My Observation About RV Parks

[cmillsap]

Things are changing in the RV world. More and more people are making an RV their permanent home. As we travel the Northwest this summer, I am finding that RV parks are starting to look more like trailer parks. Every RV park or so-called resort we have visited so-far this summer is at least 50% full of permanent residents. They are mostly living in 5th wheels and travel trailers although there are some motorhomes being used as permanent residents. Many have propane tanks sitting outside their unit along with sheds and lots of outside patio items to help offset the reduced inside living space. It just appears to me that the average RV park is catering more to permanent residents to fill their spaces and using the empty or left-over spaces to serve as overnight or short-term parking spaces for the traveling units. Many RV parks are being bought up or built new by corporate entities. These owners tend to run their parks in a more businesslike manner and are bottom line oriented. This promotes the trend toward renting to permanent residents.

Due to the overcrowding by permanent residents, space availability for the traveler is becoming less and less. Reservations are needed to assure a space for the night and on weekends and holidays, reservations are a must have or you will end up dry docking in some parking lot.

Some RV parks try to separate the permanent units from the visiting units and some parks have them located in spaces intertwined with the temporary visitors. A Prevost looks “out of place” and an “oddity” in this environment and other park residents tend to avoid any interaction with its owners. Also, from what I’ve seen, the RV of choice is becoming the 5th wheel trailer. This is probably due to them being relatively cheap to own, especially if you happen to have a truck capable of towing one.

There are still some RV Resorts that don’t allow permanent residency but they are becoming far and few between in a day’s average travel. There are several RV Resorts across the country that only accept motorhomes but they are more like destination resorts than a place to park for a day or two as you travel along.

[davidbrady]

I've feel your discomfort Chuck. It's hard enough to blend in a Prevost let alone when the CGs are filled with permanent residents most of whom are barely getting by. Don't you wish you had a button to push to make it look like a 1979 MCI-7? I try to stick to the Big Rigs book and for any stay over a single night I try to find out what percentage of the tenants are permanent. What else can we do to try to "clear" campgrounds before booking a stay? We're going to be constrained to Outdoor Resorts, Indio, and Pelican Lakes but only if we make reservations 9 months in advance! The other online RV boards talk about the same problem. There's no space left in CGs for spontaneous trips. Sorta takes the fun out if it doesn't it. Add to this that finding space to boondock a 45' bus can be a challenge. How 'bout some outside the box thinking? Maybe it's time to concentrate on converting our buses into boondocking masterpieces: solar cells, passive cooling, faster charging batteries, more efficient electrics and concentrate on off-gridding in BLM's and in using resources like HarvestHosts. I can be host here in Asheville, NC.

[cmillsap]

David,
I’m afraid the Harvest Hosts concept would be more of a hassle than it’s worth. Consider that getting to some of their locations is way off the beaten track and most only allow one overnight stay may make it too inconvenient for most travelers.

Many Prevost and other luxury coach owners have opted to buy a lot in an owner-owned resort. Now, that guarantees you a good destination spot to travel to but I like to travel to different places each year and would need several owned lots across the country. The big issue with owning multiple lots in this type of resort is not the initial cost of the purchase price so much but the ongoing monthly maintenance costs. If you own one and need to sell it, it can take years and the maintenance dues just keep adding up.

Also, owning one allows the possibility of renting it out but usually the rental demand season coincides with the time of the year you are planning to use it. So, between the resort administration taking their cut and your seasonal personal use, rental receipts are negligible.

Another issue with staying at these hi-end resorts is the excessive daily fees. Many running as high as $150 per night with no discounts for weekly or extended stays.
Examples:
Pelican Lake $145 Avg, Outdoor Resorts $140 Avg, Polson RV Resort $130 Avg
So, if you spend the 4 summer months at one of these locations, except for the investment in the lot, the cost will be approximately the same as the annual maintenance fee if you owned the lot.

Seems to me though, that staying on your owned lot for the summer defeats the purpose of having a motorhome. You might as well have a park model planted on the lot and drive your car there each summer.

[davidbrady]

I agree Chuck,

As attractive as HarvestHosts appears I think your right on the mark: single night stays, off the path, and difficult access for a 45' bus is very limiting. Owning my own pad in a high-end RV park never interested me, again too limiting. I'm with you as are probably most folks, the fun part of this lifestyle is in experiencing new places each year. There's no way you and I are going to fix the economic divide in this country, certainly not in our lifetimes, so the best we can do is adapt. We may feel out of place, awkward, and possibly targeted in CGs with high permanent residencies, so I take all reasonable precautions, but I also say hello and make friends with my neighbors. There's nothing like seeing Suzy leave the bus holding the baby, followed by Danny, Cami, and Matthew to break the ice! After that mostly everyone is over talking to us and even looking out for us. I try to screen CGs but we often have little choice. This is why I brought up the boondocking nature of our buses. Last year we spent three nights in hotel parking lot in the Breckenridge, Co area. It worked out. It also has me thinking about how we might improve our buses for off-grid use. Thoughts?

[Garynmike]

Seems like a nationwide problem that is only going to be further exacerbated by the possible privatization of the national park system....

[Hisham Amaral]

(06-27-2017 23:06)Garynmike Wrote:  Seems like a nationwide problem that is only going to be further exacerbated by the possible privatization of the national park system....

Why pay top dollar for a coach then pay as much for park fees when can go a motel pay same dollar amount. The motorhome industry better put a brake on the park fees. Of course we are a free trade nation and not to mention that the national park will soon increase their price to match others. Who know we are going.
The seniors national park pass is going up from $10.00 to $80. Under new rule.

[cmillsap]

Hish,

The online National Parks site is saying that annual passes are $80 but senior passes are still $10 plus $10 for processing. They also say there is no increase in senior prices for a "few months", whatever that means?

https://store.usgs.gov/senior-pass
Please note that we do not expect changes to the Senior pass price or program within the next few months

[Hisham Amaral]

Chuck I must have misunderstood their post but they did add a 10.00 processing fee.

[cmillsap]

Well, here’s another observation about RV Parks. Many RV Parks have insufficiently sized electrical power at the post. Yes, they have 50A/30A/20A service with a 50A plug that you can connect to but that doesn’t mean they are supplying you with good power. The last 4 parks we have visited have had serious problems supplying me with strong 120V power on both legs.
While we were at Wildhorse RV Resort in Pendleton, Oregon last week, there were 4 power failures in one day. One of the maintenance men told me it happens every day during the Summer months between 2 and 6 P.M. After the first failure, I began to watch my volt meters closely. One leg was down to 103V and the other leg was 112. I immediately switched to generator power and left the next morning.

The next park we stayed in at Oregon had issues also with one leg running 124V and the other running 112V.

At the park in Boise, ID where we are at presently, the Volt meters are showing 109 on one leg and 123V on the other leg.

All the RV Parks we’ve visited are full of 5th wheels and trailers with mostly only one and sometimes two A/C units connected to the 30A plug. Maybe what’s happening is that all the RVs in the park that are using the 30A plugs are pulling one leg’s voltage down.

Anyway, if you are in a RV Park, watch your voltmeters closely. Low voltage is hard on your appliances, especially your A/C units. Also, use a current surge protector with low voltage protection when you plug into RV Parks shore power.

[cmillsap]

So sometime as you're RVing around the country, you'll call an RV Resort. They'll tell you "Oh Yeah, your 45' coach will fit our spaces easily". You go there expecting a little elbow room but here's what you find. An 8.5' wide pad with a 2' patio and they call it a Premium Site and charge you $75 per day to rent it.