Building an RV park, any tips?

[joe_doss]

We are in the early stages of building an RV park and I was wondering if anyone else has done it. I've seen a few threads on it but didn't know if anyone actually followed through. We're going to start small with only 14 spots so we don't have to put in a public well. I've already got an engineer working on pulling permits and design. We will be offering horse stalls and use of a riding arena, so we will be catering to those type people. It is located 2 miles outside of Stephenville TX so I imagine my main clients will be college kids that rodeo at Tarleton. Some questions I have are:

How much electricity can I expect your typical RV to use at 8 cents per kilowatt?

What kind of software is best for billing?

What is a reasonable price to charge (nightly, weekly, monthly) for this type of park. It won't be super fancy but will be clean, well ran, and close to town.

What does good wifi cost?

Other expenses?

I would like to have it up and running by the Fall of 2019 but don't know if that's realistic. We also plan to build showers, bathrooms, and laundry in the future after we get it up and running. Open to any advice, comments, criticism.

[treestand]

No expert in your specific business but as a business consultant I suggest studying your competition. Amenities add cost and you might struggle with either too few or too high of a price compared to alternatives. You need to decide what niche you want to serve. If it's horse people do they want Wi-Fi or low price?

[boh347]

QuickBooks for billing. Easy to use.

[Take Dead Aim]

We are in the early stages of building an RV park and I was wondering if anyone else has done it. I've seen a few threads on it but didn't know if anyone actually followed through. We're going to start small with only 14 spots so we don't have to put in a public well. I've already got an engineer working on pulling permits and design. We will be offering horse stalls and use of a riding arena, so we will be catering to those type people. It is located 2 miles outside of Stephenville TX so I imagine my main clients will be college kids that rodeo at Tarleton. Some questions I have are:

How much electricity can I expect your typical RV to use at 8 cents per kilowatt?

What kind of software is best for billing?

What is a reasonable price to charge (nightly, weekly, monthly) for this type of park. It won't be super fancy but will be clean, well ran, and close to town.

What does good wifi cost?

Other expenses?

I would like to have it up and running by the Fall of 2019 but don't know if that's realistic. We also plan to build showers, bathrooms, and laundry in the future after we get it up and running. Open to any advice, comments, criticism.

I have designed, built, owned, sold etc over 10 around the greater Austin area. My forst question is "are you sure Stephenville needs another RV Park?". I have no clue but I would make sure the answer is YES to that question. You need to button down all these cost before you move any further along. Honestly would have done this prior to hiring an engineer as it may not even be financially feasible. I do not have any knowledge of the Stephenville market even though I went to school at Tarleton(25 years ago). I would be researching all RV Parks in and around town to see what they are renting for and what the occupancy rates are. All of that is going to take footwork to drive over and look to see how many empty spaces are available today.

You have two options on electricity. One is passing the cost on by estimating and adding it to the cost of monthly rent. Second is sub-metering. Septic is going to be expensive unless you can tie on to City Sewer. Can't recommend a software as we created our own proprietary system so I have no knowledge of whats out there. Internet is going to be a tricky one. You will need to see what service is available at the "street". Again I am of no help in the Stephenville area.

Be prepared for the headaches of college students. Also keep in mind that unless something has change in the last 20 years Tarleton students leave tow in the Summer. Most rentals in Stephenville are...were 9 month rental. Aug to May. So you might be sitting wide open in the summer months with little income.

The horse stalls and arena will be a good separation from other RV Parks. Find a good contractor. I am fortunate as I own a excavation and utility company so I control those cost. I am sure I forgot something.

[joe_doss]

I have designed, built, owned, sold etc over 10 around the greater Austin area. My forst question is "are you sure Stephenville needs another RV Park?". I have no clue but I would make sure the answer is YES to that question. You need to button down all these cost before you move any further along. Honestly would have done this prior to hiring an engineer as it may not even be financially feasible. I do not have any knowledge of the Stephenville market even though I went to school at Tarleton(25 years ago). I would be researching all RV Parks in and around town to see what they are renting for and what the occupancy rates are. All of that is going to take footwork to drive over and look to see how many empty spaces are available today.

You have two options on electricity. One is passing the cost on by estimating and adding it to the cost of monthly rent. Second is sub-metering. Septic is going to be expensive unless you can tie on to City Sewer. Can't recommend a software as we created our own proprietary system so I have no knowledge of whats out there. Internet is going to be a tricky one. You will need to see what service is available at the "street". Again I am of no help in the Stephenville area.

Be prepared for the headaches of college students. Also keep in mind that unless something has change in the last 20 years Tarleton students leave tow in the Summer. Most rentals in Stephenville are...were 9 month rental. Aug to May. So you might be sitting wide open in the summer months with little income.

The horse stalls and arena will be a good separation from other RV Parks. Find a good contractor. I am fortunate as I own a excavation and utility company so I control those cost. I am sure I forgot something.

I have cased the other parks and most of them seem to stay pretty full. There's not really one that offers horse people the amenities that we can offer (indoor/outdoor arena). We already own the land and have some existing gravel roads. We also own plenty of equipment to be able to do most of the dirt work and gravel work ourselves. If I'm going to pass on the electric cost how do you meter each site? Do they make private meters to go onto the hookups?

[doghouse]

I have cased the other parks and most of them seem to stay pretty full. There's not really one that offers horse people the amenities that we can offer (indoor/outdoor arena). We already own the land and have some existing gravel roads. We also own plenty of equipment to be able to do most of the dirt work and gravel work ourselves. If I'm going to pass on the electric cost how do you meter each site? Do they make private meters to go onto the hookups?

They do make meters for private use. Check on cost!

[Royal21973]

50 amp 240 volt Midwest electrical box to each spot. If they need single pole 30 amp rent them the adapter if they don’t have it.

[kingranch]

Be sure to make a limit on year model RV if you allow people to bring their own my year 2010 and newer so you weed out the riff raff and keep the pace looking nice

They do that here and its definitely a big difference in ppl that occupy them

[joe_doss]

These are some good tips guys thanks. I haven’t thought about limiting the RV year but that’s a good idea.

[Drop Tine]

I'm of no help at all, but hope things go smoothly for you. This is something I've wanted to do for a few years now; just busting it to keep up with the growth of current business. Good luck with the venture!

[AntlerCollector]

Following this for ideas. I want to build something about the same size but for a deer camp this summer.

[bobc]

Be sure to make a limit on year model RV if you allow people to bring their own my year 2010 and newer so you weed out the riff raff and keep the pace looking nice

They do that here and its definitely a big difference in ppl that occupy them

No skin in the game, but just curious. What about the folks with the badarse refabbed Airstreams? Guess you could do a clause for that in the contract?


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[Arrowslinger1]

This is one of my goals on my family land. Good luck with the build out. I’ve got about 175 acres outside the canton area on 64. I’d love a big RV park with trails for riding.

[Kingfisher789]

I can’t answer all your questions but I’ve been watching a fellow build one near Briggs withe a pretty expansive septic system and electrical grid. It’s been fun to watch his progress. You gotta spend money to make money...

[MisterSanders]

My dad started his Rv park from the ground up. He now has 75 spaces and 12 park model cabins. I can put you in touch.