I worked for Thousand Trails and Outdoor World for ten years and experienced those long winters ! The wife was an assistant manager and i was a maintenance lead. We eventually managed a park and worked alot ! Campgrounds are not an easy business !
I am thinking about putting in a small rv park. Nothing to the scope of what you have. I would like to start small with maybe 10 sites and then expand if need be. This information was helpful. I will check out the arvc and the tip about the civil engineer was helpful as well. God knows I don't have those skills. Also although it is a pain checking with the county about zoning. Hopefully they will help and not just have their hand out again. LOL thx
30k?!?! That's not a tiny amount to come up with. Looking for info, we're wanting to put 4-5 small cabins on a property in NC mtns. I'm learning more and more to the point it's discouraging.. You're videos have been helpful..
It's a scary thing to put a lot of money on something that may not work. A lot of businesses fail. You have to decide for yourself if the risk is worth the reward.
Thanks for watching. I hope they help someone. Also, book ahead. It is getting harder and harder to get a site at the last minute especially on weekends/holidays.
Sure come on by, but I suggest visiting as many as you can. Campground owners are notorious for stealing ideas from other campgrounds. You can learn a lot from just being observant.
@@soyouwanttoownacampground938 I love to support others in their endeavors and give more confidence. Try to show off a little more of the grounds, paint a picture of your vision and how you painted it, that will help because essentially we're looking for experienced advice. I'd like to hear about the course you took too. I just found your videos so I'll be checking out more. Don't stop posting & smile more!
@@truthbombsmcgoo8513 Thanks for the advice. My thinking is that if I am going to be able to keep making videos I will need to keep to one topic at a time. Also, making them shorter will help me with filming and editing. Here is me trying to follow your advice :)
Sorry for the quality of this one. I'm still learning and I had a hard drive issue. I figured better sooner than later. My critics have given me a list of things to work on and I will try to do better. Here are the websites I mentioned in the video. www.arvc.org campingcarolinas.com ownakoa.com/build-a-koa/ www.jellystonefranchise.com/build-2/
I wish you luck. I suggest contacting ARVC.ORG they have classes on campground ownership. I'm not sure if they take people not already in the industry or not. They used to be in person, for now I think it is online.
@@soyouwanttoownacampground938 Thanks for the info! I will look into it and do some research. I am not ready yet but want to get as much information as I can before I dive into it. I thought the information you have provided so far has been really useful, and I don't get concerned about the quality of the video. You present it as if we are just sitting around and talking and I like that.
Thank you for sharing your experience,! I am planning to invest in rv campground building from scratch. How do I conduct a market research in my area, what type of builder that specialize in campground and you mentioned that civil engineer could help design a plan for campground. I owned an RV myself and when we travel, most campground is full and the one that are available doesn’t all the amenities and it doesn’t feel safe to leave our RV there.
My first thought was "man I don't know anything about that". Then I read your comment again and figured you were already half way there. You camp and have visited multiple campgrounds. Most campers are friendly and relatively outgoing. Next time make up a list of questions you would like a response to and just ask them. Worst that can happen is they say no. As far as a builder, I doubt any specialize in campgrounds. I would think it also depends on how big the proposed campground is. We were transplants here so we just asked our local campers if they knew anyone. Good luck to you.
What water meter and water line sizes did you run in the park? My plumber is telling me I need a 2" meter to feed 15 spots. I'm trying to find out if I can run the 15 sites with a 1" meter feeding a 1" main line with 3/4" branches to each site. Thanks for posting your videos they are very helpful.
I'm not normally this fast in responding, you got lucky. Our main campground is run off 1.5 inch main. Our pressure is reduced to around 90psi. That feeds 50 sites a bathhouse, laundry, single wide, main house and office. Campers don't use water like a house. If you get the NFPA 1194 book I mention in one of my videos it has a section on water requirements that may help. If you ever plan on adding sites or amenities you may want larger lines, but 2" sounds excessive to me for 15 sites. With all that being said I'm not a plumber. Hope that helps.
That is hard to say because there are a lot of variables. Size of camper, weather, how much insulation, how many people..... My wife does billing so I don't really have a good answer. If they are paying for it themselves, it probably is a lot less than when it is included. I suggest putting meters on every site. Even if you don't charge that way most of the time you definitely should for monthly sites. You could average the rest and see what a good amount is to figure into the rate. Hope that helps.
In one of your videos you mention that an event park should not be zoned a mobile home park. What should it be zoned as and how many campers are you able to put on a 1000 gallon septic? I’ve been told by Lauren’s county that the property I’m buying is zoned a mobile home park and the max RVs is 4 per 1000 gallon septic
I don't think I said zoned. I believe I said should not be treated as a mobile home park but whatever. I suggest you get the NFPA 1194 from ARVC and go talk to your planning commission. They may reconsider. If not I guess you will have to decide if the cost is worth it or not. Good luck.
I'm looking at purchasing a chunk of property so before I make the investment do you recommend me go to my local County planning and Zoning Board to get a pre-approval for a campground
If your only reason for buying that property is to put a campground on it than YES. Putting a lot of time and money into something only to find out they want let you do it isn't a good idea. If the land can be used for something else then maybe it is worth it. That is my opinion at least. Thanks for watching.
Since we didn't know a lot about building a campground. We relied on our civil engineer to keep us informed on those issues. Our main campground is way off the road and I would assume "grandfathered" from those types of rules. If we had tried to build the main one now we would have probably had to incur the expense of piping a large enough water line 5/600 ft and cross the road. I have no idea how much that would have added. We contacted a local plumbing supply co. and asked if they could give us a list of companies they thought could do the work. It is great to get multiple estimates. With that being said, finding someone who will actually do the work was an issue. We got lucky. The guy that did ours did what he said he would do and when he said he would do it. That doesn't happen often sorry to say. He is now my go to guy when I have an issue that I either don''t have the knowledge or time to handle. On a side note this video thing is harder than I anticipated. I hope to get another one out in the future, but owning a campground is a pretty busy lifestyle. My moms health issues and also, lack of video skills has made it very difficult to move forward.
I have seen things where you can camp at someones barn or vineyard or backyard. I don't know the legality of those things. Depending on where it is there may be zoning issues. I would definitely ask about that before I spent much money or time. Also, your neighbors may object to it depending on how it is set up. Sorry, I know that isn't much help.
Im in Texas trying to get a business plan together for a loan. Was there anything else that took you by surprise that was an expensive item like the fire hydrant? Maybe during construction or an unexpected but necessary monthly bill? Thanks for being so helpful.
There are always unexpected things happening. Within our first few weeks our water line leaked on our side of the meter. It was a special pipe that we had to get a crew from Georgia to repair. $1400. I wouldn't blink an eye now at that amount, but it was a big hit that early. During building phase 2 we ran into rock and it added almost $20000 to get it removed and dirt hauled in. Taxes, our purchase price raised the value and they doubled.
@@soyouwanttoownacampground938 thank you again for the reply. Taxes increasing is something I hadn’t thought of. May I ask if you installed the sewage system or was it already there? If you installed it, was there any serious hiccups there time or money wise?
Sorry for the slow response. We had it installed at phase 2 and because we already had a campground with a water usage track record it went pretty smoothly. On your own, I suggest investing in NFPA 1194. I tell where to get that in a video. It could save you a lot.
Affordable is a relative term. The amount of things you insure and the amount of your deductible make a difference. I put in a link to our insurance co. in a video. they would be better giving you and idea than me. Also, just like about anything you do, the campers are ultimately paying for it. Just adjust your rate.
Great information. Thank you!
I worked for Thousand Trails and Outdoor World for ten years and experienced those long winters ! The wife was an assistant manager and i was a maintenance lead. We eventually managed a park and worked alot ! Campgrounds are not an easy business !
Thank you for the no fluff info, this is great, thanks for sharing
I am thinking about putting in a small rv park. Nothing to the scope of what you have. I would like to start small with maybe 10 sites and then expand if need be. This information was helpful. I will check out the arvc and the tip about the civil engineer was helpful as well. God knows I don't have those skills. Also although it is a pain checking with the county about zoning. Hopefully they will help and not just have their hand out again. LOL thx
Good luck. A positive thought on starting small is you learn from your mistakes and adjust as you add sites.
30k?!?! That's not a tiny amount to come up with. Looking for info, we're wanting to put 4-5 small cabins on a property in NC mtns. I'm learning more and more to the point it's discouraging.. You're videos have been helpful..
It's a scary thing to put a lot of money on something that may not work. A lot of businesses fail. You have to decide for yourself if the risk is worth the reward.
Honest information. Thanks for taking the time. I'll add your campground to our 2-visit list.
Thanks for watching. I hope they help someone. Also, book ahead. It is getting harder and harder to get a site at the last minute especially on weekends/holidays.
Great video. Thanks for the information. We’re just starting our research and would love to visit your campground one day.
Sure come on by, but I suggest visiting as many as you can. Campground owners are notorious for stealing ideas from other campgrounds. You can learn a lot from just being observant.
I'm just starting my research and looking into this. Great video, keep posting
Great is probably a little bit of a stretch, but I'll take it. Thanks.
@@soyouwanttoownacampground938 I love to support others in their endeavors and give more confidence. Try to show off a little more of the grounds, paint a picture of your vision and how you painted it, that will help because essentially we're looking for experienced advice. I'd like to hear about the course you took too. I just found your videos so I'll be checking out more. Don't stop posting & smile more!
@@truthbombsmcgoo8513 Thanks for the advice. My thinking is that if I am going to be able to keep making videos I will need to keep to one topic at a time. Also, making them shorter will help me with filming and editing. Here is me trying to follow your advice :)
Sorry for the quality of this one. I'm still learning and I had a hard drive issue. I figured better sooner than later. My critics have given me a list of things to work on and I will try to do better.
Here are the websites I mentioned in the video. www.arvc.org campingcarolinas.com ownakoa.com/build-a-koa/ www.jellystonefranchise.com/build-2/
For your second video this is good.
@@Adventureswithbecky Thanks
Raw real footage is better than commercial stuff!!! Keep on keeping it real 💜
@@BigKuntryRanch Thanks for the comment.
I like what you have done so far, thanks for the info. I want to own one someday, but want to educate myself on it first.
I wish you luck. I suggest contacting ARVC.ORG they have classes on campground ownership. I'm not sure if they take people not already in the industry or not. They used to be in person, for now I think it is online.
@@soyouwanttoownacampground938 Thanks for the info! I will look into it and do some research. I am not ready yet but want to get as much information as I can before I dive into it. I thought the information you have provided so far has been really useful, and I don't get concerned about the quality of the video. You present it as if we are just sitting around and talking and I like that.
@@soyouwanttoownacampground938 thank you
Thank you for sharing your experience,! I am planning to invest in rv campground building from scratch. How do I conduct a market research in my area, what type of builder that specialize in campground and you mentioned that civil engineer could help design a plan for campground. I owned an RV myself and when we travel, most campground is full and the one that are available doesn’t all the amenities and it doesn’t feel safe to leave our RV there.
My first thought was "man I don't know anything about that". Then I read your comment again and figured you were already half way there. You camp and have visited multiple campgrounds. Most campers are friendly and relatively outgoing. Next time make up a list of questions you would like a response to and just ask them. Worst that can happen is they say no. As far as a builder, I doubt any specialize in campgrounds. I would think it also depends on how big the proposed campground is. We were transplants here so we just asked our local campers if they knew anyone. Good luck to you.
What water meter and water line sizes did you run in the park? My plumber is telling me I need a 2" meter to feed 15 spots. I'm trying to find out if I can run the 15 sites with a 1" meter feeding a 1" main line with 3/4" branches to each site. Thanks for posting your videos they are very helpful.
I'm not normally this fast in responding, you got lucky. Our main campground is run off 1.5 inch main. Our pressure is reduced to around 90psi. That feeds 50 sites a bathhouse, laundry, single wide, main house and office. Campers don't use water like a house. If you get the NFPA 1194 book I mention in one of my videos it has a section on water requirements that may help. If you ever plan on adding sites or amenities you may want larger lines, but 2" sounds excessive to me for 15 sites. With all that being said I'm not a plumber. Hope that helps.
I wonder, how much energy does a camper average use at a camp site in a month
That is hard to say because there are a lot of variables. Size of camper, weather, how much insulation, how many people..... My wife does billing so I don't really have a good answer. If they are paying for it themselves, it probably is a lot less than when it is included. I suggest putting meters on every site. Even if you don't charge that way most of the time you definitely should for monthly sites. You could average the rest and see what a good amount is to figure into the rate. Hope that helps.
In one of your videos you mention that an event park should not be zoned a mobile home park. What should it be zoned as and how many campers are you able to put on a 1000 gallon septic? I’ve been told by Lauren’s county that the property I’m buying is zoned a mobile home park and the max RVs is 4 per 1000 gallon septic
I don't think I said zoned. I believe I said should not be treated as a mobile home park but whatever. I suggest you get the NFPA 1194 from ARVC and go talk to your planning commission. They may reconsider. If not I guess you will have to decide if the cost is worth it or not. Good luck.
I'm looking at purchasing a chunk of property so before I make the investment do you recommend me go to my local County planning and Zoning Board to get a pre-approval for a campground
If your only reason for buying that property is to put a campground on it than YES. Putting a lot of time and money into something only to find out they want let you do it isn't a good idea. If the land can be used for something else then maybe it is worth it. That is my opinion at least. Thanks for watching.
who do you ask at the county level questions like, "Do I need a fire hydrate?" what type of plumber installs the plumbing on new sites.
Since we didn't know a lot about building a campground. We relied on our civil engineer to keep us informed on those issues. Our main campground is way off the road and I would assume "grandfathered" from those types of rules. If we had tried to build the main one now we would have probably had to incur the expense of piping a large enough water line 5/600 ft and cross the road. I have no idea how much that would have added.
We contacted a local plumbing supply co. and asked if they could give us a list of companies they thought could do the work. It is great to get multiple estimates. With that being said, finding someone who will actually do the work was an issue. We got lucky. The guy that did ours did what he said he would do and when he said he would do it. That doesn't happen often sorry to say. He is now my go to guy when I have an issue that I either don''t have the knowledge or time to handle.
On a side note this video thing is harder than I anticipated. I hope to get another one out in the future, but owning a campground is a pretty busy lifestyle. My moms health issues and also, lack of video skills has made it very difficult to move forward.
What would you advice if you’re not trying to build a whole camp ground but rather just rent out lots that you own?
I have seen things where you can camp at someones barn or vineyard or backyard. I don't know the legality of those things. Depending on where it is there may be zoning issues. I would definitely ask about that before I spent much money or time. Also, your neighbors may object to it depending on how it is set up. Sorry, I know that isn't much help.
Im in Texas trying to get a business plan together for a loan. Was there anything else that took you by surprise that was an expensive item like the fire hydrant? Maybe during construction or an unexpected but necessary monthly bill? Thanks for being so helpful.
There are always unexpected things happening. Within our first few weeks our water line leaked on our side of the meter. It was a special pipe that we had to get a crew from Georgia to repair. $1400. I wouldn't blink an eye now at that amount, but it was a big hit that early. During building phase 2 we ran into rock and it added almost $20000 to get it removed and dirt hauled in. Taxes, our purchase price raised the value and they doubled.
@@soyouwanttoownacampground938 thank you again for the reply. Taxes increasing is something I hadn’t thought of. May I ask if you installed the sewage system or was it already there? If you installed it, was there any serious hiccups there time or money wise?
Sorry for the slow response. We had it installed at phase 2 and because we already had a campground with a water usage track record it went pretty smoothly. On your own, I suggest investing in NFPA 1194. I tell where to get that in a video. It could save you a lot.
I’m planning on a 40 site park myself in Tennessee. Is insurance affordable?
Affordable is a relative term. The amount of things you insure and the amount of your deductible make a difference. I put in a link to our insurance co. in a video. they would be better giving you and idea than me. Also, just like about anything you do, the campers are ultimately paying for it. Just adjust your rate.
@@soyouwanttoownacampground938 thank you very much. We’re starting from the ground up. Really enjoy your channel