SPRINGFIELD — There are currently 15 old, broken down or otherwise uninhabitable motor homes parked at Charley Richmond's two-acre tow yard.

It will cost Richmond $42,000 to get rid of them.

That's because the disposal and labor rates for dealing with bio-hazards — such as bodily fluids, hypodermic needles and asbestos — come at a high price. And it all comes out of Richmond's pocket — and those of other tow company owners like him.

"We've had to go to our clients and say, 'Hey, we love our contracts and the work, but financially, this is where we're at. You guys are drowning us with these motor homes and these problems,'" said Richmond.

Richmond's Towing at 3001 Main St. is one of seven tow companies contracted with Springfield police to tow abandoned or impounded vehicles. Richmond's tow yard is nearing capacity, and he doesn't know how many more motor homes he can accommodate. Getting rid of the 25- to 30-foot long motor homes costs an estimated $2,800 each — he can't afford to dispose of all of them, so they're piling up.

The problem is so pervasive that local police departments and other people who contract to have abandoned vehicles towed from their property are facing increased resistance from operators when an RV is involved.

" ... These things are monsters. They're not moneymakers, they're a burden," Springfield police Lt. Scott McKee said. " ... We understand (the hesitancy), even though in our contract, they've agreed to come get them. But the tow companies that are on our rotation can't accept them. They either end up being at capacity or they want to avoid the headache."

Lane County isn't alone. The problem is putting a significant financial burden on tow operators statewide. As a result, a new state legislative concept is being explored that could help towing companies with compensation for abandoned motor homes. Oregon Tow Truck Association past-President Jason Shaner said the association is working with the Oregon Department of Justice and Oregon State Police, "and many other concerned groups on this massive problem and hopes to soon have a solution in the works."

Locally, Richmond is working on a proposal to the city of Springfield to ask for help through a possible voucher system or other reimbursement program to help offset the costs private tow company owners are having to pay to dispose of a community problem.

"I'm in support of some sort of voucher process," McKee said, so tow companies "don't end up having to bear the financial burden when they are doing us a public service."

McKee said he's also looking to a city ordinance used in the Portland area as a possible model that could be useful in Lane County, where dilapidated motor homes can be disposed of legally for free on certain days, with the help of all the community stakeholder agencies, such as waste and recycling companies.

"What we don't want to see is these things ending up on the street, with no one willing to tow or accept them," McKee said. "Because that creates a crime problem in a neighborhood, they seem to always do that. If they don't come inhabited already, they are abandoned and then inhabited by folks on the street. Drug dealing goes on, they have no functioning restrooms so they're using front yards as bathrooms. You get the picture."

Scope of the problem

This year alone, Springfield police responded to dozens of reports of abandoned motor homes, campers or trailers on residential streets and city property, and in parking lots and other locations.

In Eugene, there were 485 abandoned vehicles reported in the city this year so far, according to police spokeswoman Melinda McLaughin. The department's records are not categorized by type of vehicle abandoned so it's not clear how many of those vehicles were campers, RVs or trailers.

Puddle Jumpers Towing, which contracts with Eugene and Springfield police departments, currently has five motor homes, including two that are burned out. Puddle Jumpers dispatcher Gus Phillips estimates the Goshen Road business will pay up to $5,000 to dispose of them properly. The business will "eat" that cost, he said.

"We have to take it apart, salvage only the steel, and throw away the rest of it at our cost," Phillips said. "It's a very unique problem. And usually when we get them, they are not of any value anymore. So it's a towing industry nemesis for sure."

Richmond also is contracted with Walmart to tow campers, trailers and motor homes left along the retailer's properties in Springfield and Eugene. On the street behind the West 11th Eugene store, dozens of motor homes are regularly parked.

"It's obviously a big issue," Richmond said. "Ninety percent of these are dilapidated, not safe, no insurance, not roadworthy. And people are leaving these all over the place. Private property owners don't want them in their parking lots because of the hazards — they're leaking, there is sewage. So we get stuck with them. Normal vehicles, we have a way to sell or dispose of, but these motor homes are mostly drug dens is what they are. And a lot of people are just kind of shuttling them around our community, shooting their dope inside of them."

A car that is abandoned or impounded and towed to Richmond's impound lot is profitable, in that the owner has to pay Richmond to get the car back. If they don't pay, the vehicle can be sold or otherwise disposed of, for scrap metal or parts.

But a motor home is different, Richmond said. RVs have to be cleaned out, dismantled, stripped and disposed of — including the drug paraphernalia, grey and black water tanks, and more that comes with them.

"As a tow company owner, I should not have to deal with this but I do," Richmond said. "We went from having a little red sharps container like the hospital for the needles, to having to upgrade to two five-gallon buckets filled in less than a month. ... We can't take them any longer. Now the community is irritated and upset when they're not removed. Be we can't remove them. We're all running out of room and have no help to offset the cost."