Community Forums

tomakat · 05-22-2016, 12:40 AM

Hi All,

I'm thinking of purchasing a house with an RV garage, but the garage is too small for my RV. My RV dimensions are: 40' 9" long and 12'10" tall. The RV garage has a 12' garage door and is only 40' long. Is there a way of modifying this garage to make it work? I know I can extend the length either in front or in the back, but how do I make the height work? I would like a 14' garage door. Is this going to take major reconstruction of the existing garage? Any creative ideas?

-Tom

JerryP · 05-22-2016, 01:42 AM

If it is possible to move the door to the center of the structure, you could re-work the ceiling to be a cathedral ceiling that follows the roof line. Extend the front of the building out 5 or 6 feet and install a 14 ft door. Remember that you will need a 16' internal ceiling to install a 14' door. If you install a conventional door, that 16' ceiling will need to extend at least 14' inside the front of the garage. A roll-up type door would only need about 4 feet of the 16' height. Be sure to leave room for an attached tow bar.

I put a 12'4" Newmar Bay star under a 12' door. It involved changing one of the roof air conditioner from a high profile unit to a low profile heat pump. I also had part of the floor lowered by 4". (jack-hammered out and re-poured concrete.) I don't recommend lowering the floor, since it causes a swimming pool issue inside the garage when it rains.

The 12' 10" height may be a worst case estimate. Be sure to measure your coach. I bought about 4" of height reduction by switching to a lower profile heat pump. The actual coach roof height is about a foot lower that the worst case height. The high items are ACs, heat pumps, antennas, vents.

If you decide to do a major re-construction. Plan for a worst case size that is bigger than your current RV. Go for a 45' length with an attached tow bar. Be sure you put in a 14' door. If possible make it wide enough to put your slides out while its in the garage. In the long run it may be better to do the major re-construction. I had to do mine the hard way due to zoning issues.

Good luck,

Jerry

jondrew55 · 05-22-2016, 05:04 AM

I'm no expert, but I think you're looking at major rework to the structure. Unless this is a super great deal or there is something about the location I'd keep looking. The cost of rewickerong this garage might be as much as just adding a new one.

vsheetz · 05-22-2016, 05:51 AM

Another option is to get a smaller RV...

Selah · 05-22-2016, 06:44 AM

From the picture it appears that the roof soffits are not high enough. That would mean a complete roof structure tear down. Extend the walls up at least a foot and new roof line.
That would be one expensive project. Unless your getting the house for free you would never ever recover that cost.

MRUSA14 · 05-22-2016, 06:49 AM

Not feasible. It would cost a bloody fortune.

ahicks · 05-22-2016, 06:54 AM

My guess is there are trusses involved, which would be really difficult to rework even if you were to center the door.

My only thoughts would involve redoing the grade and dropping the floor.

jacwjames · 05-22-2016, 08:11 AM

Looking at a major rework that would cost $$$$$. The roof doesn't allow for the higher door. The entire roof would have to be raised, walls extended, and new roof installed.

Anything is possible with enough money but doesn't seem realistic.

tomakat · 05-22-2016, 10:49 AM

Thanks everyone for your insight. I was suspecting that this was going to be a major rework, but I just wanted to see if there was something that I was perhaps missing.

The reason that I like this property is that it has a 5 car garage, plus this RV garage. It also has room and is zoned for horses and chickens.....and maybe more. In Southern California, these are rare properties to find.

MikeyG · 05-22-2016, 11:24 AM

Is the garage a separate building? If so, you could lift the structure, add a 2' tall concrete stem wall foundation, then lower the structure on the new stem wall. Just like they do when they lift a house to add a foundation. Any way you look at it, its $$$$, but then again, location, location. location. Especially in So Cal.
Good luck,
Mike

jacwjames · 05-22-2016, 12:18 PM

What is the construction of the exterior walls. Are the block or stud wall.

How is the roof constructed, is it a truss system, is it tied to any other buildings or is it stand alone???

If it is a block type construction with a full truss roof it may pay to get a contractor to look at it and see if it would be possible to jack the whole roof up ~2 ft and and addition height to the wall system. Not necessarily an easy job but possible but again what would this cost, who knows.

NC25T · 05-22-2016, 12:58 PM

Remove roof
Tear down front or back wall
Extend side of garage another few feet
Rebuild back wall
Increase height of all walls another few feet
Rebuild roof

Or buy a smaller and lower RV. I think something like fleetwoods excursion is lower and shorter but is also a entry level DP

Another option would be to leave the roof alone and remove the floor and drive then lower that 2ft. You would only need to redo either the front or back of the garage that way

lynnmor · 05-22-2016, 01:49 PM

I see space to the left side of the building. Any chance you could put a lower driveway there that leads to an extension of the garage?

**JohnRR** · 05-22-2016, 02:22 PM

Have you contacted any local contractors for suggestions? Eyes on seems to be the only accurate way for suggestions.

I'd want to look at having the driveway leading to the garage as well as the garage floor lowered, it seems to be the least costly option.