What if it fit in your garage?

[B2Play]

Would that be a big deal for you?

During the next few months we would like to buy a new B. We love the layout of the Plateau FL. Then we realized that the Lexor (ProMaster) clears the height of our garage door by a couple inches. There is no practical way to get a Sprinter in our garage. The Lexor has everything we need, maybe not quite everything we want after coveting the Plateau FL. We realize that these are two completely different Bs, both with pros and cons.

If we got a Sprinter we would have a stand-alone metal carport built next to the garage. It would be partially enclosed: one side wall, it would have a crushed rock floor, and in an area protected from the sun. Still, I assume that wouldn’t be as nearly as good compared to our fully enclosed garage? We live in the Pacific Northwest so we have very little snow, a lot of rain, occasional windstorms. We are on private wooded acreage so there is no concern about anyone bothering the van in a carport. A carport like that would likely not add to the looks of our property however it gives us more choices in vans.

Would a B that fits within your garage compel you to change your decision on which B to own?

Thanks for your thoughts.

[booster]

We bought based to a large extent based on getting it into our garage. We live in Minnesota with lots of snow and cold, and have seen that even if not driven in salt on the roads, sitting outside is hard on the vehicles. We also can't do anything to it over the winter if it is outside.

Pacific Northwest and good carport make that decision much tougher, for sure, as you have less consequences than we do here. Being mostly rural ourselves, the biggest issue you might have would be critters trying to take over your RV when not in use. It can be a big issue in a lot of places.

[GeorgeRa]

Our Sprinter is stored inside the garage (Portland OR, 10' high garage doors), besides better protection from elements we like:

- No winterizing needed, so Van is always ready
- Any projects lasting a few days don’t require packing tools and closing the van.

[ponti33602]

We selected our Agile due to it fitting and is also our only car now.


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[Ron J. Moore]

Choose wisely...they are expensive and you have to live with the decision you make. I wouldn't buy a B based on it fitting in my garage as the major criteria for purchase. Think about every time you camp, one of you say "I wish", you will ruin the wonderful adventures that await you two. You say you have a graveled area already alongside your home....that carport is not going to detract from the house....and you get the B you two really want. Ron

[Phoebe3]

For us, one of the primary reasons for getting a B was to have a bathroom. If you have to winterize, you don't really have a bathroom. Presumably, if you are going to park outside, you will have to winterize. Will not having a bathroom cause you to take fewer trips during the winter? Do you care whether you take trips during the winter?

A B is only worth having if you use it. Only you can decide whether your planned usage will be negatively impacted by parking outside.

[booster]

Originally Posted by Phoebe3

For us, one of the primary reasons for getting a B was to have a bathroom. If you have to winterize, you don't really have a bathroom. Presumably, if you are going to park outside, you will have to winterize. Will not having a bathroom cause you to take fewer trips during the winter? Do you care whether you take trips during the winter?

A B is only worth having if you use it. Only you can decide whether your planned usage will be negatively impacted by parking outside.

I don't understand, I think. Lots of folks use the bathroom after winterizing by using antifreeze to flush, and there would be no difference coming out of a warm garage into the cold, you would still need to winterize if you were going to use the van in the winter.

[Davydd]

I never considered buying an RV based on a garage. For 11 years we stored outside because we never worked on our B in the winter, just stored it. And it was happy as a Cars cartoon.



It was a good thing I did not build a garage. We couldn't have gotten our investment out of it and we decided to move last year after 34 years in one place. Then we bought into an HOA townhouse and there physically no way anyway that I could store it at our house. So I bought into a 271 unit garage condo. I expect in the market we have I will make an eventual profit or my heirs most likely will. I own the smallest unit, an 18 ft. x 45 ft. x 14 ft. high door with electricity and gas heat. Also, there is a community wash bay and a dump station and it is all security protected. The other units have mostly RVs of all kind, classic cars, boats (Lake Minnetonka is just to the east), some businesses and lots of man caves. I always assumed remote storage was a rental proposition and it didn't dawn on me I could just out right own it.

[jrobe]

Having my B in an fully enclosed garage space was pretty high on my list of priorities but I decided that I couldn't compromise other priorities. One test drive of a Promaster in their seats ended that option for me.

Then I either had to build a taller garage for my Sprinter or rent storage space. I found a great and handy storage space with a 10 ft garage door that was a little over $1000 per year. It was cheaper and easier to just rent a storage space than to spend a lot of money on a new garage and I got a B with everything that I really wanted.

[Phoebe3]

Originally Posted by booster

I don't understand, I think. Lots of folks use the bathroom after winterizing by using antifreeze to flush, and there would be no difference coming out of a warm garage into the cold, you would still need to winterize if you were going to use the van in the winter.

You would know more about this than I do. My thinking is that if I am in the van, it will be warm enough to keep even the exterior tanks and lines from freezing (I wouldn't camp in weather below the 20's and the van would radiate heat from me keeping it warm enough for my comfort.) Thus, even if it was used in the colder months, if it was kept inside while not in use, it would probably not have to be winterized.

I was unaware that people used antifreeze to flush the toilet in winter, but I won't use it in my fresh water lines because it's really hard to get the smell out when the tanks are flushed in the spring. So I guess we could take a jug to use in the toilet, but then there is the whole hand-washing problem...

So, speaking only for myself, I would choose to park inside even if the van wasn't exactly what I wanted, because I would use it more.

But before making that decision, I would double and triple check to make sure that my second-choice van would really fit in the garage. It would sure be a pain to make the compromise and then find that it wouldn't...

[GeorgeRa]

One of the advantages of cassette systems, not mentioned earlier, is separation of flush and fresh water. The Thetford 402 contains 4 gallons of flush water which could be winterized without contaminating the fresh water tank with an antifreeze. So, the van can be completely drained but the toilet is still usable. Not a big advantage for us as we have winterizing glycol loops on the gray and fresh water tanks powered by D5 but for some it could be.

[ponti33602]

Ours was more a decision of would it fit thus eliminate a car or store offsite several miles from where we live and prob use it less frequently.

In the city we couldn’t just park on the street as an option. This has worked out well in our situation and eliminated a car that depreciated $500 a month which assists in offsetting the B we chose to some extent. Understanding your value proposition help you make the right choice for your circumstances.


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[B2Play]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts on this, we have a lot to think about.

Originally Posted by booster

Being mostly rural ourselves, the biggest issue you might have would be critters trying to take over your RV when not in use. It can be a big issue in a lot of places.

This is one great reason to keep it in our garage.

Originally Posted by Phoebe3

A B is only worth having if you use it. Only you can decide whether your planned usage will be negatively impacted by parking outside.

Yes we will use it frequently, as long as it is kept where we live, indoors or out.

Originally Posted by Davydd

So I bought into a 271 unit garage condo. I expect in the market we have I will make an eventual profit or my heirs most likely will. I own the smallest unit, an 18 ft. x 45 ft. x 14 ft. high door with electricity and gas heat. Also, there is a community wash bay and a dump station and it is all security protected.

That is one impressive garage!

Originally Posted by jrobe

I found a great and handy storage space with a 10 ft garage door that was a little over $1000 per year.

In this area I’d be paying north of $300/month for that type of storage.

Originally Posted by Phoebe3

So, speaking only for myself, I would choose to park inside even if the van wasn't exactly what I wanted, because I would use it more.

But before making that decision, I would double and triple check to make sure that my second-choice van would really fit in the garage. It would sure be a pain to make the compromise and then find that it wouldn't...

LOL, that is for sure! We already figured we would triple check the specific unit if we go that route.

Thanks again.

[mlts22]

My two centavos:

The van needs to fit your everyday lifestyle. Some people can change their house to fit their van. If I could, I'd have a carport with a 50 ampere pedestal, hose, and a sewage "clean-out" so the van would be ready at any time, and all facilities could be used. However, not everyone can do that.

If having the van fit into a garage is important, factor that in. For me, since I live in urban Austin, and I don't see that changing anytime soon, fitting into an average 20 foot parking space is important. I might be able to squeeze a 22 foot van around, but couldn't go to 24 feet.

A van is a purchases that you don't want to make a mistake on... but on the other hand, it is a compromise in many respects. Length and height are part of that. Plus, having it fit in the garage ensures it is well away from vandals.

[B2Play]

Originally Posted by mlts22

My two centavos:

...I might be able to squeeze a 22 foot van around, but couldn't go to 24 feet.

A van is a purchases that you don't want to make a mistake on...

It would be great to fit a van in our garage, however the main reason we worry about choosing the Plateau FL, at 22' 9" is that we might have issues parking in some spots in town. The Lexor is just under 21' is closer to parking place sizes. With no experience to draw on, we have to guess how much of a difference that extra 22 inches would make. We've read many who say they have no trouble finding parking for a van that long, however "no trouble" to them may mean going to the far ends of everywhere to find a spot that works, versus parking in just about any available spot.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[ponti33602]

I agree with compromise. If we needed to have our vehicle stored away from our home because we are downtown we would prob have gone with a 170” WB rather than the 144”. We have only done about 20 nights so far and we are quite satisfied with our choice. We are “euro-sized” and minimalist so travel lite and this may help as well. Even at 20’ I would not say I can park anywhere and could see issues at 23’ at least around where we drive and shop day to day.


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