on arrival...stuff like that.

4/ extra little touches. These can all come later but I always appreciate a park that has info on the area, restaurants, nearest shopping, maybe a small bookswap etc.

Of all of these #1 is the biggest key for me. If you have the money to upgrade the bathrooms I think it adds alot to the park. Just my 2 cents anyhow..