Blog: Preparing Your Campground for Winter Months

Editor’s note: This column was first published by Bonfire, a reservations system provider, on its blog. 

If you own a campground or RV park in colder climates, it’s vital that you winterize your facilities at the end of Fall. Not doing so will cost you a fortune in broken water pipes and in extra repair time starting at the beginning of the next season.  It’s not too late! Below are a few suggestions and tips to winterize your park and also make a little extra cash along the way.

Take advantage of the money-making potential. 

The first thing we want to address, before the less fun stuff, is ways to make more money during the winter months. Just because there is snow on the ground doesn’t mean that people won’t want to come to enjoy the great outdoors.

• You already have the fire pits available. Sell things like s’more packages complete with clothes hangers.
• Most outdoor destinations have some fun sledding terrain. Stock up on sleds and extra blankets, either charging a little for rentals or asking for great reviews online in return for use for free.
• Sometimes campers underestimate how cold it really gets at night. Capitalize on poor planning and keep campers warm by selling thick socks, gloves, hat and pocket warmers.
• Ornaments are great to sell all season long but pick up around the holidays. Whether you customize them with writing on the back for each family or sell DIY kits it’s not too hard to sell these timely gifts.

Water 

Constantly winterizing and de-winterizing cabins is hard. So, the first thing we would suggest is closing some cabins down for the winter. Once you have identified the cabins and community areas that will remain open, the No. 1 priority would be making sure your pipes don’t crack. The obvious answer is draining all your pipes and then blowing out the rest of the water with a compressor.

Some people say putting a half cup of vodka or olive oil down the drain helps push out the rest of the water from pipes. Don’t forget about the water heaters and garden hoses too!

For those who do not have the luxury of flushing everything out and shutting down cabins, make sure your pipes are well insulated. Although it does cost money, pay a plumber to take care of it for you! It will pay off in the end.

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