Rant! HOA "storing" issues.

rhagfo wrote:

DazedNConfused wrote:

rhagfo wrote:

smkettner wrote:
I have not had any trouble with HOA storage rules.
I keep mine off-site as required.

I let the fridge cool down 24 hours while in storage. Pack or unpack is 2 to 4 hours max. No issues.

You are either actively packing or it is storage. Try a pack and roll and see how it goes.

And yes you probably have one of those annoying busibody neighbors that feels obligated to report everything. You have to live with it or move. Goes with the territory.

X2 or what ever!

I haven't read all six pages, but three days to get ready!

We live in a town house, the 5er is kept 98% packed at all times. We just need two totes for fresh food and needed non pershible food.

Set a personal record about three weeks ago, from the time I left work went home, swapped hitches from gooseneck for horse trailer to 5th wheel, gathered the totes (wife had loaded), DW and dogs went to storage yard, loaded and on the road was one hour and ten minutes! I also aired up the rear tires.

If you like the house and neighbors look at changing you load and unload method. Most "loading" is done after the trip. It was a last minute decision so we didn't even start the refer until we got to the storage yard, it was well on the way to being cold by the time we got to the CG.

The getting ready part isn't really as much of the issue -- it's more of the after trip stuff. Stripping down the bed linens and re-making the beds, cleaning the entire inside of the camper (2 bathrooms, bunk house, etc.), emptying food items that were "borrowed" from the house and all perishable items, some appliances that we don't have duplicates of. If it was a rainy, buggy, or otherwise dirty (lots of decomposing leaves on the roof, for instance) trip, I'll wash the whole outside of the camper and the roof. And there are other items on the list. I don't "ride my stuff hard and put them away wet". As mentioned above (don't expect you to read through all of this), 3 days let's me slowly prep in the small blocks of time I get here and there while raising a busy family with active kids. I just don't get those large blocks of time to knock stuff out. Most of the time I am loading and unloading between 10 and midnight over the course of a few evenings because that's what's left after kids, sports, work, homework, etc. Everyone's situation is different. But if keeping the camper means changing our routine, I'm willing to do so -- just need to find out what, if anything, the HOA will tolerate.

There have also been times where I've added accessories -- JT Strong Arms, 20 feet of LED lighting under the awning and another 3 feet under each entry door which required running wires under the camper, in-place soldering, etc., roof vents, and then there is troubleshooting and fixing problems that creep up in an RV, etc. The storage bay isn't wide enough to open the slides or awning and is barely tall enough for me to kneel on the roof. So I can't do the work there...and if I pull it out of the bay, I'll block other people (it's an enclosed pentagon looking building with bay access from the center). Taking it to a parking lot I suppose would be possible -- but then I gotta buy/bring a generator to supply power to my tools, bring my tools with me, and whatever else I need for cleaning/maintenance. If I can't have the RV at my house for short periods of time, it will go. Just too much hassle right now in our already very busy lives with kids and two working parents.

Well I will say my kids are grown, but we still spend a lot of time with the youngest and her horse riding.

We made the move about a year ago and I learned to adjust. I have installed shocks on the 5er at the yard and serviced the wheel bearings and brakes there also. No it isn't as easy as being outside the house, but it works fine for me. We have duplicates of all needed appliances for the 5er, as I said before we will leave at the drop of a hat. I will also state we are lucky that the storage yard in about four miles from our house so easy to get to.

Yeah...we're just not quite there yet. :) The evening before my last trip a few weeks back, I was outside, at 11pm, with a light on my head, and soldering iron in my hand, soldering up the teeniest little wires to the teeniest little pads to run my LED strip lights under the doors to the camper. That was the block of time I had...so that's what I did. I just don't see doing stuff like that unless the camper is at home in my driveway. :) As for the LED lights, it was the THIRD time I installed, removed, and re-installed new strips under the awning. But that story's for another day. :)