What we did around the house for the coach

Well, I think there are different types of MH families;
1. FT'ers
2. Store at CG (part time'ers - Weekend'ers)
3. Store off Site 'ers
4. Store at Home 'ers

We are Home'ers; DOOOH

Once we decided to get a coach (cant call my coach a motor home, sounds to much like mobile home ) I knew I did not want to store it off site. Out of site out of mind. The more I see it the more I want to use it. Our neighborhood has no restrictions barring us from keeping it at our house. The house is set up very nicely for access and keeping it in the driveway, we just needed to make a few additions that were for us, not mandatory.

BTW-I am a GC, so I did much of this myself or had my friends help...

First; We went through the neighborhood and planned our route to and from the house making sure we would not drag under any trees
Found one, stopped and asked that neighbor if we could cut a limb. Once we explained why and that we would do it correctly they were ok with it and let us trim it back.

Second; trimmed everything near or over the driveway

Third; removed some bushes by the driveway so we could maneuver the turn into and out of the driveway. We can pull in headfirst, and back out easily enough.

Now that we can get in and out from the major roads to the house. Its time for some items around the house;

I wanted to run off shore power while home so we could use it all the time.

Power comes in on the wrong side of the house so we had to run a #4 wire from the main breaker box through the attic across the house to the new location for our coach plug in receptacle. materials needed (50 amp 2 pole breaker, # 4 copper wire, exterior RV plug box, conduit and straps) and about 3 hours...


Our driveway ended in the middle of the house so with the coach in the driveway we had a difficult time getting in and out of the garage (in case you dont know its a Discovery 40G-its big). I decided to make the driveway longer so we can pull well into the back yard. This had some challenges. First we had to remove allot of dirt for the driveway extension, build a small retaining wall beside the driveway, then bring in crushed granite for the parking area. I am not ready to drop the extra money for concrete yet. Then I had to move the fence forward. The combination of extending the driveway back and moving the fence forward will allow us to pull in behind the fence for security and privacy.

We are still in the middle of the driveway project. Its cut, wall is done, granite is being delivered when we get home after the 1st and I am working on the fence posts (central Texas, solid rock so its jack hammer time - times 4 holes).

Once I can afford to do it I want to put up a RV drive in - structure roof, carport ish... to protect it from storms.

I really want and envision the family using the coach more than just on trips. Having it behind the fence allows for sleep overs in it, use as guest overflow, so many reasons but the main ones for me are the ease of access for loading, unloading, cleaning and I use it as an office occasionally...

I see so many parked in storage lots that never appear to move and it is sad.

Anyway, if you have a coach, are looking at coaches or dreaming about getting into it. Really look at how you will store it, where you will store it and challenges of all of the options. How do you go get it? where do you take it after a trip to clean it, home or storage lot? Until you decide to go FT (FULL TIME) it will be stored more than used. This seems to be a simple issue that is frequently overlooked and I have heard this complained about frequently (before we bought and since) "we dont use it enough and it costs so much to just sit in that lot"..

BUILD A SPREAD SHEET---Spend allot of time researching all the cost variables, monthly storage costs, insurance changes from home to off site storage, electric at storage facilities, storage at CG's full time, storage at home, insurance is cheaper if its stored under a roof structure.

We spent allot of time planning the coach, all facets of ownership. We had a seriously detailed plan. The planing of the plan drove my wife nuts but made for an easy transition with only a few surprises.

Oh yeah, one more plus... I drive it home and unless I see very cheap fuel I bring it home low on fuel. I watch prices closely and when it seems to bottom out I run up and fill up prior to the next trip.. Doing this in the next few days. Diesel has dropped 28+/- cents since our last trip. At 100 gallon tank thats some change or a decent dinner..

Good luck on your dream!