Attached RV bay pics

[John E Davies]

Some of you have expressed interest in an attached RV storage bay. here is mine. We have only been in the house for eight months so it is still a work in progress. The house is 1850 sq ft, one floor and built on a slab.

 

The RV bay, aka the Hanger Deck, is 16 feet wide x 16 tall x 43 long (outside wall measurements!) with 2x4 construction, so take off about 9 inches for inside measurements. The door is a commercial insulated unit with opener and it is 12 x 14 tall.

 

 

 

It's sheet rocked (3/4 inch) and insulated, pre-plumbed for a gas heater high in back, and the three big windows up high face south, and they let in a LOT of natural light, but not enough to work the solar panels. There are four standard 110 v lights up high. I added 100 watt equivalent LED flood bulbs (with built in reflectors)  for $40, and they are plenty bright for general illumination, but I am going to add extra lighting down low along the walls for working on stuff in the winter.

 

I have plenty of room in the back part for lawn and garden equipment plus a 2 x 8 ft work/ reloading bench and industrial shelves. Plus there is a small workbench in front near the big door for extra light during the day time.

 

 

The added cost was $30,000, but that included sheetrock and insulation in the other 2-car garage area, so it wasn't too bad. Around here smaller homes with attached RV storage are in very high demand as older folks get rid of the kids and downsize to homes that are easy to clean and maintain, and inexpensive to heat and cool. Commercial uninsulated indoor RV storage is $300 to $400 monthly in Spokane, so that can be figured into the cost analysis - but OTH having Mouse close at hand and out of the weather is priceless. Also I can use him as a guest bedroom and in case of a prolonged power outage.

 

The gas heater pre-plumbing was extra, I can't recall the figure. I also paid an extra $1800 to have the walls primed and painted in white semi-gloss enamel, for reflectivity and ease of cleaning. They did not do any other prep or texturing. It really helps with the overall lighting. During the day it is brilliant and you don't need any lights.

 

It stays reasonably warm in winter, but I will need to eventually add a heater. In summer it can get very hot. I crack the front door an inch and open up the attic access man-door (located in the rear of the ceiling) so the trapped heat naturally vents out through the roof and soffit vents. This lowers the inside temp to a comfortable level, usually. I close it and the doors in winter to trap any heat.

 

 

The canoe rack and hoist works with Mouse inside, I just need to be really careful not to let it swing or have the big door open if it is windy. The main tackle is a Hobie cat 18 main sheet system, reduced to a 5:1 purchase; the outhaul which pulls the boat over so it will lie down onto the arms is cheap Home Depot rope and steel pulleys, since there is no real load on it. The canoe is a Wenonah Sundowner 18, old but it still paddles nicely on flat water. It weighs 70 pounds

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[Mike and Carol]

John, that is a nice set up. It sure would be nice to have my Ollie at the house. I would have to do some major modifications to an existing garage. When we built this house 12 years ago....if I knew then what I know now!  Mike

[Overland]

Yeah, that really is nice John.  I think the price is reasonable for what you got.

[routlaw]

Indeed very nice. Like other comments we keep our Ollie some 15 miles out of town in a nice RV & Boat storage facility under a hanger so its at least not out in the open. Cost is $105 per month. Not too bad. We live in the downtown historical district so there just isn't space to keep ours at house. Nice job!

[Free2Roam]

I really like this! we would love to have it at our home but not sure our HOA would allow it. We're working on finding out. Then we would have to build. We actually have a new storage facility that was built around the corner with a few RV garages so we for now we will be using that. Our other option is moving ????  -Angela

[Bruce W]

Really nice