If you're a new RV owner who is already considering what to do with the RV after vacation season ends, and you have no plans to take the vehicle on the road during the rest of the year, you may be eyeing your driveway as the place to put the vehicle. Not everyone has the space for this, but if you live on property that does, leaving the RV in the driveway could seem like the best option—or is it? In many cases, leaving the RV at a specialty storage facility may actually be better. The space you have, plus the neighborhood in which you live, are among the factors influencing this decision.

Neighborhood Issues

Check with your homeowner's association, if you have one, to ensure that a large vehicle like an RV can stay parked in view of the neighborhood for long periods of time. It's not uncommon for people to have RVs on their own property, but HOA regulations vary so much that it's best to check. If the HOA won't let you store the RV long term, even in your own driveway, it's off to a storage facility for the RV.

Parking and Landscaping Access

Your driveway may be fairly big, but if you park the RV there, will you still have room for your car? If not, where will you put your car if you're not going to drive it for a few days? Many cities prohibit cars from staying parked in one spot continuously for a certain number of days. The RV could also make it harder to access landscaping on the far side of the RV. If you think you'll need to leave your car sitting for a few days, or if you have landscaping on the far side that will need care, you may want to bring the RV to a storage facility instead of squeezing it into your driveway.

Dump Stations

It's not unusual to find RV storage areas with dump stations for your black and gray water tanks. While you could always take the RV to a dump station before parking it in your driveway, it's nice to have the facilities right there, especially if you do decide to take the RV out for a spin later on; you can bring it right back to the storage facility, dump the water, and save some extra mileage.

Cost

This is an area where storing the RV in your driveway likely wins out because, obviously, using your driveway is free. Yet there are catches here, too; for example, will your homeowner's insurance go up if you have an RV and fuel such as propane (often used for gas-powered RV appliances like stoves) stored at your home? That could end up costing more than some long-term storage contracts.

RV Access for You

Another area where storing at home could be better is ease of access to the RV. If it's in your driveway, you don't have to worry about the RV being inaccessible after a certain hour. Some storage facilities, though, can have 24-hour access, so the advantage here really rests on what the storage facilities in your area do in terms of hours.

RV Access for Others

However, just as you'll have all-hours access to the RV if it's stored in your driveway, others will, too. RV locks aren't always secure—some makers use very cheap locks on the external storage compartments—and that can prove a temptation to a passing crook. Even if you have nothing in the compartments, the idea of someone peeking in there is disturbing. Keeping the RV at a secure lot can reduce the number of people who have access to the RV.

Start contacting your HOA and RV storage facilities like United Moving and Storage in your area to find out about regulations and costs. It's best to get all of the information you need now, rather than waiting until the last minute.

Share