Storage class is the one decision that changes every other decision below it. Enclosed storage is a walled and roofed bay, covered storage is a roof over open sides, and open storage is a numbered rectangle of shell or asphalt. Enclosed removes weather as a variable and pushes the maintenance intervals to their longest settings, but it costs the most per foot and most facilities cap after-hours access, which matters when a technician needs a two-hour window at the space. Covered storage protects horizontal surfaces and very little else. Wind-driven rain still reaches the sidewalls, and a covered row shelters rodents as effectively as it shelters the coach. Open storage is cheapest and transfers every interval on this page onto the owner. If the budget only reaches open storage, spend the difference on the pre-return inspection rather than on a fitted cover.
Leaving a coach standing on its hydraulic leveling jacks for a year is the most common long-storage mistake, and Lippert's own manuals explain why. Landing gear is designed to drop the unit off a truck, level it front to rear and stabilize the front only, and Lippert prohibits using it to support the coach for service work. The PSX1 stabilizer manual is blunter still: never lift the trailer completely off the ground, and never run the legs more than two seconds past first contact. Extended jacks also park a chrome cylinder rod in the open air. Lippert's hydraulic leveling cylinders run a 2.50 inch bore on a 1.875 inch rod with a 15.13 inch stroke, so a fully extended jack exposes roughly a foot of bare rod for the whole term. Blocks under the frame at the designated support points carry weight without loading jack seals.
Both answers are defensible, and the deciding factor is which converter sits in the coach. Progressive Dynamics says its Charge Wizard drops an Inteli-Power converter to 13.2 volt Storage mode once the battery has been at full charge and unused for thirty hours, and states that this lower voltage is exactly what allows an RV to stay plugged into 120 VAC through storage without gassing. A converter with no storage stage sits at its 13.6 volt Normal output indefinitely and drives water out of flooded cells. The disconnected case has nothing to do with the battery. A stored coach on shore power sits on an unattended pedestal for months, exposed to surges and pedestal faults nobody is watching, and every parasitic load stays alive behind the panel. The workable middle is shore power off, battery removed, and a maintainer on the bench.
This is the piece owners get wrong at the highest cost, because the penalty is administrative rather than mechanical. FLHSMV requires any vehicle carrying a current Florida registration to hold PIP and PDL coverage continuously even when the vehicle is not being driven or is inoperable, and to maintain that coverage regardless of where the vehicle is located. Canceling the policy on a parked motorhome while the plate is still active is what triggers the penalty. The state's instruction is order-sensitive. Surrender the license plate at a tax collector office first, then cancel the insurance. Reversed, the driving privilege and plate can be suspended for up to three years, with a reinstatement fee of up to $500. A towable trailer is registered but is not a four-wheel motor vehicle for PIP and PDL, so the surrender step reads differently for a fifth wheel.
Owners almost never call with a part name. The complaint is that nothing works, that the jacks will not move, or that the coach smells closed up. The order of checks runs cheapest cause first. Converter output is metered at the battery terminals with shore power on, then the bank is load tested on its own, because a charger holding its normal output alongside a battery that collapses under load identifies the battery rather than the charger. Next the hydraulic reservoir is checked with all jacks fully retracted and filled to within a quarter inch of the fill spout lip. Milky pink fluid instead of clear red means water has entered the system, and that finding turns a lubrication visit into a fluid change and a seal inspection. Our service call covers the trip out and the first hour on site at the rate in the pricing table on this page; anything past that first hour is quoted and approved before we carry on.
Storage failures surface on the road rather than in the lot, which is the whole argument for inspecting before departure instead of after a breakdown. Lippert makes the same point from the manufacturer side, calling for every power and electrical connection to be inspected and cleaned prior to the first use of the season and again prior to storing, with dielectric grease applied wherever corrosion appears. The sequence is electrical, then hydraulic, then structural. Converter output under load, a battery load test and every ground point come first. Then reservoir level with the jacks retracted, rod condition, and a full extend and retract cycle to confirm the zero point has not drifted. Then seals, sealant beads and floor for soft spots. Tire condition is recorded as a finding, DOT date code included, and referred out to a tire specialist rather than serviced on the visit.
A stored coach still runs on the manufacturer's intervals, and every one of those intervals assumes somebody is touching the machine. Lippert calls for the hydraulic reservoir level to be checked every month, for all power unit electrical connections to be inspected and cleaned every twelve months, and for reservoir fluid to be changed at minimum every five years. The interval that catches Florida owners is the jack rods. Lippert recommends spraying exposed rods with a dry silicone lubricant every three months, and every four to six weeks when the coach sits in a salty environment. A rod that pits through its chrome scores the wiper seal on the first retraction. Fluid choice is not open either. ATF meeting Dexron III or Mercon 5 is approved, while Type F ATF is not compatible with Lippert seals. Twelve months in a lot is a schedule, not a pause.
We are fully mobile and come to you anywhere in Florida - campgrounds, storage lots, driveways and RV parks.
Call 888-759-1438No. The work happens at the lot, and "can you meet at storage location" is one of the questions that comes up most often on these calls. What matters is access: a gate code or an escort, room to swing a compartment door open, and whether 120 VAC is available at the space. Enclosed facilities usually want advance notice before a technician arrives.
"How long will it take" is a standard question on these calls, and the honest answer splits two ways. A prep visit on a well-kept coach typically runs two to four hours across electrical, hydraulic and seal checks plus the storage-position decisions. A pre-return inspection after a year or more of sitting runs longer, because each finding is documented and priced before anything gets touched.
Only if the converter has a genuine storage stage. Progressive Dynamics holds a Charge Wizard equipped Inteli-Power at 13.2 volts in Storage mode specifically so a coach can stay on 120 VAC through storage. A converter without that stage sits at 13.6 volts indefinitely, which costs electrolyte in flooded cells. If the model cannot be confirmed, disconnect and use a separate maintainer.
In Florida, yes, for as long as the registration stays current. FLHSMV requires continuous PIP and PDL coverage even when a vehicle is not being driven or is inoperable, regardless of where it sits. To drop coverage, the plate has to be surrendered first. Canceling first risks suspension of the driving privilege and plate for up to three years plus a reinstatement fee of up to $500.
For a year, yes, because it is the wrong tool for the job. Lippert restricts landing gear and stabilizers to leveling and stabilizing, warns against lifting a trailer completely off the ground, and requires exposed jack rods to be lubricated every three months, or every four to six weeks in salt air. Blocks under designated frame points carry the load without holding hydraulic seals under pressure.
Our service call covers the trip out to your RV and the first hour on site, and the current rate is in the pricing table on this page. Anything beyond that first hour depends on what the inspection turns up, and we quote it and get your approval before we carry on. A fixed price on a coach nobody has seen is not possible, because the findings are what set the total.
Every figure on this page comes from a manufacturer document or a standards body, not from another repair site. Here is where each one comes from.
| Item | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Service call | $299 | Includes the trip out to your RV and the first hour on site |
| Work past the first hour | Quoted after diagnosis | We tell you what it will take before we carry on |
| Parts | Quoted per job | Special-order parts may need a deposit before we order them |
| Written estimate | No charge | You approve the estimate before any work starts |
The service call covers the trip out to your RV and the first hour on site. Anything beyond that depends on what we find, and we quote it and get your approval before carrying on.
The price ranges on this page come from our own recent jobs across Florida, not from an industry average. What you pay depends on the rig, the parts it needs and what we find on site, so we give you a written estimate before any work begins and you approve it first.