Soon we may need to choose a new place to store our RV. The company that currently provides space for our rig has just announced that it’s raising monthly fees. I suppose it’s because demand is up. Way up! We should have seen this coming. With more and more RVs purchased in recent years, more and more folks need a place to keep their rig when they’re not traveling. It’s the “supply and demand principle” in action. We have one month before our current lease expires. So, we have 30 days to choose an RV storage facility.
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Subdivision restrictions
Our small subdivision’s HOA does not allow homeowners to store boats, trailers, or RVs on our property. Our lot size wouldn’t accommodate the RV anyway. I wish things were different. I really wish our RV could be parked in our driveway or backyard. It would make things so much easier: packing, unpacking, maintenance chores, you name it. For all of you who are blessed to have your RV parked on your property, I envy you!
RV storage facility considerations
When searching for an RV storage space, there are several important things to consider. Here are the top considerations for us as we search.
Close to home
- If we can’t store the RV on our property, at least we want it to be stored close by. It’s simply more convenient for us in the event we need to access our rig.
- Close to home also means less fuel expense when we need to access our RV. Packing work camping tools, along with clothing, shoes, food, and supplies can mean several trips from home to the RV storage place and back.
Security
- Obviously, you’ll want to avoid RV storage facilities that are located in high-crime areas. If you’re not sure about the area, ask the storage facility, local authorities, or go online to find out about crime or theft frequency.
- At the very least, our preferred storage place would be completely surrounded by secure fencing. Gate access via personal code is also a plus. Our current facility’s gate “code box” records the name of every renter who enters. Even if someone “borrows” a renter’s entry code, the renter’s name is still recorded. That renter will then be contacted in the event of a theft.
- Recording security cameras also add a layer of protection, especially if the company keeps the recordings for a period of time. In order for recording cameras to be useful, the entire storage lot must also be well-lit.
- On-site personnel is a perk, as well. Our current storage business has a person onsite most mornings during the week.
Access
- Another feature we search for when choosing an RV storage place is access. Is the storage business located off a narrow, hilly, and deeply-rutted road? Will we be forced to drive through low-hanging tree branches in order to access the facility? If so, we’ll keep on looking. You might be surprised at some of the places we’ve seen. Getting there and back would require nerves of steel! No thank you.
- Access to the RV storage facility is one thing. Accessing the assigned storage spot can be quite another. Because of the high demand, some RV storage companies offer very narrow sites. If another unit is too close to our own, extending slides (even partially) is not an option. In fact, putting down our solid steps takes up a good amount of space, as well! Finessing our rig into a narrow site is a challenge we’d just as soon avoid.
- Another access consideration is the storage business hours. Some storage places have 24-hour access. We currently have access to our RV between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., and that works fine for us.
Level
It’s important to us that our storage assigned site is fairly level. We like to keep our jacks positioned as low as possible when the RV is in storage.
Price
- There are many factors that determine what you’ll pay for storing your RV. Location, size of rental site, and type of storage will all impact your costs. Generally, a storage facility located away from the city will be less expensive than one closer.
- The size of your rental space will also factor into what you can expect to pay. Usually, the larger the rig, the more you’ll pay. In our current storage facility, two small truck campers share a space that is the exact size that one big motorhome rents nearby.
- Finally, the type of rental space varies in price. A covered parking site will typically cost more than an uncovered one. Before deciding, check out the site you’re considering at different times of the day. In our current storage facility, the roof protects the rigs stored at the end of each row for only a portion of the day. If money is not an issue, you might consider climate-controlled storage space for your RV. Be aware. This option may be quite costly.
What are some other factors you consider when choosing an RV storage facility? Tell us in the comments below.
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There are negatives to having your own place to store your motor home. We live on 11 acres in town so it is great to have the RV so close. We are also going to paint it this year because the decals are so sun faded and ugly. It’s funny, because after the work is done I’m going to want an indoor space to store as there is no shade where we are able to keep it. I didn’t see it mentioned, do you all who store your RV at home, cover it?
before we bought our RV, i measured my driveway for the size of RV it would accommodate. then looked and bought what fit. i wouldn’t even consider anything bigger. no way with price and theft i would ever trust a yard…never.
Thank you, Gail! I hope that your search goes well and ends quickly. We had a barn on the farm where we live improved to store our RV. We have 30- and 50-amp service, water, and sewer (via a dedicated septic tank). So our costs are for electricity and water. We have had an on-going battle with field mice that we think we are winning. We have had no intrusions in the last 6 months. Thankfully, they have never done any real damage, only leaving behind feces, urine, and chewed towels.
Our storage facility increases rent by $10 a month every year. We are now paying more than double our original rent. But all storage facilities here have a waiting list and all do the same.
If you live up north and leave to travel south after snow season starts will you be able to get the RV out? Do they plow? We were parked in one facility in a really bad winter. We thought they plowed regularly but found 3 ft of snow blocking the gate and 2 ft around our trailer. Finally got out but was a real hassle. Moved the next summer to a place that plows.
My current facility is 18 miles from home but these are the advantages over my last facility: I can open the door and lower the steps, the owner/operator lives on site, the roof solar panel faces the right direction and keeps the batteries charged (this is the high desert where we have a lot of sun year round), it is facing the prevailing wind rather than being broadsided, it is in the corner allowing me easy access and room for my truck to be out of the way while I load and do minor maintenance. It has all the desired security- fences with barbed wire and with no view, it has 24 hour surveillance cameras, the custom gate code, and it is in a clean well lit warehouse business area outside of town where the rent is half of what I was paying close to home. How do I handle the distance? If my trip is out that direction I take collapsible water containers with home water to fill tank, all my food and valuable gear in my truck to load there, hitch and go from there. If my TT is not bug splattered, I drop it off and bring stuff home in truck. If I want to bring occasional items or check on it I combine the trip with an errand out that way. One last thing I do is I have a heavy duty hitch lock on it with those special anti theft padlocks. And as said above, I take all valuable gear and tools home each time.
I can’t even imagine owning a vehicle without also owning a place to park it. And you couldn’t pay me enough money to live in an HOA.
Two RVs – the larger RV TT is used seasonally and stays on the site year-round. Yes, this bars other RVers from using the site during the hot Texas summer, but frankly this is the season when the RV park usually has the most vacancies. Yes, I pay the full occupancy rate year round – but unlike a storage spot, staff and friends are regularly going by the site to see problems, and when we arrive from 1700 miles away we just open the slides, turn on the frig and hook up to water. The other small camper is parked at our house in the summer for both quick mini-vacations and maintenance. That doo-hicky or whatshamacallit tool is a few steps away. And a security camera is watching.
We store our Montana fifth wheel in a gated, code-accessed storage facility six miles from our home that has security cameras on onsite personnel five or six days a week. Our rate started at less than $80 a month, but a year or so ago it was purchased by someone else and our rate went up to $115 a month. I inquired for pricing at some additional storage facilities and they were all upwards of $140 a month. It is what it is.
One thing I did and highly recommend for peace of mind is I installed a hidden battery powered GPS tracking device (Optimus) in the trailer, tapping off the main batteries (solar charged). This allowed to me create a geo fence around the storage facility and if the trailer moves (even a slam latch being dropped will set it off) or leaves the storage yard I get an alert on my phone and can track it real time on a map for recovery.
We store our Motor Home on our property. When we bought our home 10 years ago one of the considerations was RV parking. I had to install a Solid concrete rv pad at the side of the house as per city code and the rv had to be behind a 6 foot fence and could not stick out in front of the house. Most HOA’s that I’m aware of allow you to park at your home while loading and unloading a RV. What about yours?
We pay $190 a month for a fenced in, gated and covered spot large enough to fit our 40’ coach. There’s 110 VAC 20 amp outlets to keep the batteries charged and the fridge cool. They offer two sewage dumps with potable water near the entrance which is handy. Lastly, they have no problem if we use the water spigot by the office to pressure wash our coach. Like others, my HOA let alone size of my lot doesn’t allow me to park in the driveway.
We are lucky enough to be able to park our trailer in our yard. When we bought the house (35 years ago!) we were NOT RV’ers. We just accidentally bought the right house – on a whole lot of levels, it turns out. It seems many stolen RVs are stolen from “secure” storage yards.
Yes, I feel blessed that we can store our RV in building on our property.
I’m with you on this Gayle. Blessed to be able to park at home, covered and secured
We store our RV 21 miles from our home. Our rv is too long to store at our home because we can’t fit it in our back yard. The storage facility that we store ours is a covered, level spot that has electric that we can access if needed, fenced with security cameras as well as security guard around the clock. We searched several storage places around our immediate area, but they were all sketchy at best, and we were sure NOT going to leave our rv at any of them. Yes, we pay heavily for it, but the peace of mind I feel, is well worth it.
I have a 16’ teardrop trailer that I purchased in 2018 and was storing at my house in front of my garage for 5 years. I have a long driveway so it can only be seen from directly in front of the house. One day I got a letter from my HOA telling me I had to move it due to their policy. My neighbors did not complain because they couldn’t see it. A new HOA president initiated a search and managed to find it. It is ok to store a trailer or RV in your garage but not anywhere else on your property. I’d need to raise my garage door by 1’ to fit my teardrop but that would cost over $10,000. So, I called the nearby storage facility and was told they had a 150 person waiting list. That put me in a real pickle. I was forced to store it much farther away but fortunately I have a second home in a rural area where I could store it. Eventually, an odd size space opened up at the nearby storage facility and I took it. I wouldn’t have got it if I hadn’t called back and gotten to know the attendant who realized that they had an odd sized space that could be rented to me since my trailer was so small. Because of the high demand, I had to pay full price but I was glad to get the spot. Gail, based on my experience, I hope you can find an acceptable space at an affordable price or you may need to keep the one you have. If your current provider knows their competitors, the price they are charging might just be the going rate in these crazy times. I empathize with your situation.
My biggest regret is not opening a storage facility before property sales exploded around us! And prices of RV storage are insane! I remember the days, not so long ago, when $40/month for open secured storage was common – and close to home. The highest we paid was $70/month at a family owned facility with free use of all the amenities – covered ($100/mo) or uncovered, power, wash area, potable water fill, dump station, restrooms and free bagged ice. That same facility sold to a larger company that bought most of the storage around us and raised rates to well over $100/month for basic gravel parking ($300+ for covered). Now we park in our own property with no worries and no added expense (and no HOA).
My sympathies to all who are stuck with those storage expenses.
One issue my friend had was the space was so narrow that he could not let his steps completely unfold. While parking make sure your steps will be useable before you unhitch. Also, it always helps to have an extra lock or two in place. You want to appear to be harder to break into than the next guy.
We are fortunate to have access to a climate-controlled motorhome storage facility that is convenient to our work and home and is large enough to extend our slides if desired and to do limited maintenance on our motorhome. We can often bring our toad into the building to load and unload the motorhome. This storage facility was not cheap but was paid for and is used by our business as well periodically. I pay our business $495/month for this facility. I store a 2013 45′ Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome as well as our personal boats and antique collections in this building.