RV Pole Barn

[pennrver]

We don't own an RV yet, but plan on purchasing one within the next year. Planning on putting up a pole barn to house it. We will build that before getting the RV. Wanted to see if anyone has any thoughts on it, mistakes you made, etc.

Dimension wise I want to be able to plan accordingly. We have pretty much decided on a class C, but may move on to a fifth wheel down the road. So I want to "future proof" the barn.

A fifth wheel is going to be taller than a class C, so if I plan my barn around that fact it should be able to hold any class C. What is the tallest 5th wheel right now? 13' something? so a 14' door should suffice?

Any thoughts on barn dimensions? I am looking for more of a multi use barn but primarily for the motorhome. But may be storing tractor, car, boat, etc. So looking for two bays.

Should I make it long enough to hold 5th wheel + truck attached? That might stretch it too long. How about room around the camper?

Looking to hear thoughts from anyone who has been down this road! Thanks

[pennrver]

Thanks for all the great info on here. Sounds like 14x14 doors is the way to go? Or at least definitely 14' height and 12' wide?

As far as depth... I've researched everything from 40 to 60 feet.

Width, how far out do the slides usually come? 3 feet or so? so want to be able to walk around with the slides out? So lets say you have a 14' wide door, with a 8.5' wide coach + 3' + 3' for slides on both sides, your at about 14-15' which is basically the width of the door. So for room on the side, you want your door about 10 feet or so from the side of the barn?

So hypothetically lets say you want a symmetrical barn with 2 identical bays... how much room in between the doors? 15'?

In my example above it would be 10' + 14' (door) + 15' (in between doors) + 14' (door) + 10' = 63'

63' wide seems big, doesn't it? So where do you reduce? In between, on the sides?

[Lynnmor]

Be sure to include slideout room plus some extra so you can walk around it. I have two bays with 14' doors and one with a 10' door. I can open my awning to let it dry indoors. If you garage the RV wet, the awning will take forever to dry out if it must stay rolled up. You will never find an owner of a pole barn say he built it too large. Since you are already anticipating adding other toys, I suggest that you build it about twice as big as what you now think you need.

[DrewE]

Legal maximum height for vehicles in the US (without oversized permits) is 13' 6", so a 14' high entry into a garage or pole barn should be sufficient for any RV unless the ground and/or floor is quite unlevel or uneven. Legal maximum width of an RV I think is 8' 6" plus appurtenances (things like clearance lights, mirrors, grab bars, and awnings), but you probably want the width of the door somewhat greater so as to make backing in or out less of an exercise in extreme precision maneuvering...doubly so if you don't have plenty of space around to line things up.

[Tom_Barb]

Bigger is better,, 40 by 60 is as small as I would go. Leave room for a work shop.

[Bionic_Man]

It is a lot less expensive to build bigger the first time than it is to have to renovate.

I would recommend a 14' door. Should be able to get any future purchase in it.

If you can make it long enough to keep truck/5er attached, there are advantages to that.

My original building was 24' x 52' with 16' sidewalls. I then enclosed one side and added about 12' x 30'. I wish I would have made it wider still, as it is nice to be able to have the slides out when it is in the garage, and still be able to move around inside the garage easily.

I have power outlets every 8'. And (I think) 16 LED lights in the main garage.

Sky lights and lots of windows for natural light.

Insulated so it can be heated in the winter.

The area where the utility trailer is where I did the addition.

[4aSong]

We built an enclosed insulated RV garage a few years ago and besides the height which you already have I would suggest at least a 24'w x 40'd. Ours has worked fine for us and still have room for parking another vehicle either next to or in front of it. Had considered a metal building, pole barn and other covers but the winner was the enclosed insulated drive thru stucco and tile roof garage, the RV stays very clean.

[gbopp]

I don't have a pole barn or other inside storage. But, the general consensus seems to be build it a little bigger than you think you will need.
You may want a 45' Prevost someday.