Long story short, I was born and raised in Appalachia. I don't live there anymore, and most of my family that lived there have died or are dying… But I've always considered Appalachia my home.
When my grandmother passes (she's 90), she'll leave me 151 acres on a mountain top that USED to be a mine. The company mining it owes her a shitload of money but has long been defunct… Anyway, the mountain has had the top blown off, so it's a high plateau where you can see for MILES in every direction. It has since been reclaimed, so it's all overgrown these days.
I want to keep a connection to the area, and I want to bring jobs/recognition to the area.
Because there are lots of ATV trails through the area, I thought an RV park would a be low-maintenance cost type of business: gravel lot, some hookups for electric or water. Probably build a metal barndominium for a vacation home/office area. There are a few spots where I can literally build a container home on the edge of a cliff – I'd LOVE to turn one wall of a metal home into glass and have it overlook everything.
Some company still pulls natural gas from the mountain, so it's got that already.
But admittedly, I'm not an RV guy. Don't know much about them, or the industry. Any advice/tips/suggestions from some of the more experienced RVers?
Being 35, and the last of my family that still considers the mountains my home, I want to leave something behind when I'm gone.
Having been in parks and campgrounds in the Ca. mountains, flat and near level grounds are important.
Drive through spots, causing backing up is a struggle.
Look at how the jellystone parks are configured. they have a mix of small cozy camping type spots mixed with larger RV pull throughs with grills, patios, tables, etc. if you’re pulling a big rig, you have all the amenities already. you just need hookups and a place to chill outside.
if you can swing 50amp and water/sewer you’ll pull in a lot of people willing to spend multiple nights/weeks.
depends on how long you want people to stick around and how much $$ you’re willing to put in. at the very least, having easy to park, flat/level trailer spots will get you started.
These are the most recent pictures from, maybe 2-3 years ago…
You need to find a piece of property that can be zoned for a RV Park. Then you would need to install the infrastructure (grading and drainage work, septic, water supply, roadways, pull through sites), etc. My suggestion is to visit lots of RV parks to see what is offered. What rules do they have? What amenities? Then investigate the cost of insurance. Will you be able to get financing for the project? Take some business and accounting classes. Invest in good business software.
If it’s got a lot of trails, and the general area (within acouple hours) has a lot of riders, you’d be better off not going “RV Park” and going “Offroad Campground” possibly. There’s a lot of income potential there if you diversify a bit.
For example, build some AirBnB style container lots, for those that travel but don’t have trailers, or people in the area that want to take acouple days off to ride and not camp.
Have a large area that’s gravel/dirt for day riders. People who just pull a side by side, dirt bikes, back of the truck etc…
Have decent sized lots that anywhere from 2-4 riders could split the yearly dues on, you don’t even need to offer hookup on these sites, but offer them the ability to build with approval. You could also build some sites out and charge more.
Having hookups and catering to the RV crowd is great, but with 160+ acres I feel like depending on the terrain, it could be fantastic.
If you need an idea, checkout Forbidden Zone Campground in SE Ohio. They own some land, and do something similar and most of their trails are outlaw. They don’t own near as much land.
Full hookups. Its really nice to not have to move to dump.
Source: I want to start an RV park. Any advice? Things you’d suggest?
