Is A Transition From RV to Park Model In Your Future?

There’s a saying heard from old time RVers, “From sailboat, to motorboat, to motorhome, to rest home.” This saying attempts to encapsulate the life-cycle of RVers and though true in the rough, misses a few steps like moving from a travel trailer to a 5th wheel and maybe keeping your motorboat with you during that time. But the big thing it misses is the park model.

Mrs. Professor and I have been RVing around the southern tip of Texas where the Rio Grande River divides the U.S. and Mexico. Joe Mohney, manager of Valley Traveland in Harlingen, Texas tells me there are around 500 RV and mobil home parks in the Rio Grande Valley.
As far as RV parks and resorts are concerned, I counted 306 in the Rio Grande Valley RV Park Directory. During winter thousands of RVers from all over the U.S. and Canada migrate to this part of Texas to, “Enjoy our sun and Southern hospitality” as Joe Mohney likes to say.

Of the thousands of “Winter Texans” who come to this valley each year many of them have opted to purchase park models.

A park model is a close cousin to the travel trailer because it has many of the same features (including a VIN number) expect that a park model is designed to stay in one place for a long period of time. They can be moved to different locations but not with the ease of a typical RV. Most folks treat them as a “winter home” or a “vacation home.” They are smaller than a house but as comfortable as the finest RV.

This is a Trophy park model made in Elkhart, Indiana.

It measures 32 feet eight inches long by 11 feet six inches wide.

The floor is constructed of a metal frame with 2x4 studs with a ¾ inch “glued and screwed” floor deck.

The side walls are framed with 2x4 studs on 16 inch centers with R-11 sidewall insulation and R-19 roof insulation. It has a 41,000 BTU furnace and a 20 gallon electric water heater.

It comes with standard house appliances and furnishings. It includes delivery and set-up to any park within a reasonable distance. They block and level the unit as well as tie it down for hurricane protection. The price also includes two one hundred pound propane tanks, entry steps, vinyl skirting, a two ton central A/C unit and a full length patio cover.

All this for $46,516.00 and your annual park fees which average from $250 to $400 per month plus utilities.

The vast majority of these parks are for people 55 and older and include a plethora of daily “cruise ship” type activities. You see park models nestled in with 5th wheels, morothomes and travel trailers at these parks and towards the end of the season the RVs leave while the park models stay.

The parks remind me of ghost towns during this time of year. The good news is that towards the end of the winter season you can pick up good deals on used park models already set-up in a park. I have friends who have purchased very nice park models for less than $10,000 from folks who are no longer able to enjoy them due to health issues. These parks are popular in the sun belt states and are growing in popularity as older RVers choose to travel less. They still retain the flavor of a genuine RV park but have a more permanent feel about them. A park model may fit into my lifestyle someday, but for now I’m content to be a wandering RV explorer - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing