RV Park/Campground Operator’s Manual · Site design is based on strategic analysis of the...

RV Park/Campground Operator’s Manual 5 - 1

Site Design Getting Started Layout and Design The Campsite / types of campsites, other considerations Overview Chapters 3 through 6 discuss the components of a Feasibility Study. Chapter 3 looks at site evaluation, Chapter 4 at Market Research and Chapters 5 and 6 review Site Design and Financial Projections. This chapter is the third in the series – Site Design. Site Design Effective RV park/campground design must be a very detailed and well thought out process. Site design is based on strategic analysis of the site’s physical strengths and weaknesses and the market demands for camping and RV sites. The RV/campground industry is constantly changing. Parks/campgrounds that were designed a number of years ago may not be able to accommodate or attract today’s larger RVs which are equipped with all the modern comforts of home.

Chapter 5 Feasibility Study – Site Design

RV Park/Campground Operator’s Manual

Chapter 5 – Feasibility Study - Site Design September 2008


Getting Started A general outline of how the property is to be developed and what facilities it will offer should be established. The land development costs and the types of buildings and facilities required must be estimated. If the proposal involves the purchase or upgrading of an existing RV park/campground, costs of renovation/ enhancements and upgrading to meet building codes must be assessed. Professional help is a must – architects, engineers, building or land contractors can give you accurate cost estimates to determine the feasibility of the site.

Elements of the property to evaluate

Length, width and arrangement of roads. Note where bridges, swamps, bedrock, outcrops and other obstacles would be encountered

during road construction. Costs to clear the land and grade.

What is effective RV park/campground design? 1. Development of an overall comprehensive plan. Anticipate what you want your park to

look like in another 5 years. 2. Know your property’s assets. Develop a design strategy around the property’s strengths,

while avoiding the weak areas. 3. Consider alternative designs and select the one you feel will achieve the highest return. 4. Design the property around your goals – the design should reflect what you want to

accomplish. 5. Design an RV park/campground that anticipates new trends.

Useful tip Never base site development evaluation on guesswork – establishing these capital costs are vital to your success.



Consider natural attractions, the direction in which they face can often determine to what degree campers will use them. A beach facing east will provide a combination of morning sunshine and afternoon shade. This may be more desirable than a beach that faces west.

Estimate number, approximate size and features of buildings required that will meet building

and health regulations. Ensure you have accurate estimates for the cost to build. Identify sources and distribution of electricity and drinking water. Determine the type of sewage disposal system you will need. The local health officer will

advise on procedures to be followed. Establish the maximum number of campsites the land will accommodate. Estimate the suitability of the site for, and the location of, such facilities as marinas, walking

and riding trails and other supplemental income producers. Layout and Design Design your RV park/campground with specific goals in mind. Consider: customer satisfaction; safety; management control; reduced maintenance; and revenue generation. 1. customer satisfaction This should be your number one priority. Giving your campers what they want will make their experience more enjoyable and your business more profitable. It is important to provide your campers with choice. A good RV park/campground design will allow a camper to select a campsite that best suits their needs. It is key to remain objective when designing your RV park/campground. Don’t build it based on what you might want in an RV park/campground but rather, focus on growing trends and camper demands. Ask campers what they are looking for and design your park accordingly. 2. safety The safety of yourself, your campers and your staff is a key element of the RV park/campground operation. Poor layout, sloppy construction and improper maintenance are all safety concerns that should be addressed.



Safety issues are discussed in greater detail in Chapter 21 Safety and Security. 3. management control Design your park in a way that is easy for you to control and monitor. You may want to develop communities within your RV park/campground. Each community will have similar services. Consider grouping like-minded campers together. This may help reduce potential conflicts between your guests. Communities could include seasonal and overnight campers. This approach will allow you to stagger the opening and closing dates of certain areas of your park. Have only one entrance into your park, to make it easier to control and more secure. 4. reduced maintenance A well-designed RV park/campground can decrease the amount of maintenance required. Quality buildings need little work, but poorly constructed facilities will need ongoing maintenance. Minimize the road system running through the park. This will reduce construction costs and future maintenance. Design washrooms that are easy to maintain. Place the facilities in areas that are free of sand and loose dirt. 5. revenue generation An excellent way to make additional profit from your RV park/campground is to identify, and make the most of, the best features on the land. Maximize the number of sites that can be located close to these features. The Campsite The individual campsite is the basic building block of your RV park/campground, and a great deal of thought should go into the design of each site, and how they are grouped together. This is the campers’ home-away-from-home, and it will be an area that should suit their needs, help them relax, and make them feel comfortable and safe. The main objective, besides providing campers with enough space and the facilities needed, is to ensure that the camper has privacy when wanted, and yet is still able to socialize.



You may want to consider working under the following guidelines: 1. Develop an overall comprehensive strategy. Plan ahead and determine what you want your

park to look like five years from now. 2. Work with your property’s strengths and weaknesses. Development should be based on the

strengths while avoiding the problem areas. 3. Have several design options to chose from – pick the best. 4. Know what you want and what your goals are.

You must also consider trees and plants when designing your RV park/campground. The importance of native trees and shrubs cannot be overemphasized – an RV park without trees and shade is unattractive, and will be used only if the camper has no other choice.

see figure 5.1 for examples of campsite design

Changes in the camping industry Camping is no longer labelled as an inexpensive form of accommodation. RVs are built with slide-outs that can add up to 4-feet of width to the RV, and 50 amp

service. A 45-foot motorhome is now available as is a 45-foot 5th wheel. Saites must be big enough to accommodate them

Many campers are looking to experience nature and the outdoors, but without sacrificing all

of life’s comforts. Your RV park/campground should meet these needs.

Useful tip Too many RVs/camping vehicles packed together will erode the RV park/campground. Check with the local authorities first to see if there is a minimum site requirement and/or a maximum number of sites allowable per hectare. The site itself should be level, clear of obstructions and, where tents are to be allowed, the ground should take tent pegs easily. Gravel or concrete pads are the preferred surfaces for parking recreational vehicles.



Figure 5.1 Examples of Campsite Design



a. types of campsites Community clusters There are a number of advantages to clusters of sites that are visible and operate as distinct groupings. They avoid the repetitious monotony of long, even, rows of sites. (Many RV park/

campgrounds however, are designed around this model when land is at a premium.) They can be set into the landscape to avoid visual obtrusion, major earthworks, or tree

removal. They create a feeling of community – a camping neighbourhood. They relate to a hierarchy of support services – washrooms serve each cluster, with laundries,

play areas and recreation rooms serving a group of clusters.

see figures 5.2 and 5.3 for examples of cluster campsites

Figure 5.2 Clusters off Campsites



Figure 5.3 Campsite Layouts Using the “Subdivision” Approach



Grouping campsites A great mistake in assessing campsite density is to take your site acreage, divide it by the size of a campsite (usually the required minimum) and spread the result evenly across the landscape. Regulations often appear to advocate this by setting minimums, but it is a mechanical approach, and will restrict your ability to make the best use of your site. Evenly spread density will not create a good RV park/campground. Some areas can, and perhaps should, be laid out more densely than others (social contact is as important as the outdoor experience to many campers) but only if there is the relief of areas that are sparsely divided – and if some parts are left natural or given over to outdoor recreation.

see figure 5.4 for grouping campsites

Figure 5.4 Campsite Groupings



see figure 3.5 for impact on land

Services, circulation and natural features The efficiency of arranging campsites along the shortest lines of services possible, and of reducing lengths of roadway, have already been considered when setting out the relationship diagram and concept plan. You should now be concerned in greater detail with the actual alignment of roads and services to avoid disruption of tree cover and soil, and the manoeuvrability and size requirements of vehicles – turning radius, back-in distances, etc.

Impact of use: wear and tear Over-use of your ground will erode it. The point at which over-use occurs will vary with the “impact sensitivity” of the ground and vegetation. But it can be controlled somewhat by design. The principle is simple: people tend to walk along “desire lines”. For example, straight lines from the campsites to common facilities such as the beach, recreation areas, store, or wash-rooms. Therefore road surfaces and hard-wearing footpaths should follow these lines. The reverse is also true: common facilities can be laid out so the desire lines coincide with roadways or other hard surfaces. Straight desire lines can be modified, if needed, to go around natural features or “private” space, such as other campsites.



Specific types of campsites 1. Back-in site A back-in campsite should not be at a 90-degree angle to the road if at all possible; a 60-degree angle is preferable, and allowance must be made at the entry to the site for vehicle turning. This type of site is easy for a camper to back his RV into. Some sites should be deeper and wider than others to accommodate today’s larger RVs. 2. Pull-thru site These sites are especially beneficial if you have a lot of overnight campers. They are convenient and easy for a camper to negotiate. A motorhome towing a car cannot use a back-in site without unhitching the vehicle and moving it somewhere else. Although pull-thru sites may use more land than conventional sites, your business could be improved through word-of-mouth and returning RVers as they look for RV parks/campgrounds that are big-rig friendly. Design the sites 60 to 80 feet deep. They will be constructed off a one-way road system as RVers will pull into the site from one road and drive out on the other. 3. Tent site These sites do not have to be as large as the RV sites and should be separate from RV sites. Design the tent sites so they are close to washrooms. If you are going to incorporate tent sites, they should be in a grassy area and have significant screening with bushes, shrubs, etc. to provide privacy for the camping families. The sites should have close access to potable water. 4. Camping Cabins Camping cabins are becoming increasingly popular, allowing families to experience the RV park/campground vacation without buying or renting an RV. These cabins are available in modular form or you can build your own. A camping cabin will traditionally have a living/kitchen area, bedroom(s) and bathroom. Equipment is provided but linens, including bedding and towels, are not. b. other campsite considerations Below are some additional items to consider when planning and designing your RV park/ RV park/campground. These tips will benefit both you and your campers.



1. Roads and paths Design your interior roads wide enough to allow proper access for big RVs. Single lane roads should be a minimum of 12 feet wide with a 5-foot shoulder on either side. Double roads should be 20 feet wide with 5-foot shoulders. A one-way road system within the park is the most desirable. Threading roads through the RV park/campground with a minimum of disruption is important. There are different design principles to use when designing roads and paths to fit naturally between trees and into the land contours.

see figure 5.5 for examples of road and path designs

2. Services Site services encompass not only water, electrical and sewage disposal but also cable TV hook-up, phone lines and/or WiFi. When developing a new RV park/campground or expanding an existing one, it is recommended that all of these, to the extent that they are available in your area, be included in your feasibility study. Electrical and water Placement of electrical and water services are generally located near the centre line of the lot on pull-thru sites and near the back for back-in sites. They must always be placed on the driver-side of the units. In both cases take into account slide-outs and make sure the services will not be in the way.

Electrical pedestals available from various suppliers are the most convenient, safe and less likely to require maintenance than “home-made” versions. 50-amp service is recommended for new sites. The water system in the RV park/campground should be designed with various shut-off valves located throughout the park so that maintenance and repair can take place without shutting down the entire park. Each site should also have its own shut-off valve. Location of the water connection on each site should be placed towards the back of the site and on the edge of the adjoining lot, similar to the electrical pedestal.



Figure 5.5 Roads and Paths



Sewage More than one sewer inlet is recommended on pull-thru sites as the length of the RV or motorhome will differ and what might work for one camper won’t work for another. Otherwise, one inlet located to the rear of the site on the driver’s side is sufficient. An RV sewer outlet uses a 3” sewer connection and hose. The sewer inlet should either be sloped down into the ground or be level with the ground. This helps mitigate spillage problems and the resulting cleanup. For sewage disposal, unless you can hook into a municipal system, you will need a septic tank and tile field distribution. Applications for sewage disposal permits are available through the local health authority. As part of the application, you must include a plan showing the location of buildings, septic tanks, disposal fields, all drinking water sources, water lines, percolation holes and results, observation holes and surface water. A fact sheet with links is available on the provincial government website at http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/epdpa/mpp/fs1campgrnds.html also, under BCHealthFiles at http://bchealthguide.org/healthfiles/hfile21.stm

For both the design and construction of services you should work closely with your local government, as well as local offices of the ministries responsible for Health and Environment and follow their regulations. These will cover such things as the kind of pipe you can use, the location and maintenance of sewage disposal systems and water quality.

see figure 5.6 for examples of sewage system designs

Useful tip Even if electricity comes to your RV park/campground via overhead lines from outside, supply lines should ideally be buried within the RV park/campground area. Water may come from a municipal supply or your own well. Wells cannot be drilled near septic tank locations because of health hazards. When discussing well locations, pumps and volumes with a professional well digger, estimate that each occupied campsite will need about forty gallons of water a day.



Figure 5.6 Sewage Disposal



Water quality The ministry responsible for Environment was the lead ministry in the development of Living Water Smart in BC. Living Water Smart is a comprehensive plan for sustainable management of all freshwater (surface and groundwater), protection of aquatic ecosystems and encouraging water smart behaviour and community development practices. Information on guidelines and new developments, along with links to Living Water Smart are available at http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wsd/

How to prevent problems with your sewage system

Do not allow cars, trucks or snowmobiles to drive over or park on any part of the disposal system.

Do not plant trees with large roots in the disposal field area. Ensure that there are no dripping faucets or continually running toilets that may overload

the sewage disposal system with water. Do not use excessive amounts of bleach or other toxic cleaners. Do not dump toxic chemicals, oils, paints, or solvents down the toilet. Do not allow surface water, roof drains or perimeter drains to discharge into or near your

sewage disposal system. If pools of water appear on a disposal area, contact your Environmental Health Officer for

advice.



Review Question 1: What will an effective RV park/campground design encompass? Question 2: What goals should you keep in mind when designing your RV park/campground? Question 3: Other than campsites, what other considerations are there when designing your

RV park/campground? Note: The diagrams used throughout this chapter are taken from “Planning Canadian

Campgrounds” produced by Tourism Canada, 1991. They are intended as representations only and do not necessarily conform to design standards in 2008.

To summarize Site design is the third key component of your feasibility study. A 5-year comprehensive plan should be developed so you know where you are going and how you are going to get there. It is essential that you utilize professionals who can provide the necessary tools and objectivity on what your RV park/ RV park/campground can look like and how you can make the most out of your best features. You must develop a site that campers need and will enjoy for years to come.

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