Do you store your RV at home?

[grashley]

I have my FW parked on grass in the back yard, and must travel over grass to reach a solid surface drive.  My  first ever trip required a tow to get me out of my yard. (soft soil - spring rains)  Other trips were better.

I am considering a gravel drive and parking spot for the camper, due to my poor start last year.

Am I wise for doing this?
Is it overkill and a result of being gun shy?

I am not flush with cash and would prefer to use that cash on camping trips!

 

[jackiemac]

Can you put down wooden runways for the tires? Or would they sink? I'm good at ideas, but they might not be good ideas  ;D

 

[Utclmjmpr]

Mine is in my heated 1800 SQ. Ft. garage along with my truck,, two cars,, and work area, tools and storage.>>>Dan

 

[NY_Dutch]

We live full time in our coach, but when we're at our upstate NY family cottage our full hookup site is packed gravel.

 

[firewall]

I have the option of grass or paved driveway. I would rather the grass to free up the driveway but the DW swears we get mice from the grass area. She could be right, parked on pavement all winter, no mice this spring!

 

[Memtb]

  Preacher Gordon, I remember that event that you went through. The answer to your question being....Yes!
  We have a 34?x48? pole barn with 16? walls, and 2 - 14?x14? roll-up doors. We have a gravel floor, and only electrical, for receptacles and overhead lighting. A well constructed pole barn is not very expensive, until you start with, concrete flooring, insulation, ect. If you elect to put in a pole barn, consider my advice.....unlike myself, when I was told! Determine what you ?need?, and double the size. We put in our 2nd. pole barn 2 summers ago....though a little smaller than #1 pole barn.

  The pole barn protects the RV, give you a place to work on it, or anything else under a roof. It also provides more storage space for, lawn equipment, tractors, boats, ect. And, could also be used as a shop. Only money and your imagination are limiting factors!

    Good Luck with whatever you decide!

 

[KandT]

well parking your FW overtop of such a wet surface will surely not do it any favors in the rust department.  I know - last place I parked my RV stayed wet and boy that took a toll.

 

[solarman]

when we are home, the RV is parked on crushed recycled concrete.
it's a good inexpensive material that we had installed on our property to make the initial
road bed for our driveway.. ( 800 feet long, including parking area totaled 900 tons ! )
we got ours for $24 a ton installed.

 

[Gizmo100]

While I would like to park on the driveway. My stepson needed to move back home to regroup and save some money. So with the extra car in the drive I moved the truck to the yard..(No thrilled about it)

If I need to work on something it will get moved to the drive.

 

[Larry N.]

We added an extension (into the back yard) of our concrete driveway to store the motorhome, including a standard RV pedestal for electric (50/30/20). You need to be sure the drive area is reinforced to hold more weight than cars and pickups normally require, though, at least for motorhomes.

 

[camperAL]

Hi grashley and all,

I park my RV part of the time at home on a cement slab. We have a lot of wet weather here during the spring which is probably not as good as an inside dry location. One problem I have with leaving my Class A outside my home all the time, when it is gone, that is an advertisement we are gone. So I store my RV away from the house after I have done work and maintenance figuring if anyone is planing to break in, they'll find us at home and will be dealt with. When we do travel, our kids do regular check in routine and have good neighbors that keep an eye out along with a good alarm system.

 

[Jim18655]

I park in the grass. Last year I was in and out about 8 times and no trouble even though we had record rain. I was going away for Easter weekend and got stuck 6" deep in the grass. I had to cancel the trip and it took me two nights of work to jack it up and fill in enough stone to move it into the driveway. Now planning on a stone parking area.

 

[Broke Boater]

I'm cheap and needed rock and a lot of it. Here's a few ideas that I have done. Recycle base is cheaper but not free. Find what is called grindings. Grindings is a asphalt surface,, road, parking lot,,  that a contractor ground up to do a overlay. Look for a project close to you and check with the contractor to see about dumping a few loads on your lot. Normally they have to pay a dump fee at a recycle yard and may be happy to have a free place to dump. Also check with your County/ City maintenance yard, they will have projects coming up and may have a option for free material from a paving job.  Don't pay for virgin Base Rock from the quarry or local rock yard, your job doesn't need the pricey material.  You have to figure on getting someone to spread it if you don't have a piece of equipment yourself or rent a small loader. Grindings will pack up pretty solid with just wheel rolling,, your truck and trailer driving on it over time,, if you want to save on cost, but a small vibrating roller from a local rental store will do great. I've had about 400 tons of it hauled here at our place and only wheel rolled it,,,gregg 

In my Avatar pic, that's a area that I hauled in grindings, it was all sand before, about 200 tons went in that area. Now its a big area that a semi can turn around on.

 

[Isaac-1]

You left out options for stored under cover / indoors, either on concrete or gravel.

 

[MN Blue Skies]

Our City dictated what type of parking pad we needed for our Fifth Wheel.  The pad had to match the driveway.  Since we have gravel driveway we now have a gravel parking pad for the 5th Wheel.

 

[donn]

Always.  Our RVs were never parked away from the house when not in use. 

 

[malexander]

I keep my MH at my house, under a "carport" that's enclosed on 3 sides, on a concrete pad. The only problem I have is, I built the carport to house a 32' Class C Jayco. Now the 40' MH sticks out about 3'-4'. I am in the process of adding a slab to one side of my hangar and build a completely enclosed garage for the MH. I'm going to build it big enough to get the MH in and open all the slides and still have room to work on/in the bays. I'm looking at 16' wide X 50' long with 14' side walls. 

 

[SpencerPJ]

Mine is beside my garage on pad.  I do need to drive through grass, and have 4,  3/4" plywood ripped 2 ft wide.  It seems I get them out more than I like to, but I don't want ruts.  I have a neighbor that leaves mid May thru mid Sept, I park on his driveway when he is gone  ;D

 

[Memtb]

I keep my MH at my house, under a "carport" that's enclosed on 3 sides, on a concrete pad. The only problem I have is, I built the carport to house a 32' Class C Jayco. Now the 40' MH sticks out about 3'-4'. I am in the process of adding a slab to one side of my hangar and build a completely enclosed garage for the MH. I'm going to build it big enough to get the MH in and open all the slides and still have room to work on/in the bays. I'm looking at 16' wide X 50' long with 14' side walls.

    malexander,  Consider going 16’ high on side walls and a 14’ tall door..... going up a couple of more feet is relatively inexpensive. Our 5er may be taller than your motorhome, but, there is no way we could get thru a door less than 14’ tall, and we’re close on that. With a roll-up door, when all the way up does not give you the full 14’ of opening!  Your maximum door height on a 14 foot sidewall, will likely be less than 13’.....unless you go with a sliding door!  Also, again meddling in your business....a few feet wider would be advised. While doable, 16’ wide is a little tight with slides open! Just my 2 cents worth!  Good Luck with your enclosure!

 

[Joezeppy]

For many years we parked our various campers in our paved driveway (in front of my garage door) during the season but stored them on my neighbor's empty lot next door on grass for the winter. I did put an 8' 2x10 under each set of wheels. The lot has an old gravel driveway (that has grown over with grass) so it's a very hard surface and I never had troubles with sinking in. As thanks, I keep the lot partially mowed for him. About 6 years ago I had a concrete pad poured next to my garage and also widened the driveway so I can park it there all year long. I also put in a 30 amp outlet.

A friend of mine parks on his gravel driveway in season and in his barn for the winter. I am jealous of the barn BUT...he called me yesterday and had to cancel his first outing (with us this weekend) because he can't get through the 500' of swampy lawn between the driveway and the barn. There's always good and bad, I guess.