Covered Storage - Dirt Floor

Check out www.michelinrvtires.com for their advice on how to store rigs. I'm thinking that dirt may be better than cement blocks. What about gravel?

2012Coleman wrote:
I'm going to look at a covered storage at a private residence that was used by the prior home owner to park a class A. The current owner told me that there is enough room to pull in forward and swing around to back in. Not sure of anything else, except that it has a dirt floor.

If I decide to utilize this space, I most likely would get some 12X12 pavers for under the tires and landing gear. Are there any cons to parking in a covered space with a dirt floor?

Get some 2x8 redwood boards, cut and stack them, then screw together. Use that to roll up on. What I did with my old Komfort and it seems to have kept the worst damage from happening. Only thing I'd do different would be to cut one board about 4" longer and make that the bottom board; give myself a bit of a step. As it is, I cut an 8' board in half, then staggered the boards 2". Problem is that if you go off the opposite way you rolled up, the other end will pop up. Did that and tweaked my steps a bit.

Lyle

I personally see no reason to put blocks under the tires. All that will happen is the cement will collect and hold moisture against the tires.
The only thing I would do would to place lots of traps everywhere. That and if you live in an area with ants, be sure to use diamatious earth or some other form of ant deterrant around everything that touches the ground.

donn0128 wrote:
I personally see no reason to put blocks under the tires. All that will happen is the cement will collect and hold moisture against the tires.
The only thing I would do would to place lots of traps everywhere. That and if you live in an area with ants, be sure to use diamatious earth or some other form of ant deterrant around everything that touches the ground.

He said it was a Dirt Floor.

I think your paver idea is a good one. I suspect most of us park on concrete year round, and somehow we get away with that.

Advantages include, keeping your tires out of the mud when it rains, sitting a little above grade for better drainage, a little better base to prevent sinking into the earth. And a small thing, but sitting some pavers exactly where you want the rig will give you a target every time you park it. You said covered parking. Not sure if that keeps rain out, but if it does, wet dirt won't happen.

Wood would be okay too, but I don't like the idea of pressure treated chemicals under my tires long term, and anything else will rot out pretty fast sitting on grade. Redwood could last, if you can find some good heartwood, but that gets more difficult to find.

Unless you are worried about the floor turning to mud after rain and the tires sinking in...don't worry about it. They will take no damage sitting on dirt. At best, you will keep the bottom of the tires slightly cleaner.

As someone else mentioned, critters are probably a bigger concern.

I would do nothing since it's covered storage. Your tires will age out long before parking on dry dirt floor will do any damage. All your doing is making more work for yourself.

If you were parking outside where there could be mud then I might put something down to park on.

Yeah, there are a few unknowns here, so not sure what I would do. "Covered parking" could be as little as a canopy, to a canopy with full side walls, to a fully enclosed pole barn with dirt floor. If it is the latter, I might do nothing, especially if the dirt is well compacted, maybe even a decomp granite or gravel.

Will the dirt stick to your shoes? Maybe lay a path of pavers to your RV door, just to keep your floor clean.

Mine have been stored on dirt floors for the winter. Never had any problems. It is completely enclosed and secured with several other RVs.