El Camino RV Resort — 15.9-Acre RV Resort Civil Engineering in Uhland, TX
Uhland · Caldwell County · Texas
Residential & Multifamily Development
Civil engineering for an RV resort on a TxDOT public road
JRH Engineering provided complete civil engineering design for a 15.9-acre RV resort in Uhland, Texas, along a TxDOT public road. The site featured a significant elevation change, and the required detention pond presented a design choice: hide it at the back and lose usable land, or make it work harder. JRH chose the latter — placing the retention pond at the front of the property and designing it as an amenity lake that adds visual appeal and guest experience value rather than consuming the site best land.
AT A GLANCE
Site civil design
Full site civil design including RV pad layout, grading, access roads, and amenity area design
Retention pond placed at the front of the property — designed as an amenity lake rather than a hidden drainage feature
Front placement reduced the pond footprint needed elsewhere on the site, freeing interior land for RV pads
Elevation change addressed efficiently through site grading design — minimizing costly earthwork
Utility infrastructure
Water and sanitary sewer connected through existing MUD district infrastructure
MUD utility coordination completed in parallel with TxDOT and city permitting
Stormwater and drainage
Retention pond front-placed and designed as an amenity feature — guests experience it as a lake, not a drainage basin
Front placement naturally reduced required pond volume elsewhere, compressing the overall drainage footprint
Storm sewer approved by TxDOT and City of Uhland concurrently
Permitting and agency coordination
TxDOT public road access coordinated concurrently with City of Uhland approval
MUD utility permit run in parallel with all other agency reviews
Elevation change resolved in design before submittal — no field conditions requiring mid-review plan changes
The Challenge — rV resorts live and die by guest experience
A detention pond tucked into the back of the property is just wasted land — it serves a regulatory requirement and nothing else. The front of this site had the best views and the most visual impact for arriving guests, but that was also where the drainage math pointed for pond placement.
JRH’s Approach — leaning into the drainage math instead of fighting it
The pond was placed at the front — but designed as a retention lake with finished edges, landscaping integration, and a guest-facing aesthetic. The result was a required drainage feature that also became a resort amenity, improving the guest experience and the property marketability. Front placement also reduced the drainage footprint needed in the interior of the site, freeing more land for RV pads.
The Results
01
Retention pond converted to an amenity lake — a required drainage feature designed to enhance guest experience and property value
02
Interior site area maximized for RV pads — front pond placement reduced the drainage footprint in the revenue-generating portion of the site
03
TxDOT and City of Uhland approvals completed concurrently — no sequential review delays
04
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the main engineering challenge on the El Camino RV Resort project?
The 15.9-acre RV resort had a significant elevation change across the site, and the required detention pond needed a location that would not consume the property's most valuable guest-facing frontage.
How did JRH Engineering approach the detention design at El Camino RV Resort?
JRH placed the retention pond at the front of the property and designed it as an amenity lake rather than a hidden drainage basin, turning a required drainage feature into a guest experience asset while reducing the drainage footprint needed elsewhere on site.
What were the results of the El Camino RV Resort project?
JRH converted the required detention pond into a guest-facing amenity lake, maximized interior land for RV pads, and completed TxDOT and City of Uhland approvals concurrently with no sequential review delays.