Motorhome storage (1 Viewer)

[tsf]

Hello

We've just come back from a fantastic fortnight in a rented motorhome (Burstner Argos 7m) and are going through a "wouldn't it be great if we bought one" phase.

One factor that seems to bother me particularly is that we would probably have to store the MH at a local storage facility. It's only a couple of miles away but even so I am wondering how this will affect the enjoyment of owning the vehicle.

E.g. how often do you need to check on it? What if you go to pick it up before a holiday and something has happened to it/it doesn't start?, Will we not feel quite as motivated to just "up and go" at the weekend? etc. Not to mention I can't show it off to everybody that comes to visit!

Was storage/lack of it a big factor for anybody?

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

We live in Wakefield and keep our MH in Castleford. About a 15/20 min drive away , as we did all but 1 of the previous caravans we had.
We use our MH most weekends , and even take it out just for the day or for the night, if we fancy a meal out at our favorite country pub.
Its safe , protected by 2 very fierce guard dogs that are free roaming at night , CCTV , high non climb fences , live in watchman ( on the site not MH!)
We have to go through a barrier gate , with an electronic pass card , and a gate thats locked at night.
We get a discount for this protection on the insurance too.
We just put the food and clothes into the car , leave the car there whilst we go off on our travels.
So it isnt left for long periods.
It also has a trickle thingy from the solar panel , which is fixed to the roof. Its never been flat , if there was a problem ever , we'd just call out the AA as we would at home.

Now , if we had a huge plot of land , at home ,and i could keep it on there tucked out of site then I probably would.
But we haven't, we live on a cul-de-sac , it would mean the neighbors having to look at it everyday .
Although we love it i cant expect them to.
Infact i wouldn't want to be looking at a big slab of white out of my living room window , everyday and its our pride and joy
But we do bring it home occasionally,
Its here at the moment ( blocking out the daylight from my living room !) as tomorrow we are having the cambelt (and other bit) changed.

I also think its not as obvious that your away to crooks , if you dont have it on view at home.

Down sides are having to pack the car , unpack , and pack into the MH, before going.
Saying that , we have 3 teenage helpers , and we have it down to an art form.:thumb:
Oh and having to have it back to storage for 5.30pm as everything goes into lock down. Bit of a bummer in the summer:Sad:
Bev

 

[1_man_and_his_dob(lo)]

I keep mine (yes, a tiny Doblo) most of the time at a site about 10 minutes drive away - it's got a CaSSOA gold award so in theory it should be pretty secure. In fact I'm more concerned about the RV I'm parked next to squashing my van!

24 hour access with a key card - 2 gates to reach my van at night; 1 gate during the day.

Why? Well, for a start, there wasn't much parking space in front of the house, like Bev I didn't want it blocking my neighbours' view, but most importantly there have been too many break-ins for my liking in the locality (including my car a few years ago) :Angry:. As a result the insurance was reduced by agreeing to keep it in storage most of the time.

Re: if it doesn't start when you go to pick it up - not much worse than if it doesn't start while parked on your drive, and arguably less embarrassing when the recovery man arrives

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[capinpugwash]

I keep mine in storage and although I was a bit undecided at first it all seems to work ok.

The biggest downside in my view is the loss of spontaneity (sp ) that I got when I kept it at home. It all has to be thought about in advance, and while that is not a big deal it does mean that I sometimes miss opportunities to go away for, say, a night at the drop of a hat.

Upside is the lack of the white blob on the drive and the security of the van and the house. If I am away for consecutive weekends for exampleI will tend to keep it at home for the days in between trips.

Stuart

 

[Chris]

Our Burstner is in storage about 20 miles away.

It's a bit of a pain sometimes because we cannot access the storage except during office hours which is no good really.

The plus side is security which is what I was looking for after the heavy wedge I handed over to buy it.

Mr naive also bought it without thinking whether it would fit on our driveoh:

I wouldn't let it put you off.

 

[Dalek]

We keep ours in storage and we never go to see if its ok as I'm sure the people who own the site would ring us is it disappeared!! When we are going to collect it we always text him and let him know we are taking it away. I never worry about it being in storage because I know that it would be the thieves that need to worry in case they get blasted!!

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[Reallyretired]

Ours is in storage 12 miles away and it isn't usually a problem though just lately I've been visiting daily as I have had to repair my water tank. ( 1 day take it out, 1 day put it back in, 1 day testing, 1 day putting the furniture back together)

Packing not a problem, keep clothes in it so you don't have to pack them, perishable food is just a couple of bags to take up.

 

[Mags52]

I'm hijacking a little bit but this thread has sparked an interesting question for me. When I arranged insurance with Sureterm the guy implied that it was better to keep the van outside the house than in secure storage as far as insurance cost was concerned.
We've still got a storage pitch from our caravan and it's on there at the moment (CASSOA).
We were considering having our drive extended so that we could keep it at home.
Maybe I should have pushed for a price when kept on the storage pitch.
As it is I'm worried now because the policy says we'll keep it at home but the drive isn't ready for it.
I can't imagine anything happening to it tho' as anyone trying to pinch it has to get through two sets of secure gates and past CCTV cameras.
Does anyone know if keeping it elsewhere might nullify the insurance?
Mags

 

[Road Runner]

I hate having to travel to my bus, so much easier when it was at home.

One problem for me is Bruno is one car load before you take anything else.

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[TheTwoOfUs]

We used to keep ours at home but when I retired I had to bring my trailer home (I used to store it at work) so there was no room. However I now find that I prefer it in storage as it is no longer under the trees which line our drive and therefore it stays sap free.
Plus, as others say, it's not so obvious when you are away.
I always bring it home the night before to plug it into the mains to get the fridge nice and cold and pack our food, clothes etc.
The downside is when I want to do some work on it. I have to leave my car there so if I need to fetch anything I have to wait for SWMBO to lend me hers.

 

[Jaws]

Was told categorically that if I used secure storage it would add 5% on the insurance ( not a lot to say the least but..... )
Mine is stored more or less outside the house but it does have three alarm systems fitted ( one of which is remotely hooked to the house alarm, a crook lock and a loony dog in the garden beside it !