Adding onto 40x60 for RV :)

[Repsolracer22]

So currently I have a 40x60 w/12' ceilings inside. Its about 3yrs old. Picture attached.

Ive gotten to the point where we'd like to get an RV and it will not fit through the 10x10 garage doors on the current building OR fit comfortably in there with 12' ceilings. So we are going to build onto the LEFT side of the current building. Any thoughts?

Since I have a max of 30' of useable space/earth WIDER to go on that side, that's what I'm going to do. And the current depth of the building is 40' so I'll match that with the new one. So it would be 30' wide in front and go back 40' deep. My plan is to install 2 front facing
12' wide X 14' tall insulated garage doors. And the ceiling inside would be 16'. Id be doing
6" thick concrete floor (that should be plenty thick, no?). 2 doors on the front looks good and is most practical. Its tight with 2 doors on the front but with 30' wide I think it will work. Ive attached a CAD image of what I think it should look like. Apparently snow loads and such require the roof pitch to be turned 90deg sideways. ? What are everyone's thoughts on that?

 

[dave89iroc]

looks good to me

 

[mikes02ls1]

Badass garage


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[zmotorsports]

That already is a nice looking setup and will be even nicer with the RV garage attached.

Personally, I would recommend two things. Firstly if by any way you can go deeper than the 40' I would. This will limit you in RV size, especially if you want to move around inside. I went 50' with the main emphasis on I can park ANY size RV in there even if/when I decide to get that 45' Prevost bus conversion.

Secondly, I would encourage you to go with a rollup door wider than 12'. The 12' door may seem plenty wide but one topic that seems to come up around our RVing group that has RV garages is that they wish they would have put in at least a 14' wide door for pulling the coach in/out. I ended up at 16' wide and absolutely love it as it give me plenty of options to back in and place the coach exactly where I want it, although my RV garage section is only 20' wide. If I had 30' wide RV storage I would go a 20' wide door and that would give you a lot of choices on RV placement inside the garage.

Just a couple of thoughts but definitely subscribed for this build. Looking forward to following along on this one. You had me in the title when it stated "RV".

 

[Repsolracer22]

That already is a nice looking setup and will be even nicer with the RV garage attached.

Personally, I would recommend two things. Firstly if by any way you can go deeper than the 40' I would. This will limit you in RV size, especially if you want to move around inside. I went 50' with the main emphasis on I can park ANY size RV in there even if/when I decide to get that 45' Prevost bus conversion.

Secondly, I would encourage you to go with a rollup door wider than 12'. The 12' door may seem plenty wide but one topic that seems to come up around our RVing group that has RV garages is that they wish they would have put in at least a 14' wide door for pulling the coach in/out. I ended up at 16' wide and absolutely love it as it give me plenty of options to back in and place the coach exactly where I want it, although my RV garage section is only 20' wide. If I had 30' wide RV storage I would go a 20' wide door and that would give you a lot of choices on RV placement inside the garage.

Just a couple of thoughts but definitely subscribed for this build. Looking forward to following along on this one. You had me in the title when it stated "RV".

Hearing from people that own RVs and park them in their own buildings is what I was looking for! So thanks for that.

Behind the building is a flat area that is angled slightly to channel water to one side. Then its a hill that goes up. So in theory, I have the space/earth to do that but it would be a fair amount of excavating/reworking I think. Plus I'm super **** and the backs of both buildings wouldn't match straight across and be lined up and that would drive me crazy. But I definitely did think about longer then 40' for the exact reasons you mentioned. This is our first RV and we're getting a pusher in the 33-36' range. Tiffin, Fleetwood excursion, etc. But I will always be bringing my motorcycle trailer with us on trips and its 22' long with tongue included. So I assumed that a 40'+ motorhome would never be in the cards because they are monsters and I don't ever see myself needing that. BUT THAT'S WHAT THEY ALL SAY!!!!!!! 6months later I'm shopping for a 42' tag axle beast!! hahaha. So I don't know. I try to plan for the future as best I can. So for this situation ... maybe the front of the RV building could be bumped forward somewhat and I could get a few extra feet that way. Id prefer that to extending the rear.

As far as the door width goes, I also hear ya on that! I have my trailer id like to park in the garage as well OR when my uncle with his 37'er comes to town he can park in the garage too. So it made sense to me to have 2 FRONT entrances. And yes with the 30' it might be tight. Especially with big mirrors sticking out, etc. Ive also considered a sliding barn door style as well? I don't really want to back in the RV or trailer or anything else at an angle and have to straighten it out. If RV is 35' that's gonna take all day to straighten that out. Id much rather back straight in. So its a toss up. Tough call. And I want to get going on this badly!!!

6" thick concrete good? Tell the concrete guy anything special? Or just normal concrete?

 

[38Chevy454]

That already is a nice looking setup and will be even nicer with the RV garage attached.

Personally, I would recommend two things. Firstly if by any way you can go deeper than the 40' I would. This will limit you in RV size, especially if you want to move around inside. I went 50' with the main emphasis on I can park ANY size RV in there even if/when I decide to get that 45' Prevost bus conversion.

Secondly, I would encourage you to go with a rollup door wider than 12'. The 12' door may seem plenty wide but one topic that seems to come up around our RVing group that has RV garages is that they wish they would have put in at least a 14' wide door for pulling the coach in/out. I ended up at 16' wide and absolutely love it as it give me plenty of options to back in and place the coach exactly where I want it, although my RV garage section is only 20' wide. If I had 30' wide RV storage I would go a 20' wide door and that would give you a lot of choices on RV placement inside the garage.

Just a couple of thoughts but definitely subscribed for this build. Looking forward to following along on this one. You had me in the title when it stated "RV".

Agree, consider going deeper than 40 ft. I made my detached garage 50 ft deep so I could fit my motorhome inside, and my MH is 44 ft length. Your current RV plans may be for smaller size, but it seems inevitable that if you like RVing over time you will go with bigger size. Whether motorhome or trailer, it will need more than 40 ft garage to fit inside.

Also need to have 16 ft high ceilings, and the 14 ft high door as you already have determined. In your design, I would go with one wider door as also suggested. One wider door will be less than two narrower. My garage has the 12 ft wide door, but that was to allow enough room for the other regular car type doors. I can get into the 12 ft wide, 14 ft wide would be easier though.

 

[Repsolracer22]

The door width discussion is interesting. Lets say the front width of the building is 30' wide. If I put a 16' wide door in there or even a big 20' wide door .... its still going to require me to enter RV and/or trailer at an agle in order to put the vehicle/trailer straight and on one side of garage. Id really would much rather pull in straight and park straight and not have to deal with angling it. Now maybe we could make one door 12' wide and the other 14' wide? Not sure if 30' wide garage would work.

 

[Repsolracer22]

ok so I'm talking to my builder now. He is saying the 30' wide is the max for the buiding. And that the front of the building will go like this (from left to right) ..... 2' space in, then 12' garage door, then 2' space, then 12' garage door, then 2' space. That's 30'.

BUT I did suggest maybe going 48' deep. But the extra 8' of depth would actually be in a front bump out. So the rear of the building would still match up in the back and be straight to my existing building. But the front of the RV building would be bumped forward an extra
8'. So then we'd have 48' deep X 30' wide. Still (2) 12' wide X 14' tall garage doors though

 

[nes999]

A 12ft door will be tight. You you won't always be exiting and entering the building topped off on sleep. I don't know what your plan for the second bay is. If its something smaller you could have 2 different size doors. It could be a 14 and a 10 and still fit your requirements of a straight pull in.

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[Repsolracer22]

A 12ft door will be tight. You you won't always be exiting and entering the building topped off on sleep. I don't know what your plan for the second bay is. If its something smaller you could have 2 different size doors. It could be a 14 and a 10 and still fit your requirements of a straight pull in.

The other bay may be where I put the RV. I'm thinking ahead so I don't want to limit myself to just that one side to park the RV. Maybe I rearrange stuff and want to put the RV on the other side? Just wanted to have the option. OR my uncle with his 37' RV comes to visit, he could put his in the other bay. OR my trailer will be parked there too which is a little over 20' long. So having the option to back straight into the building without having to turn once inside is important. I could do 14' wide door and a 10' wide. But then I couldn't ever put the RV on the other side if I ever wanted to. Or someone else's RV for that matter. And having a 14' wide door and a 12' wide door won't fit within 30' wide. So maybe I'll just have to use the 2 12' wide ones and deal with it? I'll have 48' depth instead of 40' so that's good at least!

 

[blacksporty]

Take the advise and go longer.

It will drive you more crazy when you want a bigger RV and you can't fit it in your garage, besides how often are you going to be looking on the back of the garage, I had a 39' pusher that was over 40' if you measured total length, including the mirror. Say you want a 38' down the road, do you really want to remove your trailer hitch every time you park in the garage....go longer!!!!!

 

[Repsolracer22]

Take the advise and go longer.

It will drive you more crazy when you want a bigger RV and you can't fit it in your garage, besides how often are you going to be looking on the back of the garage, I had a 39' pusher that was over 40' if you measured total length, including the mirror. Say you want a 38' down the road, do you really want to remove your trailer hitch every time you park in the garage....go longer!!!!!

Yes. As mentioned, We've decided to go 48' deep total. So we are good there. But just have 30' wide to work with in front

 

[zmotorsports]

The door width discussion is interesting. Lets say the front width of the building is 30' wide. If I put a 16' wide door in there or even a big 20' wide door .... its still going to require me to enter RV and/or trailer at an agle in order to put the vehicle/trailer straight and on one side of garage. Id really would much rather pull in straight and park straight and not have to deal with angling it. Now maybe we could make one door 12' wide and the other 14' wide? Not sure if 30' wide garage would work.

My 16' door starts 4' from the side of the garage. When I am going to work on the coach, I back (or drive, depending on what I am working on) into the garage straight giving myself plenty of room on the sides to deploy slides if necessary, although most of the time repairs do not necessitate having to deploy slides.

That being said, when merely parking the coach in the RV bay after washing her after a trip, I back in at a slight angle in order to hug the sidewall by about 2', then as the front just clears the doorway I kick the front end over and it is parallel with the wall and still allows me plenty of room to walk around, plug in, wipe down, etc. Backing it in at a slight angle and then kicking the front end over is easy peazy and really allows me the extra room on the other side of the coach but I only have a 20' wide RV bay.

Me personally, I would easily rather go with a 20' wide door compared to two 12' wide ones. My cousin did the same thing on his 40x60 detached shop. He doesn't have his segregated like mine between RV storage and shop so his coach is in the shop but he loves his 20' wide by 14' tall door for easy access no matter what angle or position he wants to pull his coach in.

As far as the planning for longer debate, our first motorhome was a 30' gasser and I built a 34' wide and deep shop in which it would fit and still allow me room to work. That was 26+ years ago and that motorhome only fit for about 2 years before I had to kick it back outside because I needed the space to work in. Then following that I purchased a 38' coach so there was never any thought of that thing fitting into the shop.

When I built my new shop there was no way I was going to be in that situation again and opted to build it to house the largest RV I could have, not that I would have because things do change. My wife and I found out we love RVing and coaches went up in size to our now 40 footer and probably won't stop there. Just keep that in mind and I was going to suggest bumping the front out 8-10 feet but looks like you have already given that some thought and consideration.

 

[zmotorsports]

Also on an unrelated topic, you had mentioned that you didn't see yourself getting a larger trailer but I can also testify that I would much rather pull a long one than a shorter one and take ALL the toys with me.

We had a 24' enclosed when we had our 38' diesel pusher and then shortly after purchasing our 40' diesel pusher back in 2007, we stepped up to a 26' enclosed race trailer and I loved the setup even being at 72' bumper to bumper. The coach handled the trailer great and road down the highway beautifully. The worst part was locating campsites on the fly when traveling. Most of the time I made reservations at places that I knew I could fit but on those occasions that we "winged it" and traveled without reservations it was problematic to find sites at times, but I never had an issue actually towing that 26' trailer behind our 40' coach.

 

[blacksporty]

Also on an unrelated topic, you had mentioned that you didn't see yourself getting a larger trailer but I can also testify that I would much rather pull a long one than a shorter one and take ALL the toys with me.

We had a 24' enclosed when we had our 38' diesel pusher and then shortly after purchasing our 40' diesel pusher back in 2007, we stepped up to a 26' enclosed race trailer and I loved the setup even being at 72' bumper to bumper. The coach handled the trailer great and road down the highway beautifully. The worst part was locating campsites on the fly when traveling. Most of the time I made reservations at places that I knew I could fit but on those occasions that we "winged it" and traveled without reservations it was problematic to find sites at times, but I never had an issue actually towing that 26' trailer behind our 40' coach.

Except some states, like California have a 65' length limit....so there is always the 20' stacker I dream of.

 

[Falcon67]

Not an RV, but with a 34' "RV" type race trailer - agree, go as deep as you can to put it all in there. We're about 62' with F350, 54" tongue, trailer.

 

[DCarr2]

Ya kno, lining up on the back side isnt actually that bad of an idea, because you could *** a leanto of sorts over the part that doesnt extend as far back, for storing other stuff.

 

[HoosierMark]

I knew a guy who set his garage up so he could have his trailer hooked up inside his barn and loved it. He also had it set up for full utilities including dumping. All inside,no weather issues to deal with. Don't forget roof access,so make it plenty tall. Hopefully you will only build once. As they say about buying an rv- buy your last one first, do the same for your building.

 

[zmotorsports]

Except some states, like California have a 65' length limit....so there is always the 20' stacker I dream of.

Many states have a 65' limit length, and I've driven through all of them out west here and even into Canada. I'm not saying go out and break the law but as a racer myself and many fellow racers have been faced with this for decades now. This used to be a pretty common topic in the pits but nowadays it's rarely even brought up, except on many RV sites from people who have never actually done it but seem to be authorities on it.

The main thing it so be safe about it and not draw attention to yourself. Yes, you could be stopped and ticketed but not for merely being overlength. You would be stopped for something else you were doing unsafe and possibly have the length brought up. I was pulled over for having tinted license plate covers on my coach and trailer, of all things, and at 72' long the LEO never even batted an eye about it.

When we were racing and duning we had one of the shortest setups in our group.

 

[zmotorsports]

I knew a guy who set his garage up so he could have his trailer hooked up inside his barn and loved it. He also had it set up for full utilities including dumping. All inside,no weather issues to deal with. Don't forget roof access,so make it plenty tall. Hopefully you will only build once. As they say about buying an rv- buy your last one first, do the same for your building.

Now THAT would be sweet. To have a building large enough to have everything hooked up inside. To be able to put the ramp down on the trailer and load/unload race car, tools, spare parts and never even have to open a garage door, that would be about as close to heaven as I could ever get.

 

[gnpenning]

You have some great advice here and have been wise enough to use it.

I have a possible solution to your garage door issues. My favorite supplier doesn't deliver to your area but someone local may make them as well.

Sorry I can't link from my phone. Google midlandgaragedoors.com. Go to the commercial section. They can make different sizes for you of 2 doors side by side. For your purpose a 12' and 14' with the center leg moveable. You can open one or the other separately or open both then raising the center leg giving you a 26' opening. Tough to explain put easier to understand if you view the website. They designed this style for farmers with combines and other commercial applications.

Make sure when they tie in your 2 roof lines you won't have drainage issues.

 

[zmotorsports]

You have some great advice here and have been wise enough to use it.

I have a possible solution to your garage door issues. My favorite supplier doesn't deliver to your area but someone local may make them as well.

Sorry I can't link from my phone. Google midlandgaragedoors.com. Go to the commercial section. They can make different sizes for you of 2 doors side by side. For your purpose a 12' and 14' with the center leg moveable. You can open one or the other separately or open both then raising the center leg giving you a 26' opening. Tough to explain put easier to understand if you view the website. They designed this style for farmers with combines and other commercial applications.

Make sure when they tie in your 2 roof lines you won't have drainage issues.

That is interesting. I've never seen the two doors with a removable center section before. My curiosity may get the better of me and I may have to google that this weekend and take a looksee.

 

[gnpenning]

From what I've read from your threads and post it should have been something you came up with.

Basically you get 3 door openings with 2 doors. Pretty handy.

 

[Chris705]

6” will be plenty thick enough for your slab....it’s all about that base, bout that base (and your exiting sub-grade). Seeing how your existing space is fairly new was there much earthwork done in the area you plan the addition? With good firm base/subgrade nothing special is needed. I’d have your mason quote 4000psi w/ micro fibers to help control shrinkage cracking. Saw cuts at each post and then one down the middle of the slab. Use a vapor barrier.

 

[matt_i]

I agree that 6" of 4000 psi mix would be about right. My personal preference is for steel rebar. I would spec #4 rebar on 24-36" centers set on 2" chairs, wire-tie every other intersection so the grid isn't disturbed during the pour. Saw cut into 10-12' squares the day after the pour + finish. Use a curing sealer.

The subgrade would need to be carefully compacted whereever it was disturbed. I like 3/4" washed limestone, also applied 6" thick and plate compacted 2x after being sprayed down with water...not soaked but just enough to get it wet.

Definitely agree on vapor barrier, I would go with 10mil, its slightly more expensive but well worth it and the foot traffic won't tear it all to mesh as the rebar is set.

 

[kbs2244]

Back to door width.
The current standard Interstate lane width is 12 feet.
Turning lanes go out to 14 feet.
So, unless you have a large "aiming pad" in front of the door, I would go 14 foot wide min.
If that is too wide for 2 doors, go with one 16 foot wide.

Side scrapes are easy to get, and expensive to fix.

 

[rburke65]

Why does the contractor say 30' wide is the max?

 

[Repsolracer22]

Why does the contractor say 30' wide is the max?

That's how much earth/land I've got to work with on that side before it's starts cutting into my trail system He also told me that doing 50' deep instead of 48' would be easier/simpler. So being able to add an ADDITIONAL 30x50 building to my already existing 40x60 is a blessing and MORE than enough for essentially just the RV. Yes of course I'll find other stuff to put in there and I'll definitely use the building.

So I think I'm just going to go with (2) 12' wide doors and just be careful pulling in/out. There's concessions to be made all the time. Especially when buying an RV, so I'm ok with being a little careful Because I really want 2 doors on the front to be able to pull in straight. Plus it will look nice and symmetrical. I'm a volunteer at the local fire station and the fire trucks are the same width as most full size RVs (102" wide). This is 8.5' wide which is the max allowed on the street. So the only other thing that sticks out further are mirrors. The fire station has 4 garage doors and they are all 12' wide, so I do this regularly already. So yea, you gotta back in slow, but it's not problematic.

 

[Repsolracer22]

ill post pics of process. I'm just going to do a 30x40. it was just getting out of hand with sizes and expenses and excavation etc etc. 30x40 is gonna be super clean to add to my 40x60. I'm never gonna have a 40' RV (never say never!) ha.

I didn't want to get too crazy so this will force me to keep everything in check and never buy a 40' motorhome. (2) 12x14 garage doors on front. signed the contract so excavation should start soon.

 

[finn]

I know what you mean by the project getting out of hand.

Especially when you are spending other people’s money.

 

[Repsolracer22]

Especially when you are spending other people’s money.

Not sure what you mean by that?


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[kwb]

One 16' door off center will be much easier to use. It also will mean you have sufficient shear wall on the front of the building. I have a similar setup and I was able to get my 10' wide boat within ~1' of the wall pretty easy and still put other trailer in the shop.

Door is 6' from the wall.

 

[Repsolracer22]

One 16' door off center will be much easier to use. It also will mean you have sufficient shear wall on the front of the building. I have a similar setup and I was able to get my 10' wide boat within ~1' of the wall pretty easy and still put other trailer in the shop.

Door is 6' from the wall.

interesting. got some pics of what you've got?

 

[finn]

Not sure what you mean by that?


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Lots of advice on the internet assumes an unlimited budget.

You made a wise decision, in my opinion.

 

[Repsolracer22]

So multiple contractors that I talked to said they would all use the 3ply laminated poles. This is what was used on my 40x60 so no shock there. But my question is .... this 30x40 is going to have 16' ceiling so its a much taller building. Should there be any 'beefier' items used in the building materials? Extra bracing or even 4ply poles?

 

[Repsolracer22]

Adding onto 40x60 for RV

Construction has begun. I do really appreciate everyone's opinions and advice. I decided to go with 4 ply poles instead of the standard 3ply. Just felt like since it's gonna be 16' tall that it was a good idea. They said it will probably be done this week. These guys roll pretty quick.

As seen in pics, they had to remove the overhang from my existing building and expose the poles so they can tie into them. Gonna be sweet!

I ordered another reznor heater as well which arrives tomorrow. I have one in my existing building and it rocks.

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[Hardworkinguy]

Looks like an awesome addition-keep the pictures coming!

I have a 36' motor home and it fits very nicely in my 32x40 barn. We went with the traditional sliding barn doors,centered like the old drive thru barns,and at the last possible minute I had my brother-in-law contractor make the front door 14' wide instead of 12',and have never regretted it. He built the doors,so sizing was not an issue.

 

[Repsolracer22]

Coming along. Trusses are up now but it's too dark to take pics of that tonight. So I'll get more tomorrow

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[Chris705]

Great decision on going with 4-ply posts. Wind load is huge on your wall area. Could have also possibly oriented the posts so the 5.5” depth pointed in....

 

[Repsolracer22]

Adding onto 40x60 for RV

Great decision on going with 4-ply posts. Wind load is huge on your wall area. Could have also possibly oriented the posts so the 5.5” depth pointed in....

Yeah the builder said he typically doesn't use the 4ply unless it's taller than 16' walls but I went with them anyways. The cost is negligible. My builder is awesome and they are rolling


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