From Airstream Living to Engineering Triumphs:

Valuable Lessons for RV Park Development Success 

Author: Elizabeth Kim & Mike Kim

02/24/2024

Introduction 

We’ve been living in our Airstream full-time with our two chocolate labs (Obi and Lila) for a few years now. Our route is typically a loop from Maryland to Colorado to Texas to Florida to Virginia, then back to Maryland since our family is in Maryland. We visited an array of RV parks and would like to share some advice on how to develop a profitable RV park.

Here’s what we’ll cover: 

1. Unused Amenities 
2. Internet Access 
3. Location, Location, Location! 
4. Tree Placement 
5. Minimize Maintenance Costs 
6. Safe Designs 

Unused Amenities 

Unfortunately, sometimes the vision does not become reality. This was evident for many RV parks we stayed at in terms of unused amenities and facilities. Some amenities that we rarely saw used (if not used at all during our stay) were: 

• Playground 
• Mini golf 
• Basketball/tennis court 

They felt like an afterthought because the land was not being effectively used to its potential. On the flip side, here are some amenities that we saw were used often: 

• Dog park 
• Nature trail 
• Fire ring with griddle for optional cooking 
• Laundry facility that accepts card 

You’ll notice that consistently used facilities are relatively cheaper than unused amenities (except for the laundry facility, but this is a must in RV parks in our mind!). Sometimes less is more when adding amenities to an RV park. 

Here is a great article that lists what campers look for in RV parks, but remember the location and demographic of your RV park will ultimately determine what works and what doesn’t! (https://rvlifestyle.com/what-campers-look-for-in-an-rv-campground/) 

Internet Access 

Speaking of amenities, let’s talk about internet accessibility at your RV park. A notable nationwide change the COVID-19 pandemic has brought is the increased accessibility to work from home. Internet providers did not disappoint by increasing coverage between 2020 and 2021 by 26.6%, according to USA Facts (https://usafacts.org/articles/how-many-americans-have-broadband-internet-access/). However, we rarely had access to reliable internet service provided by RV parks, so we relied on T-Mobile’s 5G network instead. 

Many RV Park owners pay extra for internet for their guests; but be mindful of the quality of the internet. If you’re unwilling to pay for quality, provide your guests instead with local internet provider options for long-term stayers and/or local places that provide internet (such as coffee shops and libraries). This gives your guests one less thing to worry about and an extra star on your next review! 

Location, Location, Location!

A lot of folks switched their career goals to more creative options that encourage creativity and travel. Bloggers alone have grown by 10 million between 2014 and 2020 with travel content bloggers earning one of the highest incomes according to Semrush (https://www.semrush.com/blog/blogging-stats/). RV-living became popularized in parallel with the increase of people working from home (WFH). Picking an RV park location near attraction sites, such as state/national parks or fun activity spots (think white-water rafting, beaches, mountain biking, theme parks, fruit picking farms, wineries, the list goes on!) has great potential. Keep in mind that RVers crave diversity – that’s why we love to travel! Research what is unique about your RV park location, whether it be the wildlife/plant life or activities specific to that location. 

Another reason why RV-living became popular is because of its community. Social distancing popularized social media, but many would argue face-to-face interactions are more impactful than virtual ones. Socialization was something that we personally lacked living on the road. Our typical schedule was the same: unhitch, work, walk, repeat. The only time we got to socialize was either at the RV park’s clubhouse talking to property owners/managers or in the local town/city chatting with the locals. With that said, an RV park located near popular cities is a good bet. Cities are chockfull of good grub, museums, arboretums, and shops that attract all. 

Tree Placement

The RV parks that we enjoyed staying at always had a nice scenery with shade cover from trees. However, tree placement is important in an RV park design. We’ve experienced not being able to open our awning due to a tree and have seen cracked pavement due to tree roots (which can be costly to repair). It’s important to keep in mind the impact trees will have on its surrounding areas. A rule of thumb is to provide a buffer around trees assuming it will grow to full size. 

Minimize Maintenance Costs

Along the coastal states, we saw many instances of cracked pavement/concrete due to wear and tear from the weather. Although maintenance is unavoidable, there are ways to minimize costs with a well thought out design. For example, if your location sees a lot of rain, then your design should be able to combat flooding.

Let’s put this example into a financial perspective. Let’s say we have a 15-acre coastal RV park with 100 RV pads and 80% of the land (or 12 acres) is paved for roads RV pads, buildings, and amenities. Typically, it takes 3 years for pavement to deteriorate, and the cost to repair concrete pavement is $1-$5 per square foot depending on the severity of the deterioration. So, assuming half of the pavement (6 acres or 261,360 square feet) needs to be repaired every three years, we’re looking at $261,360 to $1,306,800 spent on repairs if proper flood preventative measures were implemented. 

Don’t let a poor design bite out of your revenue later down the line. Make sure your engineer is designing an RV park that will minimize maintenance costs. 

Safe Designs

The success of an RV park could be the result of an aesthetic layout or pull-through lots. But none is as important as the safety of its guests. We had an incident where our rig was damaged due to a 2-foot depressed storm water ditch placed directly adjacent to RV site. We were lucky that our Airstream received minimal damage and no one was hurt, so we went about our business. However, you never know how guests will react to damage to their equipment or to themselves due to a faulty design. 

Safety should always be the top priority when designing an RV park regardless of if you have insurance. Make sure the engineering team designing your RV park is not only satisfying the local municipalities and state ordinances, but also your guests. Your lead engineer should understand the dimensions of roads and pads so your guests can safely maneuver around your RV park. You do not want a law suit on your hands, and you certainly do not want your guests to get hurt. 

Conclusion

There is a lot to cover, so stay tuned on KIM Civil Blog series to get tips and ideas to develop your dream RV park, Marinas, Mobile Homes, and Tiny Home Communities.

Happy building and safe travels!