Building an RV park for overnighters?

mockturtle wrote:
If the location is genuinely convenient then it sounds like a worthwhile idea. I like no-frills overnight RV parks. My ideal would have just water and electric at the sites with a dump station available. Don't need bathrooms or laundry (altough some people probably want at least showers and toilets). Charge no more than $20/night. I have never parked overnight at a Walmart. Nothing wrong with doing so but some of us prefer the security and hookups, especially in hot weather.

Three miles off of one interstate and 9 miles from another is not exactly genuinely convenient. My best guess would be the three mile distance would deter maybe 50% of the highway travelers and the nine mile distance deter 90% plus. In my opinion, unless the park is on a highly traveled (by RVers, not commuters) secondary road, it's location is not suitable to draw overnight guests.
True variable costs to have a guest on a site run somewhere around $5.00. That would include the cost of electricity, water and sewage, credit card charges and fees, as well as miscellaneous items such as bath house supplies etc. That would leave you gross profit of about $15.00 a site to cover all your fixed costs such as wages, insurance, advertising, repairs and maintenance, utilities independent of occupancy (such as electricity for office and common areas, wifi, cable television, trash pickup), property taxes and debt servicing. Only then can you talk about a return on your investment. I do not believe it is possible to break even, much less turn a profit at $20 a night.