What Type of RV Storage is Right for You?

Traveling in an RV can be a lot of fun. It allows you to visit interesting places all over the U.S. while taking your second home with you, spend time in natural settings, and save money on hotel rooms. Unfortunately, many neighborhoods across the country don’t allow people to park their RVs outside their homes. So, it’s important to find a good self-storage facility that specializes in RV and vehicle storage.

There are three major types of RV storage to consider. When looking into them, you’ll need to balance the safety and condition of your vehicle against the cost of storing it.

Fully Indoor Storage

This is the best option for your RV. Fully indoor storage means you’ll have a large indoor space where you can park your vehicle. This could be an individual, garage-like unit, or it may be part of a large indoor area where many RVs get parked. In either case, your RV will have protection from the elements, including the sun, wind, rain, snow, and hail.

The availability of fully indoor storage depends in part on the size of your RV. Spaces are usually 10x25 feet and can go up to sometimes up to 10x30.

The disadvantage is that this is the most expensive type of RV storage, so let’s consider the other two.

Uncovered Parking

At the other end of the RV parking spectrum is uncovered parking. This is exactly what it sounds like: a large parking space in an open lot. This is both the easiest type to find, and the least expensive. The lot can be on paved or unpaved land, and offers no cover protection.

That means your RV will be exposed to weather damage and potentially to grime from the parking area. If you decide this will work for you, consider waxing your RV before you leave it.

The advantage, of course, is that this is the least expensive type of RV storage.

Covered Open-Air Storage

Over time, the sun’s ultraviolet rays can do serious damage to a vehicle’s paint coat. We mentioned waxing as a way to mitigate this. If you need to leave your RV in storage over the winter, for three to six months or longer, a good solution is to winterize it, wax it, and still keep it under a roof.

That’s what covered open-air storage provides. This option is the happy medium between fully indoor storage and uncovered parking. It provides an open-air garage for your RV, next to those that of other storage tenants. Just like with indoor storage, when looking at open air-storage, make sure your RV will fit in a space.

These provide good protection from the sun, though some sunlight may hit part of your vehicle during part of the day. It provides some protection from rain, snow, and hail as well, though less from wind. You’ll get most of the advantage of fully indoor storage at a lower price.

Finding Storage

Now, you should have some idea of how much protection your RV needs, and you’ll want to balance that with what you can afford.

All three types may or may not be available where you live, so run an online search to see what facilities offer in your area. Make sure to ask if your RV will fit in a space or a unit, how much the monthly rent costs, how much the insurance costs, and if they have any amenities. Some RV storage places may have a station to dump your sewage or one to fill your water.

We hope you find the ideal RV storage solution for you, and for you to enjoy traveling for years to come.