So looking for some advice , We are considering building a barn to house redwood and boats and cars. But we were thinking about living in fifth wheel time to time at the lake. So what are your thoughts of staying in fifth wheel while it’s in the barn ? We would stay in the summer and winter months there since we visit the lake quite a bit , especially in the winter cooler months. I’ve heard horror stories of people dieing while doing this. My thoughts were if it’s cood and need heat being in a building , would just run electric heat , should not need much being will be inside out of wind and planning on foaming the barn. Also what about a/c’s in barn in summer ? Install exhaust fan on a timer to remove heat or on thermostat ?

Wow, that is definitely a different concept. When we use our RW we are looking for changing scenery, sunshine, heat and fresh air, so being inside a barn just wouldn't work for us.

Some concerns:
- If cold enough to require heat, the electric heat does not provide any heat into the underbelly. Also below 40F the heat pumps generally don't work so you only have the electric fireplace or space heaters.
- Biggest issue is personal safety in the event of a fire. Once exiting the Redwood, you have a 2nd structure (which houses other obstacles- boats/cars) to navigate through before reaching safety.
- Water heater would have to be on only electic, not propane or both
- Barn would require HVAC to control air quality and humidity
- How many windows will the barn have to provide sufficient natural light
- What are the plans for connectivity - TV signals (OTA/Sat) and is the local wifi signal sufficient to be received within an additional structure.

My personal opinion is that I would not do it.. I have no particular reason other than nothing about that sounds safe..

Then there is the dark, dismal part of it... It would be like JAIL if I woke every day looking out my gorgeous Redwoods windows only to see dark barn wood...

Now if your talking about just an A frame roof over the Redwood with no walls, that's a different story..

Yeahhhhh...I have to agree with others...If this were a couple of days to avoid a hail storm, that would be one thing. Just the number of risks for long-term stays would be enough for me to decide against it.

There are many who purchase property and construct unique tops over their RV's. We'll probably do something like that when we get tired of traveling and when we look to settle down.

Greg,

That middle picture will be my dream house.... and the last pic will be my lake front property..

I just need to figure a way to inherit a lake now????? :silly: B)

IF I were going for a barn to park in, it might look something like this:

Here are a few other ideas:

Of course...If money is no object, here is the ultimate garage:

We have a barn to house our RW while at home base. We do let guests stay in it, however it only has 50 amp service. They use the facilities in the S&B for other things.

One thing I can say is, you will need 5 gallon buckets under the spouts that run off of the roof for the A/C drainage - and empty them daily if they run all day.

So we decided to build the barn with a covered area for trailer , so we can see the lake while in the trailer. Sounds better anyways to have the view while we are at the lake. Thanks for all the input.