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Motorhome storage woes

July 19, 2010, 06:25:46 pm

Well folks, I am not sure when I will finally be able to get my Grand Villa out of storage.  It turns out that the entrance drive to the storage lot is right over a pipeline.  The pipe line company is doing some kind of work, maybe adding another line, and have kept the entrance torn up since April.  I was just out there Friday and talked with one of the construction workers who told me that the first construction co. went out of business and now they were taking over.  We've had a lot of rain recently here in the Houston area and he said they had a 25' deep ditch that was filled with water which they had to suck out before they could start to work.

I saw the pipeline signs but never, ever thought that they might dig the thing back up, so beware of where you store your rig.

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Re: Motorhome storage woes

Reply #1 – July 19, 2010, 06:32:11 pm

John,

So sorry you're having to deal with this.  We have run into a couple of issues over the years with storage (and have new a/c's, satellite dish, and much fiberglass repair as a result of the last one), and it's always frustrating when things like that are out of your control.

Not knowing how wide the ditch is, would there be any way the construction company could put steel plate over the ditch so you could get your coach out?  Surely they have some means to get their own heavy equipment across ditches like that. 

Michelle

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Re: Motorhome storage woes

Reply #2 – July 20, 2010, 01:05:48 am

John,

Wow.  Now that is a real tough situation.  However, I think you might have some success if you talk to the storage facility owner and see if you can get him to go to bat for you.  You can not be the only unhappy customer they have.  I worked part-time at a storage facility in Barrington IL for four years after I retired.  We were VERY concerned with having happy customers.  I suggest that you also go to the village or city office and ask them what they can do to ensure that better access is provided to and from the storage facility.  It is rare that road construction or right of way improvements are allowed to disrupt commerce for very long.

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Re: Motorhome storage woes

Reply #3 – July 25, 2010, 05:23:30 pm

I realize that I did not state the situation correctly by your answers.  The pipeline runs under and on the same path as the driveway, ie, they go in the same direction.  There is about 150' of driveway on the pipeline right of way,  once the driveway gets past the owner's house then it veers off from it.  In addition, the contractors have used the front part of the storage lot to mound their dirt and the heavy equipment has really messed up the gravel road.  Unlike the Unihomes I cannot control my ride height and and the engine skid bars are only 8 inches or so from the ground.  I think I am the only DP in the lot so others may not be affected as badly as I am.

Now that I have completed the SCCA race driver's school (YEA!) my wife has decreed that I will devote my time to house repairs and the window for doing work on the MH has closed for the time being.  My first race is in October and is 300 miles away.  I would prefer to stay at the track rather than have to stay at a motel 20 miles away which I would have to do if I tow the race car with the truck.  Hopefully this new crew will complete their work by then.  The owner was originally told the work would take a week but incompetence and bankruptcy changed that.  I wish I had a crystal ball that worked, I would have moved it to another location until this was done.

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