Trailer age restrictions on campground season passes?

[andreasduess]

We are planning to use our, yet to be purchased, trailer as a cottage replacement (cabin or summer home if you're not from Ontario) until the kids are old enough to travel wider, in about two, perhaps three years. I was planning to get ourselves a season pass in a nice park on Lake Huron, then leave the AS there for the summer.

Our plan, up to earlier today, was to purchase a mid to late 1980's model, ideally a 34' triple axle.

Whilst I was doing some research, talking to campgrounds, the owner casually mentioned that they only give season passes to trailer ten years old and younger.

Is this a standard hurdle? Seems to me a well kept AS should be an asset to any campground, no matter the age. If this is true, we will either need to change the budget, or our plans.

[goshawks00]

Might talk to the camp operator about a variance. Sell her the virtues of an airsteam eh!!

[wahoonc]

Crap shoot. I have been denied access to a campground with a brand new $15,000 pop up. The same campground denied access to a 1954 Brill motorhome that looked like brand new because it was a "conversion". I have been to others that had the restriction, but did not exercise it unless they felt the unit was too shabby.

I would have a conversation with the owners, provide pictures of your intended unit and ask for something in writing.

Good luck with your research.

Aaron

[AWCHIEF]

I have found the same in several campgrounds in Northern Florida and Gulf Shores Alabama area. The parks are private property and can make their rules as they see fit. The parks that I have seen this plainly state their occupancy rules on their web sites and signs at the parks. Frankly they are all pretty much out of the range of cost that I would pay for a place to park my 1964 trailer anyway.

[DKB_SATX]

My attitude about this has developed into "If they have a blanket policy like that, they're probably stuck up and I wouldn't enjoy staying there anyway."

Says the guy with the 38-year-old Argosy that could use a new paint job...

[Alumaholic]

The "No RV Older Than Ten Years" is a pretty standard rule in resort areas. It is certainly the rule here in Mesa, AZ in the RV Resort where we are spending the winter.
That said, the rule is often ignored at the convenience of the management and invoked when the RV owners either don't fit the image the park wants to maintain or won't abide by the park rules.

[Garfield]

In my perfect world anyone towing an Airstream should get a free pass.

[Aage]

I agree that talking to the manager, and making sure he knows it's an Airstream, is the way to go.

Owners don't want their camps looking run down, hence the 10-year rule. But an AS will upgrade their look, and this the owner/manager will understand.

He also won't know how to tell the age of an AS...

[adonh]

I ran into this a few years ago at a 5 star RV resort that we wanted to stay in with our 1976 31' Sovereign. The person on duty told me about the 10 year rule, I said could you step over to the window and tell me if you see a 10+ year old trailer sitting out there. It was clean, shinny, new tires and aluminum wheels and looked good.

He turned to me and said looks like a 2008 commemorative model to me. We stayed there a month.

Don, 1976 31' Sovereign, never been turned away

[mstephens]

Originally Posted by andreasduess

Is this a standard hurdle? Seems to me a well kept AS should be an asset to any campground, no matter the age. If this is true, we will either need to change the budget, or our plans.

It's a common requirement. At first glance it sounds snooty and discriminatory. Visit some RV parks though and you will very quickly understand the root of this requirement. Age is not kind to most cheap RVs. Those are the ones most people buy. After 10 or 20 years, they can look like hovels. Bundles of blue tarp and rope and duct tape and moss is not something I want to be parked next to. Neither do you.

So, they put a rule like that in, as an effort to combat grunge from sneaking up on them. It's not actually age in years that worries them, it's aging appearance. If you have a nice older RV, take some pictures and show the management what you have. I have seen plenty of older "nice" units parked in parks with age restrictions. Which tells me that it's all about appearance. It would be hard to uphold a rule like "bad looking RVs not permitted." But it's easy to uphold "nothing more than 10 years old."

IME, rundown RVs are usually found in rundown RV parks.

[purdiferis]

The flying saucer RV park in denver has that rule and our 45 year old AS did not trigger it. On our way out i asked why and was told AS's are exempt.

[HeadWest]

What is see a lot of in Michigan are RV resorts that only allow larger motorhomes. A the same time we are buying our new 28 International my brother is buying a 41' diesel pusher. He prefers these places to stay but they won't allow travel trailers. A few will also allow 5th wheels which makes no sense to me. Frustrating.

[RamblinManGa]

Hi from AZ. . . We stopped in a nice looking RV park near my son's college in NC, and while giving us the spiel, they mentioned they only allowed Class A motorhomes & 5th wheels (?), no trailers or Class C MHs. When I said we'd look elsewhere with our Airstream trlr, they fell all over themselves assuring me our AS would be fine ! Something about that snobbery never allowed me to go back. Regards, Craig....(the other nearby choices reminded me of the movie 'Deliverance', you know 'paddle faster, I hear banjo music'

[Snedwid]

Most folks will believe anything you tell them about an Airstream,,, I told one park owner that ours (a 2011) was a '62, but that I was the original owner and took real good care of it,,, he replied that the good care showed and it was a shame they don't still make them anymore.

[bredlo]

Originally Posted by purdiferis

On our way out i asked why and was told AS's are exempt.

Ha! Prime example of the expression, "better to ask for forgiveness than permission".

--------------

I'll only add that given our new axle, spinning between new tires, adjacent to the new holding tanks, under the new floor, new cabinetry and new appliances, powered by new Worthington LP tanks, which happen to be polished like the new skin patches and dozens of rivets, and are topped off by the pair of new Fantastic Fans...

why don't I just let you peruse this stack of receipts from Vintage Trailer Supply. Because pal - far as I'm concerned, 85% of this trailer IS less than 10 years old.

[AldeanFan]

I wouldn't want to stay at any park that didn't want my airstream.

Sofar I've never been asked by a park how old my trailer is, but the neighbours usually ask and are surprised it's as old as it is.

[adonh]

Originally Posted by bredlo

I'll only add that given our new axle, spinning between new tires, adjacent to the new holding tanks, under the new floor, new cabinetry and new appliances, powered by new Worthington LP tanks, which happen to be polished like the new skin patches and dozens of rivets, and are topped off by the pair of new Fantastic Fans...

why don't I just let you peruse this stack of receipts from Vintage Trailer Supply. Because pal - far as I'm concerned, 85% of this trailer IS less than 10 years old.

That's the answer,

[Denis4x4]

I do not understand why people get their undies in a bunch when the owner of an RV park exercises their private property rights. How is this any less snobby than a park owner setting parameters?

"I wouldn't want to stay at any park that didn't want my airstream"

[overlander64]

I have run into RV/Trailer age restrictions in a number of parks as I have traveled the US. Only once did I encounter a problem, and that was early in my experiences . . . 1996 to be specific, prior to any exterior restoration on my Overlander. The trailer was heavily oxidized and looked rather time-warn. The policy of the campground wasn't well-posted, and the clerk who handled my check-in made no mention of the age restriction. When checking-out the next morning, the park manager pulled me aside and asked about the age of my Airstream . . . and when I told him that it was 32 years old, his jaw dropped . . . then he said, "I am afraid that you were in violation of our park's RV age rule, but no one had any idea just how old your Airstream might be." He then went on to say, "Don't reveal the true age of your Airstream unless specifically asked as the RV age rule is to deny access to RVs that are poorly maintained and may pose a safety risk to other guests." I have followed that gentleman's advice ever since, and haven't had any problems even when asked about the age of my Airstream . . . particularly in the past ten years since the exterior was restored by P and S Trailer Service. I think that I encountered more "raised-eyebrows" in 2008 when I was towing my 1978 Argosy Minuet cross-country with my 1975 Cadillac Eldorado convertible . . . it was a toss-up whether it was the age of the tow vehicle or the trailer that attracted the attention . . . .

I suspect that in many circumstances that the park management of a park with RV age restriction may be convinced to offer a variance if approached with the idea of being permitted to inspect the Airstream for safety/maintenance concerns.

Kevin

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by andreasduess

Whilst I was doing some research, talking to campgrounds, the owner casually mentioned that they only give season passes to trailer ten years old and younger.

Is this a standard hurdle? Seems to me a well kept AS should be an asset to any campground, no matter the age. If this is true, we will either need to change the budget, or our plans.

The dynamics of seasonal sites have always been such that campground operators have to deal with the problem of older, deteriorating RVs. With the financial crises and widespread foreclosures, it's gotten worse.