I don’t remember if I have written exclusively on this subject in the past, but I know I have discussed it in bits and pieces in various posts. If it is old news, sorry, but that is the price you pay for reading my blog.
We have stayed in a lot of RV parks in the 20+ years of owning an RV and especially in the last year and a half of our life on the road journey. Presently we probably average 1 park every 2 weeks. RV parks come in all shapes, sizes, costs and amenities. With this experience I figured it is time to share my thoughts, observations and rants on RV parks.
First subject is about those that live year round in RV parks. Most parks will have a number of spaces that are rented by people who live at the park. This could be people who live year round in their RV at the same park or it could be migratory workers who are in the area for a few months and then move onto the next job. In parks near recreation spots or the like you will usually have some spaces rented by those that use their RV as a weekend getaway, sort of like having a beach cottage or mountain cabin. RV park owners have to love these “full time” customers as it gives them a steady stream of income and most reflect it in their price for the space. Monthly rates at most of the RV parks we have visited are very reasonable, but most do meter the electric and make you pay that in addition to the space rent.
From our perspective this issue of people living at the park can be problematic. If the park is not diligent these year round sites can get quite trashy as the people begin to collect all sorts of things and have no place to put them (yard tools, ladders, etc.). Generally, these year rounders have jobs and this is the issue. An RV park is a very small community and the units can be quite close together, so if the year rounders and the recreation/casual user are intermingled it can impact on the recreational user. Many of these year rounders are migratory construction workers, welders. They move with large construction projects. This means they start work very early, so it is common to hear their pickup trucks (usually older model diesel, noisy) fire up at 5:30am. In one park we had a guy who would start his diesel pickup at 6am and let it idle for 30 minutes while he ate breakfast. At another we had the workers start their trucks, idle them, then carry on a conversation for 10 minutes or so while their trucks warmed up. That one prompted a “conversation” from me as they were right outside our bedroom. In the park we are at now there are about 6 workers who all leave at the same time, 6am. So, one by one you hear the trucks start then they circle the park to leave. Not much of an issue for me as I am generally already up, but Fran is a later sleeper.
We have been to a couple of parks where they separate the year rounders from the recreational ones and I think that is a good policy if the park gets a lot of recreational use and these year rounders are workers. At other parks, I realize we were the “intruders” as it was a park mainly for people who live year round and not for recreational users, but they do allow “our type” in.
Next issue is amenities. Probably the biggest amenity these days is having internet at RV parks. Internet access is an expectation and need for most people. RV parks, for the most part, have stepped up to offer Wi-Fi. Most of the times it is free, which is great, but what we find is that what is advertised is not delivered. The park will advertise free Wi-Fi throughout the park but when you get to your space you will find that the signal is too weak or the service will go in and out. Almost universally the Wi-Fi offered is very slow. The parks will ask users not to use the service for streaming video or downloading large files, but I am sure it is still done which cuts into the bandwidth. I do not expect high speed service like we had when we lived in our house in Naperville, but what would be nice would to have consistent service that has adequate speed to use the internet. And, if you say you have Wi-Fi in the park then it should reach all spaces.
My latest observation has been the use of golf carts in RV parks by the “regulars”. We have stayed at some HUGE parks and I could see where a golf cart would be needed just to get to the pool, clubhouse, laundry, etc. But I noticed at some of these smaller parks the regulars all have them and it becomes fun to just watch them parade around. At our current park it has something like 80 spaces and the entire park from front gate to last space is probably the length of 2 football fields, yet most of the regulars have a golf cart. Not sure what the need is. At the last park, in Ohio, it was a larger park but still not the size where a cart was a must, however all the regulars had them and as I watched it appeared they just did laps each day just to drive their cart around, as there was really no place to drive to! It was a nightly parade.
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