In 2019, Jim Turntine had enough of the stress associated with finding a place to rest during cross-country trips in his RV. Over the course of a few months, he invented a 100% no-contact system to allow RVers a safe, easy place to park during needed rests, soft-opening the facility in 2020 to test the technology.
Now, he hopes to share his inventions with other businesspeople and create simple, unattended RV parks across the country by franchising his company, RV Self-Park.
Turntine, a traveling RVer and property developer, has owned several RVs in his lifetime, taking his vehicles on weeks-long trips across the U.S. with his wife and dogs. While driving to his destinations, Turntine discovered finding an unreserved RV site, reserving the spot from the road, and then finding the site within the campground facility is a stressful, lengthy process, especially when arriving after dark.
“I believe I am similar to a lot of RVers,” Turntine said, “and when I travel, I never know when I am leaving, where I am going to stay. I just jump in and go and need to know where I’m staying that night — and that is the most stressful time of the day.”
His stress ultimately generated the concept and technology for RV Self-Park. The facility is located just of Route 44 in Sullivan, Missouri. The park features 20 RV spots with electricity, water and pull-through parking spots. Turntine said it is not a campground — there is no pool, no store and no employees at the site. All amenities at each site are turned off until the guest pays for a time slot and arrives and turned off after the time slot expires. Sites are reserved online at rvselfpark.com, with no need to talk to an employee upon arrival or upon booking.
This month, Turntine completed the legal paperwork necessary to offer franchise opportunities. His goal is to spread the RV Self-Park concept across the nation eventually but starting with southern states to ensure the company can have a solid start before venturing into locations that would have fewer year-round visitors. He also secured patents for many of his inventions and hopes to head off any potential legal trouble by sharing the technology through franchise agreements.
The franchises are offered in conjunction with preferred lender First State Community Bank. Inquiry forms are available online at franchisee.rvselfpark.com.
Turntine found many campgrounds with RV sites are designed to be destinations, set in the woods and away from highways. However, for the RVer simply looking for a place to stop for the night, destination campgrounds are a hassle, and a hotel is unnecessary. As Turntine considered the problem, he realized that eliminating labor from an overnight facility would allow for investment into the property — locations near hotels, restaurants, highways and all the amenities road trippers seek.
He recalled times where he spent the night in a parking lot, with little security or peace of mind.
“I just want a place to plug in that is safe and level and will not have people bothering me,” Turntine said.
The sites are available for a few hours or a few days — however, after 28 days, the guest will have to find a pay and move to a new site, due to landlord and tenant laws.
The entire facility is also monitored 24/7 by cameras, and the facility’s lights will brighten after dark if there is significant movement, like someone walking their dogs or parking. Otherwise, the lights dim after dark.
