Taking the trailer out of storage already?!
We're prepping our trailer for storage for the first time and quickly realized that we had a lot to learn. After a grueling 5-week trip to New England, we returned to Myrtle Beach with lots of our belongings in tow, and we immediately made our way to our RV storage spot, which we had rented sight-unseen. Our first round of unpacking was overwhelming. We had large items to unload from the trailer and into the back of our truck, which was challenging and even a bit precarious to do in the cramped space of the storage facility. Then to add to the difficulty, Myrtle Beach had been experiencing one of its hottest summers in years, and we had no way to keep our rig cool. If we had a fully functioning electric system, we could run one of our AC units for a limited time off our inverter. But we were far from having a fully functioning electric system. And so we did the best we could, completing Phase 1 of storage prep while battling less-than-ideal circumstances.
What Phase 2 would bring, we didn't quite know. We had RVed full-time for nearly 5 years, and that taught us a lot. But you know what all that RVing doesn't teach? Not RVing. We dove into research, finding articles that listed the steps for proper RV storage.
Already, the findings were overwhelming. There are differences between prepping a rig that's going to be sitting for just a few weeks, versus prepping a rig that'll be sitting for a year or more. We also faced a learning curve due to our new geography. We always assumed that, the first time we needed to store the RV, we'd be in NH. That would mean winterizing. But here we were, in Myrtle Beach, where it was definitively the opposite of winter weather. We didn't need to account for freezing temperatures; we needed to account for heat and humidity. We have an all-aluminum trailer, which means we don't need to worry as much about rot, but it does mean that moisture causes the aluminum to oxidize, resulting in murky gray streaks everywhere. And finally, we needed to determine what was necessary in a covered storage spot, versus RVs that are stored out in the open.
We narrowed our research down to 2 articles that seemed most comprehensive and explanatory for our needs: RV Storage Tips by Honey Bee Storage, and How to Prepare an RV for Storage, on the KOA blog. We recommend them as references, but since every RV is different, we advise that you do your own research as well. We also hope it goes without saying to not take our storage prep as step-by-step instructions. Learn from the experts, not the newbs!
Our biggest concern was the lack of climate control in storage. In such a humid environment, we risked moisture buildup, which could lead to mold. We needed to clean and add products that absorb moisture. Initially, we hoped to hold off on this because Anthony was bringing Buggy to repair appointments at the end of August. Then, as the days wore on, we found ourselves on edge. The heat and humidity were relentless. Not only did we need to consider Buggy's weeks in storage, but we also needed to think about the repair appointments, where he wouldn't be plugged in most of the time either. We needed to take care of things now, but we had our work cut out for us. Buggy was in a state of disarray. All the gear from the back of our truck was still in the trailer and needed to be moved back. Then we needed to clean the trailer from top to bottom, and finally, add desiccants anywhere we thought might attract moisture.
But how were we supposed to do all these labor-intensive tasks in this heat? Every day showed highs in the 90s with feels-like temperatures well into the 100s. We even checked the forecast hoping that the early mornings or evenings would give us a reprieve, but even those times were in the 80s, with relative humidity at 80% or higher.
Some RV storage facilities have sporadic outlets that renters can use to temporarily plug in. As far as we've seen, ours does not, and a normal 20amp outlet wouldn't be of use to us anyway. Our options were slim, but one in particular stood out.
When we first moved into the cottage in May, we kept our rig at a campsite, so it would stay climate controlled during the few weeks before our next trip. This way, we didn't have to put it in storage-mode for such a brief period of time, and we could easily go back and forth. What if we moved Buggy to a campsite again, just for a couple nights?
We saw a lot of advantages to this. We'd be able to run our ACs and even have water and sewer if we needed. We'd have more space to put down our patio and haul everything out of the trailer and back into the truck. We could use the area around our trailer without being in anyone's way or risk scraping a neighboring RV. I would definitely feel less anxiety at an RV park instead of in the cramped quarters of storage.
But there were some cons. First, it would cost us a pretty penny. Second, if it rained, we would undoubtedly get leaks in our roof. And in SC in August, every location averages at least a downpour a day. The forecast said storms shouldn't roll in until the end of the week, but with the rapid changing moisture in the air, mesoscale storms can pop up at any moment and go undetected by weather models.
Even still, if we could find a reasonably priced campground and really put our noses to the grindstone, the plan would be well worth it. Some ceiling leaks wouldn't be nearly as bad as getting mold or some type of infestation.
Initially, I looked at Crooked Oaks, the park where we kept our RV during the move, but the lowest prices were going for over $120/night. We paid half that in May and June because we had a monthly rate. For full hookups in summer, we expected hefty price tags, but we didn't need the bells and whistles of a luxury resort. We just needed a safe place to park. Further research led me to Hideaway RV Resort. The prices were more reasonable, starting in the $70 range. Online it was hard to book specifically for length, and we needed room for both our truck and patio, and so we called to book a reservation. We explained to them that we were looking for a long site, and they delivered with a 65ft pull-thru. We booked Tuesday (Aug 11) through Thursday (Aug 13), hoping to get Buggy back in storage well before the predicted storms on Friday. Total cost for the stay was $185, due to the higher cost of the large pull-thru. Worth it if it meant both us and Buggy could keep our cool.
First step was pulling Buggy out of his spot without decimating our Valterra valve. We had purposely backed in close to the driver's side of our spot so we'd have room for our steps, but this meant dealing with the downside of the covered RV spot: the steel post. We've never needed to do so many micromovements to the trailer before. Reverse to push the nose away from the post, and then straight to get back in line. Over and over until we had enough room to squeak the sewer port past the post and avoid tail swing on our way out. Several shimmies later, Buggy was free and ready to roll across town.
Our site was indeed long enough for truck, trailer, and patio. It had a concrete pad with gravel parking spots at the front and back. We pulled the trailer to the front side of the pad, hoping we could park the truck behind it and still have room for the patio. This way we could bring the gear out the back and straight into the bed of the truck. We were very close to fitting this way. Clyde only stuck out a few inches, and there was still plenty of room for people to get by.
But before we could focus on moving all the gear, we needed to cool down the rig, which we knew would take a while. We hooked up electric, and since I didn't have any of my usual inside setup tasks, I took the liberty. It was kind of fun to do Anthony's tasks for once. It's amazing how set in our ways we get, each doing our half of our checklists. It's good practice to switch things up once in a while.
The trailer was hooked up and we were getting shore power. Time to start the ACs...only that's when we noticed an error on our main thermostat.
Anthony then realized he had already shut off the breaker for the ACs. No biggie! He flipped it back on and we were good to go...go get iced coffees, of course! What else are we supposed to do when we need to wait for Buggy to cool down from almost 100°F?! We were along route 544, which meant we were only minutes away from our favorite coffee place, Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii. You might remember that we tried it back in St. Augustine and immediately fell in love. We soon discovered one of their locations is in Myrtle Beach. Why do you think we really decided to move here? Tehehe.
Now sufficiently perked up, we returned to the RV, ready to lower the patio and get to work. We hoped our time away was enough to at least feel some temperature difference, but when we opened the door, a wall of heat hit us.
The breaker wasn't the problem, and we didn't know what was. The bedroom AC was running, but the one we needed most, in the main part of the rig, was blowing warm air.
We thought about the $185 we paid so we could run our ACs and were disappointed, but we reminded ourselves that there were more perks to being in the RV site. We also had water hookups. We didn't risk our batteries depleting. We had ample space to do what we needed to do. And so, we opened up the ramp and relied on airflow while we moved all the stuff.
Since we were already doing tons of heavy lifting, we also decided to go through everything, toss what we no longer needed, and consolidate the rest.
We ended up with so much we didn't need anymore, we decided to first fill the truck with stuff to take to the trash/recycling center, and then load everything we're keeping the next day. We found many interesting items from our past that we forgot we kept, namely our busted patio screen from last summer, and the famed dowels that we used when we jerry-rigged our transfer switch for the second time. (That blog post also shows why I don't like risking my life in hot temperatures).
Not only can we look back at those less-than-stellar memories and still have smiles on our faces, but we also took a little break to show off our childhood talents with the dowels. Anthony took martial arts and I took majorette lessons. Can you tell?
All things considered, spirits were high...and they lifted even more when I walked back into the RV and noticed something big. It was cooling off!
The error code went away, but how? Our only guess is that, between the humidity and our ceiling leaks, it probably had a lot of water that needed to dry off. It already hasn't been working right for over a year, and now we were putting it through the ringer.
We wanted to finish unloading the patio as quickly as possible, so we could close up and let the rig cool down without battling the outside air.
Functioning air conditioning was our top priority for this phase of storage prep, and we finally had it! Unfortunately, we've noticed a pattern recently with many of RV problems, that the fixing of one unveils a problem with something else. That's exactly what happened here. Minutes after the ACs started running properly, the pooled condensation on our roof began leaking into the trailer. Bad.
Another pattern? Every time the ceiling leaks, it's worse than the time before. Here we were worried about possible storms, but we hadn't even thought about the possibility of condensation leaks! We already knew this roof was dunzo, but up until this point, the leaks were mostly occurring in the middle of the roof near seals around equipment. This one likely indicates a busted seam along the edge of the roof, where it meets the side panels. But, we already have that repair appointment on the calendar, and that's also something to keep smiling about, right?
We had taken all our towels out to be washed, so I just wadded up tons of paper towels and tried to catch the drips.
We couldn't leave things like this, though. The paper towels would saturate in minutes, and we'd come back to a flooded trailer! After all this effort and money, would we seriously not be able to keep the AC running overnight? The roller coaster of storage prep was now seeming as relentless as the SC heat.
To be continued.