The Texan RV Park, host park of the National RV Training Academy (NRVTA) campus that serves as home to many students attending classes, has completed several major enhancements to its facilities this summer.
The projects include:
- The main road into and circling the RV park was widened by a foot and repaved, and a check-in lane added near the office to allow traffic to move unencumbered into the park on busy days.
- Twelve new premium pull-thru RV sites were added, and each includes a concrete pad and patio, 50-amp power, fire pit and four Adirondack chairs.
- Four new tiny homes were installed. Measuring 399 square feet, the homes include a separate queen-size bedroom in addition to a fully-furnished kitchen, bathroom and living room. Some of the tiny homes feature sleeping lofts as well.
- All six of the park’s 200-square-foot studio cabins were repainted.
- A 1,200-square-foot modular classroom building was erected to exclusively train RV inspectors.
Fiber-optic wireless service was added to all campus buildings to give instructors, staff and inspection students internet access at speeds ranging between 250 and 300 megabytes per second. Other students will continue to enjoy high-speed internet, but not at fiber-optic speeds.
“Moving staff and classrooms onto the fiber-optic network did wonders to reduce traffic load throughout the RV park, which also worked to increase internet speeds there as well,” said John Brown, who is contracted to manage the park along with his wife, Jennifer, until April.
In addition to those completed enhancements, several other projects are still underway.
- Following a record cold spell last winter that caught most Texans off guard, the RV park is adding a 6,000-kilowatt generator to ensure the lights, water pumps and HVAC systems remain on regardless of weather conditions, said Brown. The generator may come in handy should a hurricane or tropical storm pass through the area.
- A stand-alone RV dump station is being built for use by boondockers taking part in various rallies at the park.
- The RV park office exterior, check-in desk and camp store will be remodeled with updates made to a restroom and separate break area designed for Workampers.
- A 5,000-square-foot addition to the Big Red School House will add another three classrooms, each large enough to accommodate a 40-foot motorhome with room for students to observe instructors teaching about various components.
The Big Red School House is getting a 5,000-square-foot addition.
“The building is dried in, meaning that windows have been added and all metal sheeting is attached,” Brown explained. “We should be able to open the classrooms to students by the end of November or early December.”
A 1.5-mile mowed and manicured walking path is being installed throughout the campus and around its three ponds. The path will require several culverts and bridges to be constructed.
“The campus is a really beautiful facility and we wanted to create a way for students to exercise or enjoy their time outdoors,” said Brown.
“The Texan RV Park looks significantly different today than it did when we acquired it in 2017,” said Terry Cooper, NRVTA president. “We have used just about every available foot of property to create classroom space, RV sites, cabins and still have room for parking.
“I laid out an ambitious plan for the Browns when they came onboard to manage the park last spring. They have gone above and beyond what I envisioned to create a true community here for our students and staff.
“Sometimes I wonder if we’re not caught in a loop. Increasing demand for training requires us expand our facilities to accommodate more students, which works to attract even more students,” added Cooper. “It just reaffirms that this type of skilled technician and inspector training has been desperately needed in the RV industry for many years. I’m happy NRVTA and The Texan RV Park can play a role in providing services to fill that need.”
