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Bus Garage
06-07-2019, 18:24 (This post was last modified: 06-08-2019 00:00 by cmillsap.)
Post: #1
Bus Garage
So, if you were going to build a garage for your coach in hot Arizona, what would you build? When I built my present home 4 years ago, I built a fully enclosed 16’W X 50’L X 16’H garage attached to my car garage along the side of my house. Altho well insulated, it still became a hot box averaging 10 to 15 degrees above outside ambient temps. Consequently, I had to add a third A/C system to my home to service the bus garage and of course, electricity is expensive to keep it cool.

Since then, we decided to move and buy a larger home 200 miles away, but the home we bought has no bus garage. I would like to build one to keep the coach out of the hot Arizona sun. Several builders here in AZ have quoted $100 to $125 per square foot to build a fully enclosed stucco garage which I think is an outrageous price for a simple garage.

So, I been thinking that an attractive freestanding Alumawood open sided structure would be a more practical alternative to building a fully enclosed wood garage. The main structure would cost about $21 per foot with additional costs for the pad and sun screening on the two sides leaving both ends open for good ventilation. I’ve attached a quote I received from a builder. More quotes from other builders are forthcoming in hopes to get the cost lower.

If anyone has built such a structure, I’d be interested in knowing how you like it. Any input or comments appreciated.

https://www.azshademasters.com/


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06-08-2019, 10:48
Post: #2
RE: Bus Garage
Chuck I would make it 20 foot span by 50 foot long that will give you a room to walk around on both sides and front and back. open side walls will help with heat loads in the AZ summers.
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06-09-2019, 23:52
Post: #3
RE: Bus Garage
Thanks for copying me on this thread. I haven't been on this site in a long time. We had planned on building a garage on our property for our bus and trailer, but then we checked into the continued property tax liability of this new giant edition even after we will have to give up traveling in ten years due to age, and decided to pull the brakes. We found a brand new facility with individual 15x50x14' non-insulated metal storage garages. (There is no income tax in Tennessee, but they sock it to you in property taxes and sales taxes.) As the garages were still in the construction stage we convinced the owner to install a 50amp plug for us. It costs us $425 per month inclusive power usage, but keeping the refrigerator/freezer running and being able to run a plug-in small forced air heater, with the Webasto as an emergency back-up during winter kept the interior in the 58-65 degree range, the bays never dropped below 52, the garage itself never dropped below 40 and the block heater stayed on all winter. We just started running the center roof air set at 79 degrees three weeks ago. Used a large water-heater drip pan with water-hose connected to garage door so it drains to outside. Probably will have to run it through middle of September. The garage door is a roll-up with gab at top and as it is an end unit the side-wall has natural gabs from the corrugated sheet metal along the roof top to dissipate the heat from the sun burning on the roof and the a/c running. So far the outside temps reached 93, but it gets up to 108/112 occasionally. So far so good, even thou I worry it might burn out the roof air sooner. We believe it will be less expensive to replace roof unit than pay for the tax burden. Oh, did I state that the city and county taxes on our property just went up again? Ugh! Need to build many new schools.
Regarding the width of our garage it is tight and it only barely works because we bought a bus without slides and all the bay doors lift up vertically. When sliding out the joey bed we have to move either to the front or back of it to be able to get to stuff and unload the outside cargo to get to center. Doors swinging on hinges horizontally would be a nightmare, so make sure you have plenty of room to walk around your bus with all the doors open with at least two feet walking space while loading. The 50' length works well for us as our Prevost is 40'. We can get the engine doors(hinged) open with garage closed and there is enough room in the front of the bus to store seasonal stuff that we don't need to drag with us all the time. It also allows one of us to stand in front of the coach and do the safety light-checks prior to movement while the engine warms up. What we especially like about our unit is that the concrete floor is raised approximately 2" above the perimeter walls construction base. The outside paving also is well sloped so we have no worries during our torrential downpours. No pooling water, no musty smells, no mold, no BUGS! I only lived in Arizona for three months (May-June 1977) and have no idea about what your climate might be during the rest of the year, so please excuse my remarks with a shrug as from someone that doesn't know what she is talking about Smile
Please keep us posted on your progress.
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06-12-2019, 20:51
Post: #4
RE: Bus Garage
And so it goes.... Further due diligence reveals that the structural strength of Alumawood rafters is not suitable to span 16' much less 20'. So, my choices are now reduced to a steel or wood structure. A steel building is less expensive than wood. Done right, they can be nice looking structures. They are pre-engineered and permittable by the city and quickly installed compared to wooden constructed garages.


Chuck & Tela Millsap
Arizona
2003 Marathon XLII S/S
2000 Wanderlodge LXi S/S
2004 Wanderlodge M380 D/S
2000 Wanderlodge LXi N
/S
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06-13-2019, 09:49 (This post was last modified: 06-13-2019 10:10 by davidbrady.)
Post: #5
RE: Bus Garage
(06-12-2019 20:51)cmillsap Wrote:  And so it goes....

I feel your pain Chuck. I'm finally finding time to continue with my barn/bus garage conversion. I removed the horse stalls and a small 12'x15' office and the guys were over yesterday removing concrete. I have a 14'x14' bi-fold garage door picked out from https://www.hi-fold.com/products/bi-fold-doors/. The next step is to cut a hole for the door, strengthen the opening, and lay some concrete. I'll insulate and air condition the interior. For scale, the house is 50'x40' and the corridor for the bus is 18'x75'. When parked the front of the bus will be flush with the front of the house giving me a 25'x60' workshop area up front. Slow progress, but getting there.


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david brady,
'02 Wanderlodge LXi 'Smokey' (Sold),
'04 Prevost H3 Vantare 'SpongeBob'

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06-13-2019, 20:31
Post: #6
RE: Bus Garage
David, I guess there will be no pit in your shop , so what is your plan for underside maintenance ?

Al Perna
1998 Prevost Vantare
2000 LXI ss ( for sale)
Ormond Beach Fla
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06-13-2019, 22:12
Post: #7
RE: Bus Garage
İmage

david brady,
'02 Wanderlodge LXi 'Smokey' (Sold),
'04 Prevost H3 Vantare 'SpongeBob'

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[-] The following 1 user Likes davidbrady's post:
Itchintogo (07-09-2019)
06-14-2019, 07:43
Post: #8
RE: Bus Garage
my underside maintenance is Prevost of Ft Worth

Ernie Ekberg
97 Liberty Classic
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