Storing a Tailgating Bus or Camper in Manhattan for K-State Football

Converted buses, fifth-wheels, travel trailers, and motorhomes turn up around Bill Snyder Family Stadium every home Saturday in the fall. What nobody explains is where the rig goes on the Tuesday between two home games, or across the eight months when there is no football at all. Most people work that out the hard way, usually in the second week of September.

The Marlatt Avenue lot sits 2.5 miles from the stadium

Our Marlatt Avenue facility is in north Manhattan, about 2.5 miles and six minutes from Bill Snyder Family Stadium by way of Marlatt and Denison. It is the closest Axis lot to campus and to the stadium.

The gate runs on your own code, 24 hours a day, every day of the week. The lot is well lit and on camera, and there is no front desk you have to work around. Roll in at nine on a Friday night before a noon kickoff and you are not waiting on anyone.

That proximity is most of the value for a gameday rig. A space forty minutes outside of town is a space you will resent every time you hitch up.

What K-State allows on game day

K-State’s published parking policy limits RV, bus, and camper-trailer parking to designated reserved stalls in the east and west stadium lots, and restricts overnight parking to fans holding a purchased reserved RV pass. Without that pass, or before those lots open, your rig needs somewhere else in town to sit.

Reserved stalls are finite and they go to pass holders first. Check the current season’s parking policy on kstatesports.com before you build a weekend around it, since the rules and the pass allotment can change from year to year. The stadium is game-day parking and nothing more.

Getting back to the lot after the game

Riley County police run a postgame traffic plan around Bill Snyder Family Stadium, and it decides your route more than the map on your phone does. Marlatt Avenue closes between College and Denison while the stadium empties, so which side you parked on changes how you get here.

Parked on the east side, in E1 through E4, the VIP lot, or the RV spaces off Kimball: take Denison north across Kimball and turn right on Marlatt. We are about a mile down on your left. That is the direction the plan is pushing you anyway, so you are moving with the traffic instead of against it.

Parked on the west side, at West Ahearn or the RV spaces along College: the plan sends west-side traffic west on Kimball and south on College, away from us, and the Marlatt closure means you cannot cut straight across the top. Clear the stadium on the posted route and come back to Marlatt from Tuttle Creek Boulevard, approaching from the east.

The full plan is worth a look before your first home game, along with the game-day parking ordinance and the residential streets where tow zones get enforced: Riley County Police Department game day traffic and parking.

The problem with hauling it home every weekend

Home dates spread across September, October, and November. If you are driving in from Wichita, Kansas City, Omaha, or somewhere further out, that is a tow in each direction for every game. Fuel, wear on the rig, and a Sunday you spend on the highway instead of recovering from Saturday.

One of our tenants is a season ticket holder who drives in from Hays. He worked out that the fuel and the loading time to bring his bus across the state for every home game cost more than simply keeping it parked six minutes from the stadium all season. He picks it up Friday and drops it back Sunday.

The offseason case is simpler still. From late November to the following August the rig has to live somewhere, and for most people that somewhere is not their own driveway. HOA rules, city ordinances, and a spouse who would like the driveway back all tend to point the same direction.

Where to dump on the way back

This is the part most storage lots cannot help you with, and it is the reason Marlatt suits a tailgating rig better than a space across town.

Tuttle Creek is about ten minutes north of the Marlatt lot, so the dump station is on your way rather than a detour. The Sunday routine works out to something like: leave the stadium, run north, empty the tanks, and drop the rig back behind the gate. You are home without a full waste tank sitting in your driveway until the next home game.

It works the other direction too. If you are camping at Tuttle Creek for a football weekend, the rig can sit here in town between trips instead of being hauled back and forth.

Picking a space that actually fits

Vehicle storage is measured in length, not in the room-sized units you picture for household goods. Measure from the tip of the hitch to the rear bumper, then add a few feet of working room so you are not threading a needle every time you park.

What we have:

• Uncovered at Marlatt Avenue, up to 50 feet. Long enough for a converted school bus, a big fifth-wheel, or a Class A with a vehicle on a tow bar behind it.
• Covered at Skyway Drive, up to 45 feet. A roof over the top, which matters more than people expect after a Kansas summer and a Kansas January.

Most tailgating rigs land somewhere between 30 and 45 feet, which the Marlatt lot handles without any special arrangement. If yours is unusual, tell us the length and we will point you at the right spot rather than guessing.

When to book for the season

There are fewer long spaces than short ones, at any storage facility in town, so those are the ones worth asking about early.

Two stretches matter if you are storing a football rig. The first is the run-up to the opener in late August, when a lot of people think about the problem in the same couple of weeks. The second is the turn into fall, when the boat and camper crowd starts looking for winter space in the same lengths the football crowd wants.

If you want something for this season, sort it before the middle of August. Call and ask what is actually open in your length rather than assuming it will be there in September.

Keeping a rig healthy between games

Three weeks parked between home dates asks less of a rig than a full winter, but it is not nothing.

• Put the battery on a tender, or pull it entirely for stretches longer than a couple of weeks.
• Empty and rinse the tanks. A gray tank left full in September does not improve by October.
• Check tire pressure before every trip. Rigs that sit lose pressure faster than people expect and can develop flat spots.
• Watch for mice. Kansas fall means field mice looking for somewhere warm, and a bus with a pantry is exactly that.
• If you are parked outdoors, cover it, and crack a vent if your cover allows so you are not trapping moisture against the interior.

None of this is complicated. It is the difference between a rig that starts on the first Friday and one that turns your Saturday into a repair call.

Common questions

Can I get to my rig on a Friday night?
Yes. Gate access runs 24 hours a day with your personal code, seven days a week, with no office hours to work around. If you need a person, customer service is available 7am to 7pm by phone or text.

How long a rig can you take?
Up to 50 feet outdoors at Marlatt Avenue, which covers essentially any tailgating bus or fifth-wheel. Covered parking at Skyway Drive goes to 45 feet.

Do I have to rent for the full year?
No. Everything is month-to-month, so you can rent for the football season and hand the space back afterward if that is all you need.

Is there a military discount?
Yes. Ten percent for military, including dependents, with ID. There is a separate ten percent for prepaying a full year. The two do not stack.

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Written by Thomas Weeks, Director of Operations at Axis Self Storage. Nearly a decade in storage and property management, and the owner you will actually reach.