The great caravan storage debate

COMMENT

The boom in RV sales as Australians emerge from COVID restrictions and seek to travel again has highlighted a suburban problem as to where to park your getaway vehicle when it’s not being used.

Depending on where you live, storing your big motorhome or caravan on a busy suburban street outside your house -- if allowed by the local council -- can not only annoy the neighbours but become a safety hazard.

According to a recent report, the Gold Coast City council is pleading with the State government to address 'street safety concerns' after 'dangerous levels' of parked caravans, camper trailers and boats clog up Gold Coast suburban streets.

The problems include RVs taking up multiple car spaces and blocking driveways so residents can't easily get out, while big RVs parked near playgrounds are contributing to a reduction in "the visibility of those kids playing in their neighbourhood and ultimately put them in danger,” according to the Council.

The Council said that more than 500 complaints have been made by local residents in the past 12 months, compared to an average of around 50 annual complaints in previous years, and it's likely to get worse with 7000 RVs and trailerboats added in the Gold Coast region alone over the past two years. 

It was reported that the Council wants new government rules to prevent vehicles over 7.5metres long from parking in front of public parks, near intersections and on suburban streets for long periods.

Too big for the garage

So, apart from padlocking your caravan or camper to a sturdy tree, are there more civically-responsible ways to store your ‘van when not on holidays?

Parking on your own property is an obvious first suggestion, but land topography and size often works against this, as do steep uphill driveways. It’s also not an option if you live in a unit, unless you own a low-slung camper trailer and can enter an underground car park.

Width can also be an issue and while most off-road campers and some small hybrids are two metres or less across the beam, most caravans are 2.1 metres or more wide.

More recently we have reviewed campers whose pitch includes the claim that they can be locked up in an average double garage.

The Lumberjack Sorrento pod camper, for example, stands 2.5 metre tall including its optional rooftop tent, but with most garages topping out at 2.1-2.4 metres, you might have to remove the rooftop tent and the pull out awning first.

Other manufacturers have brought out specific caravan models designed to fit under a carport or inside a garage.

Too hard? Then off-site storage is an option. Outdoor storage, which simply includes the real estate your van is occupying, typically costs from $500-$900 per year, with under-shade storage – sometimes meaning hail-shelter – typically almost double that to between $900 - $1500 per year.

The problem with shade storage is keeping your RV’s battery charged and this may entail purchasing an 80-Watt solar panel, chaining it to your drawbar to avoid pilfering and having an Anderson plug wired it so that it can keep your battery charged by day. This is more critical in the increasing number of RVs fitted with Lithium batteries.

In short, it is bad and potentially dangerous to fully discharge a lithium ion battery, which can happen in long-term storage.

Lithium Iron Phosphate cells will usually have a fully charged voltage level of around 3.65v and a fully discharged voltage of 2.0v.  Overcharging is putting an excess of energy into the cell, resulting in excess heat causing damage to the cell. In the worst of cases, the cell may catch on fire. 

In any case, the battery’s cells will be damaged by an under voltage event, but as the damage is performance based, the battery’s power output will be reduced.

AGM batteries also don’t like being run flat and most manufacturers will not recommend discharging the battery below 50 per cent, because the heat produced when charging them back up can damage the cells and plates, and even warp the batteries, which can reduce their life significantly.

Of course, if your RV is chained to a tree on your nature strip, or the local playground fence, you’ll need to make some charging provision.

Undercover secure storage is another, more expensive storage option. Most of these facilities offer access to 240v power, but be prepared to pay up to $3000 per year for the privilege.

Don't set and forget!

If your RV is stored outdoors in rain, hail and shine, it can be susceptible to storm damage, premature ageing of its window rubbers and tyres and yellowing of its cladding. A cover – either a padded $1500 fitted one, or if not a $150 bulk hardware or car parts store vinyl special – minimises this, but you need to factor in this extra ownership cost.

Fibreglass vans stored outside can also yellow with prolonged sun exposure and a protective marine polish or a treatment liked RVgard is highly recommended.

Don’t forget security either. Wheel clamps and coupling locks are simple and visible theft deterrents, up to the ultimate of noisy alarmed locks and GPS trackers.

Another drawback to off-site storage is the lack of ready access to your RV to load it before a trip, top up its water tanks and toilet cassette, etcetera, along with packing it with clothes and food. Don’t forget ants either – they love sheltering in canvas folds.

A further consideration with remote storage is that you are much less likely to use your RV for the long-weekend trips, or the short breaks that you pitched in your rationale to purchase it in the first place!

The solution to all these issues, if you have the real estate, is a caravan port.

Goaded by horror stories of potential hail and storm damage, I decided to invest in one when we moved to Queensland with our caravan and accelerated plans after clouting the side fence twice while trying to reverse down our dog-leg driveway into our double car port.

The basic four-post caravan shelter that I designed and had some local tradesmen erect, cost about $4000 in materials and labour.  But having a new driveway carved though a garden bed, ensuing marital discussions, a necessary timber retaining wall, the removal of two large trees and grinding of their stumps, a load of road base and hiring a roller to flatten it, cost almost as much again.

So after selling the caravan two years later, I now have an empty caravan port looking for someone with $1500 a year to spend on storing their van, or a useful addition to our home if we eventually decide to sell it.

It might have been easier to store it on the nature strip, chain it to a tree, run a power lead from the house and pay the Council fine!