Full time residences in RV Parks

You will see all kinds. My current park has year around residents and their trailers are very neat.

when you tend to stay in one place for a while you start to accumulate "stuff". Apartments require a first, last and damage, and a credit check to move in, not everyone can meet all of those requirements. Having traveled all over the place and been to many parks I have noticed many full time residents in the parks have older trailers, fifth wheels, and motor homes that did not have storage built in to store their "glory". As the housing prices continue to rise more and more people are making the choice to live in their RV's many are doing it on the streets as sad as it is it's the new reality

We have visited a few private "campgrounds" over the last 30 years and we can always spot the "full time residents" vs the "seasonal residents" vs the true "campers" by the amount of stuff piled around their campers. And I'm not referring to the Western States, I'm referring to Indiana!

When they start installing permanent style porches, setting out the yard gnomes, and hanging bird houses, with a ton of stuff under their campers, you can spot them pretty easy.

This is not a new phenomena. When I was a kid, 9 years old in 1964, my parents took their camper to a campground and they provided seasonal sites. Those that stayed all season, always piled on the junk. A neighboring campground down the river had permanent campers. It had a bad reputation and every stereotype about "trailer trash" applied to that place. That was 1964! It's not anything new.

My sister lives down at LAKEWOOD RESORTS in Myrtle Beach... Lots of trailer homes there as well... They also have lake Vilas, condos, and cabins for permanent living...

We all get together down there every year in the SEP/OCT time frame...

Roy Ken

We pulled into a one year old "RV RESORT" priced at $312.00 + taxes per week that had a great Good Same Rating but also had 40 full time residences with all their glory (junk) spread all around and under their RV's. We know how many full time folks there are because we asked as we started noticing this was becoming the norm out here in the West.
Where do we draw the line between a true RV Park and just a place to flop with all your belongings and collections an....

Sadly it HAS changed over time, due to the economy or whatever. And usually the CG's that have allowed it usually are run down and in financial trouble anyway or they wouldn't have needed to have gone in that direction to keep their CG afloat.:R

When I hit the road and went full time I too was shocked at how many and conditions of permanent residents at some CG's.

Now when I call ahead for a CG for the night or even several nights I the first thing I ask the CG is how many "permanent residents" they have in their CG.

For me, if they say they have permanent resident campers I do NOT stay there.
There are plenty of other CG's down the road that do not have to rent out to permanent resident campers to stay in business.

Guess the CG could go belly up and close due to not being able to have enough income to cover costs........or they could have some permanent residents with a steady income flow.

Having stuff all around the RVs is a 'CG Staff Management' issue.

Good staffing is difficult in ANY business......
Seen that at many RV Retail Stores/Dealerships

It's change, it's the new normal. Have you noticed the interest rates on cd's and the grocery prices? I just commented to the DW that it looks like more and more traditional rv parks are now full of residents. I'm also surprised at the number of people living in cars. There is a guy near us right now who gets out of his newish looking little 2 door car and walks over to the passenger side and takes a leak and gets back in. Wife said he was out there today bare foot and just in shorts, took a leak and sat in the drivers side and looked like he was shaking off his legs. I said well yeah, ya gotta shake afterwards when that splatter gets on your feet and legs. He could have parked in the open spot next to the very clean heated restrooms. But maybe it's good he didn't.

Last year in the Apalachicola national forest there was a guy living in his old truck. I stopped by to bs with him and he started telling me his story. His health was very poor and his legs were huge and swollen. I said you need to get to a doctor to get checked out. He opened the drivers door and showed me how he stabs himself in the legs with an old kitchen knife when the pressure builds. There was bloody puss wet stuff all over the floor and door panel. I said alrighty then I'll be talkin to ya. I did take him some dinner and he really appreciated it. On paper plate and plastic fork of course!!!!

I think economy played a roll for the person living there (may have been a necessity), and also a few years ago it seems there weren't as many active RV'rs, so several parks started to welcome the steady income also. As gas has gotten cheaper and the economy and RV industry picked up, now the two sides are clashing more often.
I stay at several of the military Fam Camps in the Hampton Roads Virginia area, and they have rules that state you can stay for 60 days at the park and then must be out for 14 days before being allowed back in. For the last few years It wasn't really enforced as long as there was space, as they never filled up except on a few big holidays, but this year they needed to enforce it as the campgrounds are being booked solid every weekend and most weeks through the summer.

rekoj71 wrote:
I think economy played a roll for the person living there (may have been a necessity), and also a few years ago it seems there weren't as many active RV'rs, so several parks started to welcome the steady income also. As gas has gotten cheaper and the economy and RV industry picked up, now the two sides are clashing more often.
I..........they needed to enforce it as the campgrounds are being booked solid every weekend and most weeks through the summer.

I agree, now that the economy is picking up and the RV'ers will be once again back in force like it used to be, I think these CG's will start shagging out the residents to make room for the influx of RV'ers.

I would like to add to this discussion and explain another possible scenario as I am one of these resident rv'rs. Others have already mentioned the economic situation driving people out of more permanent living quarters but there is another side to the economy as well. Here in the oilfield area of West Texas there are a great many people living in their RV's while following work around. In my case I am working at a great job about 200 miles away from my family and living in my trailer. This was an easy decision as the cost of an apartment was much more than the rv payment and lot rental combined.

Here in the park where I am we have several longer term residents working local jobs and one lady who teaches Science at the local high school and they goes "home" on the weekends. While it is true that we do tend to collect stuf, it is mostly to make our lives more comfortable. Most I have seen keep things neat and it really is up to the park management to oversee things.

Just wanted to throw out another point of view.

Terry