Building for the RV

[glester99]

I live in Ohio (snow, ice, freezing temps early and late in winter) so I am considering building a place to store my coach. Looking for things to consider in the building process and must haves in the building.

Size of building
Heating - type
Lighting - amount, location, etc
Floor drain or not
etc

I would like to be able to come and go in the winter without dealing with winterizing each time I return home. (I know go south for the winter - but four grand daughters ages 1-5 put a stop to that!) I have an acre of land.

thanks in advance!

[palehorse89]

Hi Gary, here is a great thread to look and read through for idea's and information that might be useful to you.

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f258/lets...ge-182935.html

[tmw188]

I'm so jealous.

[vsheetz]

Many threads here regarding building RV enclosures. From RV carports to elaborate buildings. One basic premise is to make it ample size to hold at least a 45' coach, whether you have one or not - build for the future.

[deaton]

Have always stored my coaches inside. Makes a huge difference in condition over time.

In 2015, we got out of the rental business and built our own garage.

We have almost nine acres here, so space was not an issue but the topography surely was with hills and rocks.

Anyway, I did some things right and some wrong.

1. The length is 50 feet. Overall building is 50 by about 45 wide, but that includes my work shop and man cave on the left side. No floor drain. But building does have its own 200 amp service, water, a shower, kitchenette and head. Total square footage of building is about 1800.

LED fixtures suspended from ceiling in two rows above the bay, eight in all. We also have transom windows the length of the bay. Metal building (welded) with stone facade on front and side and stucco elsewhere.

2. The door is 14 x 14. This should be adequate if entrance is level with drive. You really need an opener on a door that size and those are not cheap.

3. The width of the bay is About 17 feet. It is actually open in the let side, facing front, but the right side is solid poured concrete. When I first designed it, I wanted a pull through. But the topography made this impractical. As it was, it took two solid weeks with a rock hammer to cut away enough of the hill to allow the pad to get poured. All that said, I should have gone 18 - 20 on the width. The extra width would remove the issue with putting out the slides and make it easier to maneuver around open bay doors.

Floor is six inch, 3500# concrete with #4 rebar tied on 12” centers. Same for the drive. No cracks anywhere after two years.

Based on your length (43 feet) you should build at least 50. While I’m only 40, I wish I had gone 55 to allow more room for working inside during bad weather days. That means HOT in Texas. But 55 would have cost me a mature live oak on the back side that the DW wanted to keep.

I can get all the slides out if I’m very careful lining up on the back-in, but if I’m off only an inch or two, it’s too tight.

4. When designing, I thought I would pull in. After it got built, it became obvious that backing in, which left the front door of the coach conveniently close to the front of the garage was much better than having the door to the coach buried in the right rear corner of the building. So I back in. No biggee, but I put the hookups on the left, so now they are on the wrong side. I just run a 50 amp cord across the floor and, if we need to dump, there is an extra set of hookups outside the garage on the driveway. Works for us. I may drop 50 amp hookup on the other side later.

5. The whole building is spray foamed and has HVAC (Trane 3 ton). In your case, I would think some form of heating would be called for, having grown up in Indiana. In our previous rented storage, we used space heaters, but when it really got cold (25 degrees for two days in south Texas) those units were not reliable because the circuits were under-sized in the space.

6. Door is insulated. Not such a big deal here in Texas, but you would definitely want that up north.

So think it all through and visualize how the coach would look parked in the space. Pay attention to all your clearances and your own experience owning and operating a coach. If I had let the guy I originally hired design the space, he would have put it at the top of a hill such that my coach could not clear the door. I fired him and contracted it myself.

My pictures are too big to post, maybe later.

[RickyR]

Build bigger than you think you will need... It fill up very quickly.

[Unplanned Tourist]

I built mine 30X40 Now if I need to get from one side to the other, I have to open the door (24W X 14H) or go through the rig and out the driver's door. Needless to say our old rig was shorter (34'). So Now I have another project to add 12 feet on!
Happy Glamping.

[1doodadd]

If it were me and I had to add ONE THING in my storage building it would be a service pit so I could work under the coach without any worries of being killed by a falling coach while under it.

[Jim.B1]

Hello,
I am in Ontario and want to build a 40'x30' RV garage to protect our coach from the elements.
We have a 32' Southwind and no intention of going to a larger RV and feel 40'x30' will be sifficient.
Have you got any photos you could send and an est. on the cost to build.
Thank you.

[Rotten-Red]

If you're building with standard frame construction build using 4' increments. If building with pole construction build using 8' increments. Doing this makes your materials go together with less work and waste. Example: width 24, 32, 40, 48 etc. length 40, 48, 56, 64 etc.

Minimum 14' X 14' overhead door with a minimum 16' ceiling. More ceiling if you want to do much work on the roof of coach without being on your hands and knees.

If you have the room on your lot I would build a minimum of 32' X 56'. On pole construction you will loose 14" of inside space if unfinished interior. If interior is finished off you will loose 18" of inside space. A 48' building (pole construction) with inside finished will have a dimension of 46'-6". If you have a 45' coach you can get it in but you won't be happy trying to get around it.

Also put in a good floor drain so you can wash vehicles inside in the winter.

[10 fan]

Just finished my ultimate RV garage 45 X 45. Thought it would fit anything I decide to buy. Started looking at coaches and found that I am stuck with 40 ft max as garage is 43' long on inside. Didn't think I would want anything bigger (that was before I started looking) Live and learn. It greatly limits my choices. Moral of the store is don't go big GO BIGGER.

[Woodman018]

The one we built is a pole barn with 6 inch concrete, an 18 foot wide door right in the middle of one end. The building is 30 X 54 which is a good length, but we should have built it 36 feet wide. At 36 feet, it would be possible to get 3 rows of vehicles in but at 30 it is pretty tight. We have a walk through door next to the overhead door and no windows. If you are thinking about a pole barn type keep in mind that the steel comes in 3 foot widths. Even though I wish ours was wider, it is still really nice and we can a lot of stuff in there besides the coach.
Dave

[Unplanned Tourist]

Originally Posted by Jim.B1

Hello,
I am in Ontario and want to build a 40'x30' RV garage to protect our coach from the elements.
We have a 32' Southwind and no intention of going to a larger RV and feel 40'x30' will be sifficient.
Have you got any photos you could send and an est. on the cost to build.
Thank you.

I think I'm about $25,000.00 on costs for our 30X40 foot MH shed. It has a steel roof, hardy board siding and a 14 high and 24 wide door that opens up, hinged at the top. I did all the labour myself with help from my dad (88 years old at the time!) and some buddies. So no labour costs in there. I also built the door and opening system (electric).
Now I'm thinking of adding 12 feet as our rig now has 2 inches of clearance at both ends!
Happy Glamping.

[TRebel]

I built a 36' X 50' several years ago. Now, its not big enough.
I suggest, if room allows, building twice as big as you think you need.

Probably goes without being said, always insulate... even if you live in a warm climate area.

Concrete: 6" minimum with rebar. I also recommend using fibermesh concrete.

Door height: minimum 14' high. You will need at least 12' wide... 14' wide much better.

If you have a floor drain, I would also include a sewer dump. This will allow you to dump your tanks at home.

A pull-through would be very nice, if space allows.