RV Park Formats We Analyze
MMCG produces feasibility studies across the full range of RV park and resort formats, from single-park transient acquisitions to multi-property institutional platforms.
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Transient highway-corridor RV parks serve interstate travelers at total project costs of approximately 2 to 6 million dollars on 60 to 120 sites. ADR ranges from 45 to 75 dollars, annualized occupancy from 45 to 60 percent, and EBITDA margins from 25 to 35 percent. Feasibility focuses on traffic count and corridor flow, signage and online booking visibility, big-rig accessibility, and competitive density along the corridor.
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Destination RV resorts anchor on national parks, beaches, lakes, or sports tourism with project costs of 8 to 30-plus million dollars on 150 to 350 sites. ADR ranges from 80 to 200 dollars, peak-season occupancy reaches 60 to 80 percent annualized, and EBITDA margins reach 30 to 45 percent. Amenity stack is the determining feasibility variable: pool, clubhouse, pickleball, dog park, fitness center, planned activities, and on-site food and beverage drive both rate premium and member retention.
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Snowbird seasonal RV parks serve Midwest and Northeast feeder markets migrating to Florida, Arizona, Texas Rio Grande Valley, Southern California, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and South Carolina with project costs of 10 to 40 million dollars on 200 to 500 sites. Monthly rates range from 400 to 2,500 dollars across tiers, with peak parks booking 6 to 9 months in advance. Premium parks now treat four or more pickleball courts as table stakes alongside pools, clubhouses, and 55-plus oriented amenity programming.
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National-park and Mountain West gateway RV parks operate concentrated 4 to 5-month seasons in Yellowstone, Glacier, Grand Teton, Black Hills, Zion, and similar gateways. Peak ADR reaches 80 to 110 dollars for full-hookup pull-through sites. Feasibility must capture both demand strength (most major gateways are supply-constrained because most National Park Service in-park sites are length-limited under 40 feet) and operational concentration (annualized fixed costs must be amortized over a 4 to 5-month revenue window). Western water rights and septic permitting are recurring J.D.-grade analytical requirements.
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Annual and MH-RV hybrid communities combine annual RV tenancy with manufactured housing, achieving above 95 percent utilization, the highest cash-flow visibility, and the strongest cap-rate compression in the asset class. Project costs range from 15 to 50-plus million dollars on 200 to 600 sites. Feasibility incorporates rental rate ladder analysis, site improvement standards, and the SBA eligibility test that more than 50 percent of revenue must come from transient stays of 30 days or less. Many high-quality annual properties are ineligible for SBA financing and route to USDA B&I, conventional, or institutional capital. For mobile-home and multifamily-adjacent residential analysis, see our multifamily feasibility study.
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KOA and franchise-conversion RV parks operate within national reservation and brand systems requiring 75-site minimums and specific amenity standards. The feasibility analysis incorporates franchise fees, royalties, advertising contributions, and brand-driven occupancy and ADR uplift against capital cost and operational standardization requirements.
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Multi-park portfolios and institutional platforms require platform-level feasibility analysis covering territory mapping, white-space identification, site-by-site economics, brand penetration, and corporate-level financial integration. MMCG produces both single-site studies for franchisee borrowers and platform-level diligence for franchisors and institutional sponsors evaluating roll-up candidates. Where RV parks sit within mixed-use destination resort programs alongside hospitality or food service, our restaurant feasibility study and retail feasibility study frameworks integrate with the RV analysis.
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The RV Park Market Context for Development and Investment
The 2026 RV park environment is defined by three structural conditions that materially influence feasibility outcomes.
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The first is structural step-change at a higher base. The narrative of a "post-COVID bubble unwinding" misreads the cycle. Active camping households at 52.2 million sit roughly 24 percent above 2019, RV-owning households at 8.1 million continue to grow with 16.9 million prospective five-year buyers in the funnel, and the camper economic footprint expanded 8 percent in 2025 alone. RVIA shipments rebuilt from a 313,000-unit trough in 2023 to 342,000 in 2025 with continued growth forecast into 2026. Median owner age dropped from 53 to 49 over four years, and 30 percent of owners now identify with growth audiences (Hispanic, Black, Asian, or LGBTQ-plus), expanding the structural demand base.
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The second is institutional consolidation. Sun Communities, post the 5.65 billion dollar Safe Harbor Marinas divestiture to Blackstone Infrastructure, has repositioned as a pure-play MH and RV REIT and recycled capital into accretive bolt-on acquisitions. Equity LifeStyle Properties operates 226 RV resorts comprising approximately 91,100 sites with stable rental income exceeding 565 million dollars. Northgate Resorts (the largest Yogi Bear's Jellystone franchisee at 19 to 20 properties), Blue Water Development, RVC Outdoor Destinations (80 percent owned by ELS), Roberts Resorts (17 communities with 6,500 lots in service and 2,700 in development), and KOA (approximately 511 to 520 properties system-wide) round out the institutional cohort. MMCG's analysis of Sun Communities' platform evolution details how institutional positioning has reshaped the asset class. Each platform transaction triggers third-party feasibility demand at site, regional, and platform levels.
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The third is the resort-tier and large-format dispersion. Properties of 300 or more sites and resort-tier amenity stacks have led RevPAS gains in the most recent benchmarking cycles, while traditional smaller campgrounds have seen occupancy compression partially offset by ADR growth. Cap rates have stratified accordingly: trophy 5-star resorts trade at 5.5 to 7.0 percent (13x to 17x EBITDA), stabilized mid-tier at 6.25 to 7.75 percent (11x to 13x), Class B secondary at 7.5 to 9.0 percent (10x to 12x), and value-add at 9 percent and above (7x to 9x). These benchmarks inform residual valuation in every feasibility study and directly influence whether stabilized property value supports the proposed capital stack.
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Membership penetration, brand affiliation, and amenity stack continue to compress cap rates for resort-tier assets while leaving mid-market transient parks more dependent on operational excellence. The feasibility analysis must distinguish where on the spectrum a proposed project sits and benchmark accordingly.
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SBA, USDA, and Conventional Loan Programs for RV Park Development
RV parks are financed across multiple government-backed and conventional pathways. MMCG produces feasibility studies calibrated to the specific underwriting requirements of each program.
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SBA 7(a) loans provide up to 5 million dollars for RV park acquisition, construction, equipment, and working capital, with 25-year amortization for real-estate-anchored transactions. NAICS 721211 carries a 10-million-dollar size standard. The critical eligibility test is that more than 50 percent of revenue must come from transient stays of 30 days or less; parks dominated by annual or full-season tenants are treated as ineligible passive real estate and routed to conventional or USDA financing. SOP 50 10 8 raised the minimum SBSS score from 155 to 165, lowered the collateral threshold from 500,000 to 50,000 dollars, and reduced the 7(a) Small Loan threshold from 500,000 to 350,000 dollars. See our SBA feasibility study requirements page for the program's full underwriting expectations.
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SBA 504 loans provide long-term, fixed-rate financing for owner-occupied RV parks through the 50/40/10 participation structure, with a plus-5 percent equity surcharge for special-purpose properties (15 percent total) and plus-10 percent for special-purpose start-ups (20 percent total). Owner-occupancy is generally satisfied because the operator occupies the asset. For special-purpose properties where intangibles exceed 250,000 dollars or the transaction is related-party, SOP 50 10 8 requires an independent going-concern appraisal by a state-certified general real-property appraiser with at least four comparable special-purpose appraisals in the prior 36 months, USPAP-compliant, with separate value allocation to land, building, FF&E, and intangibles. For the regulatory context driving 2025 to 2026 deal structures, see our SBA SOP 50 10 8 regulatory analysis.
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USDA B&I guaranteed loans finance RV park development in eligible rural communities with populations under 50,000, providing up to 25 million dollars per borrower at 80 to 85 percent federal guarantee with 30 to 40-year terms. Approximately 97 percent of U.S. land area qualifies under at least one USDA program. RV parks are explicitly identified as eligible projects. Feasibility studies are mandatory for all new RV park borrowers under B&I, addressing community and economic impact, NEPA environmental review, job creation, and "but-for the guarantee" justification per RD Instruction 4279-B. Equity requirements range from 10 percent for existing businesses to a 20 to 30 percent practical floor for start-up parks. For full eligibility criteria, see our USDA feasibility study requirements page and our breakdown of USDA B&I loan eligibility. To confirm whether your site qualifies geographically, use our USDA eligibility map, and to model the financing structure use our USDA B&I loan calculator.
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Conventional commercial loans serve experienced multi-park operators, institutional sponsors, and properties failing the SBA 50-percent transient revenue test. Loan-to-cost ratios typically range from 70 to 80 percent against SBA's 90 percent, with DSCR floors of 1.20x to 1.30x. To evaluate the cost-of-capital and structural tradeoffs across programs, use our SBA and USDA loan comparison calculator.
Pricing
RV park feasibility study fees start at $4,900, scaling with project complexity, format, market, and lender requirements. Single-park transient and small destination park studies in well-documented markets generally fall toward the lower end of the engagement range. Single-park institutional-grade studies and snowbird or destination resort engagements typically range from 9,500 to 25,000 dollars. Multi-park portfolios, platform-level due diligence for institutional sponsors, and franchise territory analyses are quoted on engagement-specific terms.
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MMCG applies the same institutional-grade methodology and analytical standards found at leading global consultancies. Our pricing is structured for the SBA, 504, USDA B&I, and conventional lending market, ensuring RV park developers, franchise operators, institutional sponsors, and their lenders receive premier-quality analysis at fee levels accessible to single-asset transactions. To review the full credentials of our principal and senior analysts, see our credentials and experience page.
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Every engagement receives a fixed-fee proposal. No hourly billing, no scope creep, no surprises. Our standard fee structure is 50 percent upon engagement and 50 percent upon delivery and positive lender, CDC, or USDA review and acceptance of the completed study.​
RV Park Feasibility Study
Why RV Park Development Requires Independent Feasibility Analysis
The U.S. RV park and campground industry has settled into a structural step-change. The post-2020 surge has not unwound; it has normalized at a permanently higher base. RVIA wholesale shipments rebuilt from a 313,000-unit trough in 2023 to 342,000 in 2025, active camping households reached 52.2 million (more than 24 percent above 2019), and the camper economic footprint expanded to approximately 66 billion dollars in 2025, an 8 percent year-over-year increase. RV ownership reached 8.1 million households, with a further 16.9 million prospective households expressing five-year purchase intent. Median owner age has declined from 53 to 49 over four years, and remote workers now occupy 22 percent of RV-owning households, structurally extending median annual usage from 20 to 30 days. MMCG's RV park market outlook 2025 to 2030 details the demand, supply, and capital flows shaping the asset class.
These conditions have made feasibility studies more important, not less. National annual occupancy averages in the mid-60 percent range with peak-season July to August occupancy reaching 76 percent, but the dispersion is widening. Resort-tier and large-format properties (300+ sites) have led recent RevPAS gains, while mid-market and smaller transient parks have seen pricing pressure absorb most of the demand growth. The questions that determine whether a project finances in 2026 are no longer whether RV demand exists; they are whether the proposed site, format, and amenity stack can capture the right demand at sustainable rates and clear lender debt service coverage thresholds with realistic stabilization curves.
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SBA Standard Operating Procedure 50 10 8, effective June 1, 2025, formalized the underwriting circumstances under which lenders should expect a third-party feasibility study: ground-up new construction, first-time operators with no NAICS 721211 history, change-of-use transactions converting raw land or alternative property types, special-purpose property classifications with significant intangible value, expansion projects exceeding 50 percent site count growth, and rural projects with thin comparable data. The SOP's reinstated special-purpose property list, 10 percent minimum equity injection (15 to 20 percent for special-purpose start-ups), and 1.10x DSCR floor on 7(a) Small Loans have made independent analysis a regulatory expectation rather than an optional exhibit. USDA Business and Industry guaranteed loans go further: feasibility studies are mandatory for all new RV park borrowers regardless of size or experience.
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In calendar year 2025, RV parks received approximately 90 million dollars across 64 SBA 7(a) loans averaging 1.4 million dollars at a 9.47 percent rate, supported by 39 active lenders, with a single specialty lender originating roughly 37 percent of niche volume. USDA B&I activity in rural RV park development continues to grow, with maximum loan sizes of 25 million dollars at 80 to 85 percent federal guarantee in eligible rural communities. Institutional consolidation has added a third demand channel: Sun Communities, Equity LifeStyle Properties, Northgate Resorts, Blue Water Development, RVC Outdoor Destinations, and Roberts Resorts collectively underwrite dozens of RV park transactions annually, each requiring third-party validation. That is the question MMCG's feasibility studies are engineered to answer.
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What Our RV Park Feasibility Studies Include
Every MMCG RV park feasibility study is structured to address the analytical requirements that SBA loan reviewers, 504 CDCs, USDA Rural Development offices, conventional credit committees, and institutional equity sponsors evaluate when financing RV park and resort properties. Our methodology builds on the broader bankable feasibility study framework MMCG applies across asset classes, calibrated specifically to RV park unit economics.
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Site selection and physical suitability analysis. We evaluate highway frontage and interstate access, demand drivers within a 50-mile radius (national parks, lakes, beaches, sports tourism, snowbird climate corridors), big-rig accessibility (60-foot combination approach, low-bridge clearance, truck-route designation), soil bearing capacity for concrete pads, percolation suitability for septic where municipal sewer is unavailable, three-phase electrical capacity for sites of 50 or more pads, fiber availability, terrain grade, and FEMA flood zone designation. The industry's economies-of-scale threshold is 50 sites for transient parks and approximately 75 sites for franchise conversions, with typical density of 8 to 12 sites per developable acre. Where site comparison against alternative uses is warranted, the analysis can be paired with a highest and best use study.
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Trade area and demographic modeling. RV park trade areas behave fundamentally differently from retail or hospitality trade areas because demand is bifurcated between highway-corridor catchments and destination-anchored catchments. Transient parks draw from linear 100 to 250-mile interstate corridors with conversion driven by signage and online booking presence. Destination resorts draw nationally from snowbird flows or attraction-anchored demand within a 30 to 60-minute drive of a major draw such as Yellowstone, Glacier, the Black Hills, the Florida Keys, or Phoenix-Mesa. Snowbird parks require origin-state migration analysis measuring inbound flow from Midwest and Northeast feeder markets. For lender packages requiring a standalone supply-and-demand exhibit, the trade area work can be delivered as a separate commercial real estate market study.
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Demand modeling and visitor analysis. Demand modeling integrates three components: ADR by site type and season, occupancy curves by month, and length-of-stay distributions by mix. Transient sites exhibit pronounced seasonality with peak occupancy of 80 to 100 percent and off-peak dropping to 20 to 30 percent, annualizing in the mid-50 percent range. Snowbird sites operate at effective full occupancy during a 3 to 6-month contract season. Annual sites at institutional operators run above 95 percent utilization with the strongest cash flow visibility. The pro forma models each stream independently with its own ramp curve, then integrates to a 10-year DCF with monthly stabilization-period detail.
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Competitive supply and saturation assessment. Our team profiles every operating RV park within the relevant catchment: format, site count and mix, vintage, amenity stack, big-rig site availability, online review profile across Google, RV Park Reviews, Campendium, and Good Sam, and pricing positioning. We layer in permitted and under-construction competitors via municipal CUP dockets and franchise pipeline disclosures. The analysis produces a competitive set RevPAS index comparing the subject to peers, identifying pricing power and amenity gaps. Mobility and visitation data from Placer.ai, Advan Research, and ArcGIS Business Analyst extend the supply analysis into observed customer flow patterns.
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Site mix and revenue modeling. Site count optimization balances density (revenue per acre) against amenity allocation and circulation. Full-hookup 50-amp sites command 10 to 30 dollars per night ADR premium over water-and-electric, and pull-through sites carry a 10 to 15 dollar premium over back-in for big-rig transients. Premium placement near waterfront, views, or pool clusters commands an additional 20 to 40 percent rate premium. Multi-tenant projects receive site-by-site rent roll projections; single-format resorts receive pricing-curve and revenue-management modeling. Ancillary revenue across the camp store, propane, laundry, golf cart and e-bike rentals, lake access, and pet services typically contributes 5 to 15 percent of total revenue at materially higher margin.
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Amenity ROI and capital allocation analysis. Amenity decisions are capital allocation decisions with measurable ADR and occupancy implications. Indicative capex ranges include pools at 50,000 to 250,000 dollars (and up to 500,000 for resort-tier installations), clubhouses at 200,000 to 1,000,000 dollars, pickleball courts at 30,000 to 80,000 dollars per court, dog parks at 10,000 to 50,000 dollars, playgrounds at 20,000 to 100,000 dollars, and fitness centers at 50,000 to 150,000 dollars. In Sunbelt 55-plus markets, four or more pickleball courts are now table stakes. Our feasibility studies model each amenity decision against incremental rate, occupancy, and member retention impact.
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Operating expense benchmarking. Total operating expense for a well-managed RV park typically runs 50 to 70 percent of revenue, yielding mid-teens to low-30s EBITDA margins depending on format. Utilities run 15 to 20 percent of revenue at sub-metered modern parks but can reach 30 to 35 percent at older transient parks. Payroll is the largest single line; marketing runs 3 to 8 percent; reserves run 3 to 5 percent. For franchise conversions, royalty structures, advertising fees, and reservation system fees combine to approximately 10 percent of qualifying revenue. Each line is itemized against MMCG database benchmarks across format, region, and operator type.
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Financial projections and lender metrics. Our 10-year pro forma includes monthly stabilization-period breakdown, integrated DCF, IRR, NPV, sensitivity analysis (typically negative 15 percent revenue and positive 100 basis point debt cost stress), and Monte Carlo simulation where appropriate. We calculate Year One through Year Ten DSCR against the 1.20x to 1.35x stabilized floor most lenders require, cash-on-cash return, stabilized NOI, break-even occupancy and ADR, and cap-rate-implied valuation. Stabilization typically occurs 24 to 48 months from opening, with 6 to 18 months of construction and 12 to 24 months of revenue ramp; best-practice models structure post-opening working capital into the loan amount.
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Zoning, entitlement, and water rights review. Most jurisdictions require a Conditional Use Permit or Special Use Permit for new RV parks even within commercial zones, with public hearings on noise, lighting, water, traffic, and stormwater. Wastewater is governed at the state level (TCEQ in Texas above 5,000 gallons per day, North Carolina requiring a professional engineer's seal above 1,500 gpd, similar tiered structures elsewhere). Western water rights under prior appropriation in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, and parts of California require either acquisition of a senior right transferable to commercial use or a municipal supply contract. Our principal's J.D. credential supports zoning, entitlement, and water rights analysis at a depth generalist appraisers and feasibility consultants cannot match. Site-specific natural hazard exposure can be paired with our FEMA flood zone and wetlands map and U.S. seismic hazard map to confirm insurability and structural design parameters.
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Construction cost and capital stack reconciliation. Cost per developed RV pad ranges from 25,000 to 50,000 dollars for economy and transient highway formats, 50,000 to 100,000 dollars for mid-tier full-hookup parks with pool and clubhouse, and 100,000 to 200,000-plus dollars for luxury 5-star resorts. Component costs include clearing and grading at 8,000 to 12,000 dollars per acre, concrete pads at approximately 3,840 dollars per 16 by 40 site, basic site utilities at 2,000 to 5,000 dollars per site, premium utilities at 4,000 to 8,000 dollars, engineering at 1,500 to 5,000 dollars per acre, and 10 to 15 percent contingency. The feasibility analysis reconciles the total development budget against stabilized property value to confirm that lender LTC and LTV thresholds are achievable.
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Environmental review. MMCG does not perform Phase I or Phase II Environmental Site Assessments. Our feasibility deliverable integrates findings from qualified ESA providers retained separately by the borrower, ensuring scope clarity between the feasibility opinion and the environmental record. Where a project contemplates glamping cabin or alternative lodging integration, the feasibility scope can be coordinated with our dedicated glamping feasibility study framework.
Engagements are led by Michal Mohelsky, J.D., Practicing Affiliate of the Appraisal Institute. Feasibility studies are prepared under USPAP discipline, aligned with SBA SOP 50 10 8 for 7(a) and 504 loans and with 7 CFR Part 5001, Appendix A to Subpart D for USDA Business and Industry, REAP, and Community Facilities financing. Engagements start at $4,900 with fixed-fee scoping. Standard delivery is 9 to 16 business days, with rush turnaround available from 5 days. A senior analyst responds to proposal requests within 12 business hours from the firm's San Francisco office at 27 Maiden Lane, Suite 625.