Storing Your RV

[john_d_dobbs]

We've recently moved into a new home - downsized into a smaller home on a single floor. Good move for us except that I no longer have an RV shelter. We can park the RV off-street here at the new house (just barely) but I considering using an RV storage facility (several nearby).

When deciding on an RV storage facility, what should I look for? What makes it convenient? What makes it inconvenient? What should I look for in terms of security?

Or is storing an RV at a facility just a pain?

I'd love to hear about your experience,
Thanks,
John

[Big1]

We live in a gated community so we don't have an option and since I'm retired military I store ours on the base not bad I only pay $60.00 a month and it's guarded by the military police, oh yeah.

[john_d_dobbs]

Thanks all for your good comments!

[maddog348]

Lucky ~~ Keep mine at home.

[colliehauler]

I have kept my 5er in covered storage lot since new. My trailer looks like new even the graphics. No sun damage to the interior the caulking on the roof or the tires. The place is secure with keypad access. Have been there 25 years and nothing stolen. I keep my Diesel truck and Excursion there as well. The place is less then 2 miles from my house with easy access.

While my driveway has room for a large RV you had to back between two telephone poles from a narrow street, not fun. I don't have to worry about someone seeing the RV gone and know I'm not home. I will always keep my RV in covered storage and to do so at home would require building a large RV-port which I don't have the room. Loading is not a issue, park on the street load and go.

For me it's about convenience and the storage lot is more convenient for me. I understand for some it is a lot more convenient at home and it works better for them.

Things to consider for storage, price, security, distance from home and easy access to park the RV. Hope you find what works best for you.

[IdaD]

Offsite is a PITA and a money drain as far as I'm concerned. That goes for anything but most especially a camper because you can load/unload or work on it at your convenience when it's at the house. If I had to keep it in my front driveway or it was really obtrusive I may have a different opinion, but we have enough property that I don't even have to back the camper in - I can pull around the house and get turned around at the back and then pull it back forward (or leave it back by the shop if we're not going to use it anytime soon).

[gbopp]

We keep ours in the yard. It's very convenient and I would not want to store it off site.
Being in Colorado possibly you can keep it at home during camping season and use a storage lot during winter?
If you have a 12 month lease this would not be as practical.

[garym114]

Is it out of the sun all day long, all seasons
Keypad gate, 24 hour access.
Lights, fenced and security cameras.
110v power

[RAS43]

We have had a similar experience as B.O. I have an easy route to the lot, mostly on 4 lane roads or freeway. The roads in the lot and each site are wide enough to maneuver. Would we rather have the trailer at home ? Sure but not possible. I caution about on street parking as it can lead to issues with neighbors even if okay now.

[B_O__Plenty]

I would love to keep mine at home, but it just won't work. Not enough room. My storage facility is very nice, about 10 miles away. Fenced, in a good area, security cameras, alarms, coded gate not just a padlock, on site security. No junk laying around, pest control comes in monthly, nothing torn apart or being worked on. Most of the rigs are newer and well kept. It has worked very well for us for the past 9 years.

B.O.

[MFL]

In my experience, seems there is always something needs doing with an RV. If not cleaning, adjusting, sealing, I am loading/unloading, airing tires. It's nice to have it parked on it's concrete pad, right next to main driveway. Mine is in partial shade, but sun does eventually take it's toll on decals.

Jerry

[jplante4]

The RV shop I work at has a storage yard, cost about $150 a month for a 35 footer. Most U-Store-It places have an RV/trailer storage area in the rear. The advantage of this is it's usually 24/7 access.

If you look hard enough and get lucky, there may be someone with a plane hangar at a local airport that has open space enough to store it inside.

[john_d_dobbs]

Great feedback from everyone - I appreciate you sharing your experiences and what is important to you in an RV storage facility. Lots of good things to think about.


Thanks,
John

[JAC1982]

One of the main reasons we moved to where we are now is so we can have our camper at home with us. It's so convenient to have it there. Like our first trip isn't for a month but we can just go out there this weekend to get the entire thing cleaned and ready to go, since we are busy every weekend after this until our trip. Also, we have to take it to the dealer to have a few things done to it before the trip, so having it right outside saves about an hour of time since we don't have to drive over to the storage place first.

The only negative of having it at home is it's sitting outside in a very wide open space. The sun has really done a number on the sides that face west and south. We're spending a lot of money to get it looking nice again. We're also getting ready to build an outbuilding to put it in.

But prior this house we had to use a storage facility since our old HOA didn't allow campers to be outside. For us, the important things were security and how easy it was to get the trailer in/out of the space (like was there enough room to swing out to back it in straight etc.

The facility we ended up using had on-site managers, they lived in a house right next to the front gates. They were former full time RV-ers and at the time, we were new camper owners so they were helpful when we had questions... really nice people. Each "tenant" had their own code to get in and out of the gate and there were cameras. Also the facility was also used by trucking companies to store extra trailers etc. so they had nice wide aisles that were easy to get in and out of. They also had 12' high fencing around the entire thing. And, sounds silly, but they had a large population of feral cats running around which helped keep mice away from the trailers.

[Tiger4x4RV]

For many years, my RV was parked at home. So convenient. I didn't realize how much until I relocated and had to give that up. No more loading a bit at a time before a trip. No more plugging it in for a while before a trip. No more using it as an extra bedroom. On the other hand, no more everyone knowing when I am away because the RV is gone.

I knew I would miss the on-site storage, but did not realize how much until health and family issues forced my relocation.

Consider all of the factors before deciding. It does sound like you have a choice and that can be reversible.