By Gail Marsh
What do you picture in your mind when you hear the words “RV park”? The RV park in your mind’s eye may not match today’s reality. That’s because RV parks are changing. Really changing!
One change? Workers
More than ever before, RV campgrounds are seeing an increase in the number of workers who need a place to live. More and more, these workers are choosing campgrounds as “home.”
Why campgrounds?
Individual workers have different reasons why they see RV campgrounds as viable housing choices. For many, it’s simply a matter of money. Linemen (electrical lineworkers) in Florida outnumbered “Snowbirds” in our campground about two to one. One worker said, “My company will be working in this area for at least a year. I’m given a housing allowance in addition to my salary. That allowance goes a lot farther in paying RV campground rent than what it would cost me to stay in a hotel. Plus, I can cook real meals and sleep in a decent bed.”
Another worker added, “Rental places cost too much! The monthly payments on my RV are much less than the typical $1,200+ per month that I’d be paying for a rental apartment. Finding a furnished rental can cost even more and it’s not nearly as nice as my RV.”
Inflation is fueling some workers’ decisions to live in RV parks. One worker commented, “I used to think it made sense to purchase a home even if I would only be in the area for a couple of years. But now the housing market is slowing, and interest rates are rising. I doubt I’d come out ahead as I have in the past several years. Getting an RV just made the most sense.”
Still, other workers choose to rent RV park models or cabins within the park, citing cost savings as the main reason. Staying within the RV park also means that workers can commute together to their work site, saving fuel costs.
Family matters
For other workers, bringing their RV to an RV park means they can live together as a family. A traveling nurse I spoke with said, “I couldn’t ever be away from my family for months at a time. Living in our RV means we can still be together as a family unit. That’s really important to me.”
The linemen workers’ wives seemed happy because of the “community” they formed by living near one another in the RV park. “We know each other,” one gal commented. “We help each other out, too: babysitting, sharing common challenges, dog-watching, and more.” Friendships are important no matter where you live and having someone who can empathize with you can mean a lot!
Life choices
“We bought our RV specifically because we wanted to travel and see the country. We pick up work as we can and so far, we enjoy the choice we’ve made.” This comment came from a 40-something couple who quit their jobs, sold their home, and purchased an RV. The guy works as a day laborer while the gal is a hairdresser in whatever location they happen to park. “So far, the nomadic work life has been great for us. We’ve always been able to find work.”
I’m happy that this couple’s life choice is working out. They plan to stay on the road for another ten years and then settle in a place they love. In the meantime, they’re on the search for that “perfect place.”
Bonus!
As an extra perk to RV workers, on days off they can explore the area, do touristy things, and learn about different parts of the country. It’s the reason we all enjoy the RV life, isn’t it?
Effects of changing campgrounds
How does the increase of workers living full-time in campgrounds impact other, traditional RVers? For one thing, the workers contribute to the campground crowding that we hear so much about. But, really, don’t workers deserve a place to stay just like everyone else?
Campground owners are happy to see their cabins, park models, and RV sites occupied. It means a steady income for owners and enables them to perform more timely maintenance or even make upgrades to their RV park property. (We’ll take a closer look at how RV park owners are changing to meet the demands of workers living in RV parks in an upcoming article.)
What do you think?
Have you noticed an uptick in the number of workers who live in the campgrounds you visit? How does this phenomenon affect you and your camping experience? Tell us what you think in the comments below, please.
##RVT1071
However once the big project comes to an end are the campground owners going to find vacancies they can’t fill because their regulars decided to winter elsewhere?
There is always construction workers, highway construction are the smartest workers as they work on a 10 mile section of road for a year then move down the road and work on the next 10 miles. After 30-40 years they retire and their children take over and the process starts all over. Lol. They have as much right to use RV parks as anyone else.
Never had a problem with the workers in campgrounds. These are hard working Americans. They have as much right as we do. I also never had a problem reserving a site.
I often wondered why transient workers are not given space at the job site. This should solve the overcrowding problem at the RV parks, And…when the job is complete, they leave and the park then has excess space(s) to fill.
We worked on the road from the late 80’s till about 2010. There are lots of trade workers, construction workers and medical workers that do this. If you are sent to a job for a month or a year it is nice to have your own place (RV). This is nothing new, and the reason why you are staying at a campground really shouldn’t matter!
Over the years I have used RV’s for work off and on. Never seemed like the traveling worker was any different than any other RVer. Glad to see them still doing it. What we have noticed as Winter Texans most of the camps we have stayed with that are used by working RVers are better cared for and have more improvements. Yes they do have fewer available spots but that is why they can better care for their facility. More campers, more profits, more to reinvest. I say welcome to them as they say welcome to us.
I don’t know why it matters “who” is renting campsites. Money is money. We are seasonal at a campground that is 95% seasonal. Quite a few sites were rented as seasonal by a variety of workers. They’re no different than anyone else except that this was their traveling home on wheels.
We winter in a Texas RV park with much of the same folks returning each season. It is a welcoming group and we have seen migratory workers come and go. Many are decent people. But all it takes are a few, typically single male, heavy construction workers to disrupt an RV park. They remind me of privates with no sergeant to watch over them. Work loud, party loud, scatter stuff and don’t pick up the empties from their sites until the next night, if then.
And the worse part is the destruction of the park’s laundromat. Most parks’ laundry facilities are essentially slightly more robust residential equipment with coin slots. They are not made to handle the level of soiling or gear weight of construction clothing and quickly break down. At best some of the grime gets transferred to other park residents’ laundry. These folks really need to use the heaviest commercial-level machines in the nearby towns.
If you are experiencing these problems with your laundry you have the option of using a different laundry yourself. If the construction worker is paying for their site like you they have the right to use the laundry, take your complaint to management.
Most campgrounds have washing machines and dryers made by Speed Queen. They might look like residential machines with coin slots, but they are not. Even the residential machines made by Speed Queen are better than the national brands that are sold for residential use. They also have a long warranty to back up their product.
As a former OTR TRUCK Driver,I’ve spent many a day driving over the road passing by families in their backyards, relaxing around a fire, or picnic, or get-togethers, just enjoying life in general. My feelings of “Boy that would be nice to be able to do ” always got me. So when I retired those times became real. As far as crowding campgrounds, yes in some areas it gets harder and harder to find sites, but we’re all united as Americans and as people who enjoy camping, and just plain spending time with family and friends. When I think of those workers whose jobs require them to move about, why should I expect them to just abandon their families for months or years, when life is so very precious. My wife and I have just gone through several deaths of family members and very close friends, and the realization of just how important it is to spend every precious moment we can with loved ones,couldn’t be any clearer. So let’s all think with our hearts, before casing judgements.
The old saying is “The only thing that is constant is change”. Put that together with “Flexibility is the most useful personality characteristic for full-time RVer’s” and you have an image of the successful solution to the described problem.
We’ve been to several campgrounds where workers and their families stay. I haven’t seen too many problems except for the campground laundromats. And that was just a couple of times.
The problem we’ve seen are the permanent residents who allow their space to not only become junky but have spilled over into other spaces and the campground has not done a thing to correct it. So, we’re stuck with a tiny spot for however long we’re staying.
I have been in campgrounds with Rennies and construction workers. Both groups have very strict rules that they follow and you are expected to. At 10:00 PM, lights out and silence ! No one comes into the park after that. Some have maids that come in to wash clothes, clean the trailer, and prepare a meal for everyone to come back to. (they also get paid twice as much as their regular jobs) No barking dogs either.
RVers seem to think they should be the only ones to use RV parks. Construction workers living with their families while working a project isn’t any different than RVers traveling with their families other than one is making money and the other is spending money they all ready made. Lol. RV parks are making money either way, one is long term the other short term. If I was a park owner I would love to have 3/4 of my park full of long term rentals all the time. 2 years ago when the pandemic hit there were many parks that had to file bankruptcy because everybody stayed home. The ones that survived probably did so on semi permanent or permanent residents. I don’t blame them for doing whatever they have to do to stay in business. And neither should you!
I’m astonished that this issue is still “news”. We started RV’ing again, after a long break, in 2010 and it was commonplace even then. Yes, it’s worse today, but only a little. Face it: the standard RV Park is today almost exactly what the “trailer park” of the 1950’s was. If you really want the RV travel experience, you’d best start getting very picky as to where you’re going to stay. In the service we have the “7P Rule” – Proper Prior Planning Prevents P*** Poor Performance. It applies to traveling as much as any other activity!
We haven’t noticed a change, but then we like county or regional parks that normally have time limits on stays.
Did overnight in an “RV Park” (different than a campground) in Wyoming where about 1/2 the population was oil industry workers. No problems.
We started our full time adventure in 2019 from Nor Cal. We found no RV park openings in our area. Companies were buying out whole parks for their workers. In fact, these RV parks had company contracts stacked up back to back with no space for RVers at all. However, as we travel the country, we have found that to be an anomaly.
Lots of different crews in the area rebuilding after the wildfires. Tried to get accomodations in NoCal for a 3 month radiology assignment, and had to turn down the job, because the campgrounds were booked up.
I wanted to go camping this year when I went on vacation, all the parks I wanted to go too were packed….. So I just stayed home.
I certainly don’t have a problem with “work” campers except for one thing. Why do they have to make their campsite look so junkie? There’s the clothesline, the small refrig/freezer outside, and just plain messy look to their area. Why is that?
RV Park. Sounds to me like a place to park an RV. Oh — A place to park MY RV, but not YOUR RV. Retirees come from the North Land, set out their outdoor rugs, dog kennels, whirly gigs, Dick & Jane signs with their home states, lawn chairs and grills, and then stay for 6 months. OK, that is fine – I get it. A working family comes in, and sets up the same outdoor stuff and stays for 6 months Well, of course, that is NOT fine, because it is MY RV park. All THOSE PEOPLE do is to take up space, form a community, and keep our roads and electrical grid working. Ahhh, now I get – no I really don’t get it. You park your RV, they park their RV, you pay rent, they pay rent, you have your stuff out, they have their stuff out …. OK, let me re-think this one more time……………
Very well written!
Thank you, but I just write what I read.
Totally agree, Snater.
My family is one of the working families traveling via rv. My husband had the opportunity to take a traveling management spot for a hotel company. He didn’t want to travel for months away from me and his dogs, so we sold our house and bought a motorhome. He could stay at the hotels if he was traveling solo but this way he has his own space to return to after work and the hotel front desk workers aren’t banging on his door all hours of the day for questions. We are loving the lifestyle! Biggest downside is I would like to find some sort of job but we move around every month right now. We keep our spot tidy and only put out a mat.
Just before school started, I took the grandkids to the mountains. It was 90+ degrees our whole stay. It’s a very large park and probably half empty. The routine was games and puzzles during the day and at 4 pm hit the pool until dark. Our neighbors were a group of flaggers and road workers. They were the best neighbors ever. Up and off to work before we rolled out of bed. Home in the evening, showered ate dinner maybe visited a short while and went to bed. The workers were polite and offered to help this widow. I felt safe to have them nearby. The workers were delightful neighbors. I know this probably isn’t true for all groups and we need to keep an open mind.
We had to stay in an rv park when we moved while looking for our home. The railroad workers were in town and had many of the sites. We totally enjoyed their company. What a different bunch of men. Everything from living in the back of their pickup to expensive tt`s. It was fun. Find the best in people.
Unless they are trashing the place, shouldn’t be a p. If they are talk to manager of the park. If not resolved move on.
Don’t forget the healthcare workers! Love being able to travel and have my “home” with me. It’s been a game changer. I’m a travel respiratory therapist but there are nurses, doctors etc who do this. I think it’s a great way as long as people are quiet and tidy
Noticed an uptick? No, not really, but we did experience what you describe. The first campground we stayed at when visiting Alaska in the summer of 2019 was in Delta Junction and was called “Snowed In RV Park,” which sounded picturesque when planning and booking our trip. It was serviceable, had somewhat narrow sites, and was about half-full of workers laying fiber optic cable that summer. The workers were all sited on one end of the park and kept to themselves. They were a bit boisterous now and again, but never caused trouble or gave us any sleepless nights. We never knowingly saw workers at any of the other campgrounds we visited during our trip.
RV life. I’m a traveling worker and the cost of a campground is a lot cheaper than a hotel and rental property. But you do have some campgrounds that realize workers are coming in to stay they will up there pricing and some even make the workers pay there electric. Another good thing about rvers you can always have your pets travel with you and not have to worry about a hotel not taking you if you own a pet. There’s ups and downs of traveling workers. And yes it’s getting harder and harder to find camping spots cause there’s more and more workers going to rvs.
Besides all the hospital patients here in the RV park where we’re staying (we’re among that crowd) in Houston, we also have many “traveling nurses” here. Lots of room left over for folks to just drive in and get a spot. If you’re longing for RV’ing as it was in the “old days”, I think that’s long gone, just like the “old days” themselves. Sigh.
I believe, moving forward, hospitals, fire houses, law enforcement offices, schools, and business with temporary workers, need to be designed, for the back of their parking lots have RV hook ups for their staff. Become your own Harvest Host.
I totally agree with this concept. It can be done but probably won’t be.
They don’t want the responsibility of having that on their property.
We travel full time in our Motorhome for work and have for a six years or so now. It is common for travling workers to choose RV travel for sure. The work assignments are temporary usually less than a year making getting a traditional rental nearly impossible in most places especially if you have pets. Also many of the locate at need travling workers have a housing shortage and are extremely expensive. Having your RV allows you the comfort and convenience of having all of your things with you, not having to pack up an apartment, lose security deposit’s etc. You can have your home on the road with your family.
As a perspective of RV Park Management, Most RV Parks that stay open year round rely on steady income from monthly site rentals and leave a certain number of sites open for overnight only I believe there has to be a minimum designated for overnight only but our RV Park keeps about 16% of the park for overnight only the rest for monthly it’s just sound business to have a steady income you can depend on. That being said we have noticed an uptick in demand for monthly sites in the last 3 years we have maintained a waiting list for monthly sites and it looks like it will not slow down, in the years before that we would see seasonal changes where monthlies would drop off to below 50% but not anymore, and yes the type of workers we get are nurses and energy workers.
We stayed in a park in St Augustine, FL that only had 7 sites for transients the rest were anything from Full timers to double wides.
Yes I noticed the full time employees living in the campgrounds as my husband and I traveled around the Midwest. The full timers out numbered the transient campers creating a shortage of camp sites available plus raises the costs of sites due to demand.
The other noted change is the heavy use of the facilities causing more breakdown and inoperable washer/ dryer machines and heavy usage in the bath houses.
Campgrounds are not actually designed for full time living unless they are a mobile home park by design.
The camping etiquette has also changed. People walk their dogs allowing them to do their business anywhere. Regardless if they opt to clean it up there is always residual feces in the grass/ stones that people walk. People walk thru other peoples sites. Children run around thru other peoples sites. While camping was a time to get away from the neighborhood noise and chaos it has now followed us to the campgrounds.
Totally agree. I see the same thing. We just left our summer workamping gig, because management would not enforce the rules on the long termers that they do on the nightly guests.
When my wife and I were in our mid 30’s we started planning our retirement around traveling the country in our RV. Luckily we used our youth to travel to different parts of the country in our RV and stayed in parks where we were usually the youngest people in the park. We loved it and never had problems finding a site ever. Now that we are retired we’ve found that our retirement dream is no longer possible without months if not years of prior planning. Who wants to do that when you’re retired and want to be footloose and fancy free. We were lucky to be able to spend our vacations living that vagabond lifestyle without the stress of will we find a place to stay for the night. Now with the massive expense of RV travel, we’ve solved our problem by leaving the lifestyle and buying property in the places we found and liked in our travels. Now we don’t have to worry about finding an RV park in Arizona, we just stay in our house in the Phoenix area during the winter, stay in our house in Colo
Ran out of room! I can be wordy. But anyway, stay in our house in Colorado in the summer, our house in Texas in the spring and our house Florida in the fall. It works for us.
Camping has changed and not for the better. As a campground host for the past 3 years ,State Parks in our state have turned into homeless shelters (along with drugs, alcohol,and mental problems that got them there in the first place) , halfway houses for felons just out of prison, and migrant construction worker villages. They are only supposed to be in a site for 15 days max but get a reservation under another name and stay longer and longer. We’ve seen fist fights, schizophrenic breakdowns, and have heard of people actually pulling guns on each other. Thank God we were off that night. Where people used to come and hike, boat and relax , now someone rents a space and invites all their friends over to party and get drunk. If problems arise we are supposed to call park managers or rangers but managers conveniently don’t pick up their phones and a lot of parks don’t even have rangers or a ranger has to cover 3 or 4 parks in a 50 mile radius. After being lifetime campers, we are done.
I have been a workamper the past four years. I see the same thing. Trying to stick it out. Waiting for home prices to come down a little more, before getting out. Once again this morning, 5am, big trucks starting, doors slamming, tools thrown into trailers. Didn’t retire, choose this great life, to wake up like this everyday.
We have been doing this for years.
I’ve seen several other workers in the parks. There are some issues but they are usually rare.
There seem to be some people who are in a housing of last resort situation too.
I’m a retired lineman and support them staying in the rv parks. I’ve helped many a rv park owners troubleshoot problems in there park as well as rv owners, and have never ask for money or anything, ah maybe a beer. Supporting your family and others is a big plus in the lineman trade. Next time you turn on your lights remember to thank a lineman.
I have been on the road as a construction worker for over 30 years. My specialty is industrial construction. I have helped build new plants, plant additions, and worked shutdowns. Some plants are 30-100 miles from affordable hotels, if there is a campground nearby it makes a huge difference. I would rather come home to my RV than a hotel any day. As far as poorly behaved people, it happens everywhere. Yes management needs to do their job. We worked one area where every hotel in town decided they didn’t want construction workers due to the poor behavior of a few. The word got out and several went out of business. The plants we work on are food processing and bio-pharmaceuticals.
I think it’s a good idea! We stayed at a campground where a construction worker was staying with his family. Our grand kids played with their daughter in the pool and I got to know her mom. They stayed a lot longer than we did and even mom mentioned that it was so nice to be able to stay together as a family. If anyone questions about school…homeschooling!
The companies that hire these transient workers should be able to set up temporary hookups for them so they don’t crowd the RV parks. We haveseen many times these workers leave early and come back late, eat and go to bed. They do not participate in park activities, but take up space for travelers.
Easier said than done.
And where do you propose they find these mystical places in a construction site, you sound like you’re a one sided person that only thinks of ME and ME ONLY.
Retired military now; in the 60s and 70s our small motor home was “home” for two small children, two dogs, a cat, and my wife and I when changing military assignments. It could take months to find a new sticks & bricks home or get into military housing. Campgrounds (or RV parks) were a blessing!
A few years back our home RV park had over20 transit workers from welders to pipe to concrete while several nearby interstate bridges were being rebuilt. There were no issues with them and several remain good friends today. The moonshine brought by the Tennesse folks and alligator meat by the Cajun folks really made the tailgates fun.
We have been FT for 4 yrs and 4 yrs ago in the Pacific northwest linemen and workers were already 40 to 50% residents in RV parks.
There doesn’t seem to be as many as previously nowadays.
But…we changed the campgrounds we stay at now. We select 55+ campgrounds now.
They are quiet, rules are followed.
So in my estimation the economy has got nothing to do with it.
But everybody has to make a living.
Its pretty much the same as when we became FT’ers.
Most of workers stay at KOA’s and corporate owned campgrounds.
You just have to make reservations a bit earlier and reserve mos ahead of time.
Just sain…
We too try to stay in 55+ parks but I have noticed many of them are allowing people under that age come in also especially if it’s a mom and pop operation as the money from younger people seems to be the same color as ours. Money talks especially in this economy. I don’t blame them for making a living but I wish they would delete the 55+ from their ads.
Generally, no, have not noticed a significant amount of transient workers when traveling. However, we stayed at a campground in Delta Junction when we visited Alaska in 2019. That campground did have a large number of workers living there. They were installing fiber-optic cable across a large part of Alaska that summer.
We ran into this 10 years ago! First time was when we were traveling through Texas and made the mistake of going through Odessa, not realizing it was “solid oil workers” there. All the “campgrounds” were for them-only. Through the kindness of one of the park owners, they gave us a free area “out back” that actually was the best one! We also ran into workers in the midwest too, joining in with the rest of the campers. It made for interesting conversations though and we enjoyed meeting them and learning about their life.
According to a report from the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), despite various claims that the cost of charging an EV equates to less than $1.50 per gallon of gasoline averaged out over the lifetime of the vehicle, “the true cost of fueling a 2021 EV, including excess charging costs and subsidies, is equal to $17.33 per gallon of gasoline. But these estimates don’t take into account the energy lost when converting electricity from alternating current, used in the power grid, to direct current, used in EVs, nor do they account for the extra energy needed to overcome a battery’s resistance to charging as it nears full capacity. These factors alone more than double the per-gallon equivalent.
#2 But the real hidden costs that EV advocates miss (or just ignore) are the massive subsidies that the federal government has been handing out in recent years – more than $200 billion so far not including the hundreds of billions more contained in Biden’s so-called “Inflation Reduction Act. Another more obvious added cost of EVs is that they are simply more expensive to purchase. According to TPPF, an average EV is about $22,000 more expensive than a comparable ICEV – and that’s with the $7,500 tax credit that the Biden administration has offered on a significant number of EVs. Many states also offer up to $1,500 in tax credits on certain EVs, further obscuring the true cost.