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RV Storage

Published: Thursday, July 26, 2007

With better economic conditions and an increasing percentage of citizens enjoying disposable incomes, more and more people are today opting for recreational vehicles as one of their favorite means of enjoying family trips and extended holidays. Depending on various factors like lifestyle, family size, leisure time and budget, people are today selecting recreational vehicles coming in a variety of sizes, models and floor plans. In order to suit the different requirements of their diverse clientele, recreational vehicle manufacturers today are designing models equipped with a wide range of comfort facilities. Along with conventional travel trailers and fifth wheels, different types of advanced tent trailers, truck campers, park models and Class A. class B and class C Motorhomes are today being manufactured that are capable of providing you the best luxuries of home even while you are on the move.

Recreational vehicles are, however, large entities. No matter which model or make you opt for, no matter whether it is a used vehicle or a new one, you can rest assured you will need large parking area for storing your RV. While some models of recreational vehicles like tent trailers that comprise partially of collapsible materials require comparatively lesser storage area, others like luxurious Class A Motorhomes need extensive space for their safe and secure storage. Moreover, unlike ordinary automobiles, recreational vehicles are essentially mobile homes. As most owners maintain whole living, dining, sleeping and residential units in their recreational vehicles, they tend to keep expensive appliances, electrical gadgets and other costly items within their RV. This necessitates the RV to be stored in a safe and secure place while it is not in use. As recreational vehicles require large storage space, most communities today do not allow these vehicles to be parked in streets and private driveways as such an arrangement might cause inconvenience to movement of other automobiles. It is to remedy these problems and provide RV owners a safe storage space for their treasured vehicle that many RV operators today provide specialized storage areas for recreational vehicles along with special facilities for safekeeping accessory parts and equipments.

One of the chief factors that determine the type and dimensions of the RV storage construction is the economic status of the locality where you plan to store the vehicle. In contrast to the most primitive method of parking recreational vehicles in open space, most recreational vehicle storage constructions come today in three types of structures. The canopy storage comprises simply of a single roof. Storage areas constructed in manger style comprises of a three-sided enclosure with a roof on top and might even include in-between partitions for storing more than one vehicle. You can also select individual fully enclosed units for safekeeping your recreational vehicle. While selecting a storage structure, you should always make sure that the foundation of the structure is deep and strong and that it has adequate structural strength and wind resistance to conveniently accommodate your recreational vehicle.

Many recreational vehicle owners look for complete storage units where along with the main vehicle, they can also store add-on accessories. For this reason, many advanced RV storage units today are manufactured with full facilities for accommodating motorcycle racks, air conditioning units, radio antennae, tow bars, awnings, trailers, ladders, ski racks, and collapsible tables and chairs. On an average, a standard recreational vehicle storage unit is 14 feet wide, 45 to 50 feet deep and 16 feet in height. As most RV storage mangers are considered taxable buildings by local authorities of an area, this fact is usually taken into account while determining the price of the storage unit. Especially, if the storage unit is provided with fire sprinkler facilities, the construction cost and maintenance charges of the unit are further increased. While climate controlled RV storage units are the most expensive storage entities you can select, customized storage constructions for safekeeping exceptionally large RVs are also usually priced higher than standard units.

The fundamental body of a recreational vehicle storage unit comprises of a cold-formed steel structure constructed on a grid of vertical and horizontal supports with roof members. Whereas, a storage unit of good height can conveniently accommodate most RVs, the wind resistance capacity of the structure must be always kept in consideration while planning the architectural structure. Especially, as canopy units comprise primarily of a single roof, there has to be sufficient wind resistance so that the structure is strongly anchored and well stabilized. As manger and individual storage units are enclosed by three or more walls, wind resistance of these storage units is far stronger. While selecting a storage unit for your recreational vehicle, make sure the doors of the structure can withstand deflection due to strong winds. All doors larger than 100 square feet should ideally have specialized opening mechanism like chain hoisting.

Recreational vehicles are not only large in dimensions but they also require lots of space for maneuvering and turning around. Make sure your RV storage unit is complete with drive aisles and turning radius large enough to conveniently maneuver the vehicle without bumping any end. Along with providing spacious storage areas, a good quality RV storage unit should also provide adequate security measures. Placement of perimeter fencing, either as chain links or as block walls goes a long way in providing adequate security to your expensive recreational vehicle. In order to maximize protection of RVs, many storage units today are provided with camera surveillance and key coded entrances. So that the RV owner can conveniently register his entry from his car or RV window, the ingress keypads are usually positioned at a height of 42 and 66 inches from ground. Whereas, some RV storage units have proximity card readers for allowing entry of only restricted RV owners, others are equipped with infrared beams with alarm systems for alerting the owners in case of unauthorized access. Adequate lighting also plays a significant role in enhancing safety of RV storage units. As many localities today have dark sky standards which restrict focusing of lights into the sky, it is best to implement these measures into your RV storage unit so that you do not have to go in for expensive renovations afterwards.

Places To Store Recreational Vehicles

Some of the leading providers of RV storage facilities today include:

Crossroad Trailer Sales, NJ
Store Inside, CA
Safeway Recreational Storage, CA
Old County Storage Condominium Association, CT
Absolute Steel and Storage, AZ
Monster Storage, NH
Majestic Coach Club, FL
Playtime RV Center, CA
Valet Indoor RV & Boat Storage
RVX, CA

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