RV storage - how much room is needed?

[f150camper]

Hi all!
I am in the process of building a shop on my property.
The plan is to be able to park a travel trailer and/or coach in there.
Total shop size is 32(w)x48(d) with a 14x14 door.
My main question is this: How much room do I need in front of the shop to be able to get a travel trailer in there? Let's say a max travel trailer length of 35ft with a 20ft tow vehicle.

I have attached a quick drawing to visualize what I am talking about.
It looks like I will have about 57' (give or take a couple feet) in front of the shop. 44' of that will be on gravel, 13' will be on asphalt.

Will this be enough room for a 35' TT or 40' Coach? I bet the Coach will be fine, but not sure about the TT.

BTW, I can't really try it out with the max length trailer, so please don't suggest that (placing cones, etc). We currently own a 21' TT, and I am sure I'll be fine getting that into the shop. I want to be able to use the shop down the road for things bigger than what we own now, or even enable any potential buyers.

Really appreciate any input!

[f150camper]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

gbopp wrote:
Maybe a 16' wide door would help?

For a MAX 8' 6" wide RV???

The door is 14x14. Should be enough.
I am wondering about the slope of the driveway though, see two posts up.

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

[Cummins12V98]

gbopp wrote:
Maybe a 16' wide door would help?

For a MAX 8' 6" wide RV???

[f150camper]

Hi all!
I have a follow up question.
The shop is being framed right now as I am typing this, and I just basically have gotten the first real slope measurement for that gravel driveway (see picture on first page).
Basically, we are looking at a height difference of 4ft (maybe a little less) over the 45ft driveway length. The building is lower than the road. So it's an almost 9% incline pulling out of the shop.
Is that going to be ok or too steep? I had thought that it would be less, but it turns out that's what it really is.

BTW: the 44ft driveway length estimate in my original post turned out to be 45ft, so I was really close on that number at least. 🙂

Thanks a lot!

[Veebyes]

Looking at it through the eyes of a 35' 5er owner it looks to be loads of room. In my indoor storage situation there is a little bit of hook that has to be done inside the building. No big deal with a good spotter using a radio or hand signals.

[colliehauler]

f150camper wrote:
Thanks everybody!
Got the picture posted also, finally! Thanks for the link and instructions!

I am generally good backing up the trailer, have helped others in the campground on occasion. I just never backed it into a shop, and spending this much money, I want to be sure.
If I back it in doing a left turn, I will be pushing the trailer uphill, but that should be fine.

What do you guys think would be the longest trailer I could get in there without issues? Also, if I had a total of 50ft (instead of 57), would I still be fine? In that case, I would move the shop a few feet towards the road, giving me more space for firewood storage behind.

One more question: what's that powered trailer mover for $1,200?

Again, thanks a lot for all the help and feedback.

I would not personally care for not enough room to straighten out the trailer and truck before entering the garage. Motorhome would not be a problem. The storage area I put my 5er into has enough room for me to straighten the combo out and back in (12 foot width). If you have a 14'wide door it would not be as difficult.

[Grit_dog]

Agree, 18-20' wide door is nice or 2 doors, big n little if you're not worried about the asthetics of them being symmetrical. Just whatever you do, don't make the little door less than 10' wide. So annoying, have a 8' wide door on our shop and a 9' for the single on our 3 car garage. Can't get the boat trailer in either of them or the truck in the 8' wide door.
No good reason to leave the RV out sun baking in the summer. If you get a lot of snow, you also get a lot of sun. Keeping it out of the sun when not in use is one of the single largest factors in the longevity of the camper exterior.
Other considerations, don't go cheap on running power to the shop. Even if you only need lights and a few outlets, the next owner will thank you.
Make sure your concrete finisher is good. Nothing like cleaning the shop floor or snow melt running the wrong direction.
Epoxy floor coating is very nice too. And it's too easy of you do it before moving in to it.
Windows are great to have some daylight.
Small garage door or double doors on the back could be useful. I built a small room in the corner of the shop that serves as a "shed" for the lawn and garden stuff and it also provides good elevated storage area above it. Doors open out to the back yard.
I could go on....can't wait to build another shop to my own liking.
Previous owners built this one to store their RV and didn't do any of the things I included above as suggestions.
Have fun designing your man cave!

[olfarmer]

I think your drive is long enough that you should not have problems backing in. I think a wider door would be nice. I have a 32 x 45 shop but the door is 20 feet wide and it gives a lot of room to back in and makes it a lot easier to get a vehicle close to the wall. I have 3 antique cars stored in it and with a narrower door it would be difficult to get my 30 foot Motor Home in beside the cars. I sure like storing the camper inside rather than out especially in the winter even though I used to cover it when I had to store it outside.

[jkwilson]

Lynnmor wrote:
I wouldn't waste the time and money if you are not going to use it as a garage. My opinion is that there in more damage to an RV during hot summer months than cold and darker winters. My trailer is indoors whenever it is not in use.

I put down marker tape on the floor for guidance when backing in so that the trailer is located where I want it. The idea of a larger door is good so that you can make the fine adjustments with little interference with traffic.

Couldn’t agree more. You will pay for leaving the rig outside in the summer with increased maintenance and reduced resale value.

[bucky]

I would angle that drive towards the direction from which you want to back in. Straighten it out after you get it in the drive. A 13 foot wide road is nothing and that ditch isn't going to help.

[CFerguson]

Also remember your angle of attack when considering your overhead clearance. If your ground is all flat, then you are fine, of course.

[f150camper]

Thanks a lot to everybody, good input!
Lynnmor, we get a lot of snow here in the winter, I really would like to get the trailer away from that. Also, I'll see how quickly it will be to get it in and out. Maybe we'll always put it in the garage. Would be nice to have the extra parking by the house.
The shop is also not "just" for the TT, the trailer will take maybe 20% of the shop floor. Many more things to go in there - wood splitter, cargo trailer, 3 quads, mower, etc ....

[navegator]

One item that helps backing into a dark hole on a sunny day is a yellow line going from inside the shop out a few feet in front of the doorway, having the shop lit is also a good idea, I have backed enoughh fire engines into dark holes to really apreciate that yellow line for some guidance.

navegator

[dodge_guy]

I may have been off on my price a bit but here is one for $1400. Trailer mover

They go up from there. Looks like around $2200. They ca. Be had used for cheaper.

[Lynnmor]

I wouldn't waste the time and money if you are not going to use it as a garage. My opinion is that there in more damage to an RV during hot summer months than cold and darker winters. My trailer is indoors whenever it is not in use.

I put down marker tape on the floor for guidance when backing in so that the trailer is located where I want it. The idea of a larger door is good so that you can make the fine adjustments with little interference with traffic.

[f150camper]

Thanks again!
I would only park the trailer in the shop during the winter (most likely), so once in, once out per year.
The shop will be on our property. When looking at the picture, the back of our house is about 120ft to the left or the shop. The private road in front of the shop wraps around and our driveway is attached to it. The road is used by us and 6 other houses only. In fact, the road itself is on our property, with a right-of-way for our neighbors.
We have a nice RV pad right next to the house also, where the trailer is parked now, and where we plan on having it parked during the summer and before / after trips for loading and unloading.
With the 44ft of gravel between the shop and the road, the rig (trailer + truck) would probably just fit there.