Considering Storing Our Airstream at Home

[PharmGeek]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

Bold,,,,

For the benefit of your neighbor,,,, find out what ISNT DISALLOWED by code, and take up an obnoxious hobby..... "Art" is one of those things that code has trouble with,, I recommend a large mural, perhaps with a space alien theme....

Hahahahahaha


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[Dingo Girl]

I recently had this built to house my 67 Caravel. The slab will be poured this week.
My reason for building it was not only to have it stored at home but also to protect it from the elements. I've put way too much time and money into the Caravel to let it sit out under the ever changing Michigan sky.
I will have the Airstream-port closed in this coming spring.

[KJRitchie]

Thanks for everyone's comments. I think the best thing for us is to keep storing our AS to keep it out of the fun for the majority of the day. If I need to work on it or wash it can drag it home for a weekend or longer and take care of things. I've got quite a bit of space to the garage side of the house which if money was no object could build a nice storage area but it would take the removal of some nice landscaping. The area is sheltered by trees where a couple of them are on the neighbors property. During the fall the leaves from the trees would bury the AS and you never know if a limb could come down in a storm. I don't think building a shed by the side of the garage would be permitted nor would it look good plus it would be very expensive and might affect home resale value.

Kelvin

[Stefrobrts]

It's good you have the option to store it undercover in a safe place. I agree there's no point in ruining your landscaping and still ending up with a place for it that isn't as nice as where you have it now.

[Sneakinup]

My neighborhood is FAR from deed restricted. We actually encourage water heaters and old appliances to be placed in the front yard for decoration... kidding of course. Instead I just placed an old aluminum trailer out for all my neighbors to be envious of.

I own two side by side properties, and this summer put in a concrete pad 27' x 21' to accommodate my Airstream and truck and as a means of getting it off the Florida dirt so I can start working on it again. The picture below is a shot from my home office window. I also have two IP cameras set up to keep an eye on it. They send me email pictures if the motion sensor is tripped, and also record to my home PC. It won't stop someone from stealing it, but I will at least have something to show the Police.

Before I bought these properties, I had to leave it at a storage yard for about a year... a long distance from home. That was not a good feeling.

There is nothing like having your trailer at home, although I know it isn't feasible for everyone. Mine is exposed to the elements... and large trees, but is fairly safe. I like seeing it every day.

[Hittenstiehl]

One thing I've noted in these replies and other threads is that no one is wishing it WASN'T at home. No one has said they wish they could NOT see it from their windows. We'll have to see what the future brings for our storage needs.

[Wingeezer]

Much as I would like to do it, storing our present trailer at home is unfortunately not an option for me as our driveway is not long enough to do so without blocking the sidewalk - which of course we are not permitted to do.

The main reason I would like to store an RV at home would be that I could look after it much better than I do now. It is stored at a very nice and secure storage area with 24/7 gated access but is about a 40 minute drive from home. I could do minor work on it where it is - especially since I have a generator for power tools, but it is sort of out of sight out of mind.

As well, I have to pay about $1000 a year to store it.

But even if it would fit in our drive, according to local city bylaws, I could not store it there in any event.

I did speak with the bylaw officer and he did admit to me that although the bylaw exists, they only enforce it if they get complaints.

I think my neighbours are a pretty decent bunch, and we all get along just fine, but all it would take would be one person to complain and I would have a problem! I suppose looked at from their perspective they may well have reasonable grounds for complain as well!

I have given some thought of downsizing from our Classic 30 to something like a Roadtrek B class.

This would be for several reasons. The main reason being that we are not getting younger and it would be easier to manage - and in an emergency my wife could drive it, she won't pull the trailer!

So far I have not had much luck talking my wife into it though so it probably won't happen!

But I did ask the bylaw officer if a Class B would be considered an RV from the bylaw perspective if a neighbour were to complain.

He said if there is any doubt in the matter, they check to see how the vehicle is registered. If registered as a van there would be no issue.

I contacted Roadtrek (They make them just 50 miles from were we live) and was told that their units are in fact registered as vans not RVs or motorhomes, so I suppose I would be ok parking that in the drive if we ever do go that route!



Brian.

[BoldAdventure]

Originally Posted by Hittenstiehl

One thing I've noted in these replies and other threads is that no one is wishing it WASN'T at home. No one has said they wish they could NOT see it from their windows. We'll have to see what the future brings for our storage needs.

I wished it was home, didn't leak and the city code allowed it and that "ONE GUY" wasn't such a tattle tail.

It would be a great motivator seeing that thing every day as we work towards our goal to get on the road. I wish I could go sit out there every night. For now I see her on the weekends.

I told my wife, the AS is officially my mistress, lol.