Building an RV park for overnighters?

[jkwilson]

Was talking to my brother-in-law over the weekend and he asked me about ideas for a piece of investment real estate he owns. 120 acres with a 10 year option to purchase more in the future. Location is three miles off a major EW Interstate and about 9 miles from its junction with a major NS Interstate. Property is on a state highway that connects a rapidly growing mid-size city (with a major university) with a town that is becoming a major bedroom community for the bigger city.

Hopes are that about 20 years out, this property will be in high demand for commercial or residential development. It is fairly flat and is currently in hay production.

I mentioned that a no-frills RV park intended for overnighting or people visiting family might be a way to increase the income from the land without extensive investments. Gravel pull-throughs with electrical service and water. Dump station would probably be a cheap perk to offer. Could start small and add sites as wanted or needed without requiring a massive investment up front.

The exit off the interstate has a few fueling places including a truck stop/travel center.

Is it foolish to consider? Advice?

[bob_nestor]

Not trying to be a nay-sayer here, but without a dump station and garbage there would be some who would pull in and dump their tanks on the ground and toss their trash at the gate as they were leaving. And I suspect if there was money to be made by offering overnight only spots, there would be a number of commercial RV campgrounds doing this already. So far I've only found one that did and they charged my $10 to stay overnight without any hookups.

As others have said, when traveling from Point A to Point B and only needing a place to park for 6-8 hours you can't beat Walmart. And the added benefit is you're close to a store and usually gas. Also, many of us are happy with a Rest Area, Truck Stop, or some big box store parking lot too.

So as nice as it sounds, I doubt there's a real good business case here.

[colliehauler]

While not 5.00 there is already a cheap alternative, Passport America. If I want a quick overnight and don't want to run the generator this is a cheap alternative place to plug in and have A/C.

[mgirardo]

When we stop for a quick overnight, we look for a Walmart right off an interstate exit. We use Walmart for a few reasons, one and most importantly, it is free. We don't want to pay $30+ for a 6 - 8 hour stay. We also usually go into Walmart early in the morning to pick up supplies we need. We also like that most Walmart parking lots have security driving around throughout the night. We have stayed in probably a dozen different Walmart lots and have never had an issue.

If the choice was pay $10 for a no-frills RV park vs. a free night in a Walmart parking lot, I'd pick Walmart. If the choice was pay $10 for a no-frills RV park vs. a Truck Stop, I'd pay $10. Anything over $10 and I'd be back on the interstate looking for a Walmart. You'd need to fill a lot of spaces at $10/night to make any money.

-Michael

[toolttime]

Me I prefer truck stops

[westernrvparkow]

2012Coleman wrote:

westernrvparkowner wrote:
A few years back there was a survey on this forum that asked how much someone would pay for a secure parking area without hookups or amenities. The overwhelming answer was $0.00. About 90% of the respondents stated they wouldn't even pay $5.00. Walmart, Cracker Barrel, rest areas, truck stops and stealth camping have the cheap, no hookup market pretty much cornered. As I have often said, you cannot compete with free.
On a slightly different note, such a facility would not be permitted in Montana. Any commercial RV park must either have a restroom facility or have a sewage disposal system of some kind. If it has no restrooms, it must require all the RVs to be self contained ( no tenting or RVs without toilets) even with the sewage disposal system.

Wow - a survey on this site represents the entire RVing community in the US? Posted opinions on this site represent less than one percent of the total community. The dumb thing to do would be to base any kind of decision solely on the responses received here.

You can also use the fact that such facilities do not exist in a free market as further proof that they would not work. But hey, free country, go out and build a chain of $5.00 parking lots up and down the interstate system. Maybe it would be a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.
BTW, when do you ever see surveys that survey more than one percent of a population? To actually survey one percent of the RVing population, you would need to contact and get responses from approximately 89,000 RV owners. Not exactly likely to happen when considering building a $5.00 parking lot.

[2012Coleman]

westernrvparkowner wrote:
A few years back there was a survey on this forum that asked how much someone would pay for a secure parking area without hookups or amenities. The overwhelming answer was $0.00. About 90% of the respondents stated they wouldn't even pay $5.00. Walmart, Cracker Barrel, rest areas, truck stops and stealth camping have the cheap, no hookup market pretty much cornered. As I have often said, you cannot compete with free.
On a slightly different note, such a facility would not be permitted in Montana. Any commercial RV park must either have a restroom facility or have a sewage disposal system of some kind. If it has no restrooms, it must require all the RVs to be self contained ( no tenting or RVs without toilets) even with the sewage disposal system.

Wow - a survey on this site represents the entire RVing community in the US? Posted opinions on this site represent less than one percent of the total community. The dumb thing to do would be to base any kind of decision solely on the responses received here.

[tatest]

The most successful overnight parks are usually much closer to the exit of an Interstate highway, or out here where we don't have so many Interstates, alongside a major trunk highway. Close to a junction is good.

I'll go well off the highway for a destination park, but if I'm driving three miles or more on rural back roads (recognizing that not all state highways in your area are back roads, some are trunks) I'll be looking for more park amenities for an overnight (like small store, food services, LPG sales) or wanting to see these nearby. When traveling I tend to be running long driving days and will usually not be in a camp cooking mode.

[Ralph_Cramden]

westernrvparkowner wrote:
Tried your link. Have no idea what the heck it is about. Whenever a video begins with a bunch of jibberjabber about Willy Wonka and his magic wand I tune out real quick.

Meet your host at Willy's last chance RV fantasy park.....LOL. Tiny homes welcome.

[JaxDad]

free radical wrote:

the bear II wrote:
With the tiny house movement being so popular along with many folks choosing to fulltime RV lifestyle as a way to saving on housing costs, an RV Park aimed at overnighters plus long term stays for RVs and Tiny Houses might be a good investment for the near future... not sure how long this trend will last.

Unless regular house prices drop way down,,I dont see it ever stopping

In some rural areas it's not as much of a problem, but in more populated areas it usually doesn't take long for authorities to put a stop to it.

A fellow tried putting together a jointly owned 'tiny house' / cottage development where all the 'residents' were to be part owners of the land as well as their own 'tiny house' near my summer place.

It took a single 3 minute phone call from a concerned landowner nearby and the whole project came to a screeching halt amid a myriad of legal issues and every one was ordered off the land.

Rumour has it there's now a lawsuit between the partners over the ownership aspect and who was told what when they bought in.

[ctilsie242]

My two centavos:

I thought about buying some land, adding a fence, a gate with some sort of decent access code, and an "iron ranger" for donations. Something for people to boondock or layover at.

However, there are two intertwined issues, even with zero facilities available. One is security. Unless patrolled fairly often, it could be taken by pot growers who will shoot at anyone who might come on "their" turf. Then, there is insurance... someone trips over a tree root and sues.

It might be an idea for a private, friends/acquaintances only idea, but that is as far as I would go as of now.

[westernrvparkow]

free radical wrote:

westernrvparkowner wrote:

DrewE wrote:
I would think that a mobile home park may be more lucrative than an RV park. You have year-round use, more predictable income, and less manpower to keep it running. There's no dump station needed, no showerhouse, perhaps even no office needed. There might be some affordable housing state aid programs available to help develop it in some cases.

At least here in Vermont, the design and permitting for a sewage system for a campground would start to approach an extensive investment in itself, to mention nothing of its installation. It would likely be simpler if municipal sewer is available and had sufficient capacity.

Yep, I bet the neighbors will welcome a mobile home park next door. Also, once you have a mobile home park, most jurisdictions (and the renters) make it nearly impossible close up
As for "tiny homes", I am still waiting for someone to post links to actual tiny home communities. A few RV parks and mobile home parks have changed their names to try and capture that supposed market, but I haven't seen one yet that is actually a community of those homes. Until proven otherwise, I will continue to believe "tiny homes" as a movement exists only on Television. Yes, there probably is a movement away from McMansions to more reasonable sized homes, but that is a switch from 3000 - 5000 sq ft to 1000-2000 sq ft. Smaller, yes. But hardly meeting the definition of a tiny home.

Tiny homes?like these maybe
https://youtu.be/iWGa7qyGO8M

Tried your link. Have no idea what the heck it is about. Whenever a video begins with a bunch of jibberjabber about Willy Wonka and his magic wand I tune out real quick.

[winnietrey]

jkwilson wrote:
Was talking to my brother-in-law over the weekend and he asked me about ideas for a piece of investment real estate he owns. 120 acres with a 10 year option to purchase more in the future. Location is three miles off a major EW Interstate and about 9 miles from its junction with a major NS Interstate. Property is on a state highway that connects a rapidly growing mid-size city (with a major university) with a town that is becoming a major bedroom community for the bigger city.

Hopes are that about 20 years out, this property will be in high demand for commercial or residential development. It is fairly flat and is currently in hay production.

I mentioned that a no-frills RV park intended for overnighting or people visiting family might be a way to increase the income from the land without extensive investments. Gravel pull-throughs with electrical service and water. Dump station would probably be a cheap perk to offer. Could start small and add sites as wanted or needed without requiring a massive investment up front.

The exit off the interstate has a few fueling places including a truck stop/travel center.

Is it foolish to consider? Advice?

No frills, means cheap, As any business person, will tell you, want to go broke? cater to the low end of whatever, market you are in.

Only people, you will attract are extremely cheap folks, who I can guarantee you will complain about everything. And drive you to drink

If you want to do the RV park thing, IMHO, build a decent one and charge a fair price. That way you might have half a chance.

But never, ever cater to the low end of the market. This from almost 40 years in business, take it for what it is worth

[Gdetrailer]

darsben1 wrote:
3 miles on a crappy road
or 3 miles on a very nice well maintained road?

Yep.

I remember my Dad trying to find campgrounds that had signage on the Interstate for the next exit.. Then traveling for quite a few miles on a narrow dirt cow path up a steep road in the middle of the night to only find locked gates with no place to turn around..

Then having to backup all those miles back onto some semblance of a blacktop road.. He was lucky to be hauling a TC and not a trailer although I do remember at least once backing into a POLE..

From my point of view I see several issues..

Easy on/off, close to Interstate or main roads and low cost do not go hand in hand..

Anything close to a major road, highway, Interstate WILL be expensive..

Anything close to a major road, highway, Interstate WILL be NOISY (I remember more than once Dad finding a campground that just sat a few yards from a busy Interstate, the noise from vehicles was all night and incredibly annoying)..

I would not want to pay $5, $10, $20, $40 for a campsite that would be more noise than a Walmart parking lot even if it a half mile from the Interstate!

I may as well just find a Walmart lot and pay nothing for the few hrs of sleep I am after.. 99 cent hearing protectors make the noise at WM tolerable..

[Scottiemom]

I am an Indiana native, but now fulltime. We are back in the state a couple times a year for doctor appointments. We travel all over the state and I am curious as to where you are talking about locating this park. I will tell you now that Indianapolis has nothing to offer the traveler that is reasonable in price whether it be short or longer stays. There are maybe a couple, but the location and clientele make them less than desirable.

Dale