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OT - RV Garage Build


Chad Heiser

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Well, I am finally done (mostly). I have been working on this project in my spare time for almost a year and can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. My wife and I are still working and are several years from retirement. We started talking last year about ways to keep our rig better protected when not in use. We ultimately settled on building an RV garage on our property. I then set off on deciding how I was going to accomplish the task.

 

First, I picked a location on our property for the building. To my chagrin, the location happened to be about the rockiest spot on our property. It was however, the ideal location based on our driveway and turnaround layout to put the building. I began the dirt work and it continued and continued and continued. I should really call it rock work, not dirt work. I put a little over 100 hours of equipment work into excavating and building the pad. It entailed the use of my Bobcat, a friend's bulldozer, another couple of friend's excavators and finally a 9 ton excavator I rented. I pulled enough rock out of the ground to build a rock pile approximately 130 feet long by about 20 feet wide (at its widest point) and about 5 feet tall. It was a long process and ultimately I had to move the footprint of my building about 15 feet forward from my desired location because there were a couple of rocks I just couldn't get out of the ground. The more I dug the bigger they got.

 

After starting the excavation, I started thinking about what type of building to build. I settled on a metal building, but my DW did not want a metal sided building so close to our house. We compromised on a metal building sided with Hardie panel (the same siding on the house) and painted to match. It added some to the cost, but ultimately came out looking great. I found the Steele Factory on line and really liked their products and their prices after doing some comparisons. I ended up ordering a building from them and it was delivered to my house several weeks later. I purchased a simple 35 foot by 50 foot building. I increased the sidewalls to 17 feet over their standard dimensions to accommodate my RV height and I added two 14 foot wide by 15 foot tall roll up doors and one standard walk in door.

 

By the way, I have no affiliation with the company other than being a satisfied customer, but if anyone is in the market for a metal building, I highly recommend the Steel Factory. They provided a quality product at a competitive price and their customer service was excellent. The building came with literally everything I needed to put it up, down to every screw, nut, bolt, tube of caulk - you name it, it was included. Even little things like foam seals for under the corrugated roof ends and butyl tape for every metal overlap - stuff I wasn't expecting, but it was there.

 

I had a little hiccup with the permit process after I ordered my building - it was a county thing that I was unaware of - that delayed the start of my construction by 2 months, but I finally was able to get the pad pored in mid October 2015. I hired this portion out. After letting the pad cure for about a month, I finally started construction in mid November. I did all the work myself on my days off, in between camping trips and weather, so it was a slow process. I did have a few friends help here and there and that was greatly appreciated. The only other work I hired out was paint. I don't like to paint and the front of our house needed some touch up due to sun fading so I brought my house painter in to do it all. Now, five months later I am finally done (for the most part). The building itself is done, but I have not put in the electrical. I am very busy with some other projects and getting ready for a month long cross country trip, so it will probably have to wait until we get back.

 

Sorry for the long post, I just thought I would share the process. It feels good to cross something off my to do list. I have lots and lots of pictures of the build. I put a few on line to share with the group here. Let me know what you think.

2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift
2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard
2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan
2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage)
2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)
My First Solar Install Thread
My Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the build
My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet!

chadheiser.com      West Coast HDT Rally Website

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Chad,

That looks great.....I know you were telling me about those rocks last year at the WCR but the pictures put it into perspective. That is such a nice building. Do you see freezing temps during the winter or can you leave the trailer in there without winterizing? Here I would be putting in a boiler system for heating the floor for sure to avoid the winterizing. One day we are going to make it out your way for a visit!! :)

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Chad,

That looks great.....I know you were telling me about those rocks last year at the WCR but the pictures put it into perspective. That is such a nice building. Do you see freezing temps during the winter or can you leave the trailer in there without winterizing? Here I would be putting in a boiler system for heating the floor for sure to avoid the winterizing. One day we are going to make it out your way for a visit!! :)

Rick,

 

We get very little freezing temps at our house. I have had my trailer for going on 6 years now and have never winterized it and it sat outside all winter every year. There are some nice things about California. :)

 

We would be happy to have you guys come out for a visit.

2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift
2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard
2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan
2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage)
2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)
My First Solar Install Thread
My Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the build
My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet!

chadheiser.com      West Coast HDT Rally Website

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Looks nice. I have been considering doing the same thing.

If you don't mind me asking, how much was the building?

The building package was right around $23500.00. The additional costs were permits, concrete and the siding that I supplied. Otherwise, the building came with everything else. Oh and of course my "free" labor, ;)

2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift
2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard
2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan
2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage)
2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)
My First Solar Install Thread
My Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the build
My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet!

chadheiser.com      West Coast HDT Rally Website

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Now you've gone and done it, Chad! My T2000 is jealous of yours, because it has to sit outside in the Texas sun all the time.

 

That's a beautiful garage. You can certainly be proud of it.

Phil

 

2002 Teton Royal Aspen

2003 Kenworth T2000 - Cat C12 380/430 1450/1650, FreedomLine, 3.36 - TOTO . . . he's not in Kansas anymore.

ET Air Hitch

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Now you've gone and done it, Chad! My T2000 is jealous of yours, because it has to sit outside in the Texas sun all the time.

 

That's a beautiful garage. You can certainly be proud of it.

Thanks Phil.

 

Where I live, I get a ton of sun also and it has been beating on my trailer and truck. You can definitely see it on the trailer front cap graphics. They are fading badly. It will be nice to get it under cover from now on.

2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift
2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard
2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan
2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage)
2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)
My First Solar Install Thread
My Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the build
My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet!

chadheiser.com      West Coast HDT Rally Website

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Chad, that is a very nice building. You did a great job and have every reason to be very proud of the final product. You will love being able to park, close the doors and know the rig is good. We really miss the big storage we had prior to our move. Enjoy and celebrate, you have earned it.

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That came out AWESOME! Doing the project of that scale especially while working full time is something to be proud of not to mention the setbacks of the fires in your area.

 

I sure wish we had the space for even just a simple carport cover to slow the aging of the RV.

1999 Peterbilt 385 C12 430/1650 13spd

2006 Dodge 3500 DRW 4x4

2010 Hitchhiker Champagne 36 LKRSB

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I appreciate the compliments. It was a lot of work, but I really enjoy building things so it was more a labor of love than real work.

2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift
2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard
2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan
2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage)
2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)
My First Solar Install Thread
My Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the build
My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet!

chadheiser.com      West Coast HDT Rally Website

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Nice job Chad. Now you need to build something out of all the rocks.

 

Brad

Brad and Jacolyn
Tucker the Wonder dog and Brynn the Norfolk Terrier
2009 Smart "Joy"
2004 VNL630 "Vonda the Volvo"
2008 Hitch Hiker 35 CK Champagne Edition
VED12 465 HP, Freedomline, 3.73 ratio, WB 218"
Fulltiming and loving it.

 

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Hi Chad,

Your garage came out great!

How thick is the slab?

Pete

 

I had them put in a 6 inch slab. There are pier blocks of 3'x3' wide and 2' deep at all 6 columns also integrated into the slab.

2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift
2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard
2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan
2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage)
2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)
My First Solar Install Thread
My Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the build
My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet!

chadheiser.com      West Coast HDT Rally Website

event.png    

AZCACOIDIAKSMNMOMTNENVNMNDOKSDTNTXUTWYxlg.jpg

 

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Nice job Chad. Now you need to build something out of all the rocks.

 

Brad

 

Thanks Brad. I have some plans for the rocks, but their are definitely going to be a "few" left over. I've been offering them up to anyone who wants them.

2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift
2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard
2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan
2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage)
2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)
My First Solar Install Thread
My Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the build
My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet!

chadheiser.com      West Coast HDT Rally Website

event.png    

AZCACOIDIAKSMNMOMTNENVNMNDOKSDTNTXUTWYxlg.jpg

 

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Wow, Chad, very nice. About what I'd like to do. I like those free-span metal buildings, since there are no truss' inside to interfere with walking around on the RV roof, storage lofts, etc.

 

I'll bet you worked the hell out of that Bobcat!!

 

I'm thinking I'd like mine to be two stall, but 60' long. I was figuring at least 20' wide stalls with some additional side room, so 50'x60'. You can never have too much room and I might steal some of it for an apt. one day. Your side walls are about what I figured.

 

Very nice!!

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Very nice!

 

I just built a RV garage/shop myself.

PRE_RALLY.JPG

 

I also put full hookups inside the shop.

 

You will love having the concrete floor. Much easier and nicer when you have to get under the truck. No problems at all slipping under the truck on a creeper.

 

One more thing to consider when you get ready to do your electrical. I dropped 6 - 50A RV receptacles through out the shop. So I have all the power I need any where I need it in the shop with out have to go very far. When I don't need 50A I have just built some break out cords/boxes to access the power. Works Great!

 

Enjoy the shop. You will love it!

2017 Entegra Anthem 44A

SOLD - 2004 Volvo 780. 465hp and 10sp Auto Shift (from 2010~2017)

SOLD - 2009 Montana 3400RL

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Chad,

What is the black pipe at the front left corner? Will you have power to the building? The rocks look like it would have to be overhead power lines not underground?

The black pipe is drain pipe. I have one at the front that you saw and one at the rear on that same side. Once I install my downspouts on that side of the building, they will run into the drain pipe. I also have 3 grated collection bins in the ground on that side of the building also tied into the drain pipe. The pipe then runs under the slab and drains out the other side of the building. I put two 4 inch drains inside the building in the slab as well, also tied into the drain pipe.

 

It isn't obvious from the pictures, but my property slopes from north to south. The building faces west. I did everything I could to keep the water from pooling up on the north side of the building when it rains.

 

The power will come underground from my house. I have conduit run through the slab for the wire already. I haven't trenched in the conduit from the house yet, but I have dug along the path from the house to near where the shop sits previously for drain pipe from my house downspouts. It will be a fairly easy dig. I have a backhoe attachment for my Bobcat that will get the job done.

2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift
2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard
2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan
2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage)
2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)
My First Solar Install Thread
My Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the build
My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet!

chadheiser.com      West Coast HDT Rally Website

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AZCACOIDIAKSMNMOMTNENVNMNDOKSDTNTXUTWYxlg.jpg

 

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I also put full hookups inside the shop.

 

You will love having the concrete floor. Much easier and nicer when you have to get under the truck. No problems at all slipping under the truck on a creeper.

 

One more thing to consider when you get ready to do your electrical. I dropped 6 - 50A RV receptacles through out the shop. So I have all the power I need any where I need it in the shop with out have to go very far. When I don't need 50A I have just built some break out cords/boxes to access the power. Works Great!

 

Enjoy the shop. You will love it!

I like your shop. It would be nice to have the larger size like you have, but this will do nicely for now. I was jealous when you posted about building yours. I am looking forward to having the concrete floor to work on. It will be a lot nicer than the gravel I have dealt with in the past when crawling under the truck and 5er. I will run full power throughput the shop with plenty of plugs. I won't have 6 - 50 amp plugs like your shop, but I will have a couple (one on either side) so they will be accessible regardless of which stall I park the 5er in.

2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift
2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard
2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan
2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage)
2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)
My First Solar Install Thread
My Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the build
My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet!

chadheiser.com      West Coast HDT Rally Website

event.png    

AZCACOIDIAKSMNMOMTNENVNMNDOKSDTNTXUTWYxlg.jpg

 

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Wow, Chad, very nice. About what I'd like to do. I like those free-span metal buildings, since there are no truss' inside to interfere with walking around on the RV roof, storage lofts, etc.

 

I'll bet you worked the hell out of that Bobcat!!

 

I'm thinking I'd like mine to be two stall, but 60' long. I was figuring at least 20' wide stalls with some additional side room, so 50'x60'. You can never have too much room and I might steal some of it for an apt. one day. Your side walls are about what I figured.

 

Very nice!!

I definitely put the Bobcat through its paces on this job. I've had it for about 15 years and it has been a great machine. I have worked it hard in the past, but not for such long periods as I had to on this project.

 

My first plan for the building was 75'x50'. My DW wouldn't quite go for the budget on that building. Once I started the ground work and kept hitting more and more rocks, I was kind of glad the footprint was a little smaller. I don't know if I could have fit the bigger building in that spot without hauling in a lot of dirt and building the pad up above the rocks.

 

I have a 36'x36' barn on my property as well that I built about 10 years ago, so I have other enclosed space for working. Had I known I was going to get rid of my horses about 9 years ago like I did, I would have designed that barn a little differently than I did. Oh well.

2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift
2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard
2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan
2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage)
2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)
My First Solar Install Thread
My Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the build
My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet!

chadheiser.com      West Coast HDT Rally Website

event.png    

AZCACOIDIAKSMNMOMTNENVNMNDOKSDTNTXUTWYxlg.jpg

 

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