Creating a new campground for traveling entrepreneurs
Scott and Taylor have been working on a new kind of campground that’s perfect for those who work or learn from the road. Starting with an old school building this enterprising couple share the joys, journey and the jams they’ve had in creating a campground from scratch.
Have you always wanted to own a campground? This is a great episode to check out.
We also have updates on our B&W Continuum hitch and a recipe for something so good - it got us to extend our reservation just so we could enjoy this
Other places to hear the podcast
Mentioned on this episode
Our guests this week come to us from The Campers Hub - a different kind of campground
We had some fun watching the advert from Harvest Hosts. Did you know we have a discount for your Harvest Hosts membership?
We gave our opinion of the B&W Continuum weight distribution hitch after many months and thousands of miles of owning one.
If you’re confused about solar, battery power or just want to upgrade your RV we have found the solutions from ABC Upfitters are both reliable and exceptional.
We have a podcast episode and video where you can learn more here.
Our trusted partners - RV Discounts and Deals
Automated transcript of StressLess Camping RV podcast episode 253
Mark Ferrell
Welcome to the weekly podcast all about turning the great American RV adventure into stress less camping. Each week we explore tips, tricks, ideas, and destinations, and talk to the happiest campers in the RV world. Pull up a seat at the campfire as we enjoy some stress less camping.
Peggy Barthel
Welcome to the campfire.
Tony Barthel
I'm Tony.
Peggy Barthel
I'm Peggy.
Tony Barthel
And we are 2 RV industry veterans who travel part time
Peggy Barthel
In a small trailer.
Tony Barthel
Looking to share big adventures and help you with great tips
Peggy Barthel
Tricks.
Tony Barthel
And discounts.
Peggy Barthel
Indeed. We're home right now, so we don't have actual campfire. Although, last week, we almost did.
Tony Barthel
It was almost nice enough weather to light our we have a fire pit at home.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Yeah. And
Peggy Barthel
then when the windy picked up. Of course.
Tony Barthel
Welcome to New Mexico.
Peggy Barthel
So our bodies and our noses are still trying to adjust to the Yeah. Change in the amount of humidity in our lives. So hopefully, we're not too weird sounding, but
Tony Barthel
Dusty weird stuff is in the air has hit us both pretty hard.
Peggy Barthel
So hopefully, we sound okay.
Tony Barthel
Although today, as we record this, the weather is here. No. It is beautiful. Beautiful.
Peggy Barthel
I wish I was beautiful. The weather is here.
Tony Barthel
The weather is here. I have the door open because there's a just a whole mess of birds Yeah. That have decided, hey, it's time to come back here.
Peggy Barthel
So it might sound like we're in a campground.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. It might. And, uh, I think we're in I don't know how long it takes to make new birds, but I believe that they are doing exactly that. Mhmm. Well, if you want something that's not for the birds Oh.
Tony Barthel
Oh, man. That was yeah. We have been watching some of the things that our friends at ABC Upfitters, who do terrific customized solar and lithium upfits or power upgrades for our V's of all type. And this past few weeks, we saw them do this absolutely crazy system Piss. In a 5th wheel that is both, uh, you know, it's just a mobile office, basically.
Tony Barthel
It's an incredible system. We also just today saw them put power and lithium systems into some class b RVs.
Peggy Barthel
Class b van. Yeah.
Tony Barthel
And I know they've been company Mhmm. That's pretty extensive. So they're the kind of people who know what they're doing. They're the kind of people you can trust. They use master bolt components because those come out of the marine industry.
Tony Barthel
And, you know, when you're a 100 miles offshore, there's not a whole lot of room for failure. So they're very good systems, and our experience with our Mastervolt power system has borne that out. It has just been bulletproof. So if that's something that might intrigue you, then you would like to speak to somebody who can go from nerd to normal Yeah. Who can actually answer your questions, but in a way that
Peggy Barthel
In a way you understand?
Tony Barthel
Yeah. You can give them a call at 574-333-3225. That's 574-333-3225, or there's a link below in the show notes.
Peggy Barthel
We haven't done that before. Yeah. There's a link below?
Tony Barthel
I know. Link below in the show notes. So anyway, we've been very pleased with ABC Outfitters, and some of you have chosen to have them customize systems for you. And thus far, nobody has anything but great things to say about their whole experience. Yep.
Tony Barthel
So that's really important. So, yeah, as Peggy had alluded to, a lot of you are probably still listening on the audio version of this, but this is our 2nd week in a row with our commitment to making a video version of this podcast. And while I have no idea why you would want to watch us make a podcast,
Peggy Barthel
You all said you wanted it.
Tony Barthel
So You did.
Peggy Barthel
Here you go.
Tony Barthel
So here you go.
Peggy Barthel
So if you're listening and you want to see, just go check us out on YouTube. And if you're listening and you don't wanna see, well Yeah.
Tony Barthel
You're you're the wiser. Place. And I can't guarantee that we have pants on.
Peggy Barthel
Oh my gosh. You are actually gonna admit that. I am. Well, I mean, who hasn't sat with the video camera and hidden the fact whether they're wearing pants or
Tony Barthel
Yeah. Well, pajamas all day. You have pajamas that say pajamas all day.
Peggy Barthel
I do. And I wear them.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. And you wear them in camp.
Peggy Barthel
I do.
Tony Barthel
And I know more than a few of you either own RV parks or aspire to own an RV park or even kinda dream about owning an RV park, and that's why we thought it'd be great to have Scott and Tay back on. They're building the Campers Hub
Tony Barthel
And it's a campground in Colorado that has a very work not work camping, like roadpreneur.
Peggy Barthel
Roadpreneur or or homeschooling or
Tony Barthel
Homeschooling.
Peggy Barthel
If you have a job that you can do from anywhere, as long as you have Wi Fi and a place to sit, this is what they're trying to offer.
Tony Barthel
And we've stayed there, and when we stayed there, it was basically a big dirt lot in the building, and it is much more than that. So let's listen in with what they have to say about the experience of creating the Camper's hub. We are with Scott and Taylor and they have a campground in Colorado. We met them at the campers hub and they are one of the unusual things. They're RVers who I don't know if bought a campground is really the worst.
Tony Barthel
You bought the potential of a campground. And I've been following you on Instagram for I don't remember when we came and stayed there, but
Peggy Barthel
It was about a year and a half ago.
Tony Barthel
Was it? Okay.
Peggy Barthel
It was the 2022 year.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. It was when our trailer had been rear ended. We were there with a trailer with a big dent in the back of it. Yeah. But anyway, Scott and Taylor from the Campers Hub, welcome.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Thank you for having us.
Tony Barthel
It is our pleasure. So first of all, tell us about your RV ing first. Let's start there, and then let's talk about how very different and special the Campers Hub is.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Sure. We started our RV journey back in was that summer of 2019
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Mhmm.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
From Phoenix, Arizona. We were it was totally like a random choice almost. We started watching YouTube videos of other couples who were RVing, and Scott kinda tossed it out there, like, hey, both of us are kinda ready for a Scott kind of tossed it out there, like, hey, both of us are kind of ready for a change. What do you think about moving into an RV and traveling full time? And to my surprise and maybe his as well, I was, like, okay.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Yeah. Let's let's do it. So we kind of just uprooted everything.
Tony Barthel
And then the way I've seen you tackle the campers hub, you also I was just watching your video about gutting and redoing your RV and on a 2 week schedule before you decided to leave town.
Peggy Barthel
Yes. I hear a lot of us in them.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
I mean, I tell him, I'm even now with this build and especially when we are RV ing, if Scott did not have the skills to fix things, if he was not a handyman, there's no way we would be where we are now. I would not have agreed to RV.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
The thought wouldn't have even been entertained in the slightest. No. Right. I mean,
Tony Barthel
I made a I made a list of the things I've watched you do just on Instagram. Pouring and smoothing concrete, planting trees, interior decorating, and like a beautiful, like, whole mountain painting on a wall, plumbing, putting on wood stoves, backhoe operator. And and I'm sure I've missed a bunch of things, but I was just looking at all of the things you've done there. And when we were there, it was basically just a building and kinda open land.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. Mhmm.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Yeah. It looks a lot different now.
Tony Barthel
So tell us how the campers hub is different, and why did you decide we wanna have a campground?
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Well, you know, it goes back to when we were doing our RV trip. We were trying to work from the road, and we were having troubles finding good Internet. And also, you know, there's there's a certain community where you wanna find other people that are going through something similar that are working from the road. So we thought it would be cool to create a place that kind of catered to the full time traveler, but also that maybe is not retired yet, that maybe is working from the road or, you know, has a remote job or something like that. So, you know, we kinda thought it'd be cool to create a community and a campground that's that's built around that.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
That is kinda how we came across you guys too is at the RV Entrepreneur Summit Yep. Actually at this property. Yes. That's kind of it. We like you said, you put it great in the beginning that we kinda bought into a a hope, not so much a plan of putting that that together.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
And, you know, it's been 2 years of of working on that. You know, we've made quite a bit of progress, but there's still a lot to do. So, yeah, if you do follow us on Instagram, you'll see almost every day. It's like, oh, great. What are they up to now?
Tony Barthel
It's entertaining. I really have been enjoying it.
Peggy Barthel
So the property had some historical significance, if I remember right.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Yeah. So it was a schoolhouse for grades 1 through 3, uh, originally built in the forties. And what's nice about the building is that it's kind of it's not like a small little building. It it made for a good event center and, uh, you know, we're using the main what was the gymnasium and the cafeteria area as, like, our co working space. And then, you know, the classrooms, we've got a camp store in 1, the check-in area.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
And we'll have conference room in another one where, you know, people can use it if they wanna have meetings with other people or even if there's families that wanna do, like, classes. You know, if they want, like, a whiteboard or something and have their kids for, uh, daytime schooling, they can use that. And then we have a 3rd classroom, classroom, but we're not sure what we're gonna use that for. So, yeah, we're open to feedback on what what the best use of that would be. Originally, we're thinking like green screen, like creator space, but we've heard, you know, some other ideas too.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
And then, of course, there's always, like, the lingering idea of okay. Should we just open a brewery here instead? Because that might actually get the most use. So TBD on that.
Tony Barthel
I'm all for that. I'll be right there.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Yeah. That seems to be the one that gets really great feature. Of course.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. That would be or you could just have a tap I mean, something so I don't know if you know. We used to own a resort ourselves for 7 years. And what this was, it was a bed and breakfast made out of old railroad cabooses. And everybody and their brother has an idea.
Tony Barthel
And some of the ideas are really good, and some of the ideas are not.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Yeah. Yeah. Yep.
Tony Barthel
But I like the idea of either a brewery or a tap room. That would that would but but I'm biased because I really like craft beer.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Of course.
Tony Barthel
But Colorado, which is where you are, has some really great choices, and you can have
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Oh, yeah.
Tony Barthel
Guest beers and all that. But anyway
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Yeah. Well and kinda going along with the idea of, like, trying to build a community. I mean, what's what's better than, you know, having a place to have a drink, you know, after you're done working? So, you know, it it may be a good idea to incorporate Expand vision. Incorporate a taproom into the the community building side of things.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. And that would be a more minimal expense and a less specific set of skills too. Right? Bring in guest taps and that's much easier than brewing and managing. That that's its own full time job.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Yeah.
Tony Barthel
So you have the school building, and you you're making it such that people can come in and get work done, which is good. And you'll have, I assume you already have good WiFi or good connectivity and all that. What other things have you done since we were there?
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Well, one of the major things which is nice that we actually have open now for people to book are 17 electric sites. So we put in electric pedestals. We have 20 amp, 30 amp and 50 amp sites. So those are now we still have a little more landscaping we'd like to do pretty them up, but they are fully functioning. And people have camped in them, which has been just amazing to see.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
It actually felt like a real campground. I think the first time we actually saw somebody park in one of the spaces, that's been a huge change. And just looking at that area that when you guys were here, it was just complete dirt. I mean, there was just piles of dirt out there. Now it actually resembles a campground and looks like we're really building something.
Peggy Barthel
Awesome. But, you know, the kids aren't gonna have a dirt pile to play in.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Oh, they got a dirt pile.
Peggy Barthel
So Oh, okay.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
The highway construction that's been going on. Yeah. Well, our dirt piles are are huge now because, uh, thanks to the highway construction, they brought over a ton of dirt. They they came and approached us. They say, hey, you guys want some some free dirt?
Scott - the Camper's Hub
And I said, okay. So we've got a huge berm around our property, and we're like, should we make, like, a dirt bike track out of this? Or you know? But, you know, future plans future plans.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Just more possibilities.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
For now, it's just a buffer zone.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. I I remember some of the kids when we were there, that was something they were really looking forward to was the dirt pile. It's funny.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Like Yeah. It's funny that It's like
Tony Barthel
on Christmas when you open the presents, what do you play with? The box.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Right? Yeah. I thought
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
It's a playground.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
I thought it was funny that some of them even remembered from the year before that there was a dirt pile. And they're like, mom, dad, is the dirt pile still there?
Peggy Barthel
And look, I don't even have kids and it made that much of an impression on me that I'm asking about it.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. So in your town, it's a small town. They're not used to building campgrounds. So was there a lot of challenges with the permitting and getting, like the electric and and all of that? I assume you did a lot of that yourselves.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Uh, we haven't done the plumbing or the electric. That's gotta all be done by, you know, licensed contractors, and it's permitted through the the state. So we kinda work on the projects that we can do ourselves, you know, digging holes, putting in roads, planting trees, irrigation, stuff like that.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Kind of like a yes and no answer, actually. Like, there's a lot of stuff we have been able to do ourselves, and then it comes down to certain things that licensed professionals have to come in and do for us. Yeah. The plumbing.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Plumbing and electricity. Mhmm. Uh, one of the biggest challenges though has been finding engineers that are familiar with designing an RV park. So we've had some trouble with the septic because out here in rural Colorado, uh, normally, they wanna put, like, 1 house on 1 acre, and obviously, that's not gonna work for an RV park. So we've been trying to navigate the nuances of, you know, the building codes with our engineers to figure out how are we gonna make this work.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Coming in after the codes have been changed, we're not necessarily, uh, held well, we're held to a higher standard than the ones the RV parks that have been grandfathered in. So that's been one of the big challenges is working our way through that.
Peggy Barthel
And just finding someone that can help design it. And what about the permitting? Has permitting been a big hassle or I mean, permitting is always a hassle, I know. But
Scott - the Camper's Hub
This is
Tony Barthel
so weird. I mean,
Peggy Barthel
I used to do that.
Tony Barthel
Do the permitting back in the olden days.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Yeah. We we've definitely had a couple times where the inspectors been out and they say, oh, you can't do it like that. And it's like, well, we got the permit for it or the drawings were approved. And, you know, there's oh, no. We gotta go.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
So it hasn't necessarily been permitting. And, you know, keep in mind, we haven't gotten into the thick of our permitting process with doing the big septic stuff. Mhmm. Um, it's mostly been, you know, electrical inspections that have kinda been like, oh, no. You've gotta add this in.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
It's like, well, these are small sites. Like, they don't need huge amounts of power. Like, this this is intended for tent campers. And there's just some some things that our electricians haven't been through or hadn't been through up to this point that they're kinda learning, you know, some of the nuances of the code after the fact after things go in. So, you know, it's the kind of thing you wanna do at once.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
But fortunately, we haven't been hit with anything where it's like, okay, this is a huge game changer and, you know, this isn't gonna work anymore. So, you know, we haven't we haven't had to deal with that.
Peggy Barthel
Oh, that's good.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
So far, we've been able to work through everything.
Tony Barthel
Mhmm.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Yeah.
Tony Barthel
That was when we bought our place, the kitchen had been flooded and gutted so there was no kitchen, which makes a bed and breakfast really just a bed and no breakfast. Yeah. And the permitting process was simple as you said, but then the inspector came and said, oh, no. No. You have to do this with the floors.
Tony Barthel
I don't care what the per and it's like, come on.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes you wish common sense would would overrule, but
Peggy Barthel
Yes.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
It's hard to fight once it's, uh, in the code book.
Tony Barthel
Right. That's for sure.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Or people who don't know RVs. I think it's been hard working with people who don't know the RV world. So, you know, when we stayed at RV parks, it's like, well, we weren't running through 40 gallons of water a day. I mean, more often than not, you just get used to conserving water as an RV. And sometimes we even looked for campgrounds where all we wanted was to boondock for the night because we want to do laundry in town.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
And I don't think people who don't know the RV world really understand that sometimes people come to stay at a park not because they're gonna be running their water full time, but because it's just a place to reset.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. And
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
not stay in a parking lot for a night.
Tony Barthel
For us, it's usually we like to boondock a lot and our camper really is well situated for it. But there comes those days where it's like, okay, I need to empty my tanks and fill my tanks.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Mhmm. Absolutely. Reset.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. Yeah. Re you know, re replenish the RV as it were. Mhmm.
Peggy Barthel
Take a shower that's not on off on off. Yeah.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. Yeah.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
It's nice to have one of those every now and then.
Peggy Barthel
Every now and then. But we you know, at our property where we live, we actually haul our own water. Used to be, I'd get home. I'd be like, okay. I'll see you in 20 minutes.
Peggy Barthel
I'm gonna stand under the hot water till it's gone.
Tony Barthel
I'd be outside with the shutoff
Scott - the Camper's Hub
valve. Uh-uh.
Peggy Barthel
Now my showers are almost as fast as they are in the RV. Almost.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Yeah. Yeah. Close.
Tony Barthel
Also, the place where you are, what are some of the highlights of the area for people who have not been there?
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
So there's a lot of highlights, which is also why we ended up here because it wasn't just the property presented itself, but the city of Montrose and the surrounding area presented so many opportunities for adventure which is also why we went with the campers hub because it's kind of the hub for adventure out here between hiking, mountain biking, jeeping is huge out here. Montrose is actually known for for its river surfing, which I didn't really know even until we moved here. So that brings actually people from all over the state to Montrose. Um, what else is there? Fly fishing.
Tony Barthel
You have that those hot springs.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Oh, the hot springs? Yes.
Tony Barthel
That's what floated my boat.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Yeah. Yes. Yeah. That's just down the road in Ouray.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
At National Park.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
That's one of our our favorite things to do on our, you know, quote unquote time off
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
is to go soak
Scott - the Camper's Hub
in the hot springs. Yeah. We got Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park nearby. And yeah, just anything outdoors, mountain biking, rock climbing, anything like that.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Ice climbing, paddle boarding?
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Is all, you know, within an hour's drive from Montrose. Mhmm.
Tony Barthel
And are you open year round?
Scott - the Camper's Hub
We weren't this last winter, but I think we will all be coming up here.
Peggy Barthel
Mhmm. Because of all the winter sports that are available.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Yeah. We do still get some traffic coming through here, you know, the ice climbers and then, you know, just anybody that's passing through the area. Montrose is a popular airport to fly into for Telluride for skiers. Yeah. Anybody that's that's driving through and needs to, you know, find a place to get some work done, we're here for them.
Tony Barthel
And that's unusual because so many RV parks, the connectivity is pretty terrible, and that's a big difference. And that's interesting that you're able to get good connectivity kinda out in a rural area.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Yeah. Fortunately, we're we're not too far from the city of Montrose. And I think just the people of Montrose in the government somewhat forward thinking. So they actually ran, uh, fiber optic line out here. So Wow.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
They're in fiber. So we've got pretty good internet. Oh,
Tony Barthel
that's good.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Yeah. That's that's one of the things that we're gonna make sure that as we grow, we continue to have a good net coverage of RV sites. We don't wanna just be, you know, because you're at the far end that you're you're out of luck and you gotta walk with your laptop to go find the signal. We're gonna make sure that there is good coverage here.
Peggy Barthel
That's what the building's
Scott - the Camper's Hub
for. Obviously. Yeah. Well, yeah, the building's here, but we don't we don't wanna also force people to to use it. If they you know, we've had people stay here where, like, you know, one spouse will go out to the RV to go do work.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
You know, say they're being recorded for a podcast and they want their own, you know, quiet space. And so the other spouse comes in and does work.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Mhmm.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
So
Tony Barthel
Yeah. That's pretty cool. If somebody were to stay with you guys and they said, oh, we're thinking of either buying a campground that's already built out or doing as you did, basically buying land and then building out a campground. Would you have any advice for them?
Scott - the Camper's Hub
I think we'd have
Tony Barthel
a lot of advice.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Do your research. Not saying we didn't do our research, but I think one of the most common questions we have gotten asked and people reach out on Instagram all the time who are interested in doing this. And I always tell them every city and county is going to have different rules. So some things that have applied and been challenges for us here might not be the case if you're trying to build in a place in Iowa or something like that. So really looking into those county codes, state codes, all of that kind of stuff can make a huge impact on your RV park and your build.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Um, we got lucky too that our zoning for one of our parcels was already done before we got here because it was agricultural land. And so it had to be rezoned to become I don't know if
Scott - the Camper's Hub
it's like RV park. RV park. Mhmm. Yeah. I mean, my my other advice would be starting a business and doing building is difficult from a banking standpoint.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Because usually a bank wants to say, okay, show us the business income, and then we'll loan you the money for construction. Right. So that's a that's a little bit of a challenge when you're trying to do both and say, okay, well, we're doing nothing but spending money, so our finances don't exactly show that. So that's that's something to definitely consider if you're switching, you know, cutting off completely from a paid job to building a campground from scratch. You know, maybe you need to find, you know, some private money or something that allows a little bit of flexibility on that.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
And then, yeah, if you've never done it before, man, it would be so much easier to buy a campground that was existing. You know, especially the amount of work that we're putting into this thing. Um, you know, we're doing it the hard way, but you know, fortunately, we're we're able-bodied and able to work, you know, 12, 14 hours a day, you know, chipping away at what needs to be done. We'll get there. It's just gonna take a lot longer than, you know, obviously having something that's you know, maybe we wanna change the paint color on the building or working out some of the the process of checking in and stuff that maybe an older campground didn't quite have done.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
So there's there's definitely a harder way and an easier way. I would definitely say we pick the harder way of doing things, but hopefully it'll all pay off in the end.
Tony Barthel
Then it's kinda yours as opposed to Yeah. Someone else's. Sure. So there is Sure.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Yeah. I do wonder if we're, like, building out our vision, you know, is is catering to, like, the RV community who's full timers and working on the road. We get approached all the time by people that just want long term stays. You know, they're like, what's your monthly excuse me. What's your annual rate?
Scott - the Camper's Hub
And we're like, uh, we're we're not really, like, gonna be that kind of park. We want travelers and people that are kinda coming in and out. Almost like a hostel, you know, like people are coming from all over the world and they're mixing and mingling and then they go out and do fun stuff, but maybe they they get some work done, you know, while they're here in the co working space. Whereas, uh, yeah. I think the easy way would have been to just say, alright.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
You know, like, let's do some long term spaces and then book it up and be done with it.
Tony Barthel
Well, I think, you know, as a transient RVer, for lack of a better description, We, you know, we go from park to park and visit places and and all of that and don't stay long periods of time in any one spot other than we do have a house, so our junk has a place to live. But the parks that have long term residents have a different feel. Right.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Yes.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Yeah. That's something we noticed Yeah. RVing. Yeah.
Tony Barthel
So I I prefer the places that don't have. Although, I did see one park recently, and I really like that they put all the long term and permanent residents kinda on the other side of a line of trees, and they even had metal roofs. That was pretty cool because you couldn't see them from the, I guess, the more transient areas. Yeah. But that place was enormous.
Peggy Barthel
Different. Hell, it was. Yeah. So what would you say was the hardest part up till now?
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
It's a good question. I feel like something that's been really hard, which is also something to consider when building a business like this. It's almost like something to consider before diving into RV life full time. Nothing is gonna go as you expect it to go, and you have to learn how to be flexible and work through that things are not gonna go as planned. And it's gonna take longer sometimes than you expected the journey to take.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
But, ideally, you're still on the right path to your destination. But I think if you would have asked us way back when we first met you guys, oh, when do you think the RV park is gonna be done? We would have thought by now it would have been complete. And that is not the case at all. So we've definitely had to learn how to get creative and be flexible, I think, throughout this whole build, which has been hard when you had this idea in your mind, you know, a year and a half ago that you'd be done.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
And now here you are looking at it thinking, oh, I thought this would look way different than it looks now, but that's okay. We'll work with it.
Tony Barthel
It's finding a place for all those trees.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
No. Tell me about it. It will be a forest in no time.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
By no time, you mean 25 years? Yes.
Tony Barthel
But don't block the Starlink.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Yeah. That's right. Starlink. That's been interesting too to see how that might affect parks like this because now people are actually able to connect in a way that they didn't used to be even when we were RVing. I don't think Starlink was a thing yet.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
So it's been interesting to see how that's gonna kinda play into everything as well.
Tony Barthel
It's funny. Last week, we stayed at a state park with a group of people who have the same brand of RVs. So it's a Rockwood mini light and Flagstaff micro light gathering. And somehow, they made a Facebook group and they asked, can anybody show a movie? Well, we have a projector and we have a big outdoor screen.
Tony Barthel
So I'm like, I can, but is there an open spot for my Starlink dish? Because that would affect it. And they're like, oh, no. There's a lot of trees in this park. And I'm like, tuck on it.
Peggy Barthel
Were a lot of trees, but we have
Tony Barthel
I found a clearing.
Peggy Barthel
We were lucky the site that we got. Actually, there was a enormous space between us and the next site, And it's just a big empty space and it was kind of tree ish, but it was open enough that the Starlink had a perfect view.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. I it got its own little spot in the clearing, so that worked out.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
That works out pretty well. I mean, yeah, that's a big factor is well, I don't know. Clouds?
Tony Barthel
Yeah. Clouds do affect it, but not as much as trees.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Certainly as of now, we don't really have a whole lot of barriers. Large trees. So we're good enough. That's not something sometimes.
Tony Barthel
On those days where you wanna sit inside the trailer and just stare at the Internet all day long because the weather sucks, you you have less
Peggy Barthel
Those are the days there's no
Tony Barthel
Internet because the weather sucks.
Peggy Barthel
Yes. Well, then you use their fiber.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. Yeah. Then you come into the into the main building and use your high quality Internet there.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Yes. And hopefully meet other people. That's kind of the goal too is Right. You know, you start chatting with other people in the co working space and maybe business connections are made or friendships or Mhmm. Whatever it may be because you're almost forced to work in the same space together.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. But it's a I mean, having been there, it's a really good space that's pretty sight I mean, we had a bunch of people when we were there that were all fellow RV entrepreneurs. And it was a good sized space. Well, it was a classroom. Well, not a classroom, but a school building.
Tony Barthel
So Mhmm. It worked out really, really well.
Peggy Barthel
It was the gymnasium. Yeah.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Yeah. Yeah. Slash cafeteria. Yeah.
Peggy Barthel
Which, by the way, doesn't look like a gymnasium or cafeteria in case anybody's thinking. They're actually picturing I mean, I have. I've gone to elementary schools for events where they pull out those little tables with those
Tony Barthel
little benches and they try to squeeze
Peggy Barthel
down onto a table.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
We do not have those.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. Get somebody like me in those student desks, and it'll have to be a you'll have to get the local fire department to get me back out.
Peggy Barthel
So I'm talking about the size of the room, not the size of the furniture.
Tony Barthel
Well, this has been great. I recommend people go there. And if somebody wants to come stay or just even follow you, how do they do that?
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
They can find us on Instagram and Facebook at the campers hub, and they can also book through our website, the campers hub dot com.
Tony Barthel
Sounds good. Well, Scott and Taylor, thank you. We can't wait to come back. Yeah. Yeah.
Tony Barthel
Next time, we'll be able to plug in and use the Internet and all of that.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Right. Absolutely. We'll sit down in person. Yeah.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Thank you. Thanks for having us on. And, yeah, when you come out, we'll have you out there watering some of those trees.
Tony Barthel
Well, last time, we had a we had the border hookups there, and they were performing using a Jackery power station. Mhmm. And we won that Jackery. So now we have the famous Jackery from the campers hub and the border hookups.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Nice. I love that.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Did they sign it for you?
Tony Barthel
Oh, I didn't see anything. That's a good idea. Well,
Scott - the Camper's Hub
if you cross paths with them. Yeah.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. We see them On
Peggy Barthel
a cruise.
Tony Barthel
Mod infrequently. Yeah.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Yeah. They've come back and stayed here with us, uh, since then.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
I mean,
Peggy Barthel
the United States is big, but it's still kind of a small world.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. And we keep running into the same cool people, which I like.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Yeah. We thought that the RV entrepreneur community was just we're like, these are our people. These are these are definitely a good crowd.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. We need to we need to get that group back there again. Yeah. Because that was a really good experience.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
We really want to.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Yeah. We'd love to do something. Maybe this fall, we'll we'll get Something we got. Stuff done, wrapped up that we can put some time into planning some sort of rally or something here.
Tony Barthel
Well, just get Andy or one of those guys to put it together and then you just sit back and we roll on in. Yeah. Alright. Well, thank you so much for your time today and we hopefully we will be there again sooner rather than later. Yeah.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Yeah. Yes. Thanks for having us on.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Yeah. Yep. Thank you.
Tony Barthel
Our pleasure. More than 50% of RVers suffer from CD. Many without even knowing it. I used to get excited before RV trips. But then I started having issues.
Tony Barthel
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Tony Barthel
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Tony Barthel
Do not try a Harvest Host if you're allergic to Harvest Host having fun, loving where you can. Side effects may include fewer arguments, better sleep, supporting small business, and even voucher go wow wow. Harvest Hosts, a more satisfying way to camp.
Peggy Barthel
I think Harvest Hosts is doing such a fun thing with that ad.
Tony Barthel
I know. And by the way, I don't know if you're aware, but you can get a discount on a Harvest Host membership. We have a link in our show notes and at stressless camping.com.
Peggy Barthel
This week's recipe of the week.
Tony Barthel
Oh, we actually
Peggy Barthel
yeah. We so we were at a rally for mini lights, mostly mini lights.
Tony Barthel
And flags and microphones. We don't wanna forget them.
Peggy Barthel
We were in Texas. I made the reservations long before I knew the details, and so we didn't realize that Sunday afternoon is not when everybody gets home. Sunday afternoon is part of the rally.
Tony Barthel
Yeah.
Peggy Barthel
So they made sticky piggy bread
Tony Barthel
Oh my gosh.
Peggy Barthel
Dan and
Tony Barthel
Tony.
Peggy Barthel
Tony. Sorry. I didn't
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
get that.
Peggy Barthel
I panicked. Uh, I was trying to remember the recipe. So Dan and Tony made sticky piggy bread, and so we stuck around. We changed our plans. We did leave that day, but we waited until about 3 o'clock when the bread was done and we could try it out.
Tony Barthel
I even got to help a wee bit.
Peggy Barthel
He did. So sticky piggy bread. I'm not gonna give you the whole recipe properly because I don't remember it off the top of my head, but it's biscuit dough, caramel sauce, cinnamon sugar. Bacon. Bacon.
Tony Barthel
That's the piggy part.
Peggy Barthel
Yep. That's the piggy part. Oh, butter. Oh. Lots of butter and maple syrup.
Tony Barthel
Lots of butter.
Peggy Barthel
Actually.
Tony Barthel
How much butter? Yeah.
Peggy Barthel
And so if you've ever had, like, monkey bread or pull apart bread, you quarter those biscuits and you layer them in there and you pour all that other goopy stuff on top and bake it. And they actually baked it in
Tony Barthel
their Dutch
Peggy Barthel
ovens. Dutch ovens with the charcoal briquettes below and above. And so really awesome, great recipe. It is on our website and you can go check out the details and learn to make your own.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. So we'll put a link in the show notes
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Yeah.
Tony Barthel
Which is also down below. Oh.
Peggy Barthel
This week, do you have a gadget report for us?
Tony Barthel
Well, I wanted to update our listeners and now viewers. Viewers. Hi, everybody. On our experience with the BMW Continuum weight distribution hitch
Peggy Barthel
Oh, good idea.
Tony Barthel
Something I have said when people ask me about that hitch, they said, so has it made a big difference? And the answer is I don't know.
Peggy Barthel
We don't know. Unfortunately, at the same time that we got the hitch, we got a different truck.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. So we got a far more capable truck and the BMW Continuum hitch. What I can tell you is that if you dread putting on a weight distribution hitch because of those bars or chains or any of that clumsy, fiddly stuff.
Peggy Barthel
No more.
Tony Barthel
Not with this hitch. This hitch could not be easier to hook up. You drop the trailer on the ball. You clamp in a little, like a saddle type of arrangement, and then you set the amount of pressure on the hitch with a lever that and all of it's built in. Installing it on the trailer was relatively easy, a little more difficult because of how Rockwood built the frame.
Tony Barthel
I actually had to cut a wee bit of frame away. But it has been really, really good. We've been in some windy roads. We've been in some windy roads. I don't know.
Tony Barthel
We've got thousands of miles on this thing, and I am completely satisfied with it. Yeah. So if you're thinking of getting a really good weight distribution hitch, uh, the BMW Continuum. Oh, and guess what? We have a full review of that hitch after I had just installed it.
Tony Barthel
And so many months later and thousands of miles later, I still wouldn't hesitate to recommend that weight distribution hitch. So Absolutely. That's our take on the B and W Continuum weight distribution hitch.
Peggy Barthel
K. So a lot of people you know, I've spent a lot of time on Facebook looking to see what you all are talking about, and people are saying they have roof leaks on the front corner of their travel trailers.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. And that's super common. Here's the thing. Every RV manufacturer says, check the seals on your RV every 90 days. That's a pretty common recommendation.
Peggy Barthel
Sure.
Tony Barthel
And they mean anywhere where there's a hole or a joint in the exterior of the RV, and that can include windows, baggage doors, where the furnace vent is. Just anywhere like that. But something I've seen a lot of people overlook is that area where the roof of the RV meets the front of the RV, and that is a pretty high flex area.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Mhmm.
Tony Barthel
And if that sealant fails, and it it can fail from sunlight, it can fail from age. It can fail from movement. It can fail from crows pecking it.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah.
Tony Barthel
You're gonna get a leak. And so the way I check the roof of our trailer is a cheater way.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. But it's a Safeway.
Tony Barthel
It is. Safeway. That's the
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
store. We actually use a camera on
Tony Barthel
a selfie stick. Yep. Put the selfie
Peggy Barthel
stick, actually use a camera on a selfie stick. Yep. Put the
Scott - the Camper's Hub
selfie stick,
Peggy Barthel
raise the camera up, either take some video that we can review later, or sometimes you use the GoPro camera Yep. And put it up there, and you can be looking at the screen on your cell phone while the GoPro is up there. But it's nice to have the actual camera up there taking a video because then you can stop, you can zoom in. And in 90 days, when you do it again, you can review what it looked like last time.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. So if you see that it's starting to crack or change, it's not difficult or even expensive to go over those seals if they're not heavily damaged, which they wouldn't be in 90 days, you hope, unless there's, like, hail. Oh, no. Yeah. So it's just my cheater way of keeping the water out, which is sort of the whole idea.
Peggy Barthel
Absolutely. Our question of the week, which has now actually been up for 2 weeks because last week, we well, we didn't cheat. We just had a really good time at that rally and We did. We didn't do all the regular things that we do.
Tony Barthel
We didn't.
Peggy Barthel
So you've had a couple weeks to answer, and we were just curious how many camping rigs you've had. So I don't necessarily mean one certain particular thing. We had almost 80 answers which was awesome. I am not gonna read them all to you. I realize that sometimes that can get a little overbearing.
Peggy Barthel
But I saw a trend. A lot of people said I've had some number of tents, a pop up, some number of travel trailers, maybe a 5th wheel, maybe a class a. But some of those people who have had 5th wheels or class a's have started going back down in size a little bit as the children have flown the nest. Yeah.
Tony Barthel
Not unusual.
Peggy Barthel
You know, they needed the bigger rigs for what they were doing, and now they don't. And, uh, Reverend Scott, I just I will call him out because he had the best, most unusual answer. In addition to other things, he has actually owned a Cadillac hearse and 3 Cadillac ambulances.
Tony Barthel
Reverend Scott is a super cool dude anyway.
Peggy Barthel
He is a super cool dude.
Tony Barthel
He used to work at Anderson Valley brewing beer for a living. He took me for a ride in his VW thing.
Peggy Barthel
Right.
Tony Barthel
And just he's one of those dudes who's just, like, you know, on the next level of cool. So I'm not surprised that Scott had a herse
Peggy Barthel
Not it. Not one more bit.
Tony Barthel
More preambulance.
Peggy Barthel
But I thought it was worth sharing.
Tony Barthel
And imagine if you had an ambulance, how much more quickly you could get to camping Right. If you turn the lights on.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. It's a camping emergency. Yeah.
Tony Barthel
I gotta get out of here.
Peggy Barthel
So this week, our question is, will you please share your experience with overnighting at rest areas? Now I know that not all states allow it. Not all people want to do it because of maybe the noise, you know. Have you stayed at a rest area? And I'm I just I'm just talking about rest areas.
Peggy Barthel
We know all about Walmart and Cracker Barrel and all that stuff. But I specifically wanna know what your experience has been with rest areas and and where.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. And what what your experience has been. And did you know you can answer that at our fun and friendly Stressless Campers Facebook group?
Peggy Barthel
Did you also know that we have a weekly newsletter? What? And it's free. No. And it's so easy to sign up.
Peggy Barthel
We have links to stories and videos and podcasts and things that will help you get the best out of your RVing experience. And you can sign up by visiting the website. There's gonna be a pop up if it's your first time there.
Tony Barthel
Not a not a pop up tent trailer.
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Not a
Peggy Barthel
pop up tent trailer. Little pop up notice that says, hey, you wanna join the newsletter? And if you missed that opportunity and you still wanna do it, don't worry about it. You can still go to the hamburger menu.
Tony Barthel
Uh, yeah. Or at the bottom of any of the page of the page. Or it's it's in a few places too.
Peggy Barthel
Tony changes the website, like, every other day. So
Taylor - the Camper's Hub
Oh, I
Tony Barthel
made a huge
Peggy Barthel
Sometimes I can't remember where things are.
Tony Barthel
Well, I made a whole lot of changes this week.
Peggy Barthel
That's right. And so if you haven't been there in a couple weeks, go check it out and see if you notice the differences.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. You'll also find the notes for this episode on the website, which is episode number 253 on the podcast page. And all of that, believe it or not, is in one giant camping resource called stress less camping Whoo. Com.
Peggy Barthel
Dotcom. Also, on that same resource, giant camping resources, our deals and discounts page, and that's where you'll find the best deals on things you need for hairdressers camping adventure.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. And if you have a deal that our audience needs to listen to or see, like, for example, ABC Upfitters or Harvest Hosts, well, let us know. We're happy to share stuff that we really like with you, especially if you're willing to offer a discount.
Peggy Barthel
Right. Especially.
Tony Barthel
And by the way, we are trolling all the social places. Whatever you like, x, TikTok, well, as long as it's not outlawed. Well, it is outlawed now. Anyway, all of those social places, but you can start at stressless camping.com. And then once you're bored with the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of pages with that, well, okay.
Tony Barthel
I guess you could go to the social stuff too.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah. Now, if you don't wanna miss a future episode of The Stress Is Camping podcast
Tony Barthel
It is free.
Peggy Barthel
It's also free to sign up and you can listen on the website or you can listen at any podcast catcher and we are saving you a seat around our virtual campfire.
Tony Barthel
Isn't that cool? And of course, you know, a review will help others find this podcast. And the more listeners means that we can continue to get the best guests and just, you know, leave a review on your favorite podcast place. We did get a really good one this week that I wanted to share with you that I had forgotten to pull off.
Peggy Barthel
Yeah, that he has to find. Alright.
Tony Barthel
But I can do it. Oh. It's there, but I can't read it.
Peggy Barthel
Oh, I can't either. So it's actually an update review, it looks like. And it says this podcast just gets better all the time. I'm at 3 years into listening to them and Tony and Peggy keep it fresh. I will say again whether you're a beginner to RVing or a seasonal pro a seasoned pro.
Scott - the Camper's Hub
Seasonal pro.
Peggy Barthel
Seasonal pro or a seasoned pro or whatever, You will always learn something new and keep your camping stress less.
Tony Barthel
Oh, thank you so much. The reviews real really do mean the world to us.
Peggy Barthel
They mean the world to us and they really do help. You know, the more reviews that are out there, the more Apple or whoever podcast places say, Oh, someone's listening and we should let other people
Tony Barthel
know. Yep. Well, share what you find on our website with your friends. We have a lot of answers, so if you come across a question on social media, you can share the answer from our website if you like. And, well, that's what we have for you this week.
Tony Barthel
Hey, let us know. Do you like these videos? Are you, like, dude, we we really don't need to see you drinking beer and yapping on a mic.
Peggy Barthel
That's alright. You just keep listening. It's okay.
Tony Barthel
Yeah. Whatever. But we're you know, we appreciate your feedback. And of course, that's at our Facebook group, or you can contact us on our website or whatever suits you. But most of all, we appreciate you and stressless camping.
Mark Ferrell
We hope you learned a lot and had some fun and got some tips for your next stress less camping adventure. We're honored by your reviews on Apple Podcasts, which helps others find us too. Don't forget to subscribe, so you won't miss out on the adventure, and we look forward to your joining us next week. Until then, happy camping.
Tony Barthel
3, 2, 1.
Peggy Barthel
Welcome to the campfire. I'm Tony. I'm Peggy.
Tony Barthel
And we are 2 RV industry veterans who pat Let's start all over.
