Storing travel trailer in a metal building

[VAfan]

I’m looking into having an enclosed metal building built to store my travel trailer (and other things).

I have an estimate on a stick built that is twice the price and trying to determine if a metal building is suitable. I’ve heard they have a tendency to sweat on the inside from the roof and are extremely hot in the summer.

Anyone have a metal building and can comment?

[mlts22]

Here in Texas, you have three choices with an enclosed building:

1: Air condition/heat it.
2: Have some form of electric fan to ventilate it.
3: Have some way to open it up so it gets air somehow, like a porch.

Failing to do one of the above will be like turning off one's fridge, closing the doors, and letting it sit... it will be very moldy inside in a short time frame.

If I were building a place to store a motorhome for a long time in a rural area, I would probably do an open pole barn. It wouldn't protect against debris tossed by the winds, but it would shield the rig from the nastiest of stuff, which would be the sun, rain, and hail.

[CavemanCharlie]

eluwak wrote:
As others have said, ventilation is key. If you store the RV indoors crack the windows and roof vents some too so that the unit can breath a little.

Be careful. A neighbor did this and while his 5th wheel was stored in his outdoor metal machine shed the Raccoons broke the window open the rest of the way and lived in it all winter long.

As you can imagine they were not very clean guests.

I think he totaled it out.

[eluwak]

As others have said, ventilation is key. If you store the RV indoors crack the windows and roof vents some too so that the unit can breath a little.

[CavemanCharlie]

free radical wrote:
If I was building shed or garage or even house nowadays Id use only 3D concrete insulated panels

www.tridipanel.com

When I click on this link I get a notice saying that the address is not valid

[RinconVTR]

We own two large metal sheathed pole barns made by Clearly in Wisconsin.

They are both vented on the ends.

We have never noticed sweating in either building and one is heavily shaded while the other in nearly full sun.

The newest building is only 2 years old and we considered adding a door high enough for my TT, but I just wasnt comfortable paying for a very tall door and driving it in/pulling it out thru the narrowness of the door.

I'm considering a car port in a couple years, where the TT may reside during 90% of the year vs todays 60%.

[Dave_H_M]

Goostoff, that is zn interesting issue, sad also.

Thzt kinda sounds like a humidity problem inside the camper as opposed to the environment it was setting in.

[Goostoff]

I helpped an elderly gentleman pull his prized Nuwa Snowbird out of his 40X50 pole building with concrete floor. He sold his truck and after 2 years of sitting in storage he decided it was time to sell the camper. I hooked up and pulled it out in the driveway. We ran the slides out and went inside to find that everything was covered with mold and his custom hardwood floors had buckled and were destroyed. I though he was going to break down in tears it was so bad.

I know this is a rare case but just be warned to make sure you have plenty of ventalation and air moving around your trailer when it is stored indoors.

[free_radical]

If I was building shed or garage or even house nowadays Id use only 3D concrete insulated panels

www.tridipanel.com

[CavemanCharlie]

We have metal pole sheds all over in this area. No sweating. But, they are built with vents installed. And, the ones on our farms have dirt floors. Also I'm in MN it might be different in the hot, humid, south.

My brother has a metal insulated shop with a cement floor. He did have problems with the floor sweating in the summer. He installed a window AC unit. Not to cool the building so much as just to dehumidify it. No problems now.

Morton Buildings are quite popular in this area. They are expensive but, built very well. If they have them in your area give them a call and ask. They will tell you straight up and let you know of any solutions if it is a problem in your area. .

[travelnutz]

The reason I had my large steel sided pole building (my toy barn) built with a wood roof and tarpapered and with high quality shingles and has a full length ridge vent down the middle was because of sweating issues which can or often occur with a steel roof. 22' high to the roof peak, has a 6" thick concrete floor angled from all 3 walls toward the wide door, 12' 6" clear span inside all the way thru under the ceiling lights which are movable should I need another 6" vertically, 14' wide by 13' high double sliding door and 2 entrance doors, not insulated inside like I'd originally planned to do but I do have heat on if I'm inside working for any length of time in cold weather. Perfect scenario for lots of condensation by frequent heating and cooling here in Michigan. Hot, cold, hot, cold, hot, cold...

Never sweats a bit nor does any thing inside rust either as I have lots of tools and works areas inside including welders, press brake, 2 hoists, gobs of bench tools, motors, fabrics/wood/steel materials/and even lots of foam cushions, lawn and yard etc equipment, drill press/saws/sanders, etc, boats, outboards, bikes, RV's etc. You name it! Yes, heat does escape in winter when heating but so does any moisture go out with it which is then replaced with outside colder dry air. Bye bye water vapor and humidity and welcome in to the dry air! Venting is ultra important!

BTW, my building was built in 1987 about Thanksgiving time which is roughly 29 years ago now and nothing, on, or in the building, has ever rusted and the original roof never leaked and is all original including the 2 X 6 trusses, the shingles, and all still in fine shape. Probably going to out live me and I plan to live to 150 young!

[Lynnmor]

I have a pole barn. The builder suggested at least a minimal amount of insulation under the roof panels to prevent sweating. He builds barns full time and I trust his advice. I had the insulation installed and there is no sweating. Inside temperatures are about the same as outdoors but with no sun load on the vehicles, they stay at air temperature. As you know, a vehicle in the sun can get extremely hot.

[Islandman]

We have a 24x32 metal building with concrete floor and insulation under the roof, never have had a sweating problem. You can install shelving on the inside by nailing into the 2x8 boards that are used to screw the metal siding onto. Never has gotten hot inside due to the insulated roof.

[BB_TX]

I had a 30'x40' metal building on some land I owned. Fully insulated, but not heated. The building never sweated. But the concrete slab did on cool humid days, even though it had plastic sheeting laid before the concrete was poured.

Because of the insulation, it never got overly hot inside, even closed up in TX summers of 100+. And inversely, it did retain some warmth inside when it was overly cold outside in the winter.

[Jim_Shoe]

I bought the 60' x 60' metal building where I store my RV from the county's road equipment department. I got it for a song because it "rained" inside. It was actually condensation because the bozos were using gas space heaters that weren't vented. I replaced the four unvented ones with two gas furnaces that were vented to the outside. Dry as a bone now.