Owning a recreational vehicle opens up a world of adventures. However, ensuring its longevity does not only depend on occasional maintenance. A practical and stylish solution to protect your prized possessions is a covered shelter, such as a steel RV garage or carport. Along with protecting your vehicles from the wrath of weather, these durable and reliable covers will also safeguard them against the passage of time.
A covered shelter will protect and preserve your RVs, ensuring that they stay road-ready whenever the travel bug bites. Investing in a metal cover is a game-changer for every RV owner due to the myriad of benefits offered by them.
Most Popular Covered RV Shelters
- Metal RV Garage: These are enclosed structures that feature doors and windows for ventilation. Allowing for easy parking, these can be effectively designed to incorporate RVs of any size. They offer high-end protection and adequate space.
- Steel RV Carport: These are also known as roof-only structures. However, they can incorporate side panels or walls on a maximum of two sides. You can choose to opt for completely enclosed or partially enclosed panels, depending on need, available space, and accessibility requirements.
Why Choose a Covered RV Shelter for Your Adventure Companion?
Here are the top six reasons why you should consider buying a prefab RV garage or carport, as it is not just a storage choice but also a commitment to the future adventures of your recreational vehicles:
Shield from Harsh Weather Conditions
RV campers are exposed to varying weather conditions throughout the year. Whether it is UV damage, winter frost, moisture buildup, or water damage, RVs are susceptible to witnessing unpredictable, harsh conditions when left unattended in the open. This is why covering your vehicles with a steel RV shelter provides a protective barrier to minimize weather-related damages. A few ways in which these covered shelters protect your trailers are:
- Sun protection: Prolonged exposure to the sun can cause significant damage to your RV’s interiors as well as exteriors, like fading or chipping of paint, discoloration, and cracking of interiors. With a shelter, you can block harmful UV rays and preserve that RV.
- Intense rainfall: RVs can often suffer structural damage due to high moisture content in the air during rainfalls. Water also tends to accumulate on these vehicles, leading to rusting issues. An RV cover effectively prevents water leaks and corrosion during the monsoon season.
- Heavy snowfall: Accumulated snow can often crack the glass or dent the roof of your campers. Installing certified shelters, which can withstand snow loads of up to 80 lbs per square foot, can save you from potential issues and costly repairs.
- High-velocity winds: Engineer-certified buildings can withstand wind speeds of up to 180 miles per hour. In cases of storms, a steel RV garage protects your vehicles from dents and scratches, which can often occur due to hailstones or flying debris.
Prevent Premature Aging and Wear
Keeping your RVs clean, well-maintained, and sheltered can go a long way in safeguarding them from wear and tear. This will not just elongate your vehicle’s lifespan but also ensure its optimal performance.
When left in your driveway, your RVs can become vulnerable to debris like dust, dirt, tree sap, and bird droppings. Over time, these can aggregate on the vehicle’s surface and cause serious damage. Keeping moisture away will also help you in preventing mold and mildew growth within the RVs.
By housing your RVs in safe spaces, you can stop tires from suffering from drying or cracking, which would lead to premature replacements. Moreover, your RVs can remain shiny and in their pristine condition when stored properly.
Accessible and Convenient Storage Solution
A sturdy and well-built RV shelter offers immense convenience and accessibility. Compared to renting storage units or outdoor lots, covered shelters offer unparalleled stability and access, making your RVs easy to reach and maintain. Convenience-wise, a few other benefits are:
- These structures can be tailored in dimension to meet your specific needs, allowing you to securely park your vehicles without wasting space.
- You can also use additional space within the metal garage for storing tools and equipment or to set up a workshop.
- With the RV being stored properly on your property, you can carry out maintenance and inspections hassle-free.
- Unlike compact parking lots, a custom RV garage will allow you to park and retrieve the vehicle without damaging it.
Cost-Effective and Environment-Friendly Alternative
A prefab RV garage is cost-effective as these structures are built in factories and assembled on-site, which reduces transportation and labor costs.
Unlike storage facilities, building a one-time shelter will eliminate the need for monthly payments draining your bank account regularly. Moreover, the high durability and strength offered by metal garages and carports make them last up to 50 years, which is the reason why these structures offer long-term savings.
As structural steel is resistant to pest infestations, fires, and corrosion, it also incurs low maintenance and repair costs!
Other than that, steel structures are highly eco-friendly as they are highly recyclable and do not lose their structural integrity after being recycled. These units can also save significant energy costs by integrating insulation and solar panels.
Protection from Theft and Vandalism
RVs are significant investments, and their safety and security are of paramount importance for the owners. You would always want to opt for a parking solution that offers comprehensive protection, including against theft and vandalism.
By covering your RV with steel shelters, you can restrict access to your vehicle and rest assured that it is protected. With enclosed spaces, you can ensure that unauthorized individuals come nowhere near your vehicles. A few additional protective measures to take are:
- CCTV cameras
- Sensor monitoring lights
- Alarm systems
- Digital rotating locks
Versatile and Customizable
A metal RV cover is a highly versatile structure and can be effectively utilized for more than parking purposes. You can store tools, equipment, seasonal wear, and holiday decor. You can also set up a workshop to carry out repairs on your precious RVs. The possibilities are endless, and metal buildings are highly adaptable, making it seamless to transform your RV storage into a multi-purpose space.
You can tailor several aspects of the structure to create your dream RV garage. When searching for ‘RV garage near me,’ make sure that these customizations are offered by the metal building dealer:
- Color
- Roof styles — regular, boxed eave, and vertical
- Gable ends
- Insulation
- Doors and windows
- Steel frame gauge upgrade
- Steel panel gauge upgrade
- Lean-tos
- Structural trims
- Colored screws
You can ensure that the structure meets your functional and aesthetic requirements.
Key Considerations to Make When Installing a Prefab RV Garage
Opting for the perfect garage is critical for long-term protection and optimum functionality. A few considerations that can help you design an ideal structure are:
- Dimensions: It is important to invest in the right-sized structure, as a larger garage will incur more costs uselessly, and a smaller structure will create parking issues. Measure your RV’s length, width, and height along with the accessories attached to it, and leave at least 2 feet of space on all sides. In case you wish to add more space for storage or other uses, choose the dimensions accordingly.
- Material quality: Opting for high-quality structural steel is advised to ensure that the strength of the structure does not suffer, compromising its stability and longevity.
- Local climate conditions: Based on local climate conditions, you should incorporate upgraded or sturdier metal components. If you live in adverse climates, it is ideal to incorporate vertical roofs, 12-gauge frames, and 24-gauge panels.
- Foundation: Depending on the use, you can choose among gravel, asphalt, or concrete foundations. The most preferred foundation is concrete because of its long-lasting durability and robustness. For parking RVs, it should be the best!
- Budget: Setting up a budget is extremely important to ensure that you do not end up going overboard with customizations and instead stick to your needs. Balance the budget with long-term reliability.
Shelter Your Adventure and Secure Your Investment
A steel RV garage or carport is highly advantageous when it comes to preserving the condition of your precious vehicles while ensuring they are protected against a multitude of elements. Other than that, these metal buildings also enhance the value of your property and your home’s curb appeal.
Whether you are preparing to go on your next vacation or simply looking for a structure to park your RVs for the off-season, a covered shelter is a decision that will deliver long-term value and an ROI of up to 80%. It is an investment in your recreational vehicle’s future and the countless adventures you are yet to bestow upon.
As the editor of the blog, She curate insightful content that sparks curiosity and fosters learning. With a passion for storytelling and a keen eye for detail, she strive to bring diverse perspectives and engaging narratives to readers, ensuring every piece informs, inspires, and enriches.
