Camper won't fit inside garage... how do I "hide" it

[MajorLeeGassole]

We bought a pop-up the other year and it won't fit in our garage. I park it just off our driveway in the grass and I have enough property to store it on, but our HOA does not allow fences. I was thinking about a movable garden screen of some kind that I can stand in front of it that I can wheel on my driveway and will withstand high winds. It is a high side camper roughly 5' tall when closed.

Any ideas?

 

[Indy_500]

plant some trees to hide it

 

[warmpancakes]

Trashcans they wont notice the camper

 

[Mickey O]

Camouflage paint.

 

[MajorLeeGassole]

First, I thought, "Cool! 3 replies already!" Then I saw trash cans and camo... . My situation (yard layout) doesn't afford me the opportuniy to plant a tree line and still maneuver in and out with the camper.

 

[TheGrooveking]

Large potted plants, their movable, yet will hide the camper.

TheGrooveking

 

[TheGrooveking]

Another one is take a picture of what is normally behind where the camper is going to be stored. Take the photo to one of these large sign shops that do vvehicles and bring a piece of sheet metal large enough to put this on. You may want to use the same type of steel used for above ground pools because you can roll it up. Have the print out of your picture applied to the steel and then mount it to some stakes you stick in the ground around the camper.

TheGrooveking

 

[Mickey O]

They make thinks to roll trailers on their side not sure if would work with a pop-up camper trailer, but maybe you can rig something up to stand it up long way in the back of the garage. Or maybe roll it around back, could build or buy a shed to store it.

 

[warmpancakes]

Notch the garage door?

 

[jmack]

Maybe a camoflague tarp?

Or go with the trojan horse concept and build a large "shed" out of cardboard all around it - then people will think it's just an ugly cardboard shed and move along leaving your camper untouched.

 

[Mickey O]

I wonder now if this is one of those large pop-up trailers, I was thinking of those compact ones.

 

[padstack]

Sorry OP, but BEST. THREAD. EVER!

 

[blaze_125]

We bought a pop-up the other year and it won't fit in our garage.

This is GarageJournal, so I'll suggest you build a bigger garage
Don't forget to take plenty of pictures and keep a thread going for the build

 

[gc11090]

We have ours on the side of the house next to the garage under a camper cover(same thing as a car cover, just shaped like the pop up) there is a large rose bush in front of it. It is not "Hidden" but it is out of sight and out of the way. It is not as noticeable as when it was parked in the driveway.

 

[nolatoolguy]

Camouflage paint.

nah, just cover it im camo ductape

 

[sirsloop]

go to the army surplus store and get a large sheet of tank camo netting! HAHA!

 

[CrashTestDummy]

Rent a Boat Stall. That way you can store it inside, out of the weather so it will last longer, AND it won't be on your property for the yard Nazis to whine about.

Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas

 

[venom50svt]

Dude, just park it at the local storage area... It would probably be a min charge to park it there.. Small price to pay instead of the neighbors getting on your case..

 

[boiler7904]

CrashTestDummy's suggestion to rent storage place might be the only option. If the HOA won't allow fences, chances are they won't allow a trailer to be parked outside. If a boat, camper, jet skis, snowmobiles, etc. won't fir in the garare, my HOA will only allow trailers to be parked in the driveway for 3 days at a time - before and after a trip. Sidewalk must be fully accessible at all times and no trailer parking on the street unless hitched to a tow vehicle. The street parking rule is a town ordinance.

 

[ket-tek]

As soon as I read this I instantly thought well build a another small garage around it? Duh!

Seriously most HOA's around here wouldn't take kindly to campers of any sort parked in the side or front areas of the house if at all.

Like mentioned above, most mini-storage places around me also allow people to park boats, trailers, service trucks, campers, etc on the lot inside the fenced/secured areas and charge a small fee like $25-$30 month.. That's what I would probally do.

 

[pgreen]

How about an underground stall with a flip-up grass roof!

 

[mdbeck1]

Can you give us a picture of the trailer and maybe it sitting in your garage so we can get an idea of the problem?

 

[gumbudah]

*Make a movable "obstruction" i.e. a movable fence, on wheels.
*Make a big Ghillie suite of flowers/grass
*Put an Extra large tarp over it. Before you do this, die the tarp to be the same color as a gray rock
*Put astroturf carpet over it like a tarp
*Put a large number of extra tall potted plants around it
*Make a couple of painted plywood panels to lean against it.
*Make a flag of something and stretch it out like a fence
*Plant a very tall ornamntal grass, like a cane grass
*make an earthen berm aroun where the parking spot is, plant it with grass
*Build a deck on the house, just a scoche taller than the trailer is, then back the trailer underneath it and make a lattice door for it then put lattice around the rest of the deck

 

[rikmeister]

ten naked ******* bunnies in front of it and no one will notive it at all.

 

[4StarCstms]

Ten? Heck one or two would probably do it..LOL

 

[e-tek]

Move! Who the hell wants to own a house where the GD neighbours tell you what you can and can't do?!!

Land of the free - my ***.

We also just bought a pop-up. We have it "popped up" in the front drive so the kids can play in it. I could hide it in the second drive, but that one goes to the shop!

 

[bgott]

Why won't it fit in the garage?

 

[Huyzel]

Put it in storage.. Flame me all you want but I hate it when neighbors have boats and RVs parked in their drive way.. Sure it can stay for a week or two.. However, having it parked there for years and somehow considering it to be an addition to the home begins to be an eye sore.

You can trick HOA by putting a sign on it stating that it isnt an RV..

 

[fireguy]

Park it behind the rusty Citroen.

Next problem, please.

 

[Torque1st]

Will it fit in the garage if you pull the tires off and stick it on a few moving dollies?

 

[MajorLeeGassole]

I got an image of the camper from a Google search (

). It is more than 1' too long for my garage, and it doesn't have one of those pivoting hitches.

I have three 5-gallon planters with large plants at the edge of the driveway to create some sort of blind. They are deciduous, but I move the camper further back on my lot in the winter so it's behind the kids' playset and out of sight. They all seemed to die as soon as I bought them last year, but they are coming back.

I do not wish to pay for storage, no matter how "cheap" it is.

 

[HTGTS350]

Move somewhere the HOA nazis can't dictate your life to you. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the USA supposed to be the "land of the free and the home of the brave"? If you were truely free you wouldn't be governed by HOA nazis and if you were truely brave and just unfortunately happened to be goverened by HOA nazis then you should exercise your right to bear arms and dispense with the HOA nazis. Park YOUR pop up where YOU want to park it and to hell with the HOA.

 

[MajorLeeGassole]

Move somewhere the HOA nazis can't dictate your life to you. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the USA supposed to be the "land of the free and the home of the brave"? If you were truely free you wouldn't be governed by HOA nazis and if you were truely brave and just unfortunately happened to be goverened by HOA nazis then you should exercise your right to bear arms and dispense with the HOA nazis. Park YOUR pop up where YOU want to park it and to hell with the HOA.

Ummm... I have to admit something... I'm on the HOA board. DOH! We've had the board for 3+ years now. Everyone wants to complain about the community and "infractions", but no one actually wants to be on the board. I'm just trying to help out. And I don't want to be like the select military officers I detested and the managers I still detest by practicing "Do as I say, not as I do."

 

[e-tek]

Very interesting!! Maybe this experience can be used as an enlightened awakening of sorts!! I was on a board (not an HOA, but a community group) and complaints would always come in, mostly from the vocal minority, that we had to deal with. After a while, we began an education campaign that centred on a "know thy neighbour" approach.
Instead of being the "complaint department", we became more of a "social commitee". We hold BBQ's, get-to-know-your-neighbour parties, community projects and helping-hand groups: both male and female. Once people actually knew eachother - and helped eachother - the complaints went to nearly zero. Only one left was the anti-social complainer, who soon moved!!
It takes work, but everyone is better off for it and now and although there are still a few "infractions", the homes and neighbourhood looks better than ever - and the place is now a true "community".
The best part is, now the guys hang out in eachothers shops and garages, helping out, having a beer, and the wives are doing wifey-things too!
Hope that helps!

 

[lawfarm]

I got an image of the camper from a Google search (

). It is more than 1' too long for my garage, and it doesn't have one of those pivoting hitches.

I have three 5-gallon planters with large plants at the edge of the driveway to create some sort of blind. They are deciduous, but I move the camper further back on my lot in the winter so it's behind the kids' playset and out of sight. They all seemed to die as soon as I bought them last year, but they are coming back.

I do not wish to pay for storage, no matter how "cheap" it is.

If you're only off by 12", then is there any way to make it fit? Can it be angled? Can the front of the hitch be unbolted (usually only 2 or 4 large bolts to take off the front). Remove the spare off the back? Tip the trailer up to make it shorter? Or do you want to keep it outside?

 

[1984GMC]

How about you tell the Nazi HOA to **** it, once they make your house payment then they can tell you what to do with YOUR property. F&^% HOA's

 

[MajorLeeGassole]

"The Man" is keeping me down!!! I don't want to take up all the space in my garage with this thing, even if I could make it fit. And the ******* bunnies are not allowed to leave the bedroom. I think I'll just continue with the movable flower bed and purchase some evergreen plants/tree/bushes or ornamental grass.

 

[Bender78]

How about you tell the Nazi HOA to **** it, once they make your house payment then they can tell you what to do with YOUR property. F&^% HOA's

Yup, I'd react the same way ol' Walt did if i were in that situation.

Hey, you could park it at my house.......my neighbors wont complain.

 

[JSBriggs]

go to the army surplus store and get a large sheet of tank camo netting! HAHA!

A friend of mine has a couple parts cars in his backyard that have disappeared under camo netting. That stuff works.

-Jeff

 

[jeepnut24]

Move away from the HOA hood....
Only realistic option otherwise is pay to store it elsewhere...