So, my advertising will take a twist.  I visited one of the "main" competitors today.  It's a small plot of land with as many spaces as they could cram in there. And when I saw crammed, I mean crammed.  The RV's are so close together they barely fit into the intended lots.  It's got 30 rv's in there, I can only assume they are charging less to get more in.  They make their money off of quantity, not quality.  Lots of RV parks do this and older ones especially are all made the same way: a giant sardine can style setup.

There was literally nothing appealing about the place at all.  It isn't close or convenient to anything in town.  The nearest grocery store is something like 5 miles away.  It's right next to a busy highway, lots of road noise.  But, there are people that will take a lower price over any amenities and that's fine, they can stay there. But my next ad will refer to the fact that I have much larger spaces than "anyone else in town" because as far as I can see it, that's definitely true.  

They probably lose their @$$ during the summer with high electric bills and mitigate it with decreased utility expenditures during fall, winter and spring.  I don't have that luxury at the moment, I need people in there but I'm not going to drastically decrease the price. There will be very little profit in it and I might as well leave them empty.  

I texted tent lady today but she is at work and when she's there, I've found that she has limited time to respond to anything.  All well and fine, let's see what she says later on.  

The trucking company called yet again today.  I answered with the name of my park - I didn't recognize the number.  This time it wasn't the recruiter, it was the person that does the background checks.  He wanted a tax return showing my income for the time I've had the park.  Uhh, sorry. I spent from the time I quit trucking until January getting things ready and then I opened on the 1st of January (I think? No, I think I opened the last week of December but there was no business because it was very bad weather and frigid outside). I don't have a tax return yet for this operation.

Ok, we'll find a way to work around it. They have to do - whatever - to please the FMCSA.  That's the federal government arm that basically dictates drivers' lives.  They want an explanation of why I haven't worked for the past year.  I've worked, I just haven't worked at what you think I should have been working at.  They make it difficult for employers to hire anyone that hasn't been driving recently, I knew that I just didn't know the details of how they make it difficult, now I know.  

Well, when I was looking at this other RV park, I was also looking at a trucking yard filled with semi-tractors.  Lots of them. Like, I wonder if they're hiring?  I saw no sign out there but I'll be looking them up to see if they have any ads for drivers. If they don't, I'll just call them.  

Good news....the man coming from Georgia just called, he said he crossed the Louisiana state line from Mississippi and would be there - I told him 3-1/2 hours lol.  Maybe 4, depends on traffic and how fast he is driving. He's coming in today and will be paying tomorrow.  He says he doesn't like to pay with credit cards because another park charged him for a full month's rent even after he told them he was leaving and gave him advance notice.  They told him they would refund the money - but they never did.  

Okay.  Ad posted for the RV park lots available with new ad and just a post on my business Facebook about the coach being for sale.  If it comes to it, I will post the coach for sale - installment loan only and staying at the park - on Marketplace.  I'm giving her the benefit of a doubt.   

The New Jersey people gave me $25 today.  Well, they're trying.  Many places wouldn't allow such leeway, I'm seeing if they'll be able to come up with the money either here and there making payments or just come up with the money out of her monthly disability. I have no idea how much money she gets.  

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I'm all of a sudden getting inundated with requests.  With the guy coming in today, the 2 short term guests staying 7 and 9 days respectively and now another guy coming in Sunday, I will be temporarily full.  In fact, I have a scheduling glitch.  An overnighter that I won't have any place to put - but they aren't coming for another 9 days.  I am going to contact that guy that is leaving and ask if he has an update on his departure date. I also have another guy that wants to move in.  This all just came up out of the blue.  Literally. Out-of-the-blue. I haven't seen anything like this for quite a while.  

Well. That is a pleasing turn of events.  This takes a lot of pressure off of me for paying bills until I can get the trucking job.  I'll cancel overnighters for long term as long as the overnighters get a good time frame to make other arrangements.  That's the RV park industry and it's nothing new.  I don't have a problem with it, I'm more interested in long term renters that are going to stick around a while than a one night stay that leaves the lot empty.  I've completely converted my thinking to long term. I'd have all long term if I could and be done with it. 

I've thrown Hipcamp out the window. It didn't pan out.  I never ran the power out there, I ran ads with the ability to get power out there and I didn't get any nibbles at that.  As tent camping, maybe it's just not the time of year for that, way too hot.  Maybe this region just isn't the kind of place hippers want to come to. 

I haven't exactly thrown tent camping out the window, but I would say, however, this isn't exactly the time of year to be tent camping.  Near 100 degree days, it does cool down at night fairly decently.  Maybe I'll try to pick that back up in the fall when it cools down during the daytime as well.  I'll have the mulcher guy come back out and spend half a day cleaning out the trails.  Yes, after I get another trucking job to pay for it.  I did get an inquiry for a weekend deal for some dude that wants to have a bunch of friends with several tents. I do have a cleared out area that the weeds haven't overtaken back there.  I told him I'd let him take the site for free in exchange for a Google review.  

You mean you won't charge anything? No.  Just trying to get the word out.  I could have lots of camping back there if there was any interest.  

I'm not sure if this dude showed up tonight or not. The outdoor camera is rather fickle in picking up passing vehicles. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't.  

Oh, the dude that has been saying he is leaving? Yeah, he's not leaving.  I contacted him, he replied that he started working for a different company on the same job and that he's staying for several more months and then asked if he needs to find a new place? Uh, no?  I don't throw people out to bring in more, especially if they're staying awhile? lol.  So, unless someone is leaving that I don't know about, I'm going to have to cancel an overnighter.

However.  The people in the purple camper. I have no idea what they are doing, their week is over with tomorrow. Well, okay, they're good through the next morning when they would have to leave.  I'll be over there discussing their intentions.  They can stay and pay or leave.  The only thing I know is, that dude is not out looking for a job. They don't go anywhere. If they do, I don't see it and trust me, I'm looking.  

There is the idea that the New Jersey people need to be moved behind the shed.  I don't know if the shed power can take the strain.  I could run another line from lot 14 and power it tho. I have the line, it's been sitting there for a while, it was intended for HipCamp, I could put this - rather old and worn out stuff - in the back.  Park it next to my old rv, install another sewer outlet and call it good.  It's really a workable idea, I think.

In fact, I'm going to serious consider it.  I don't need to dig a deep trench like I had to for the sewer line running over there. A simple trenching machine rental for the 4 hours would easily do it.  In fact, remove my RV from the shed power and put it and this other thing on a separate system. I have plenty of water supply and my sewer system will be good. I have enough people that spend so little time in their rv's on a daily basis that these 2 units added to the system aren't going to overload it.  And I'm quite confident of my sewer line work now, if it were going to back up, it would have done it a long time ago.  Plus, I know what I'm doing with attaching another line to 14.  It's the closest electrical outlet that I can hook aluminum, underground wiring up to. Lot 1 is too far away.  Well, I'd have to measure it, maybe, but it doesn't matter which of them I take it off of.  

I've had no signs of overload on the electrical system for everything I am asking out of it.  All 14 lots can have AC units running continually plus the shed and it just does it's thing.  However.  If I run the line off lot 1, I place less load on the west side lot electrical system. It's 2 separate systems.  Actually, I'm sure I could run it off of lot 1 and that would make more sense.

I could have this done pretty quick. I have the line, rent the machine, get it over to behind the shed, put up a small panel with 8 outlets, now I have ample power for the rear of the shed and not drawing off of the shed power.  

I am new to this industry.  Business comes and goes.  I'm looking for those long term that are actually - long term. Like, we're here for a year. Or better, they aren't here just for work, they are here to live here in this area.  I'll tell ya what, those 3 oil field workers that showed up 5 months ago and show no signs of going anywhere have been a monthly boon to my bottom line.  I still want to approach the older guy about another $25 per month for his brand new, 3 AC covered 5th wheel. He easily spent 100k on that thing.  

My mind is working overtime again.  How do I get all of these people in here at the same time?  I need money, folks, I need to pay my bills.  I've been working with empty lots for a while, when the opportunity arises itself to provide some decent income, I'm going to think of ways to get this thing rolling.  

It's getting late. Need to go to bed. I can think all this stuff through tomorrow.