westernrvparkowner wrote:
A 1980s conversion van generally means a cargo van converted to have luxury seats in the front and second row and a bench seat in the rear. They were an alternative to station wagon or a big Suburban, the sport utility market hadn't matured with all the three row seating vehicles. Many had raised roofs, a second air conditioning unit etc. but they were not designed for camping. They had no toilet or shower capability, no beds, no external power connections etc. A class B camping van is welcome at my parks, a cargo or conversion van generally is not. We are a facility for camping units. That is what we advertise and what we tell people. Should a nice appearing conversion van drive up for one night, we would allow it. Should that same van appear all beat up, we wouldn't. We don't solicit for conversion vans and actively say we do not allow non-camping units on our website, so I don't feel we are out of line not accepting them. As I have often posted, no business can be successful trying to be everything for everyone. We are just not the property for the conversion van customer.
My Dad did van conversions in the late 70s and 80s. They were very much camping units - minus the shower/toilet room and indoor kitchen. They had mini-fridges, convertible sofa beds, lighting, storage for clothing, food, etc. They didn't have external power sources because they were built to be minimalist.
To me, this is just another issue with calling RV Parks campgrounds and calling staying at an RV Park camping. The truth is you don't want campers - you want RVers. You are an RV Park, catering to RVers. Nothing at all to do with camping. There isn't a true campground I have found that has ever taken issue with a conversion van.
