Who's been refused access to a campground?

[MrT1964]

I have never been denied a spot with my 89 mh. I have spent lots of cash to keep it nice as well as elbow grease and time to make it look nice. I get tons of nice comments on its condition for its age. My wife and I love to camp and aren't ready to retire and invest in a newer mh quite yet. I have seen some pretty rough rigs over the years as well as seasonals that were totally disgusting. For campgrounds to deny rigs that are older is ridiculous. If they don't want my business I have no problem going somewhere that does. We should all go back to the days of what this was all about...not prestige or multi million dollar rigs, but the freedom and enjoyment of the outdoors and seeing America.

[19Aspire44B]

I purchased a lot in a Class A Motorcoach Resort in Southwest Florida. The rules have a minimum length limit and a requirement of 10 years old or newer. While renting before I bought, I asked the owner/developer of the resort if they were sticklers on those rules. I noticed older coaches and coaches that didn't meet the minimum length. If fact, the owner of one of the lots has a coach that is shorted than the minimum length limit. He advised me that they have never turned anyone away with an older coach or one that is shorter than the minimum. Their only stickler is that it be a Class A and clean. They've even let Super C's stay there. As an owner I don't have a problem with that but I can see where some people may be put off by that.

[gforgot]

Until last year I still had my 1992 Gulf Stream Conquest. Even though it was 25 years old, I was never turned away. We kept it nice, everything worked, even managed to sell it when we upgraded. I don't know where those restrictive campsites are, and I will certainly not seek them out. I have been camping near some relics of questionable quality, but fortunately I am not such a snob that I would want to see them removed or restricted. Just my thoughts.

[weredoingit]

I’ve never been asked or denied, but we were in a park somewhere in the last few weeks (can’t remember where, old age) I pulled up went in to the office. The lady gave me a map of the park, she said go pick one and after you set up come back and pay. We drove through the park with our dogs head looking out the back window like she always does. Well it didn’t take long to realize that we were not staying there. Everyone we saw looked at us like we were the “Beverly hillbillies “ and our rig is clean and in nice condition. This park was to stuck up for our standards, we drove straight out. It looked like every rig in the park was brand new.

[Marshalone]

Are these refusals based purely on age or also on appearance? I know some older coaches that are still worth a lot of money and look it. I tried trading in my 4 year old $80,000 5th wheel for a DP and the dealer offered me $35,000 so I guess if it's based on value, I'd get turned down too? I know some RV parks do not let any RVs in unless they are Class As but I think this is going too far. I'm going to look in the RV guides and see if any list a 'refusal' clause or not.

[VP Chianese]

It is always interesting to read some of these posts.

Some folks live in a community with no building restrictions or codes and some live in ones with extensive building and code restrictions. That is everyone's personal choice. The problem comes when someone that doesn't like codes wants to live where the folks that do like the codes live but the new comer does not comply to the codes. Call it elitist, call it what ever you want but it is what it is and they have the right to have the codes and rules if they so choose.

I personally live in a RV Resort that has those codes. I want it that way that is why I live there. I do not want to wake up in the morning and see a 1956 Bluebird School Bus, with the windows replaced with tin sheets, painted blue with a brush, with yellow and orange flowers all over it parked across from me. We do not allow that. However we do have several older Foretravel's, Newell's and Prevost's that are well maintained on lots that are also well maintained by their owners.

My first year in RVing after 20+ years of boating, we were interested in staying at this resort and when we called we were asked what year our coach was and the make and model. We were driving a 2002 coach in 2013. We were told that we could come to the resort due to the brand of coach we were driving was normally kept up by their owners and if ours was in good condition we would be allowed to stay. I had no problem with that. They had no problem with us staying and we now own property there.

When folks rent from our owners we give them full privileges to out resort, Thee pools, 18 holes of golf, Friday night social open bar, Breakfast on Monday morning, Pickle Ball, Tennis and it goes on. Following some rules doesn't seem to me to be asking too much.

Now do we get Jerks that own really nice new expensive motor homes that come in and rent then try to do as they please. Of course but for some reason they just don't seem to stay to long.

[Jchemie]

I the general consensus here is that you don’t want a ratty POS coach parked at the campsite with all their junk outside under a tarp there forever. So, if you can impose the age limit on a camper (I’m using the term “camper” here to refere to all classes of motorized and towed units), why not set a time limit of renting the space?
Set the maximun stay limit to one week, with the customer having to come into the office to speak to the manager to renew. If the camper appears to be setting up a flop spot, then inform them you will not renew their lease. If not, it gets towed the next day. Make sure this is clearly posted in the park rules that you can refuse renewal for any reason and make them sign the rules & regs for their receipt (with both having a copy). I know the person might just decide to barracade themselves inside, but check with the local law statutes first and you are probally going to find a trespassing law which will allow the police or constable the physically evict them. Yes, you, the park owner will have to pay the towing company. But their camper is now in an impound lot and out of your hair.
Most importantly, get with a lawyer who specializes in this and see what terms and actions you can legally impose. And the boondocking idea is great. Short term areas, long term areas, tent areas for those with portable generators, ect. I’ve been to large campsites with seperate areas like this with stay limits and it works out fine. Did not see one junk yard dog, and there was a few RV’s that were old but functionally sound.
My 2004 Holiday Rambler Neptune 35’ class A was never refused due to it’s age, even though some of the silver decals are faded. The coach is clean & polished and the odometer has only 45K on it, and if something breaks it gets fixed as soon as I quit bitchin about it breaking.

[desertratt]

There are airstreams that have been restored and worth more than half rv's on the road. Any business can set whatever rules they want its a free country. If you don't like the rule you move on and let your rv family know that's how they do business!
If these places were smart they would have you send a picture if its clean and neat its a done deal! So if you want to start an rv park we could name the it the "deplorables rv park" send your pictures..,



desertratt

[Birdhunr2]

As stated by others, there are many 15 and 20 yr old rigs that still look very nice and some excellent restored Antique rigs that look almost like new or that are well cared for. I would think very few 10 yr old units probably look too bad so, I suggest you set a more reasonable age for rigs that you need to submit a recent photo. For example, if you plan to be more tolerant on the looks of the RVs you allow, ou may only need to require rigs older than 17 yrs old to submit a recent photo. Also, you can add some fine print to the contract stating that you as the owner have the right to ask campers to move out if they or their rigs do not meet your aesthetic, noise or other requirements (TBD) of YOUR camp ground. A state owned campground I stayed in had a 2 wk stay limit. But, they only enforced that stay limit if they got someone in the park who was disturbing others.
One other "service" I suggest you offer is the ability to park an RV at a reduced fee (and unplugged of course) either in an unoccupied camp site if you are not full or in an RV parking area for a few days. This service would give you the option to make some extra money from short term storage and give people the option to leave their RV with you a few days if you have the space to do this and if your customers wants to make a side trip somewhere that might not offer camping of when they want to visit friends or family etc. When I'm staying somewhere it is nice to be able to just leave the RV to go see my grandkids for a day or 2 or to run back home for a couple of days without having to pay a $30 daily camping fee to leave my to avoid taking my RV with me or to avoid having to take it home and bring it back again later to resume my camping trip and avoid the daily camping cost when I'm gone. I would be glad to pay 25% or 33% of the daily cost for a few days to move to a parking area or leave in the same spot unplugged for 2 or 3 days to avoid having to take the RV with me for a short trip. Especially when I already have a place to stay where I'm going or when I'm going somewhere on business or out of the country for a few days. The state owned park I mentioned above had lots of space available and could have allowed someone to park an RV a few days and then return to pick it up later but, they didn't allow that and were missing an opportunity to make more money and to make their customers even happier campers by offering short term storage.

[HWYYHT]

I have posted recently being turned down in No. Ca due to over 15 yrs old. I had a reservation and offered a picture , unfortunately they did not care. I did see another post from an individual who was able to stay with an older rig. I ended up staying at a camp at Cal Expo, they required a picture and copy of the registration and let me stay. I just finished an 8 state tour in the west and had absolutely no question on age until I got to CA. My wife has also tried bending the age, I am at the conclusion, just tell them the real age, offer a picture if that doesn’t work leave. If my old home doesn’t want my money, I’ll spend it elsewhere.

[TimSullivan]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

Having business rules is not discrimination.

That's bull2345.

[Hoosier14]

Originally Posted by Hoosier14

Attachment 218068

July 2018, Las Vegas Motor Coach Resort said they “could not accommodate” us due to their 10 year rule.

I have never been to this RV Resort. When first posting, I simply gave the OP our experience of being denied entry at a private park. I really don’t mind if they have the rule; they own it and can run it how they want. I did not like it that they did not have any information on their website about a 10 year rule. I would prefer not wasting my time filling out a reservation request to later be denied for a reason not listed.

As a side note, they do advertise their resort as an option for rallies. Some may find it interesting that the forum I’m on for Prevost owners, the organizers publicly make it clear they don’t hold rallies at any facility that would exclude a coach for any reason (including age).

[jamesham]

RV discrimination is common in some places. My wife and I have experienced age discrimination based on the age of our 1996 Gulfstream motorhome. Two parks in Florida refused to accept a reservation based on their 10-year-rule. No exceptions. But this was during the winter high season on the Gulf Coast when they could rent out everything they had with whatever rules they wanted to make.

Two campgrounds in Naples, FL only accept newer Class A motorhomes: no Class C or B motorhomes, 5th Wheels, or trailers. Some of the sites are privately owned in this luxury resort, and I guess they want only Prevost Bus owners to be in their club.

One campground in the FL panhandle told us the RV would have to be inspected by them to be allowed in. The inspection was a look out the window across the parking lot while he counted the stack of cash payment on the counter.

Many RV & Mobile Home parks in FL are 55+ only...age of owners, not the RV. No children allowed but pets of all types and sizes acceptable.

We found some Arizona campgrounds had some restrictions for long term seasonal renters but none for overnight or weekly rental. In Phoenix we stayed next to a 1973 GMC classic motorhome. It looked brand new and nobody objected to age.

If the places feel snobby and fake, I do not want to stay there anyway. The problem of more new RV's and no new campsites is real. I know the problem of homeless folks in crappy RV's held together with duct tape and blue tarps is becoming larger. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but there must be a better way than discrimination against every older classic RV that is in good shape or has been fully restored.

Originally Posted by rcnuts

OK the curiosity is killing me! Ive read (not here) about campgrounds that refuse folks who have a unit thats older than 10 years. Although legal if the campground is privately owned, I find this disturbing. We have sunk a lot of time and $$$ in our 93 Holiday Rambler. The thought of being denied access to a campground really upsets my wife and I. Anyone out there experienced this?
Harris

[SheRidzHDz]

Sadly we were turned down by a CG, due to the age of our coach.The people I spoke with told me it was bcuz people with older RVs have been known to leave the RV if they have problems with them. Leaving it up to the owners of the CG to move the RV and/or dispose of it & sometimes that can lead to a lengthy process.
The owners at the CG we're stay'n at now, ran into the same problem & decided instead of move'n the RVs he'd go thru the legalities which he SAID wasn't much time or money, especially when he charges a storage fee IF the RV is left here for more than 1 wk uninhabited or prior arrangements made at the office to leave it for "x" amount of time. He puts a lil'money into them to fix what, if anythings wrong with them, has them cleaned & rents them out. SOME he's even sold. That makes good sense to me. Bcuz usually in the Spring & Summer on the weekend all of the RVs are rented, & in the Fall & Winter, during hunt'n season they're rented as well. I guess it depends on the owner of the CG. However, I feel it's not good practice to refuse ANYONE bcuz of the age of their RV. There could be people new to RVing & not want'n to go in huge debit only to find out RVing isn't for them....Couldn't imagine who that'd be....LOL!!!