Quick answer: An RV park can work on a site only if four things line up: the wastewater can be treated legally and affordably, water and power can be delivered at the right capacity, the layout fits the RVs your market actually brings, and the improvements you build today do not reduce what the land is worth for its next use. Mack Engineering looks at all four in an RV park feasibility study before you buy or commit to a design, so the site plan, the pro forma, and the exit strategy are based on the same facts.
RV parks look simple on a napkin sketch: a loop road, a row of pads, and a pedestal at each site. In practice, they are small utility systems with a hospitality business on top. The RV types you plan to serve set your site dimensions, power demand, and sewer layout. The location sets your amenities. Your financing and future plans for the land set how permanent those improvements should be. Below are the variables we evaluate on every RV park feasibility study and design.
Start With the RV Types You Plan to Serve
Every RV park design decision follows from one question: what rigs are coming? A park built for camper vans and travel trailers is a very different project than an RV resort built for 45-foot diesel pushers towing an SUV. The table below summarizes the main RV categories and what each one typically means for the site.
| RV type | Typical size | What it means for site design |
|---|---|---|
| Class A motorhome | 26 to 45 ft long, 13,000 to 30,000 lb | Longest pads, heavier pavement or base sections, wide turning radii, and 50-amp service. Many tow a car, so plan pad length for the coach plus the towed vehicle. |
| Class C motorhome | About 20 to 33 ft long | Mid-length pads. Usually 30-amp, with larger models on 50-amp. Works well on standard back-in or pull-through sites. |
| Class B (camper van) | About 17 to 19 ft long, 6,000 to 8,000 lb | Shortest pads. Lower power and sewer demand. Many travel with limited tank capacity, so dump station access matters. |
| Fifth wheel | Combined truck and trailer up to about 65 ft | Pull-through sites or long back-ins. Needs room for the truck, heavy axle loads, and wide slide-outs on both sides. |
| Travel trailer / toy hauler | Varies widely by model | Standard sites in most cases. Toy haulers add side-by-sides, golf carts, or bikes that need extra parking on or near the pad. |
| Park model RV | No more than 400 sq ft when set up (ANSI A119.5) | Semi-permanent placement. Behaves more like a small cabin for utilities, setbacks, and long-term wastewater flows. Check whether the county treats it as an RV or a dwelling. |
| Tent and primitive sites | No vehicle | Can be excluded from the 30-amp and 50-amp percentage calculation when served by 15- or 20-amp power. Restroom access drives the design. |
Size ranges are typical industry figures from KOA, Extra Space Storage, Campground Tech Guide, and RVIA. Always confirm against the specific rigs in your target market.
Slide-outs change the width of every site
Slide-outs commonly extend 3 to 5 feet per side, and a Class A with slides deployed can occupy 18 to 22 feet of width. Industry guidance for large-rig sites points to roughly 65 to 70 feet of length and 25 to 30 feet of width. Undersized pads cost you twice: you lose premium bookings, and you often cannot widen them later without moving pedestals and sewer risers.
Back-in versus pull-through sites
Back-in sites are the most land-efficient option. Pull-through sites cost more land and pavement, but they are strongly preferred by fifth-wheel owners and motorhomes towing vehicles, and they work well for overnight and short-stay travelers near interstates. Most successful parks use a mix, and the right mix depends on whether your location draws overnight traffic, weekend campers, or long-term guests.
Septic Layouts and Wastewater Capacity
Wastewater is the variable that kills the most RV park deals. In Georgia, the Department of Public Health On-Site Sewage Management Systems Manual assigns design flows to travel trailer parks and campgrounds. These numbers drive the size of your septic tanks, drain fields, or treatment system. If you are new to how Georgia permits on-site systems, our guide to septic system design in Georgia covers the Level 3 soil report and the site limits that apply to any lot.
| Georgia DPH design flow category | Design flow |
|---|---|
| Travel trailer park with independent water and sewage connections | 150 gallons per day per space |
| Bath house, park with independent sewer connections | 50 gallons per day per space |
| Bath house, park without independent sewer connections | 100 gallons per day per space |
| Dump station for travel trailers | 50 gallons per day per vehicle |
| Washing machine (laundry) | Add 500 gallons per day per machine |
Source: Georgia DPH On-Site Sewage Management Systems Manual, Section J. Parks established for permanent placement of RVs must meet single-family residential requirements.
A quick example
A 60-site park with full hookups and a bath house works out to 60 × 150 = 9,000 gallons per day for the sites, plus 60 × 50 = 3,000 gallons per day for the bath house. That is 12,000 gallons per day before any laundry. Once a subsurface system serves more than 10,000 gallons per day, it moves into Georgia EPD’s large community subsurface system permitting, which has its own design, submittal, and operating requirements. A few sites or one laundry room can push a project across that line, so the site count and amenity plan must be tested against wastewater capacity before the concept is finalized.
What drives septic layout
- Soils first. A Level 3 soil report and perc data determine where absorption fields can go and how large they must be. The best soils on the property are often also the best building areas, which matters for your exit.
- Stronger wastewater. Texas A&M AgriLife research found RV park wastewater averaged above the 300 mg/L BOD5 residential benchmark at both short-stay and long-stay parks. Holding-tank waste is concentrated, so pretreatment and tank sizing deserve attention.
- Public sewer proximity. Georgia’s Tourist Accommodations rules require connection to a public or community sewer when it is available within 200 feet of the property line or in an abutting right-of-way. See our comparison of sanitary sewer versus septic for rural North Georgia for how that choice plays out.
- Gravity versus pumped. Topography decides whether site laterals can flow by gravity to the tanks or need lift stations, which add cost, maintenance, and power demand.
- Site connections. Georgia requires each independent site’s sewer connection to be at least 3 inches in diameter and capped when not in use. NFPA 1194 places the sewer inlet on the left rear half of the site, near the RV’s drain outlet.
Dump station requirements
If you provide one, Georgia’s rules are specific: a concrete pad at least 6 feet by 6 feet and 6 inches thick, a drain at least 4 inches in diameter with a self-closing foot-operated cap, 4-inch curbing, a pad sloped at least 0.25 inch per foot to the drain, red wash-down fixtures, and any potable water outlet at least 50 feet away. The dump station also needs all-weather access near the entrance and exit, which affects your road layout.
Utility Connection Impacts
Before you count sites, confirm what the utilities can actually deliver to the property line and what it costs to get them there. Utility connections often decide whether a park pencils out.
- Capacity letters. Get written availability from the water provider, sewer provider (if any), and electric utility. A line on the road frontage does not mean capacity is available.
- Off-site extensions. Main extensions, transformer upgrades, or a new three-phase service can cost more than the internal site work. These costs belong in the feasibility study, not after closing.
- Tap and impact fees. Some providers charge per connection or per equivalent residential unit. Ask how they count RV sites, bath houses, and laundry.
- Grouped utility locations. NFPA 1194 allows water, sewer, and electric connections to be grouped in one assembly on the driver’s (left) side of the site. Consistent placement reduces trenching and simplifies future upgrades.
Water Conveyance for Facilities
Water design covers more than the hose bib at each pad. It includes supply source, peak demand, storage, backflow protection, and fire protection.
- Public water threshold. Under Georgia’s Tourist Accommodations rules, a park that regularly serves an average of 25 or more trailer spaces daily for at least 60 days a year must use a public water system. Smaller parks on private wells still have to meet state and local codes.
- Peak demand. Use clusters around mornings, check-out times, and weekends. Bath houses, laundries, pools, and wash-down stations must be sized for those peaks, not daily averages.
- Backflow protection. Georgia prohibits below-grade stop-and-waste valves and hose bibs at RV sites and requires the supply to be protected from back-siphonage.
- Fire protection. NFPA 1194 requires the park site plan to show water supply for fire protection. Fire marshal requirements for hydrants, flow, and access roads should be confirmed early because they can drive pipe size and storage.
- Loop and valve the system. A looped main with isolation valves lets you repair one section without shutting down the whole park.
Power Requirements for Facilities
Electrical service is usually the largest single utility cost in an RV park. Georgia has adopted the 2023 National Electrical Code with Georgia amendments, effective January 1, 2026. Article 551 of that code sets minimum receptacle requirements for RV sites.
- Every site with power needs at least one 20-amp, 125-volt receptacle, GFCI protected.
- At least 70 percent of sites need a 30-amp, 125-volt receptacle.
- At least 40 percent of new sites need a 50-amp, 125/250-volt receptacle, and every 50-amp site must also have a 30-amp receptacle.
- Tent sites with only 15- or 20-amp power can be excluded from the 30-amp and 50-amp percentage calculation.
The 40 percent requirement for 50-amp service is a minimum. The NEC itself notes that seasonal parks serving larger RVs may need a higher share, potentially approaching 100 percent. If your market is Class A motorhomes and large fifth wheels, plan for more 50-amp sites than the code requires.
How the service is sized
NEC Table 551.73 assigns a calculated load of 2,400 VA for each 20-amp site, 3,600 VA for each 20/30-amp site, and 9,600 VA for each 50-amp site, then applies a demand factor because not every RV draws full power at once. For parks with more than 36 sites, the demand factor is 41 percent.
Example: a new 60-site park with 24 sites at 50 amps (40 percent) and 36 sites at 30/20 amps has a connected load of 230,400 VA plus 129,600 VA, or 360,000 VA. At 41 percent, the calculated demand is about 147,600 VA, or roughly 615 amps at 240 volts, before the office, bath house, laundry, pool, lighting, or lift stations. Adding a clubhouse or EV charging can change the service size and transformer request.
- Distribution layout. Pedestal locations, feeder routing, and transformer placement should follow the road and site layout so trenches are shared with water and sewer where code allows.
- Overhead lines. Georgia’s rules require power lines in tourist accommodations to be underground or at least 18 feet above ground.
- Build for upgrades. Oversized conduit and spare transformer capacity are inexpensive during construction and very expensive to add later.
Parking Layout and Future Use Plans
Your site layout has to work for today’s RV park and for whatever the land becomes later. Georgia’s Tourist Accommodations rules set baseline spacing: each site must abut an all-weather driveway at least 20 feet wide, trailers must be at least 15 feet from buildings and at least 10 feet from internal driveways, and each site must be clearly marked. County zoning, fire code, and stormwater rules add more, and the land disturbance permit for the park runs through the same county review as any other land development project.
- Circulation. One-way loops reduce conflicts and simplify pull-through sites. Entrances need turning radii and stacking room for the longest rig plus a towed vehicle.
- Extra parking. Plan for tow vehicles, toy-hauler equipment, guest parking, and staff parking. Overflow parking on grass becomes a rutting and erosion problem.
- Pavement and base. Class A motorhomes can weigh up to 30,000 pounds. Roads and pads need a section designed for those loads, not a residential driveway section.
- Stormwater. Pads, roads, and roofs add impervious area. NFPA 1194 requires each stand to drain away from the pad, and county detention and water quality rules apply to the overall development. Our stormwater design and hydrology team sizes those facilities alongside the site plan.
- Align roads with future lots. Where it makes sense, place the main internal road and utility corridors where a future subdivision street or commercial drive could go.
Planning Your Exit From Day One
Most owners will not operate an RV park forever. The land may be sold to another operator, refinanced, subdivided for homes, or redeveloped as commercial property. What you build today can make each of those paths easier or harder. Lenders view RV parks as a mix of real estate and operating business, so the value of the land itself, and what it can become, is part of how the property is underwritten.
Ways an RV park can hurt future use
- Drain fields in the best building areas. Absorption fields placed on the property’s prime soils or flattest ground can limit future lot layouts, and abandoned systems have to be properly closed.
- Utilities that serve only RVs. Small-diameter mains, shallow lines under future lots, and private systems that a public utility will not accept may have to be replaced.
- Grading that cannot be reused. Terraced pads and fill placed without compaction testing may need to be reworked before homes or buildings can be placed.
- Zoning tied to the use. Special use permits or conditional zoning approvals may apply only to the RV park use. Confirm what the underlying zoning and land use allows if the RV use stops.
- Unrecorded easements and private roads. Internal roads and utility easements need clear documentation so a buyer, lender, or future county review can rely on them.
Ways to protect your exit and collateral
- Prepare a long-range concept plan for the most likely future use alongside the RV park design.
- Place septic fields, lift stations, and detention ponds where they will not block future lots or building pads.
- Build main water and sewer lines to standards a public provider could accept, and request acceptance where possible.
- Document compaction testing, as-builts, easements, and permits. These records support appraisals, refinancing, and sale, and they are the same records a pre-sale feasibility package relies on when the property changes hands.
- Phase the park so early phases do not use up land that is more valuable for a different use.
Amenities Driven by Location
Amenities should follow the location and the guest it attracts, and each one has an engineering cost in water, wastewater, power, parking, and stormwater. We help owners test amenity plans against utility capacity before they appear on a rendering.
| Location type | Amenities to evaluate | Engineering impact |
|---|---|---|
| Interstate or highway stopover | Pull-through sites, dump station, laundry, Wi-Fi, pet area | Dump station flows, laundry adds 500 gpd per machine, easy entry and exit for large rigs |
| Lake or river destination | Boat and trailer parking, launch access, fish-cleaning station, cabins or park models | Larger parking areas, stream buffers, floodplain limits, cabin wastewater flows |
| Mountain or rural destination | Bath house, camp store, trails, tent sites | Steeper grading, private well and septic capacity, erosion control |
| Event or tourism draw | Clubhouse, pool, pavilion, golf-cart paths | Higher peak water and power, pool permitting, more impervious area |
| Long-stay or workforce housing | Mail and package area, laundry, storage, 50-amp sites | Higher year-round wastewater flows and power demand; zoning may treat long-term stays differently |
Wastewater figures from the Georgia DPH On-Site Sewage Management Systems Manual. Confirm local zoning limits on length of stay.
What an RV Park Feasibility Study Includes
A Mack Engineering RV park feasibility study gives you a clear go or no-go before you close on land or pay for full design. It follows the same approach as our general guide to getting a site feasibility report before you buy land, with RV-specific utility and layout tests added. Typical scope includes:
- Zoning, special use, and length-of-stay review with the county or city
- Soil and septic suitability, or public sewer availability and capacity
- Water, sewer, and electric capacity and off-site extension costs
- Site yield by RV type, with back-in and pull-through mix
- NEC Article 551 power demand estimate and service planning
- Stormwater, floodplain, stream buffer, and tree protection limits
- Conceptual site plan with phasing and a future-use overlay
- A written summary of risks, costs, and permitting path
Mack Engineering is owned by a licensed general contractor, so our designs are reviewed for constructability, cost, and permitting, not just compliance. That matters on RV parks, where small layout decisions repeat across every site.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the RV types you serve, the back-in and pull-through mix, and how much land the septic system, stormwater, roads, and amenities require. On sites using septic, the wastewater system often determines the final site count more than the land area does.
Georgia DPH uses 150 gallons per day per space for travel trailer parks with independent water and sewer connections. Bath houses, dump stations, and laundries are added separately.
Under NEC Article 551, every powered site needs a 20-amp receptacle, at least 70 percent need 30-amp, and at least 40 percent of new sites need 50-amp. Parks serving large motorhomes and fifth wheels should plan for more 50-amp sites.
Georgia requires a properly sized dump station when central toilet and shower buildings are provided. Parks with sewer connections at every site may still benefit from one for guests who arrive with full tanks.
Yes, if it is planned that way. Placing septic fields, roads, and utilities with a future layout in mind, and confirming what the underlying zoning allows, protects the land’s value for sale, refinancing, or redevelopment. We also strongly encourage identifying the customers you want to serve during the design process. If you are designing for large coach-style RVs or small weekend campers, you need to base your product and your design around that use. Making a park for the masses will only cost you more capital.
Mack Engineering is based in Alpharetta and works across Georgia. Contact us with the parcel address and we will confirm jurisdiction and scope.
Talk to Mack Engineering About Your RV Park
If you are evaluating land for an RV park or campground, start with a feasibility study before you commit to a layout. Contact Mack Engineering at (770) 715-7295 or visit our office at 5745 Stables Wy A-09, Alpharetta, GA 30004.
Related reading
- Feasibility reports
- How to get a site feasibility report before you buy land in Metro Atlanta
- Septic system design in Georgia: Level 3 soil reports and site limits
- Sanitary sewer vs. septic for rural North Georgia subdivisions
- Detention pond design in Metro Atlanta
- 2026 Metro Atlanta land disturbance permit cost and timeline guide
- Land development services
- Pre-sale feasibility engineering for property sellers
Sources
- Georgia DPH, On-Site Sewage Management Systems Manual, Section J (design flows)
- Georgia Rules and Regulations, Chapter 511-6-2, Tourist Accommodations
- Georgia EPD, Large Community Subsurface System Design Guidance
- Georgia DCA, 2026 Georgia Amendments to the 2023 National Electrical Code
- NEC 2023 Section 551.71, 50-ampere requirement (UpCodes)
- Leviton Captain Code, NEC 551.71 receptacle requirements
- EC&M, Commercial Load Calculations (NEC Table 551.73)
- NFPA 1194, Standard for Recreational Vehicle Parks and Campgrounds (2021 edition)
- Texas A&M AgriLife, RV Park On-Site Wastewater Research Report
- KOA, RV Classes Guide
- Extra Space Storage, Average RV Dimensions
- Campground Tech Guide, RV Site Design
- RVIA, What Is an RV (Park Model RV definition)
- NStar Business Advisors, How to Finance an RV Park
This article is general information, not a site-specific engineering opinion. Code requirements and local ordinances change; confirm current requirements with the authority having jurisdiction for your parcel.