North Dakota Indoor RV Park Keeps Oilfield Workers Out of the Cold

About seven months ago I reported that a group of Minnesota partners were planning an indoor RV park to house North Dakota oilfield workers five miles south of Watford City, North Dakota.

North Dakota Indoor RV Park Keeps Oilfield Workers Out of the Cold

When initially proposed, the idea prompted mixed reactions.

“So many people thought we were crazy,” Louis Bonneville of Carlton, Minnesota, one of the park’s owners, told the Forum News Service.

But for workers like John Coffer, who spent North Dakota winter months in his RV and once got stuck inside when the door froze, the option to move his camper indoors was a pleasant change.

“It’s nice to step out of your RV and not step into a pile of snow,” said Coffer, a natural gas plant operator.

The North Dakota Indoor RV Park recently expanded and the owners have turned down offers to replicate the concept elsewhere, said Bonneville, the park’s managing partner.

The park consists of 10 insulated and climate-controlled buildings which house 24 RVs in each building. Each building consists of eight bays, with three RV pads per bay, three overhead doors, and two service entry doors. All doors are locked for the security of the tenants.

Each tenant has two parking spaces with electrical hookups in front of their overhead door.

North Dakota Indoor RV Park Keeps Oilfield Workers Out of the Cold

The buildings are sectioned into eight bays for fire protection, carbon monoxide and smoke detection, climate control, air exchanger ventilation, safety, and security. The interior walls and ceiling of the buildings are insulated for the year around comfort of the tenants.

Each bay is heated with a hanging electric heater. The insulated buildings remain cool in the summer, and the ventilation allows tenants to operate their RV air conditioner. The bays are lit with halogen lighting.

Standard water, sewer, electric, and gas hookups are available for each pad. An exhaust pipe is connected to the RV sewer vent. Utilities are all inclusive in the monthly rent. Phone and cable TV are available to each pad at tenant’s expense.

There is a commons building with outdoor patio and grilling area. Within the commons building there is a drop off/pick up laundry service, common gathering room with couches, recliners, flat screen TVs, vending machines, restrooms, management office, and on-site manager’s apartments.

The ND Indoor RV Park concept is the only indoor RV Park in North Dakota and is approved by the ND Department of Health.

North Dakota Indoor RV Park Keeps Oilfield Workers Out of the Cold

Eight of the buildings have been full for the past three months and two that were recently built to accommodate 41-foot RVs “are pretty much spoken for,” Bonneville told the Forum News Service.

The park did see some tenants leave during the summer, but some who tried to return as cold temperatures set in discovered that the park was full and they couldn’t get back in, Bonneville said.

Owners anticipate that next summer the facility will stay full so tenants don’t lose their spots. In addition, the park recently added 70 outdoor spots that will serve as a “holding area” while tenants are on a waiting list, Bonneville said.

The indoor park will save people the expense of insulating their campers and it will extend the life of their RV by protecting it from the elements, Bonneville said.

The park also does background checks on tenants and the buildings provide extra security.

Only fifth wheel and travel trailers are allowed in the RV Park. No motorhomes or campers are allowed per ND State code.

The RV Park can accommodate RVs up to 40 feet in length, and 12 feet 6 inches in height.

The ND Indoor RV Park is secluded from the traffic of Highway 85. We encourage everyone to stop by and see our site for themselves! You won’t be disappointed!

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North Dakota Indoor RV Park