Av8torTom

Av8torTom

Well Known Member
Just curious - does anyone keep their RV outside?
Hangar space around me is $500+/month, and to get to the $300/month airports is over an hour's drive. Would I be insane to consider keeping my RV outside?

Thanks,

Tom
 
I'm in the same boat. If I can even get a hangar in less than 10 years, I'll be lucky to pay $800/mo for it.

I 'll probably have a custom cover made that goes over pretty much everything. Something Like an RV-Snuggie.
 
thinking same

Yes, thinking that I will have a custom cover made that covers pretty much everything... :) Always wondered why more airports didn't have covered tiedowns. Oh wait... we wouldn't want to encourage general aviation!!! :eek:
 
Wow, land must really be high there for them to be getting those prices. Perhaps crazy restrictions on airports in your area also keep the prices jacked up. Gosh, that?s enough for me to just throw in the towel.

Haven?t priced a hangar lately, but I think most prices are around $70-$150.00 in my area. Some rural towns within 60 road miles of WF, have them for about half of that.
 
Inside!!

To me the answer's a no-brainer...every a/c I've seen that is left outside starts looking tired after a time and always seems to have gremlins (ie higher maintenance costs and more frustration thru losing good flying days when a/c is u/s). We spend so much time, money and blood on these things why leave them outside in the elements (naturally a good cover helps, however 'stuff' always find a way of getting in....)

Another way to look at it...I'm figuring the running costs of my machine are ~NZ$135/hr (incl. hangar, insurance, maintenance,...) based on an annual usage of ~200hrs, so I'll assume that your costs'd be similar. That means the extra cost of the hangar close to you is less than two hours flying per month, so is that extra $ really worth worrying about cos when you get your machine flying 2 hours is nothing!! The more you fly it the 'cheaper' it is, and the more fun you have.

Go for the closer hangar, fly it more and have more fun (oh, and you'll be safer too cos you'll be more current :) )
 
FWIW, I owned a Piper Cherokee and it had spent its entire 35 year life outside. When I got it, the windows were crazed pretty bad, I replaced all of the windows and bought a Bruce's cover and it remained outside. The plane had been painted with Imron about 13 years before I got it and the paint still looked very good..

If I was facing that high of hangar costs, I'd spend the money for a good paint-job, and some good weather resistant covers and put it outside. I pay $195 for a hangar and I guess I should be thankful as it could be a whole lot more.
 
I would hate to keep my baby outside, but I think with the $600-$800.00 a month rates, it would make sense to.

Figuring that $800.00 a month into the equation, vs say, $100.00 a month, that?s $8,400.00 in savings ever year. In ten years, that?s another $84,000.00 you?ve saved. You could replace your entire plane for that. I don?t think the depreciation outside is going to be that significant if the plane still looks good if and when you chose to sell it; especially if you at least get a decent canvas to cover the glass, and keep it polished regularly, along with having it oil misted every annual or maybe even bi-annually.
 
I agree with the previous posters that say that keeping it outside is not the end of the world. The investment in a really good full cover will probably be well worth it. There are only two instances that I can think of that might be cause to try to find accommodations inside.
During the winter when a major storm comes along, even with the plane covered it can be brutal. Plus, the cover will likely trap moisture exposing the interior of the plane and avionics to condensation. The only issue that I can think of in the summer would be thunderstorms and the associated high winds.
The prices that you quoted for a hangar is just unbelievable to me. Have you explored sharing with an existing tenant (preferably with a high wing)? Also, if you can find a hangar, what about investing in an Aero-Lift if need be (just trying to think outside the box here)?
Good luck!
 
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A lot depends where you live. Here in North Texas you see very few aircraft parked outside. The relentless sun takes it's toll on glass, rubber and paint and the frequent threat of large hail and strong winds convinces most owners to shelter their planes. Most new car dealers in this area store their cars under cover for this reason.

Martin Sutter
building and flying RV's since 1988
EAA Technical Councelor
 
If it was simply a matter of storing the airplane, I could see how keeping it outside with the appropriate covers is doable (although I sure wouldn't' want to do it indefinitely!) But what hasn't been discussed is the need for a place to do maintenance, mods, and general upkeep. Spam Cans go to visit their friendly A&P for maintenance and annuals. Homebuilts need to be worked on by their builder/owner - and it is pretty tough to do that on a ramp with no place to keep tools, parts, and power accessories. We are, after all, tinkerers by nature....

Paul
 
Good point

Paul, you make a good point about having a place to tinker and do scheduled maintenance. There's no question that keeping an airplane inside is the way to go. I only have access to T-hangars at my airport so co-storage with a high wing is not an option. Getting a lift is possible I suppose, but a major PITA for the guy up top. I just don't see a choice here. $500+/ month is hard to swallow. My only thought was to move into a T-hangar to do my annual inspection (tons are available cause no one can afford them - you would think they would cut the cost in half and fill the hangars :mad:), and/or rent a hangar for the winter months.
 
Which airports are you looking at?

I see you are from Yardly PA. You can get into a C or D hangar at Doylestown for around 180-200 a month. Of course the wait is close to 5 years. I have been on the list for about 4 years and I'm still at least 30 people away from the top of the small hangar list. I have turned down the large K hangars several times because they are around 500 a month. My goal is to take advantage of the small size of 3 and share a midsize hangar.
 
Hey Rob,

Yes, Doylestown was/is one of my options, but it's 45+min away as compared to Trenton Mercer County (KTTN) which is 10 minutes away. Princeton is also an option for me. Since half the T hangars at KTTN are empty at any given time I think I'll just rent one for 3 or 4 months out of the year and plan my "annuals" for that time. KTTN is a perfect example of an airport where they could erect covered tie downs and serve a lot of the general aviation public, but it will never happen. They have no real interest in GA, - tarmac where I tied down my Cherokee was so bad that I had to periodically weed whack the cracks just so that my airplane wouldn't be swallowed up by weeks...
 
Ancillary uses

Ironflight said:
If it was simply a matter of storing the airplane, I could see how keeping it outside with the appropriate covers is doable (although I sure wouldn't' want to do it indefinitely!) But what hasn't been discussed is the need for a place to do maintenance, mods, and general upkeep. Spam Cans go to visit their friendly A&P for maintenance and annuals. Homebuilts need to be worked on by their builder/owner - and it is pretty tough to do that on a ramp with no place to keep tools, parts, and power accessories. We are, after all, tinkerers by nature....

Paul
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...and we tend to have shop equipment and a few other toys to store. There is also a social aspect to having a hangar equipped with a few chairs and a refrigerator. In the 20-something years I have had my hangar I have spent enough on rent to buy a really nice airplane, but where would I have parked it? :rolleyes: In the words of George Carlin, "You need a place to put your stuff."

John Clark ATP, CFI
FAA FAAST Team Member
EAA Flight Advisor
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA
 
I was standing outside at work one day with one of our RV friend/coworkers when his cellphone rang. He opened it, said "no, I don't need it," shut it, and stared at it a second. He said, :eek: "I've been waiting for that call for 10 years!!" It was his home airport calling to tell him a T hangar was open for his RV-6A. He put himself on the list when he bought the kit, waited five years and resigned himself to housing his airplane at "our" airport, 45 minutes away from his house, 5 years ago when he finished his airplane. He's still glad he did. That hangar is his home away from home "man-cave." Anyway, it would be a shame to spend so much time and money building an airplane to park it on the ramp in the sun, wind & Tennessee hail storms.
 
A friend of mine had his tied-down Cessna 152 tossed in a wind storm. It narrowly missed another aircraft tied down nearby. My friend's plane was written off.

I fully intend to get a hangar to park my RV. Fortunately, my flying club, with the $500/year membership, gives the option to build our own hangars. I would definitely want a place to do maintenance rain or shine and not worry about dropping something in the grass or dirt.
 
Ya never know

Yes, I had my Cherokee damaged slightly in a wind storm while in a tie down. The same storm ripped the roof off my friend's T-hangar and totaled his 210 that was inside... so ya never know.

I would love to find an airport that would let me put up my own structure. I know it could be done for a whole lot less than $500/month ;)
 
End Unit

If you think outside the box a little bit, you may be able to find some space at the end of a row of T-hangars. Oftentimes there is an extra storage space created that is too small for all but folding wing aircraft, however I think I may have found a way to fit an RV into one. My airport has a 3-year wait with hangars typically around $300. However I can rent the end unit right now for $30.

Follow this thread:http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=61280&highlight=folding+wingtips

Hey, it may be worth dragging a measuring tape out there and taking a look. It can't hurt.
 
With all due respect Guys, you don't know you have been born. I was paying ?2300 for a hangar space for my Super Cub. That converts to about $3000 or just a tad under. I expect to continue paying roughly that amount or slightly more for my next plane to be hangared in a dry warm place, that is out of the elements. All things are relative however and one must look at the cost differential of land in the US compared to Switzerland or Germany.
 
islandmonkey said:
With all due respect Guys, you don't know you have been born. I was paying ?2300 for a hangar space for my Super Cub. That converts to about $3000 or just a tad under. I expect to continue paying roughly that amount or slightly more for my next plane to be hangared in a dry warm place, that is out of the elements. All things are relative however and one must look at the cost differential of land in the US compared to Switzerland or Germany.
Click to expand...

Is that a month!!!

at CXP I pay $350.00 for a T hanger and a half
 
John Courte said:
I'm in the same boat. If I can even get a hangar in less than 10 years, I'll be lucky to pay $800/mo for it.
Click to expand...

Don't know where you are looking in the LA basin for hangars, but now is
a good time because several airports have them available. Chino and
Cable are two. I would venture to guess that the LA County airport system
has them also... Whiteman, El Monte and Brackett. Chino's county hangars
are in the $300/mo range. Also, several large hangars at Chino are looking for
tennants. They run in the 200 -250 range for shared space. Cable has
covered outside storage also. Don't know how much they cost/mo.

I wouldn't consider leaving my RV outside.
 
Another consideration

Tom & Vlad,
Another idea you might want to incorporate into an RV stored outside is removable avionics. Most of the radios and $$$ stuff in the instrument panel can be made to be removed quickly, from the pilot's seat, with a little ingenuity.
My Icom A200, Garmin GTX320A and RMI uMonitor all can be removed with a single fastener [1/4 or 1/2 turn on some] Making this stuff easily removable will protect them from the elements during hot and cold months, as well as humidity. An added benefit would be keeping them safe from thieves.
Even if you keep your RV in a hanger, this is a nice idea if you ever need to leave your pride and joy outside while away from home. Pull the avionics, put them in your flight bag and take them to the motel with you.
Charlie
 
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