Hello all, I haven't posted in a while. Rita and I have been busy with our new home.
Long story short, since we bought our Foretravel in November 2011 we have struggled with our RV storage situation. We could only park at the old house for short periods of time. Where we did store it, it was a 25 mile drive. So it was a PITA if you get my drift.
On the other side of the coin Rita was ready to take on a new project. The old house was remodeled and furnished to the hilt, so we have been on the hunt for a new home with an RV garage. And we found one, sort of. We found our dream home minus the RV garage. It is a new build home that was built for a home buyer that came into hard times just as the house was being completed. A little negotiating with the builder we were able to have the RV garage added. Trust me that's a very long story "short".
So, WA LA..... We moved in last April.
(https://www.foreforums.com/imagecache.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi341.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fo367%2Fsurfndav%2FIMG_0244_zpsuxglx2az.jpg&hash=b5c71e2dd8e135e0b3539a76651e7ebb" rel="cached" data-hash="b5c71e2dd8e135e0b3539a76651e7ebb" data-warn="External image, click here to view original" data-url="http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o367/surfndav/IMG_0244_zpsuxglx2az.jpg)
It's a 50'x20' actually 49'x19' interior. It fits our 40 U320 very nice. Thing is, this new under taking is keeping the RV in the garage a little more than I like. But thats another story.
Any way the point of this post is I have questions. First, I live in Arizona and it's hot in the summer. In the garage it's not as bad as I thought it might be. It so far has not gotten over 101F inside, and only 99 inside the Foretravel. The humidity is hanging around 20 to 40%. We have considered buying an evaporative cooler. We do have a water supply inside the garage. So I'm looking for opinions on whether these temps warrant getting a cooler? Would an evaporative cooler be too humid?
On a side note we did have the coach AC's set at 90F, I'm okay with that power usage wise, but I thought the ware and tear was a bad idea for the long run.
Second, I had a 50amp outlet installed and have had it plugged in all the time. Should I unplug and leave the everything off, checking the batteries every week or so?
So thats it, just looking for some advice. Thanks.
I would leave it plugged in all the time to keep the batteries charged, plus add a charger (battery tender or minder or vsr) to keep the chassis battery charged.
I would add the swamp cooler. With the dry heat there, this will keep the temperature manageable. The humidity won't get high enough to be a factor.
I would keep some windows in the coach open along with the roof vent, plus a fan to circulate air.
I would only run the ac when needed for comfort.
Finally, where is this? It reminds me of some I looked at in Bullhead City a year ago.
Dave and Rita,
What a beautiful home! I'm with Tom, Where is this beauty!
We have been looking around Prescott Valley at similar properties.
Take Care
Greg & Nettie
Great looking building and view in the background.
I have ours in a metal building with thick insulation. Here in Houston the humidity runs 70-90% all the time. With no sign of rain in site the humidity is 90% and 74 air temp. at 6 AM Not sure how hot it gets in building or RV but it can be hot.
I leave plugged in all the time and only run the AC when we are getting ready to leave on a trip. I have to put tubs on the side of the RV to catch all of the condensation that comes out from the AC's It is amazing how much water comes out when first turning the AC's on
Beautiful setup! Wish we had one like it! This will really extend the life of your Foretravel, and I'm sure you'll appreciate the garage for many years to come.
A garage is a very needed thing in my life, I had a 40 X 60 garage/shop built, 14 X 14 overhead doors, my playhouse, can spend more time there and where I can be found usually. The coach being inside has became my man-cave and it works great.
Enjoy
Thanks for the complements. This is in north ease Mesa, The Mountains in the back ground are the Usery Mountains. It's a very scenic area. Usery Mountain Park has a nice RV park, I highly recommend it. It's about 3 miles away.
As far as the evap cooler, I was looking at the Port O Cool models. I would like to be able to keep the temps 15 to 20 degrees cooler than the outside temps. I think thats doable.
Our coach is a 2004 U320, we have enjoyed it very much putting about 25000 miles on it in 3 years. We are weekend warriors, who now have less time for weekend outings, but that will change someday.....I hope. We have always thought we would enjoy this coach for the next several years before retirement and then upgrade to a Phenix or maybe an IH45. Recently we have been questioning that plan. Assuming that Foretravel is still around in 8 or ten years, it may be more cost effective to take this coach in and give them a chunk of change to make this one like new again. I noticed a 2004 for sale on the FT website listed for the same price ours was 3 1/2 years ago. So I think that means these older coaches are holding their value. So keeping it well maintained is the overall plan.
Hello, David; - We keep out '98 U320 in a garage next to our home in Wickenburg, AZ. It is not air-conditioned and I've experienced no problems over the past 7-years. I keep the 3 chassis-batteries (Optima Red-Top, group 31) on a BatteryMINDER Model 12117, and the three house batteries (Deka 365 amp-hour gel) on a BatterMINDer Model 2012. If your batteries differ, talk to BatteryMINDer; nice folks. I prefer that arrangement to running the inverter/charger 12/7. Just one more opinion - for what it's worth.
My 2 cents. I would put a couple of Solar Panels outside and run wires to batteries to save on Hydro. Mine are kept charged 24/7 365 by solar. Secondly I would just put a couple of good sizrd fans in garage (one to blow from each end ) and leave them on 24/7.
If you have dead air this causes problems with some systems and frame. A friend is using this method for storage of his very expensive custom built cars and last time I talked to him he had no problems with them,and, the movement of air feels like a/c too. We do that here in house as we do not have a/c or want it and it has been in mid to high 90s for weeks.
This also will keep your hydro bills down compared to a/c.
Nice place too.
JohnH
Get some scrap vinyl flooring big enough to put under your tires while the coach is perked for any length of time. It provides a moisture barrier. Nice idea for solar battery charging too. Constant air movement works for me. Roger
what I use for under tires is cut up pieces of real Estate signs. The Coreplast type. Go to your local R E Office and ask if they have any old ones or Agents leave.
I cut my old ones up and any others and give them to RV ers who do not follow this practice.
JohnH
I have been using large plastic cutting boards under my tires for more than 10 years. They work great, and are inexpensive.
What does this help protect?
What ever you use it provides a moisture barrier between the floor or ground and the tires, suspension, frame and the coach. Theory is that there is less rust.
Roger
Attic Fan.
For the last 10+ years I purchase it from this guy Attic Fans Whole House Fan Solar Powered (http://jetfanusa.com/) & have installed in every home (friends home) Garage & any space needs air moving.
Great looking home & garage, enjoy. I especially love your landscaping.
Yup, it is a nice looking garage for the RV and house too. Moisture shouldn't be much of an issues in AZ. But keep an eye out for critters. Pack rats like to get into everything and eat wiring. Make sure to keeps bay doors closed and check all of the vent openings to make sure the screens are in place. Remember for future thinking that a Phenix is about 12-6" high and an IH45 is 13'-4". They might not fit.
Our coach spends time at home in our "barn". Just big enough. I wish I had been able to build something like Dave M's 40x60x14 but local building size restrictions got in the way. The long term benefits of keeping it inside pay off. Everything will look better longer. I have 9' high sliding doors on both sides of the barn to have better access to the sides. That works well enough.
Enjoy. We are thinking like many that maintaining and upgrading our 2001 coach is the best plan for our coach future. Those weekends turn into weeks, then two weeks, then months and then many months. We will never be full timers but we are more than 1/2 timers, at least this year. 120-150 days a year elsewhere seems to be a good balance for us.
Roger
That is a beautiful place.
Here's an idea a friend just sent me.
You'll Love This RV Port Home Design. It's Simply Spectacular. (http://www.doityourselfrv.com/youll-love-rv-carport-design-cant-just-see-parking-rig/)
Cheers - Ric
I was told that the cement leaches the "goodness" (for lack of a better word) from the tires. If the tires sit directly on cement for a period of time when you drive away you will see black marks where the tires were. I have witnessed the black marks and was told it was not healthy for the tires.
Roland