Our coach is too tall

We've been on a waiting list for covered storage for the coach. The gal who owns the place told me that she rarely gets vacancies. Monday evening we were at a dinner when the lady tapped me on the shoulder and said "I have an opening for you".

Yesterday morning we met her at the place with a tape measure. I figured the bay was long enough with about an inch, maybe two to spare. I figured the height would be tight, because this shed has lower doors than the other two sheds she has. The other coaches in this shed were gas coaches that sit much lower than our Monaco, but I figured we'd give it a try. The lady gave me a remote opener and we went and got the coach.

Plan A - I had Chris inch the coach forward while I kept an eye on the bottom of the door vs the top of the coach. Sure enough, the King Dome was sitting too high.

Plan B - I had Chris hold the air dump button down while she inched forward. Still too high.

Plan C - switch the engine off, dump all the air, start the engine and inch forward. I forgot that this won't allow the brakes to come off  :-[

Plan D - I took the cover off the King Dome, tried again, still too high.

Plan E - I turned the controller on and let the King Dome search. Sure enough, it got lower as it searched different orbits, and I switched it off. Holding the air dump switch on, the front of the coach got into the shed with an inch to spare. But the Hughes Network dish wasn't going to make it.

Plan E - remove the HN dish from the roof mount. I started to do this when I decided this was going to be too much of a PITA to do every time we leave or come home, especially if the air dump valve quits while the coach is part way in or out of the shed.

Plan F - the lady gave us a really good uncovered berth, with far more room than the prior open storage lot. This is also away from a highway, so the coach won't be getting all that road grime. We'll keep the coach here and are crossing our fingers that a berth in one of the large sheds becomes vacant.

Do you know the height of your RV when you approach some of those low highway overpasses?

Edit: Sequel to the story, and solution to the problem here.

I am sooo glad we can keep our motorhome in our backyard

Wendy

Wendy,

We were able to do that at our last house and I poured a 40 x 15 foot concrete slab in the side yard for that purpose. But our current (retirement) home essentially fills the lot, except for small easements on either side. A small front yard, short driveway, and our rear yard is the water. No room for an RV here.

Before anyone tells the story of the Boy Scout and the bus stuck under an overpass (he suggested letting air out of the tires), I even considered doing that. But then I'd need to run the engine inside the shed and re-inflate the tires for storage.

Tom, as you will recall, when I couldn't get my boat under the shed, I had a swing down antenna mount made for the radar antenna. Also had to make sure the fuel tanks were topped off.  Had less than an inch clearance.  Filling up with diesel won't help with your problem but maybe you can dig out some trenches for the tires.

caltex said:

... maybe you can dig out some trenches for the tires.

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Robert,

I told your "full tanks" story to a number of folks when we were at Village West for the Thanksgiving cruise. I also told them about your plan to have a welder cut out the 2x6 angle supporting the roof of the shed and replace it with a 2x2

Most of the bays were gravel, at least 4" lower than this bay which has a concrete floor. The gal has a guy in another (low) bay who would love to have the concrete. But the gravel wouldn't help us because the front wheels are far enough back to keep the King Dome up too high when going under the door.

If you recall, we drove over to look at these sheds and figured the "low" one might be too low.

One possibilty might be to switch to a MotoSAT dish rather than a dome although you will lose inmotion TV.

JerryF

Tom said:

.. the lady gave us a really good uncovered berth, with far more room..

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Would "working a deal" with "the lady" work  -  such as you converting the uncovered berth into a covered one?

I've got a storage problem too - the problem is with my property owners assn.  We moved from off the water (read:  our own slip and boat lift) to the new place, on an acre with a backyard that has a 3650 sq ft parking pad at the garages.  We fully enclosed the yard (from the leading edges of the structure to the back property lines) with a 6'6" Cedar fence (minus the wrought iron gate entrance).

My 24' Bow Rider, on trailer, couldn't be "hidden" (without blocking 3 of the 4 garage slips) and the POA said "move it off the property"  -  now stored to the tune of $190 per month.  Recently we've purchased our Roadtrek but, I think I've managed to keep it hidden from the prying eyes of the POA (see stealthy pic) ("no Vans over 6'6" in height!).

My annual boat storage contract is "up" in a couple of months and I'm gonna "test" the POA, once again.....bill

Jerry,

Our King Dome is not an in-motion dish. I still have the antenna I bought from you at QZ you sitting my garage. Didn't get around to installing it, but it was one thought I had when we were trying to get the coach under that door. However, it doesn't solve the issue of the HughesNet dish.

Whiskyecho said:

Would "working a deal" with "the lady" work  -  such as you converting the uncovered berth into a covered one?

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No deal Bill. She wouldn't allow any structures on her property other than the ones she already has.

We moved from off the water (read:  our own slip and boat lift) to the new place, on an acre with a backyard that has a 3650 sq ft parking pad at the garages.

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I'd do that in a heartbeat, but my wife specifically wanted a house on the water for retirement. We have our own slips, with the smaller boats on hydrohoists. The big boat stays in the water - couldn't find a hoist big enough to lift 50,000 lbs.

My 24' Bow Rider, on trailer, couldn't be "hidden" (without blocking 3 of the 4 garage slips) and the POA said "move it off the property"...

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Been there, done that with the trailer for my bass boat, minus the boat (which sits on a hoist). The county decided to "clarify the wording of the building code" and decided that no more than 20% of an RV or trailer can be visible from the street. Almost everyone living in our water-based community has one or more boats and, if they came with a trailer, you'd expect to see a trailer or boat/trailer in their yard or driveway. But we got ticketed, moved the trailer to a storage lot, then built a 4' high fence to "hide the trailer" in the side yard.
[edit]Fixed typos.[/edit]

Why dont you ask the lady to put you in touch with one of gas class A owners who has a tall shed and ask them to trade......if theirs fits in the shorter one, it shouldnt be a problem for them

Thanks for the suggestion Dave, but we already went down that road. It seems that folks who have the larger berths don't want to give them up. Some folks store additional stuff in front of their shorter RV or boat, while others just like the large berth. A local limo company has 3 berths inn one of the larger sheds, but they don't wish to give them up.

Another idea.  There is one brand of domes that is about 4 inches less in height than the others but I cannot say which one it is.

JerryF

Thanks Jerry. Yes, I've seen them (might be Winegard). But the HugesNet dish is higher than the existing King Dome and so is the real show stopper. I talked to the lady today and let her know she should rent the covered berth to someone else. She has me next in line if/when a berth comes open in one of the taller sheds (with taller doors).

While I was at the place today, the owner and I watched a Bounder back out of the "low" shed. One AC cleared with maybe an inch to spare and the other AC barely made it.

Been there, done that with the trailer for my bass boat, minus the boat (which sits on a hoist). The county decided to "clarify the wording of the building code" and decided that no no more than 80% of an RV or trailer can be visible from the street. Almost everyone living in our water-based community has one or more boats and, if they came with a trailer, you'd expect to see a trailer or boat/trailer in their yard or driveway. But we got ticketed, moved the trailer to a storage lot, then built a 4' high fence to "hide the trailer" in the side yard.

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Correction Tom, you were out of town and I was standing there so I got the ticket!

That's true Robert. I was going to post a link to my message about that, but was in a rush and didn't find it.

Now if you hadn't been in my garage that day while Chris and I were on vacation, neither of us would have received the ticket  ;D

Found the prior messages, they're here and here. That's what good neighbors are for - to collect tickets for you while you're away  ;D

Tom:

A Motosat internet dish stows pretty flat compared to our old Neary mount for Hughesnet, I would guess it was at least 4-6 inches lower that the manual mount po0st.

Jeff,

I knew someone would suggest I buy a blue light special, and I was betting it would be you  ;D

BTW I started to unscrew the handles on the Neary mount while the coach was part way in the shed Tuesday. Removing the top half of the mount, along with the mast, dish and horn was going to make it significantly lower. But I'd have to lower all that hardware off the roof to get in the shed, then haul it back up there when we left. I started thinking about rainy days and decided this was just too much work.

As I was doing this, I was reminded of someone's dish that separated from the mast while their coach was in transit ;D

Tom said:

As I was doing this, I was reminded of someone's dish that separated from the mast while their coach was in transit ;D

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I seem to remember somebody having that experience.