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Mike M

Mike M

Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2010
Posts
20
Location
Fredericksburg, Texas 78624
We have been RVing in a 2007 29? KZ Jag TT for the past year and decided an RV is definitely going to be a part of our retired life.  Next step is a structure to house the RV? 18?x40? concrete pad and drive through metal building with 12?w x 13?h roll-up doors.  Concrete will be poured in two weeks.  I can locate / position all the services (elect/water/sewer drain) based on their entry points on our current TT, but anticipate that we will move up to a 5?er one day and want to consider the 5?er requirements in building our RV structure.  I?m guessing all the 5?er service entry points are on the left (driver?s) side of the RV as they are on our TT.  Measuring from the back of our TT box (NOT from bumper or equip platform), grey/black water drain is @ 95? forward, elect entry @ 84?, and city water @ 106?.  Axles are at 108? and 141?.  Axle location helps me locate areas on pad to place additional reinforcement.  I would very much appreciate any general comments from the forum on placement of services on the pad and especially comments about service entry/exit points for a 5?er vs a TT.  Elect service will be via a Jamestown 50/30/20 amp pad mount pedestal.
 
I just put in a 20 X 50 pad with a 12 X 65 driveway last December.  My coach is pretty heavy so we made sure that the pad and drive was at least 6" thick with steel on the edges.  Poured with 3000 psi concrete with fibers in it.  I waited for over a month before parking the coach on the pad to let it cure better before using.

I put in a 50 Amp receptacle within 2 feet of the pad and about 10 feet from the back of the RV.  This way my connection is right beside the RV power connection.  I didn't put in any water because my well water is not what I want in the tanks.  It is high in hydrogen sulfide.  I normally keep the tank full and fill up at a campground with good water before returning home.
 
I would put the water and electric near the back of the slab, but put 2 sewer connections in.  One near the back and one about midway.  Some RVs, like our motorhome, have the utilities in the rear while others are about midship.  The power cords are long enough to reach and water hose is no problem but long sewer hoses can be a hassle.

The connections will all be on the street (driver) side.  The only possible exception might be a gravity fill for the fresh water, that could be on either side, but we haven't used ours in years.
 
Mike and others....what kind of expenses are we talking about having the slabs done, the metal buildings, etc?  We are looking to do the same.  I'm not sure we will opt to do an actual drive way vs making a pathway of some sort.  Also do you guys have electric hook up running to the RV while at home?  If you want to direct me to other posts that's fine as I don't want to highjack here.
 
Don't forget to run a line for cable TV to the pad. But don't put it in with the power lines. Run a separate 1/2 inch pipe. And make sure the conduit for the power lines is 18" deep or whatever your local code specifies.
 
CakeHenn -
$12,418 - 40'x18'x4" concrete slab on 6" crushed limestone with 14'x18' concrete approaches at both ends of slab.
$17,869 - 40x18'x16' metal building (does not include cost of 12'x13' overhead doors)
Doing all the stub-ins, electrical and plumbing work myself.  50/30/20 amp slab mounted RV outlet was $249.  Meter pole setup $500.  Have not costed wiring & conduit from meter pole to RV outlet or inside wiring for lights, etc.  Have not costed any of the plumbing supplies yet or trenching machine to bury electric & water lines.
 
Bago, Ned & Seilerbird -
Thank you for your comments and suggestions.  Great idea to put two sewer drains in the slab.  Roger on the 18" deep trenching and will include a 1/2" conduit run from meter pole to RV power outlet on the slab in hopes that cable TV may arrive in the "country" one of these days... currently have satellite TV in 60'x40' shop beside new RV pad and will provision to run an extension to the RV's new home.
 
Since you are spending a small fortune putting up this pad I have one other suggestion. Put in a 1 inch piece of PVC from your house to the pad and leave it empty. It is called a "Future". That way if at some point in "the future" you come up with another reason to run some wires out there all you will have to do is pull them in and you won't have to dig a new trench. It is cheap insurance.
 
Guys, another option to consider if you don?t want the expense of concrete.
Compact your base fill in an afternoon and lay 5/8? crushed, level and square your area, app. $250.
Install a steel bldg, 41?L x 18?W x 13?H at gable, app. $5500 with the tarp ends (to allow circulation).
Bldg incl certified dwgs for 90mph wind and 60psi snow load.
Just finished mine last October, works great. Put up the bldg in app 8 hrs with 3 man crew.
Edit to change gable height, my memory was wrong....
 

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I might be able to get away with that building provided I had real garage doors, can they be installed??  Also how is it fastened down?  Manufacturer??

Lots of questions but it might solve a problem for me.
 
Jim, you can purchase doors but they only offered to 12' if I recall. My sat dish is 12' 4" at full bag inflation and I wanted plenty of clearance so no messing with antennas, etc. Also, when you completely enclose a steel bldg they sweat like a pig, at least up here in the NW. I left 1' of clearance on ea side of tarp (same on both ends) to allow it to breath and stay dry.
To meet the wind calcs it has 14 anchors and app 12 more stake rods. The rods are put in the frame rails and are simply 36" rebar stakes. The anchors are 36" also and have two flutes on the bottom so they "screw" into the ground like a drill bit, 7 per side. These are what they use to anchor down mobile homes.
This was thru Coast to Coast. If you go this route there are certain procedures you must follow to make sure you get a quality job. There will be no sub-contractor besides you so let me know if you go this route as I have been thru it numerous times. I can send you info off my prints etc if needed. It will also depend on whether you want to permit it or not. It is not a permanent structure so codes differ by location and you can customize this bldg in many ways. All in all it is a high quality bldg that I'm happy with.

Edit to add : http://www.getcarports.com/carports Bottom of page is Rv and certified bldgs. Stay with certified 12 gauge on these types of bldgs.
 
All good suggestions, but I would just go 4000# concrete with rebar in it.  I always use that and have semis loaded with a 18,000# houseboat go across it with no damage and it was only 4" thick.  However, it sure doesn't hurt to build strong.  Also depending on you're 5er, Montana's have their electrical coming out the back so putting your electric towards th rear is a good idea.
 
Mavarick.....Really like your plan.  Would come closer to fitting our budget.  I have been kicking around that same concept and giving thought to using "mesh" tarps instead of solid.  Like you, air circulation was a concern and the mesh tarp should help that plus take the wind a little better. 
 
We had a 30- by 36-foot metal bldg. put up in N. Texas for just over $5,000. I went with open ends and 4-foot open at the bottom of each side. Wired a 30A outlet and used gravel for the floor. Has worked well.
Ernie
 
I have not seen any mesh tarps that would fit my door opening without special order but that would work well for air flow. I kind of wanted something that would not allow others to see if we were gone with the MH so used regular tarps. They are the 10mil silvers from home depot and I ended up with them as they are really light weight. I hung them using roller style shower curtain hooks on 1? dia conduit. They slide open like a shower curtain and I use bungee cords on ea side to allow them to flex in the wind. Makes it easy to get the tractor in and out. The 18? width allows for our slides to be out, pass side basement doors to be open and still have enough room for TLB. We get really strong gusts from the back side and these have worked fine for us. I can get more pics if needed.
Another reason I didn?t use concrete (besides cost) it because it makes it a permanent structure. I also wanted the flexibility to add things later and didn?t want to have to cut concrete. If you do use concrete I would suggest using fiber reinforced (regular, not steel fiber) as compared to rebar. Much easier to install and just as strong. It does cost more but you save on labor of installing the bar, unless you are doing it yourself.
 
Thanks for the information.  The wind rating will be a concern as we bust the 90 mph on occasion but the humidity is not a problem.  We are like eastern WA, we need more water almost all the time.  This year is off to a bad start as we have about 30% of our normal snow fall, the mountains are not covered as they usually are and we are beginning to worry about fires next summer.  We are starting to worry about the vegetation as our daytime temperatures are in the 40s to low 50s instead of the 20s and low 30s, early spring??

The MH is 12'7" so height is also an issue but I think that can be worked out.  No problem with conventional zoning but the HOA can be somewhat difficult at times but that building looks close enough to the siding on the house that it should work.  :)

Now to find a spot that will be acceptable to both the wife and the HOA.  I think the wife will be the bigger one!
 
Know what you mean about the weather. FIL has a cabin in the Yaak and also some friends live there year round that are saying the same thing. Going to be an interesting summer. We rode our MC's thru Glacier in 2003 and couldn?t stop on the Hwy to the sun until we reached the top because of the wildfires below. Erie site to see everything burning and having to wear bandanna's to breath easier.
Rechecked my gable height, it is 13? at the bottom. 12? is standard but raising it a foot was no problem. If you have better than 90mph sustained I don?t know that any metal bldg will pass code, this size bldg creates one heck of a sail area on the side. Go to your county?s website and look up their "bldg permit application process" guide. It will have links to general design standards for your county that will be worst case so to speak. They will give you an idea of what you are up against.
Standard roof style is the rolled design which is what I have. I think it looks nice and matches the house/shop easily. You can get A-frame roof designs, etc though for a higher price if needed. Their largest door is 12 x 12 so that might be an issue.
HOA?s can be a real pain, usually they have height restrictions that might frown upon something of this size. Good luck with it and let me know if I can help with anything else.
 
I'm planning a gothic arch membrane building for a combination shop/storage space. I had thought about using a tarp as I had posted there, but that boat heat shrink looks like just the ticket. I'd go with white.
http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/materials/bow-roof-shed-40559.html

I'll build some short pony walls to get the height I need. Here is a stimson designed shed going through hurricane Irene.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAX5iEg2oQ0

I figure on getting 5 years out of the cover, and buying enough to cover it twice. The lumber is about $500. I'll line the inside with inexpensive plastic so I can heat it.



 
Mav....what is this base fill you crushed up made out of?  Can you buy it at Lowes or some such place?
 
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