Sean travels quite a bit for work and I like to accompany him as often as I can. This leaves us with a regular need for short-term RV storage. In this article I’ll share with you some of the options for short-term RV storage, as well as what we have chosen as our preferred method.
Economy Parking
Many airports, cruise terminals and similar transportation hubs provide economy parking. Some even allow RV parking in these locations. Of course, it depends on the size of your RV, and since ours is two pieces (a 44′ fifth wheel and a truck), it is not really an option for us. It works out especially well for folks with vans and small Class C’s. However, using this method would require you to dispose of all your perishable groceries and may not be a great choice for a short trip.
Storage Facilities
The most common place to leave an RV when not in use is a storage facility. We’ve used them for longer term storage when we lived in a traditional home, but don’t feel it is a good fit for our short-term travel needs for two primary reasons. First, as mentioned above if we’re only leaving for a week we don’t want to empty the refrigerator and freezer if there is no power. Second, most of the storage facilities we’ve encountered want a minimum of one month’s rental fee paid.
Leave It At The Campground
Our preferred method is to leave our RV hooked up at our site in whatever campground we’re currently residing. This allows us to keep the refrigerator and freezer stocked. Here’s what I do to know if we’ve lost power while we’re gone: I freeze water in a small plastic container and put a penny on top of the frozen water. If it thaws and refreezes while we’re away, the penny will be in the middle or the bottom of the container. We always turn off the water and propane. Finally, we let the campground management/camp host know what dates we’ll be away and provide contact information. Since we pay the monthly rate to save money on our campground stays, this option is not typically cost prohibitive.
Suggestions
Please leave a comment below and let us know where you leave your RV when you are away for short trips.
We’ve done the same thing several times, but we’re not usually at one location for more than a couple of weeks. It takes plenty of calling ahead because some parks require you to stay in your RV and will fine you for leaving it unattended. And some are totally accommodating and make it easy, which it should be.
We usually stay 4-6 per location and on occasion a little longer. We’ve been lucky and haven’t encountered any place that won’t allow you to leave your RV. However, we did stay at one that had a 7 day limit on how long you could leave. I don’t know what they even care if you are paying the full campground fees (which we do).
We haven’t done this yet, but we were just talking about it. I think we’ll do what you do and just leave it at an RV Park. Just seems safer that way and definitely more cost effective than dumping everything in our fridge and rebuying it all when we get home. It sucks to have to pay a campground when you’re not there, but I guess it like paying your mortgage or rent when you live in a S&B and go away on vacation.
That is such a good point–you still pay rent/mortgage even when you’re not at home. I forgot to add my tip for the freezer to know if you’ve lost power while you’re gone. I freeze water in a small plastic container and put a penny on top of the frozen water. If it thaws and refreezes while you are gone, the penny will be in the middle or the bottom of the container.
I wondered what you did when you flew to different locations. Mike has to go to Atlanta when we are in Vegas. I’m staying behind because Vegas is way more fun than Atlanta (and Lexie needs me). All I can think about, though, is you having to move your fifth wheel to get it repaired when Sean was out of town. Something always quits working or breaks when Mike leaves, so I’m hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. I have to channel my inner Super-Woman-Julie if anything goes wrong.
It’s awesome that this article talked about alternate options on where to store an RV while it’s unused. We got a hand-me-down RV from my mother-in-law that we used on our recent vacation. Now that we’re back in the city, we need a place to get the RV stored until our next vacation. Our garage is simply too small to accommodate a vehicle of that size. I’d be sure to consider your suggestions. If it comes to it, I’ll have to look for storage spaces that offer competitive leasing since I need one for long-term use. Thanks for sharing your ideas!
Finding the right storage facility for your RV is more important then you think. Not all RV storage locations are created equal. I would prefer leaving an RV at a storage facility then leaving it at a campground. When looking for rancho cucamonga ca RV storage, it is important to check out the location and see what the conditions are of the place.
Totally agree with checking out a place first. The most important thing is that you are comfortable with where you leave your RV. It is a big investment.
I think the campground is the best option.
We do mostly use that option as well.
My family and I like to travel a lot. I like how you mention the best place to leave an RV when not in use is a storage facility. Thank you for the advice. I’ll search for a storage facility near my location to store my Rv when we aren’t traveling.
We prefer a campground if the trip isn’t too long so we can stay connected to power.
What about Ac if you’re in a warm climate, off or on?
When we leave the RV hooked up to power, we always leave the AC on but set the thermostat at 80degrees.