What RV Parks might consider..

[Finally]

We have been on the road several weeks, stopping at different RV parks each night. We have paid $36.00 to $50.00 a night to have a save place to sleep. We use rvparksreviews.com to plan our trips.

The park that charged $36.00 led us to our space. A very nice lady on a golf cart. 15 other parks, handed us a circled space and pointed and said "thataway". There you sit in an unknown town, in an unfamiliar state, in a 40 foot motorhome, towing a 20 foot pick up truck. There is NO room for error. The streets/gravel roads wind around 3 or 4 levels. The signs are faded and impossible to read. You can barely read the space numbers. We are in a park like that right now. We just saw an rv'er run over a sewer going the wrong way. We could see how he was confused. This park is $43.00 a night.

There was a long thread on Facebook last night where RV'ers are fed up paying $45.00 a night for just a place to pull over to sleep. In fact, more are boondocking. They think RV parks should adjust their rates for those not there to "enjoy the amenities".

Any RV Park owner should be required to tow a 5th wheel, Travel Trailer, Motorhome with tow vehicle into a large campground with faded "street" signs, and numbers you can't read, give them a map circled, that is down 3 levels, and point "thataway".

We've watched rv's make circles all afternoon trying to find their space. The signs were falling down and faded, so it was impossible to follow the map. RV parks, especially large ones, should have clearly marked street/road signs, and clearly marked spaces. Really, we don't think that is a lot to ask. We think its for their safety, as well as ours.

We do want to support RV parks. Probably should wait a day or two before making comments on anything.

[John___Angela]

TyroneandGladys wrote:
They think RV parks should adjust their rates for those not there to "enjoy the amenities".
Then you get the post's who complain that cable was extra or the Wi-Fi or the site with sewer or the dump was not free.

I can't see why an RV park would adjust their rates for someone not to "enjoy the amenities". However an RV park owner who wants to make a little more money may want to fill a demand for non serviced drive through sites. If he has 100 per cent occupation anyway I see no reason why the campground business owner would do this. I just don't usually see 100 percent occupation. Might be a way to bring in a little more revenue for those parks. Like any good business strategy, find a need and fill it. If all the sites are serviced shut the power and water off to a half dozen sites and advertise them as no service overnight sites. Charge them 20 bucks and don't give out the codes to the bathroom or wifi. Just an idea.

[John___Angela]

DownTheAvenue wrote:

mgirardo wrote:

Now that we own a Motorhome, we only use campgrounds for camping. If we are just stopping for the night, we are in a Wal-Mart parking lot. We did that a couple times in the travel trailer, but the weather had to be just right. I can't sleep if it is too hot and my wife can't stand being cold.

I have to assume from this post that you may run the generator all or most of the night to keep cool or warm. You have to factor in the cost of operating that generator. Fuel and maintenance costs can approach $1.00 per hour. If a campground charges $25 per night, and many do, and you run the generator for 10 hours, then you are really only paying $15 for the campground that will offer amenities, safety, and quiet as compared to a truck stop or Walmart.

I suppose if it was really hot some might run the generator for AC although if this was the case I would imagine most would stay at a campground. Other than that, why would someone run a generator for 10 hours on what is probably at most a 12 hour overnighter. I can see a few minutes for the microwave or the toaster or hair dryer in the morning but other than that what would a self contained rig to need the genny running for 10 hours. Just curious.

[TyroneandGladys]

They think RV parks should adjust their rates for those not there to "enjoy the amenities".
Then you get the post's who complain that cable was extra or the Wi-Fi or the site with sewer or the dump was not free.

[DownTheAvenue]

mgirardo wrote:

Now that we own a Motorhome, we only use campgrounds for camping. If we are just stopping for the night, we are in a Wal-Mart parking lot. We did that a couple times in the travel trailer, but the weather had to be just right. I can't sleep if it is too hot and my wife can't stand being cold.

I have to assume from this post that you may run the generator all or most of the night to keep cool or warm. You have to factor in the cost of operating that generator. Fuel and maintenance costs can approach $1.00 per hour. If a campground charges $25 per night, and many do, and you run the generator for 10 hours, then you are really only paying $15 for the campground that will offer amenities, safety, and quiet as compared to a truck stop or Walmart.

[tpi]

I have a little class C and it isn't a big deal to get a bit lost once in a while looking for my spot. I've found quite a few campground maps are not to scale. Throw in bad signs and site numbers I can see the frustration.

If I had the big 40ft and toad, I wouldn't hesitate to ask for escort if finding sites had been a previous source of frustration. No need to wait for an offer.

[mileshuff]

$40-$50 a night? Sounds like a bargain! Well, compared to many RV parks in California. Nicer developed RV parks can easily run $75-$100+ per night especially over holiday weekends. Only ones we find cheaper are lesser developed (but still nice) forest service campgrounds, state parks etc. Many of those are not full hookup.

[spoon059]

Guess I am the other end of the spectrum. I currently have a small 22' camper and hate to wait for the escort. I can read the map and figure out where I need to go. Seems to me that if you were that unsure about it, you could have requested someone escort you.

When I get my new camper I won't trust some dude in a golf cart to help me clear any obstacles on the way to my site. I am sure they have zero liability when they have me drive into a low branch or off the edge of a road into a gulley, etc.

[Big_Katuna]

A clearly marked map using a felt marker is all I ask for.

My pet peeve and I agree completely with the OP is the owners/mgr has clearly never drove a 40' DP thru their own park. Over hanging trees that need trimmed rub your corners, stupid placement of utilities that interfere with your slides. Etc.

[D___M]

Veebyes wrote:
...snip.... As far as the escort goes, we rarely get to a CG that has a valet in a golfcart. We find our way back & forth across the country, we can sure find our way to the campsite.

Valet guy can wave his hands around all he likes, it is the DWs signals I pay attention too. Valet guy is not paying the bill if damage gets done under his direction...snip...

I'm with you. I don't need signs. I can count the streets and follow a map. And I don't need someone helping me park and showing me how to hook up. Those guys are more of a distraction than anything else. If you can't pull into a site you shouldn't be driving.

[Finally]

Laman, you read our post and totally understood that we are not complaining about price. We just think that clearly marked "street/gravel" roads is not too much to ask of rv park owners. I did comment that an RV park charging $43.00 a night might be able to afford readable signs. They don't need to be fancy, just clear. Site numbers need to be clearly visible. As I stated in the above post, a fellow rv'ers pulled in the wrong direction, and ran over the sewer connection. If pull thrus are mixed in with back in's, that can be confusing. We certainly were not expecting Concierge service or special attention. We were not complaining about prices at RV Parks.

No need for rude comments about our map reading skills. That was not the purpose of the thread. Frankly, I haven't started threads in years, and now I remember why.

[Veebyes]

The DW goes ballistic if the rate is over $40. As far as the escort goes, we rarely get to a CG that has a valet in a golfcart. We find our way back & forth across the country, we can sure find our way to the campsite.

Valet guy can wave his hands around all he likes, it is the DWs signals I pay attention too. Valet guy is not paying the bill if damage gets done under his direction.

We don't need much as far as facilities go. Really all we want is 30amp. Anything else is fluff. A picnic table & some space is more important than a sewer, cable, access to a satelite or 50amp power.

[mgirardo]

I've been to a few campgrounds that offered an escort; Smithfield KOA in Four Oaks, NC (we've only ever done an after hours check-in, have to call someone to register and they escort to site - don't know if they escort during the day), New Orleans KOA (the one that survived Hurricane Katrina), the Lickdale Campground in Jonestown, PA (before it became a KOA - only offered escort the first time we stayed there) and Tropical Palms Resort in Kissimmee, FL.

I thought it was a nice touch, but it is not necessary. I don't think the price dictates the level of service. At the time, not including Disney World, Smithfield and New Orleans KOAs were the most we ever paid for full hook-up camp sites. At the time, Lickdale was one of the cheapest full hook-up sites. Tropical Palms was between those.

I've never been to a campground where I couldn't read the map and figure out where we were. I would expect if you asked for an escort at other campgrounds, if they weren't too busy and had the means to do it, they would have.

Now that we own a Motorhome, we only use campgrounds for camping. If we are just stopping for the night, we are in a Wal-Mart parking lot. We did that a couple times in the travel trailer, but the weather had to be just right. I can't sleep if it is too hot and my wife can't stand being cold.

I like the idea of campgrounds offering low cost sites only for over-nighters, but if the price isn't pretty close to free, I wouldn't bother. I have my own A/C and heater and the generator to power them. I also have holding tanks and can take a shower in my motorhome if need be. So too much more than free won't be worth it for us.

-Michael

[Robin1953]

RedRocket204 wrote:
Per the price thing being brought up in this thread...

Still get shocked (You'd think I'd be numb to it by now) the amount of people on this forum who have spent tens of thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands, of $$$ on their rigs and then proceed to complain about the cost at RV sites.

I didn't know it was a crime for an RV park to try and turn a profit.

Just my 2 cents. My new RV listed for approx. $60K. When I travel I travel till I get tired and stop. I used to hunt out PPA parks but now if there is one available I use it and if not I use whatever is available. I have stayed at a Flying J overnight one time and that was enough for me. It is not that I want to waste money but like you said that if I can afford a $60K RV, I know there are even more expensive units out there, I had better be able to afford the use of it. If I can't afford to use it I shouldn't have bought it in the first place. This includes park fees in transit as well as destination parks. Do I stay in the most expensive parks? No. Do I stay in the cheapest parks? No. I stay in parks that are in my budget range. If they are not in my budget range I won't stay there. If they are in my budget range but it is a dump or looks like it is home to Freddy Kruger I won't stay there. This has worked for me. No I do not care if you want to stay at WalMart, etc. but that isn't for me. YMMV.

[RedRocket204]

Per the price thing being brought up in this thread...

Still get shocked (You'd think I'd be numb to it by now) the amount of people on this forum who have spent tens of thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands, of $$$ on their rigs and then proceed to complain about the cost at RV sites.

I didn't know it was a crime for an RV park to try and turn a profit.

Mr. Camper wrote:
If that's your biggest concern I wish you continued success and happiness. Don't sweat the small stuff (and it's all small stuff).

Completely agree!

[rr2254545]

Trackrig wrote:
I don't care if they show us where to park or not, really don't have a preference. If the parking space is further than 50' away, they all provide a map. If you can't find your way around the RV park, how did you ever find you way to the RV park.

When we get to the park, the DW goes inside to take care of the paperwork. I unhook the Jeep, it takes about 3 minutes, then I go inside and join her. If we think there's a need to, we'll leave the MH where it's at, hope in the Jeep and go look at the space. It takes the same 3 minutes to hook it up when we're ready to leave. It sounds like you should do the same.

Bill

We do the same, just like getting fuel or stopping to eat, I always take a look to make sure I can get out without having to unhook.