New permanent site
- Thread starter alsamp
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Rene T
Site Team
I would block up the rig with concrete blocks. Then I would dig out under the tires to keep them out of the dirt. Then I would either cover them with tire covers or cut a piece of thin plywood and lean it up against the tires only if the sun shines on them. If they're in the shade, I would even bother trying to protect them.
millartist
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2014
- Posts
- 155
don't put anything under your axle only under the main frame you will have to crawl underneath to find the main frame, you want to get something between the tires and the ground like the linx levelers. if the sun will hit then cover loosely or like Rene T said lean a piece of plywood up against them, make sure you keep armor all on the tires regular so they wont dry out.
John From Detroit
Well-known member
Vehicles really do not like sitting for long periods epically in the sun.. On a motor home many things can go wrong, ON a trailer, the major complainers are tires and wheel bearings...Which is why I tell folks if you are going to park it and leave it for a long time, go with a trailer.
UV-Light is the killer on tires, and many wheel covers do not do a decent job of blocking it.... I used to have an electronic "Pig" that was designed to be sat on the shelf on a fridge and oink at you when you opened the door and it saw the light.. It would OINK when covered by many tire covers cause it still saw the light. (Foil blocked it)
Thus I too recommend a plywood cover and a cloth cover (For appearance) over that.. I do have cloth/plastic covers for my rig, they come in very handy when I use them as projection screens for my Mr. Christmas Projectors.
RE-pack wheel bearings (if they are the packable kind) before you leave, and inspect the tires to see if they need replacement. that is the only special instructions I will add. Depending on how long you leave it, Covering wheels, getting them off ground, all that may or may not matter, Leave it long enough, and it wont matter you gonna need new rubber. Hence the inspection.
UV-Light is the killer on tires, and many wheel covers do not do a decent job of blocking it.... I used to have an electronic "Pig" that was designed to be sat on the shelf on a fridge and oink at you when you opened the door and it saw the light.. It would OINK when covered by many tire covers cause it still saw the light. (Foil blocked it)
Thus I too recommend a plywood cover and a cloth cover (For appearance) over that.. I do have cloth/plastic covers for my rig, they come in very handy when I use them as projection screens for my Mr. Christmas Projectors.
RE-pack wheel bearings (if they are the packable kind) before you leave, and inspect the tires to see if they need replacement. that is the only special instructions I will add. Depending on how long you leave it, Covering wheels, getting them off ground, all that may or may not matter, Leave it long enough, and it wont matter you gonna need new rubber. Hence the inspection.
driftless shifter
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2012
- Posts
- 2,407
Let the suspension droop, the springs will still have good spring in them in 5-10 years. Of course after 5-10 years the axles will have to be torn down to the spindles and overhauled, including brakes and new tires, before moving any further than a couple sites away. If you're in a wet climate rust on frame and suspension may make your site permanent, after 5-10 years. An indoor/outdoor cat or two will keep nearly all rodents out of your wires, nooks and crannies.
Bill
Bill
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
Put the jacks/blocks under the frame. The axles & suspension won't care either way, but the trailer is much more stable without the springs between it and the supports.
Your tires are going to age anyway, so if it sits on blocks for a few years they are likely to be "toast" regardless. However, isolating them from damp ground can only help. Well drained ground, e.g. sand or gravel, is not a problem though. With the trailer on supports there should be little if any weight on the tires, and that is goodness too. Tire manufacturers recommend inflating the tire to max pressure if sitting for long periods of non-use. Shading them from direct sun may also be beneficial. Anything opaque works, but those pretty screen-like tire covers are nowhere near as effective as solid vinyl or wood
Your tires are going to age anyway, so if it sits on blocks for a few years they are likely to be "toast" regardless. However, isolating them from damp ground can only help. Well drained ground, e.g. sand or gravel, is not a problem though. With the trailer on supports there should be little if any weight on the tires, and that is goodness too. Tire manufacturers recommend inflating the tire to max pressure if sitting for long periods of non-use. Shading them from direct sun may also be beneficial. Anything opaque works, but those pretty screen-like tire covers are nowhere near as effective as solid vinyl or wood
BigDfromTN
Well-known member
mslater said:
This was going to be my comment.
Most RV insurance companies do not insure them if set up permanently on blocks and tires removed. You essentially have a "Mobile or Manufactured" home. A problem there is that many Manufactured home insurers do not cover homes under a certain size.
Check with your insurance carrier to see what their guidelines are.
I put mine on a permanent site next to the TN river. I set it up with Blocks under the stabilizer jacks. Plumbed in the septic with PVC and still use a water hose and factory power cord. It has been that way for a year now with no issues. I did however go around and slightly tighten my stabilizer jacks due to a bit of settling this spring. We are on a gravel surface.
Interesting...I'm sure there is a logical reason, but it doesn't seem like they would care. They aren't a warranty company, they are an insurance company.
No wheels...pretty hard to steel
Permanent site...not likely to get in a wreck
On the surface it seems like a pretty safe bet they won't be making a payout on your property...I must be missing something.
No wheels...pretty hard to steel
Permanent site...not likely to get in a wreck
On the surface it seems like a pretty safe bet they won't be making a payout on your property...I must be missing something.
I just had this discussion with my insurance company and was told the reason is they want to know if you live in it permanently and not as a get a way. To them if it is "permanently" placed, its no longer mobile and therefore must be a full time residence. I swear that's what Flo told me. If that was the case, they would not insure my 2011 so my wheels will stay on!!
Chris
Chris
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
Insurance policies are full of arbitrary rules. They may not make sense to you, but each one originated with some instance where someone took advantage of a loop hole and cost the insurer big money. So the underwriting department decides to close the loop hole without really understanding the many ways in which RVs are legitimately used and comes up with an off-beat rule.
Another example: my insurer has decided that if I stay in the RV more than 150 nights/year, I am using it "full time". Even if the nights are not consecutive. But when I ask what "fulltime" means to my coverage (other than a roughly $65/year increase in the premium), they can't tell me except that I have to pay extra cause I'm "full time". Basically they just picked an arbitrary dividing line between those who use their rig heavily and those who do the odd weekend and vacation trip. The policy premium is based on the light usage, but they call the heavier usage "full time", whether it is or not.
Another example: my insurer has decided that if I stay in the RV more than 150 nights/year, I am using it "full time". Even if the nights are not consecutive. But when I ask what "fulltime" means to my coverage (other than a roughly $65/year increase in the premium), they can't tell me except that I have to pay extra cause I'm "full time". Basically they just picked an arbitrary dividing line between those who use their rig heavily and those who do the odd weekend and vacation trip. The policy premium is based on the light usage, but they call the heavier usage "full time", whether it is or not.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
It's not just size, though that's an easy clue to the basic issue: A mobile home, i.e. "manufactured home" is built to different legal standards, e.g. fire and safety, than a "recreational vehicle" or "recreational park model". A policy designed and priced for a manufactured home simply isn't applicable to an RV or RV park model. And vice versa. To us it seems mostly a matter of size, but it goes much deeper than that in the underwriter's view.
