The RV Landing at Carlson Ranch

We were hired as the park's camp hosts for the summer 2022 season and traveled over 2,000 miles for the job. We were extremely excited about the opportunity because it seemed like a dream job in a dream location. It is a family- owned and operated business and had all the indications of an excellent work opportunity. The agreement was 20hrs a week in exchange for our site. Our duties were the typical duties you see; cleaning the bathhouse, checking in guests, maintaining the sites, etc. We had the opportunity to earn additional wages on a case-by-case basis. Simple enough. We saw no red flags during our two phone interviews. However, over the next three months, things deteriorated rapidly. We found out some things the hard way (like, for example, the fact that they flew through 5 camp hosts during their first two years in operation- and the park is only three years old), and I'd like to spare anyone else from making the same mistakes we did.

So, let's get into the ugly.... It's a long read, but I promise I'm not being dramatic.

The owners' communication skills were almost non-existant. This created unnecessarily difficult situations on more than one occasion. Coupled with the fact that they frequently flip-flopped on the directions they gave their employees and waffled on the demands they made, working for them became increasingly frustrating and unrewarding. This became a massive sticking point because they claimed to excel in communication, when any employee could tell you that was a complete crock of (you know what).

They micro-managed unlike any employer I have ever seen (and I was active duty military for six years), which added to the stress. They also seemed to be completely out of touch with how long work around the park actually took. This is probably due to a combination of the facts that they were used to employing primarily family members (who would not mind selflessly working without having every hour of labor compensated) and that they had never actually done the work themselves. Things look very different from an air conditioned office than they do out in the heat. Appropriate attempts were made to handle issues through the proper channels, but at best they were ignored and at worst they were responded to with passive aggression. Apparently, as part-time employees, we were expected to read their minds, anticipate their needs, and go far above and beyond what any reasonable person would consider appropriate to communicate.

There were a thousand little cuts that added up to an insurmountable degree of inconvenience, but a few of the biggest were feeling that my time and labor were undervalued, that I could not leave the property on any day other than my off day (but could not expect to be compensated for the hours I was essentially held hostage there), that I had to walk an impossible balance between working enough hours but not working too many (a vague detail of our contract that we never did receive clarification on, no matter how many times we asked), a lack of clear communication, and feeling that we were looked down upon as "less than" them. And since we lived on the property, it was impossible to leave the work at work, and find any peace at home.

The kicker and final nail in the coffin of this whole thing was when, after leaving an honest review and feedback of the company through a public channel, one of the owners sent my spouse a nasty wall of text message, full of ageist inuendos and rude implications about the type of employment we would be best suited for. Apparently, when their behavior had the potential to make them look bad in a public space, the owners were all too eager to "communicate". The entire thing came off as tacky and unprofessional, and I regret giving them so much of our hard work and effort.

I'd like to give an honorable mention to some of the other, full-time employees, like our manager Chris who was very sweet (but very much not in control of anything). If it had been possible to only work for her, we would not have left. But the owners' personalities are toxic and overbearing and it was completely untenable. Since we left, the RV park ran an aggressive hiring campaign ad on Facebook, so there's a chance you may have seen it. Please save your sanity (and gas money) and do not entertain the opportunity.

Super fun fact that actually isn't fun at all- one of the owners is now the Idaho County State Senator....😊

The RV Landing at Carlson Ranch was a well-kept and clean RV park. Easily some of the nicest bathrooms and shower facilities I have experienced. The spots are a little tight but close to the Salmon River. Each site is separated by thick well-groomed grass. Our only complaint was the sprinklers. We like to stay up late however the sprinklers go off once around dinnertime and again around 11pm. The site hosts did warn us about the sprinklers but they did hamper some of the nightly activities. This is a great RV park on your journey through Idaho.