Best Size for an RV Garage

[asolarrv]

Hi,

The draftsman we hired currently has the RV garage drawn as 18' wide by 51' long. I want to open the basement doors on the sides, plus open the hood and have the slides out, and walk around comfortably. The Seneca is about 40' long so is 11' to split between the front and rear sufficient to open the hood and walk around? The Seneca is about 8.6" wide, which I believe includes the mirrors, and I believe having the slides out on both sides adds about 5' total width, for a total of 13'6". It looks to me like the basement doors stick out past the slides about a foot on each side so I would guess that is about 2' total, so overall, the Seneca could be about 15"6" wide. That to me makes me think 18' is too narrow so what is a good width?

Thank you for the thoughts.

[Colorado]

If you already own the Seneca, then open everything up and take some measurements. If you’re buying one, go to the dealership and open everything up and measure it. Too big is better than too small at least that’s what she tells me...

[pward]

Yep, agree with Colorado. Also, it will cost very little to add a couple more feet in width before you build it. I think 51' is too long. You can move back and forth depending whether you need room in front or the rear, but I think parking forward and having more room in back would be more useful. Thats what i do in my storage unit as I really have nothing that needs doing up front.

[JFlightRisk]

Are you putting anything else inside, like a bench, roller toolbox, compressor, etc.?

[madmaxmutt]

I wish I had a smaller garage; said no man, ever!

[asolarrv]

No Seneca yet, as that would have made it very easy to measure & eliminate the thread. Mad max, I agree with your thought!
Jflight, there will be some of those metal rack storage units along the sides and most likely a small bench.

We are limited to 51' length and 18' for the front 23' feet or so due to set-back requirements, unless we want to go the variance route. We could go wider the last 28' or so, which is what I am leaning towards. I think 22' foot would be a nice width.

Thanks for the thoughts!

[Rice1951]

First question I would ask is how close to your budget are you and how much property do you have to work with? My philosophy is bigger is usually better because you will always find something to fill up the available space.
I built a garage a few years before I purchased my MH and now I am looking at expanding up and out so I can store it on my property instead of someone else’s. In my case I have some property limitations so I cannot build it as big as I would like so it will be just big enough.
Since you are starting out new I would recommend going as big as you could. You’ve already mentioned having room to have slides out, hood open, bay doors open and room to walk around. Consider being able to load cargo into your storage bays as well as cleaning and waxing. Also, make sure your OH door is high enough to accommodate any permanent vertical antennas above the roof line and wide enough for your mirrors in their normal operating position. Take into consideration things like roof trusses and doors. There are standard sizes even when you go bigger. If you have to special order then costs will go up accordingly. If you get snowfall is snow load on your roof something you need to think about?
You have a blank canvas and can make it just the way you want so don’t cheap out. There might be a few things you miss but you don’t want to be sitting here a year from now and telling us that “boy I sure wish I would have built it bigger.” Good luck to you and let us know what you end up with.

[Lake Huron]

X2. They are never big enough so do a 100x300. Just kidding.
Seriously, why would he make it 51' long?? When you build something like this you make your dimensions divisible by 4 or 8. I'd go 52 long which should be enough to walk around front and back and be able to work on either way. As far as width, you got slides on both sides that go out say 3'. That's 14' width and you're gonna want work and walk around there also, so I'd go 24' wide which gives you 5' per side.
Just my opinion. Again, you can never build them big enough.

[FYIB]

Agree with others to build it as big as possible. I’ve never said I wish I would have done it smaller before. I have a Seneca FS and store it in a 16x50. Length is fine as I have a few feet to walk around the front and I store two quads and some other stuff in the back and still have room to walk around. I can open up both slides but have to duck if I want to get around. There is probably a foot left on each side with the slides open. I cannot open both sides of the basement doors. They open enough to get stuff in and out pretty easy unless you have something really big.

[20 Penny]

Originally Posted by asolarrv

We are limited to 51' length and 18' for the front 23' feet or so due to set-back requirements, unless we want to go the variance route. We could go wider the last 28' or so, which is what I am leaning towards. I think 22' foot would be a nice width.

Assuming you have an HOA since you mention set back requirements and a variance. Does your lot have particular challenges such as a deep but narrow lot like on a cul-de-sac or maybe extreme sloping? What is your setback? If the setback is 25’, a 5’ variance request would be reasonable especially if you have lot challenges. It doesn’t cost anything to request the variance and the worst that could happen is the HOA denies the request. I would agree with others, build it as big as you can. It will fill up quickly and you will be glad you have the extra space.

[JFlightRisk]

When I was growing up, we had a 40'x80' garage, and it wasn't big enough, either. In humor, I've always said, a 60 stall garage was a good start!

I understand your size limiting factors, but go as big as you possibly can the first time. You'll thank us for it later.

[Cannon]

I have a 24 x 51. I can open all 4 slide with plenty of room to walk around. I can open my awnings to clean or let them dry out so no mildew. I can also park my dully next to it but then it get a little tight

[SloPoke]

As a Seneca owner in Utah and Arizona.. both of our spots are still outdoors on concrete pads.

Take these thoughts in perspective in what you are sizing your space for:

Open the storage doors -""and walk around the open door"" give yourself 3-feet farther than the largest door opening.

Servicing the rig before departure - Open the hood and leave enough room to walk around the open hood.

Slides - Every large bay door on the Seneca opens wider than the slide comes out, but if you want to open the slides in the garage... you need to be able to walk around it. - with stuff against the wall.

Electrical service - Plan to be able to plug it in 'Year round' so that you can pull in from a long hard trip - plug it in and worry about empying the fridge/stuff the following week. Having Water and a dump fitting on the same side will be worth the investment.

[foglght]

I have a 30x40. If it were just for one RV, the 18 will probably be fine.

Oddly this is the only pic I have of the RV in the garage:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=17a...9k3RsC2u6RhTDU

[Scott_Trailer_Newbe]

I had a 3500 psi slab poured (12x60’) $2,800. Then I had a 14’ wide by 16’ tall by 50’ long built. The corrugated sheet metal goes down to about 5’ off the ground. (About $10K) Depending on local regulations something this size needs to engineered and approved before it can be built, and there are serval inspections along the way. Just the concrete forms for the 4” vertical posts (10ea)needed to be 5’ deep and 2.5’ in diameter. 7.5 yards of concrete was required just for the posts. Well anyway you get an idea what’s involved.

[RetiredOne]

Originally Posted by madmaxmutt

I wish I had a smaller garage; said no man, ever!

Ha... exactly what I was thinking...

One of my favorite quotes: "Go Big, or Go Home".

[txauditr-ret.]

If you got the space and room and $$$$ not being much more .... why not make it 40x60. Easier to get around in, room for extras, extra work space. In addition building supplies are standard for this bldg and may be cheaper than your plan. Just my .02 worth

[WhalerBob]

I have always tried to go with what I figured was the best size and always ended up small. If you have the room go with 60x24 and you’ll have room to walk around the rig with everything open.

[t18skyguy]

Yup, like the rest say. Make it as big as possible. You'll have great dry storage and you'll be happy.

[AncasterDuo]

I don't have a big RV, I'm just a structural engineer. Agree with making sure the structural details (foundation depth, wind resistance etc.) are addressed BEFORE construction, BEFORE applying for the building permit. I recently had to help a guy get his permit AFTER constructing a big garage/shop for his semi tractor; this required some creative building mods.

Going up to 20, 22, or 24ft width where you can is an easy building detail, and leaves another option - some day when you need a space for a small boat trailer, spare vehicle etc, you can slip it in there...and pull it out when you need the width to open up the RV.

Good luck, happy building!