RV port advice

[Crabby Mike]

Originally Posted by sbleiweiss

I am surprised that most are saying it is easier and safer to drive in and back out. I do it the opposite even though I could do it either way. Why do you all say it is easier or safer to pull in and back out? I would think especially backing out would be scary.

Ditto, so I'll be interested to hear the answers. I would always rather back in, for several reasons:
- the front wheels swivel, the back ones don't (unless you have a steerable tag axle), so I can maneuver into my driveway much easier in reverse ... I can't even imagine doing it forward.
- I never have to back out into traffic.

- My RV garage is at the back of my driveway, slightly behind the house, so backing in leaves the coach door much more convenient to the house. Otherwise I'd have to walk all the way to the back of the garage to get in.


But to each their own, and of course the layout of your house, port/garage, and driveway can make a big difference.

[Crasher]

I turn a half left off the street and once in the driveway continue a slight left turn toward the RV port. Then straight into it. I back out straight and reverse the process. We have very little traffic on our street and I can see both ways through the trees. Driving in also puts the left side of the coach 30' away from a city sewer clean out in the woods for easy dumping of the tanks. The front door is also closest to the house.

[Gerryl]

Originally Posted by Robontheroad

We are contemplating building an RV port home. Need some advice from experienced folks. Is our 43 foot RV more maneuverable pulling in forward or backing in? Is their a desired orientation for the driver and passenger side? What is a good dimension for the port? We are thinking 48-50 feet so it will accommodate a 45 foot unit.

This post may help you decide.

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f258/simp...ly-261116.html

I since built a pole barn to keep my Motor Home in. I put marks on the floor with Duct tape every few feet so I can line up with the white hose and back it in the perfect place in the pole barn. Works perfect.

[Robontheroad]

I want to thank everyone for the responses and please keep them coming. I have learned a great deal. I am still wondering if the motorhome is easier to drive in or back in, as it relates to working it into a fairly tight space with no room for error. Most of my parking experience has been backing in, but I am quite unsure of the best and easiest way to do this.

[sdennislee]

Originally Posted by sbleiweiss

I am surprised that most are saying it is easier and safer to drive in and back out. I do it the opposite even though I could do it either way. Why do you all say it is easier or safer to pull in and back out? I would think especially backing out would be scary.

agree with you. Google "First Move Forward" most articles will pertain to parking lots but same principals apply elsewhere.

[BillJinOR]

Backing in or not depends in my mind on a couple things . Backing out of a garage leaves a large area outside you can’t see to the sides and could miss a child / animal etc moving behind you from the side. My training was to not back, but if I did I was to pull up survey and back immediately before things could change. Backing into a garage you should have more control over what’s in the garage that could move. Tape or paint tire Lin’s on the driver side make clearance not a problem keep the wheel along the line and the rest will all clear.
On private property with no chance of objects appearing behind you I don’t think it matters. Whatever leaves access to the house and or leaving the patio area open so the RV could be used , loaded and opened up makes the most sense. Before backing out of any blind garage you should be extra careful.

[Big Oil Guy]

Any safety engineer will tell you that the "First Move Forward" is mandatory. I've worked for companies where backing into a parking spot was a condition of employment, and this is based on very good reasons due to accident analysis! Any other way is intentional design for catastrophe! Good luck on your choice.

[DegoRed]

Here is my wisdom for what its worth, and I build a lot of buildings and a lot of warehouses, and did build one for my MH. FWIW I am a back in guy, way easier than pulling in forward and backing out.

50 depth is your MINIMUM, my rig is 42ft and it barely fits in a 50 deep building. Let me further break that down 50ft less 42ft leave you 8 ft, then divide that by 2 for front and back, and your left with 4 ft in front and 4 ft in the back, which is not much, wish I had went 55ft with mine.

14ft high x 12 ft wide doors are your MINIMUM. We use this size on all the buildings we build, so far have not had any complaints, this goes for a lot of different businesses.

Width is a hard item as you need room for your slides to be completely out, plus a MINIMUM of 4 ft on each side.

Painted lines on floor, this is also something that should be done. I used yellow concrete paint that I picked up from Home Depot. This takes all the hassle out of backing into the correct spot, it really makes it stupid simple.

Power is a tough one, I put a full 50amp hook up so that I can keep rig plugged in at all times. For some, this is a major expense, for me being a contractor it was a minor expenses, but I highly recommend it.

Height, I have plenty of head room, I can fully stand up on top of my rig to work on anything on the roof. Is this a must have, not really, but the cost difference to add the needed height is nothing when building from scratch, 16 ft eve height would be my recommended MINIMUM.

Special concrete, sometimes people in the forums say you need heavy duty concrete or extra thick concrete, this is simply not the case and don't waste your money. Standard 3000 psi concrete @ 3.5"-4" thick is more than sufficient. We do this for a lot of our warehouses that we build with 10x traffic and heavy vehicle loads and have not had any problems going on 25 years now for some of our buildings.

Lighting, we use LED lighting for everything now, the lights cost about 10% more, but use 70% less power. Its a must have to have good lighting in your storage area, am always working on my rig and good lighting makes it nice. FWIW the lights we use are about $200 each and 3 of them in a MH bay will make you feel like you have to wear sun glasses.

Feel free to PM me with questions, happy to help ya.

[texoz]

Originally Posted by DegoRed

Here is my wisdom for what its worth, and I build a lot of buildings and a lot of warehouses, and did build one for my MH. FWIW I am a back in guy, way easier than pulling in forward and backing out.

50 depth is your MINIMUM, my rig is 42ft and it barely fits in a 50 deep building. Let me further break that down 50ft less 42ft leave you 8 ft, then divide that by 2 for front and back, and your left with 4 ft in front and 4 ft in the back, which is not much, wish I had went 55ft with mine.

14ft high x 12 ft wide doors are your MINIMUM. We use this size on all the buildings we build, so far have not had any complaints, this goes for a lot of different businesses.

Width is a hard item as you need room for your slides to be completely out, plus a MINIMUM of 4 ft on each side.

Painted lines on floor, this is also something that should be done. I used yellow concrete paint that I picked up from Home Depot. This takes all the hassle out of backing into the correct spot, it really makes it stupid simple.

Power is a tough one, I put a full 50amp hook up so that I can keep rig plugged in at all times. For some, this is a major expense, for me being a contractor it was a minor expenses, but I highly recommend it.

Height, I have plenty of head room, I can fully stand up on top of my rig to work on anything on the roof. Is this a must have, not really, but the cost difference to add the needed height is nothing when building from scratch, 16 ft eve height would be my recommended MINIMUM.

Special concrete, sometimes people in the forums say you need heavy duty concrete or extra thick concrete, this is simply not the case and don't waste your money. Standard 3000 psi concrete @ 3.5"-4" thick is more than sufficient. We do this for a lot of our warehouses that we build with 10x traffic and heavy vehicle loads and have not had any problems going on 25 years now for some of our buildings.

Lighting, we use LED lighting for everything now, the lights cost about 10% more, but use 70% less power. Its a must have to have good lighting in your storage area, am always working on my rig and good lighting makes it nice. FWIW the lights we use are about $200 each and 3 of them in a MH bay will make you feel like you have to wear sun glasses.

Feel free to PM me with questions, happy to help ya.

DegoRed - What is the weight of your rig?

[flamebuster]

I back in, it makes to entry door close to the garage door. I found hanging a light on the back wall to line up the side of the coach in the mirror put me dead on center. Sometimes backing in a building on a bright sunny day makes it hard to see in the building and that light on the wall really helps..

[Ivylog]

DegoaRed gave excellent advice above^^^^. My MH bay is 48’ long X 16’ wide and worked well for my 04 Dynasty 42' BUT RVs have a way of growing. While my new ride (08 Navigator 45') fits I no longer can get around either end and with barn basement doors (which I like) I cannot open them all the way so the slideout trays cannot be extended. I was afraid I might have to fold my mirrors in as they stick out 18" so I'm actually 46.5'.

DegoRed - What is the weight of your rig?
It's probably 34,000 BUT it makes no difference how much his rig weighs...It's what PSI does he run in his front tires (probably 110) and even that make no difference when they are sitting on 3000 PSI concrete.

While I'm new on IRV2 I've posted many times on RV.net much the same as DegoRed posted. My concrete driveway is 400+ feet long and it's 10' wide and 4" thick except at the edges were for one foot it's 5" and after 10 years still no cracks EXCEPT where you saw it to control where it's going to crack REGARDLESS of how thick you pour it. Any concrete larger than 12X12 is going to crack so I sawed my 10' wide driveway every 14'.
"Special concrete, sometimes people in the forums say you need heavy duty concrete or extra thick concrete, this is simply not the case and don't waste your money. Standard 3000 psi concrete @ 3.5"-4" thick is more than sufficient. We do this for a lot of our warehouses that we build with 10x traffic and heavy vehicle loads and have not had any problems going on 25 years now for some of our buildings."

Like I said: it fits but just barely.

[The Brews Cruise]

Ours is parked next to our house, where I plan to build an RV Port. I back ours in and will continue to do so. We live on a busy street, and I would not want to attempt backing out into the street with traffic approaching while avoiding the ditch that is right across the street. I have to pull forward and backward in what could be termed a "3 point right angle" turn to back into the yard while my wife watches and stands ready to flag any cars coming around the curve two houses down. It's much easier to pull out forward from my yard. I have the added bonus of the coach door on the side of the house when parked.

[sbleiweiss]

[QUOTE=
Special concrete, sometimes people in the forums say you need heavy duty concrete or extra thick concrete, this is simply not the case and don't waste your money. Standard 3000 psi concrete @ 3.5"-4" thick is more than sufficient. We do this for a lot of our warehouses that we build with 10x traffic and heavy vehicle loads and have not had any problems going on 25 years now for some of our buildings.
[/QUOTE]


Not an expert but weighing in with my experience. Had a 50 x24 MH garage built. My contractor spec'd 4 inch concrete. A retired builder down the street pulled me aside when he saw the wood framing for the concrete pour and was very insistent that it was too thin. I told my builder who just chuckled and said he was sure it was fine. He said the compaction beneath it and enough rebar in it was what was important. So far in a year of using it no problems. My rig is 22K pounds. I am sure you will get many responses from the 6 inch camp. Thanks for your useful and lengthy post.

[torino421]

I back in, no particular reason I could do either. It's much tighter getting out my 16 foot wide driveway gates because the way my drive way curves.