RV Park Model

Living The Good Life

If you are ready to slide into the RV Life and leave the headaches of home and yard maintenance behind, read on.

We are not talking about RV life on the open road.  We are talking settling down in an RV Park and enjoying the good life you deserve.  A place where you can spend your days golfing, swimming, playing cards, having patio parties with your friends and so on until you contemplate going back to work just to get some rest.

A modern RV Park located in one of our southern states can be a great place to spend your winters.  You just might decide to join the growing trend and become a year round resident.  Read more about the RV life here.

The most comfortable accommodation in an RV Park is a Park Model.  Many parks have a handful or so of these units set up as rentals.  Renting a Park Model is the perfect way to find out if the lifestyle is right for you and if the park is right for you.

Park model rentals are usually set up with everything you will need to be comfortable.  You will have an awning to park under and a place to set up a patio.  Many setups will include a shed and maybe a deck.  Some parks go all out with their rentals while others just offer the basics.

When you find the park that is a comfortable fit for you it is time to consider a Park Model of your own.  Now is the time to really start doing your homework.  The industry is full of companies that come and go.  It is full of companies that do not care about their reputations or their customers.

Start by talking to all of your new friends in the park you want to set up a permanent residence in.  Find out from them the companies they dealt with and how they were treated.  If Joe bought his home from xyz company and had nothing but trouble it might be good to stay away from them.  If you ask enough people you should come up with one or two companies that your neighbors have been happy with.

Many parks have display models set up from a local dealer or two.  Some dealers will have an office and sales person right there in the park.  A company that is able to set up an office in your park and face the same people day in and day out might be one worth looking into. 

Park Model dealers, like car dealers, have found a gold mine in add-ons and financing.  They are more than happy to contract the set-up, the awnings and skirting, the Arizona room and so on.  Of course they can wrap all of this up into the financing for you.  Would you rather pay an extra $10.00 a month for the new vinyl skirting or five hundred out of pocket to the same company to do the same job.  You will save thousands of dollars by contracting the work yourself.

Most of the time the dealer will contract the set-up and add-ons out to the lowest bidder.  It is important, when talking to your neighbors, to find out who did all their work and were they happy.  Did they show up when they said they would.  Were the workmen professional.  Did the salesman answer all of your questions or was he just interested on selling you more stuff.

A package deal usually means you will be dealing with a set-up company, an awning company, an A/C and heating company and possibly a building contractor for the room addition.  The best deal in the world is not worth the price if any of these companies turn into a huge pain in your backside.  Make sure you have names and references for all of the companies that will be working on your new Park Model.

Another benefit of talking to all of the locals is that your park may have a handyman or two that can do a lot of the work for you at substantial savings.  You will quickly learn that not everybody in an RV Park is retired.  There are many that hold regular jobs and many more that just sub themselves out around the park.  Their prices are usually very reasonable and it is very easy to check out the quality of work you can expect.  They have worked all over the park and are usually very happy to walk you around and show you different jobs they have done.

If you go the "in park help" rout be careful of one common mistake made by many new Park Model owners.  It is far better to hire someone that will do the job for a price and can show you some of his work than to invite all of the over helpful neighbors over for beers and a little awning building.  One of the nice things about RV Parks is that everyone is friendly and will do anything to help a new neighbor.  You will need to decide what needs left to the experts and what you could use a hand with.

Most in park handymen have a supplier or two the work with.  Since most of them are not licensed contractors they have to pay retail, or close to retail, when they shop for your material.  Make sure you help with the pricing of your project and compare all of the prices with those found at Coombs Mobile Home Supply.  Why shop all over town when all of these products can be delivered right to your door at discount prices.