The 9 day stay pulled in a few minutes ago. Itty bitty trailer, that thing doesn't look 20 feet long lol.  Not going to change my pricing, I'm the cheapest in town for daily stay rate, by far.  I lowered it enough to still make good profit off of it - if I can get enough coming in on short stays - yet still way lower than anyone else. I think the nearest competitor is $30 and then everyone else is higher.  

The people that "registered" over the phone - meaning they didn't put any stake in their game via putting up the first night deposit - are coming tonight.  I write notes when people call now, I get too many calls and I have to be able to remember what the content of the call is.  And what the phone number is.  I have a lot of phone calls on my phone, remembering who is who on there? Not without noting it - on paper, thanks. I have a giant, 160 sheet, lined paper notepad that I keep track of everything.  My campworks keeps track of guests coming and going. My cardpointe keeps track of credit card payments. but I'm old school - I have a pad that I write down when the people showed up, how much they paid, what lot they're in, how long they are staying, etc. 

Would I want to do that with 30 or more lots? Hmm. Depends. If it were mostly long term, that's pretty easy. You have a monthly payment.  That's it. Most people will pay up or contact you about paying up when it's due. I have no problems, however, making phone calls, texting or showing up at their door step on the day it's due if I haven't heard from them.  I am in business, them paying me is what I am business for.  Giving them a place to park and all the stuff that goes along with it is what they are paying for.  

I could run everything through my campground software and there is a place for notes on it. However. I would be getting charged a fee for every payment.  The credit card software can do automated payments as well.  I haven't tried that. I can look up any given person that has already paid via credit card and their information is on file.  

I think I'll just wait to get with those people, but the other guy that came in I want to run his credit card and get that paid up.  Paid. Once I go get the other people's payment, I'll have all lots filled up  - for one night lol. The purple people are supposed to leave tomorrow morning so that lot is empty until the overnight stay on the 6th.  I can only dream that perhaps someone will come along that needs a temporary stay. But if not, I'm sitting in a much better financial position now than I was a week ago and especially on the 1st I'll be collecting a good chunk of money as well.  

That will pay that high electric bill and allow me to finally pay myself again at least 2 grand.  Plus, providing she pays, I'll get more money on the 1cd, the 10th and other dates for payments due.  It's back to - gee, I can collect money again instead of looking at 5 and 6 empty lots and more people saying they are leaving.  

But, I have sealed my fate and I will have to get the other electrical setup up and going before the 6th.  So, I'm setting the alarm clock early tomorrow and if I sleep, I sleep, if I don't sleep well, I'm going to at least try to force my @$$ out of bed and get over there and get priority stuff done.  That's finishing the RV, digging up the water line and installing another spigot.  That will eat up the hours before it starts getting ridiculously hot.  In fact, I doubt I will get all of that done before the heat sets in and I'll just say no thank you and quit for the day. Well, quit outdoors anyway, I can do other stuff that needs finished in the shed.  

I will get it done.  And I looked up trencher machine rates in Longview, they are the same or even higher.  I just really thing $200 for a trencher is a bit steep but what choice do I have? I am not going to try and dig a trench that far with a shovel, that is a non-happening event.  

Because I couldn't take this person in long term, I texted them I couldn't get them a spot until the 7th. They replied they found another place. That's unfortunate, but I was pretty well settled that it wouldn't be right to just cancel a reservation so that someone else could take it.  It'll leave 2 lots open after they leave.  I have a few others that are interested, nothing concrete yet.  

That's enough.  I'm going to bed at 10 and hopefully can get enough sleep to get me going tomorrow morning. 

 I was interested in Groendyke Transport - until we got to the inward facing camera with microphones part.  Been there, done that twice and won't do it again.  The idea that these people sitting in an office cubicle somewhere can hear everything you're saying.  For what reason?  I don't really care what the reason is, but I would like to know how they justify listening to you.  I get why they think they must watch you, but I've been driving since long before cameras were even a thing, I just don't do it.  You can keep your job.  

But I'll tell all you weirdos what, if you - and you includes the CEO/President on down the chain - will wear a microphone that is on for 12 hours a day, every day, then I'll come drive for you. See? It's "you must have something to hide" or "you are doing something wrong while driving" crap until you turn the tables on them and tell them to put themselves under the exact same working conditions that you expect from your drivers.  I want to hear all of your personal conversations with your spouse, boy/girlfriend, everything.  That's exactly what they have access to when they put these inward facing cameras in a truck.  

"Oh, well the loading or offloading company requires it". Yes, because y'all have allowed yourselves to be railroaded into complying with excessive, ridiculous demands from companies that don't have any stock/stake in the trucking company at all. You want to know why you are begging for drivers? I'll guarantee you you are losing X percentage of us right off the bat with these cameras.  And now, they have AI technology!  They can tell if you're eating, drinking, smoking, if your seat belt is on, they even detect if you appear fatigued.  There are almost 100 parameters the AI in my previous truck could detect. 

I covered the entire thing up with tape and didn't care what the company thought of it.  Talking to Groendyke drivers in the scale house, they said but you'll get fired! Great, fire me!  There is a line that is crossed into dictating to drivers how they are going to literally live their lives and these cameras easily cross that line and go well beyond it.  If drivers want a company to allow to monitor literally everything they are doing, good for them! I don't care!  5 year olds get less scrutiny in their own homes than a truck driver does that is subjected to inward facing cameras.  

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That's my rant for the day, moving on.  I was looking at trucking jobs and some of them have it listed right on their ad: "Inward and outward facing camera".  They never tell you that those things also have a microphone.  ALL of them have them.  If it is an inward facing camera, 100% guaranteed there is also a microphone listening to all  of your phone conversations (that's perfectly legal as long as you are doing it with voice command), whatever your personal habits are, etc.  

Sunday - morning.  I was toying with the idea of buying my own truck and hauling local loads, such as materials such as gravel, dirt and sand.  But, you are married to a truck when you buy one. You can't just quit the job and walk away from it, once you buy a truck you are locked into the payments and good luck selling the thing.  You'll have to drive until you pay the thing off. If I had to do it all over again, I would get my own truck. But, being near 60 years old and trying to work a small business, I don't have time for that.  I'm still planning on going with the company I have agreed to unless I find something better.  

I still need to ask them a few more pointed questions that I keep forgetting, need to write them down and ask them next time they call. They are calling at least once a week to ensure I am "still going to work for us".  

But, I'm definitely still looking at thousands of trucking jobs.  Most of them are OTR and I just say to myself, nope.  Great home time! Home every 2 to 3 weeks! Would these people like to only go home every 2 to 3 weeks?  You will make $2,500 per week! Yes and you will live in that truck and have no social life and start to lose your mind after you've been in it long enough.  Even most regional jobs tell you home every 2 weeks. How is that regional?  

Whatever the case, besides church today, I have no plans to do anything unless something comes up at the park.  There are allegedly 2 trailers coming in today.  I need do nothing beyond charging the remaind of the bill for the one staying 9 days.  The system automatically charges their card for the first night and then has a total listed for the remainder of the stay.  In this case, it automatically gives them the discounted weekly rate for 7 of those days and then regular nightly rate for the other 2.  

The other one allegedly coming in didn't make an online reservation because they are allegedly going to be long term - well "short, long-term". Like a month or so.  I don't trust that those people will show up - until they actually show up.  I want them to show up, or not, I could get that actual long-term person in there instead.  Either way, I have determined from experienced RV park owners/managers that they don't think it's right to cancel a one-nighter to bring in a long term.  It doesn't really matter now and I have determined that I really need to run another line over there with a separate panel. It will cost some money but I'll get that money back quickly as long as the park stays full. 

Well, even if it doesn't, the New Jersey people will pay for it with their next payment. They are allegedly getting their monthly money on the 2cd. The man asked if I had any work he could do, he's trying to find a job. Nope, not in the position for it currently. Wish I could afford it, but even having him do work in exchange for lot rent won't work right now. I need the money.  

I could, however, see if he would help do the trenching and forgive the $120 they owe for the current month.  I offered them a reduced rate to move them behind the shed.  They are only using 1 window ac unit and a freezer.  They will probably get a refrigerator here sooner or later, that doesn't really draw a lot of amperage.  

It was very nice to see that there are dual inlet sewer connectors.  I won't need to add another sewer Y and accompanying fittings.  That's around $75 worth of fittings I won't need, getting a $13 fitting instead.  And saving all of that work...

I will need another panel and Ill probably go  with the same thing I put on the shed, 125 amp.  I will run both of those units off of it and take a lot of load off of the shed circuit and the the west side circuit.  I'm pretty much decided to go ahead and do this.  I'm going to need to dig down to the water line that I have capped - actually I think I put a valve on it. I hope I did so I don't have to shut the entire park off once again.  But, if I didn't, I'll just put another valve in and eliminate that problem from that point forward.  

I'm going to put the panel somewhere near where I have the one mounted on the shed. That way, I don't have to buy more wire for my rv - it can be disconnected from the shed and rerouted to the new panel.  

The trencher is $200 per day. So, I can rent it in the evening and then use it early morning.  It's going to be 102 tomorrow and over 100 several days after that. We're in the high humidity and super high dew point range right now.  Electricity will no longer be a concern with that shed and the only other factor is the sewage.  

It's a plan.  I am not 100% committed to it right now, I need to think about it today.  If it works, I have another lot paying and another pull through available.  I'll need to go over there and look at the New Jersey people sewer line.  I'm not really interested in buying them a new sewer hose if theirs isn't compatible with the intended, dual-setup.  But, at the same time, it's money and they don't appear to be going anywhere anytime soon. 

Of course, they need to pay their bill....

First point of order is to get the RV hot water going and get a connector for the propane so they can cook in there.  

I honestly need another shed for all of my tools. I have that "extra" one that was damaged when they shipped it, but it's much too small.  I need something like a 10X10 walk in type of thing.  I didn't say I was ordering one today, it's out of budget but it's really something I'm going to need as soon as I can afford one.  Far too many tools, chainsaws, extension cords, fittings, etc to put in that tiny little shed.  I have a few things in the other shed but that is mainly dedicated to housing the water heater.  

All of this is why I'm getting a job.  I hate the idea but I've mentally prepared myself for the daily grind.  I don't particularly want to be away from home for 2 or 3 weeks in orientation....most trucking companies will keep you at least 5 days.  In this case, it's orientation week and the training on the type of trailer I will be hauling. Loading and unloading.  They say it takes at least a week to learn the loading/offloading.  Somehow, I doubt it will take me that long to catch on. I'll have to find someone on-call to go over and deal with any issues.  I suppose I could ask the NJ people - not sure about that.  

I'm discounting what the purple people owe so I can get them out of there.  Fixed incomes are fickle.  You have X amount, in this case, to pay whatever park you are moving to and you have to pay the extra days beyond what they paid for the lot they are staying at in my park. They are allegedly leaving tomorrow and promise to pay before they leave. Their money doesn't come in until tomorrow and they can't move into another park until they get it.  I figure I'll let them pay $15 per extra day instead of the $25.  It pays for the electricity, helps them out a bit and I have that lot freed up.  

Here's the thing. If these people that didn't pay anything but "reserved" a lot over the phone show up today, that will kick my butt into high gear to mitigate the upcoming situation with too many trailers and not enough lots. It's only 1 day's worth, but everything I'm seeing? It's not right to cancel someone out like that.  All respondents in an RV managing group I am in said they would never cancel out a 1 night stay in order to let a  long term in.  Just not good business practice. I agree, I'm just kind of under pressure right now to get as much money flowing in as I can.  But, that shouldn't and won't take precedence over doing the right thing.  

Phone notifications flying off the hook, there is a new person in there taking a shower.  I tend to look at them - looking at the stuff I have in there.  Tools and such, under the table mostly but there is some of James stuff still in there, I am going to box that up and bring it home.  Pretty expensive equipment, I don't want any of it disappearing. I have been lucky so far that even the poor people aren't thieves.  

This is why I need a much larger equipment shed. I simply don't have room for everything in the small one and I have to keep a lot of it in the amenities shed.  I don't know, but if I could find one cheap enough, I'd buy it.  But they aren't cheap and are pretty much $600 and up . That stuff will just have to stay where it is for now.  The shed is always locked unless I'm there and there is a camera. 

I am going to go take a look at this million dollar RV park that is under contract.  The pics of it are showing it unfinished. No gravel, nothing, just the dirt work has been done for the lots.  They surely didn't sell that place for that much money unfinished.  I want to see if they've added anything to it.  I dunno if the property is gated/open or what.  They have plenty of room to add more spaces and to put in whatever amenities they want to dump more money into it that they want.  

I'll just try to reassure myself that even if they are able to take away a bit of clientele, they aren't going to get everyone because of the location.  I'm just going to have to up the ante at my place and get more stuff in there.  It will take time, the things I want are expensive.  And if I put in 15 more spaces, I will invariably have to add another laundry room. Or find a way to add several machines to the current setup.  Like, having 3 washers and dryers in there. There is room for that, but I don't have it set up for it. I would have to tear out drywall to install more pipe and electrical outlets.  

I dunno, not a bridge I need to cross right now. I'm getting good experience right now in learning how to deal with all of this on a smaller scale basis.  Really had no idea what i was doing and I learned quickly that - I had no idea what I was doing.  I'm getting better at it.  I could have told the guy yesterday that no, I can't have you staying longer, but then that money walks out the door.  I'll get the situation mitigated and have another lot to boot.  

Well, this is getting long. Time to take a shower and get ready for church.

G'day.