Cold Climate Folks: how often to run your C in the winter?

I would just let it sit for the duration. Keep the batteries charged.
If you do start it up give it a good run for 20 minutes on the road before you park it again.

I seem to be the odd man out here. I winterize, put 3 desiccant containers inside, seal it up and remove the negative cable off all batteries. I also inflate the tires to max pressure to minimize flat-spotting. It sits 6 months straight without being started (beginning of Nov. to end of Apr.).

In the spring, I reconnect the batteries and she starts right up without issue.

In recent years I have indoor storage, however with my previous RV, I did the same - only outdoors. Only difference is I did a thorough check of the Dicor on all the roof seams in the fall.

Tom

Once I winterize I don't run the MH at all until spring. I read somewhere that the cold starts are harder on the engine than letting it sit. I do run the genny about every month provided it warms up a bit and I can dig the exhaust pipe out of the snow.

I have a Battery Minder Plus on the coach battery and a trickle charger on the chassis battery.

We're not done for the season and plan to go out again 1-2 times in November and December. If we are not actively using the MH we take it out once a month for a 25 mile drive and run the generator with load for 1 hour.

I recommend against storing the motorhome with vents open. That will insure that the motorhome interior humidity is equal to the outside humidity, which in the winter is quite high on average and is 100% when fog is present. Instead close up the motorhome tight and add some type of dehumidifier either passive or active.

Active is optimal, such as a 50 pint/day dehumidifier. You can set the humidity level to 55-60% and empty it periodically. These dehumidifiers operate down to 42F and do generate some heat since they consume 400 - 600W. We use a unit like this when going to high humidity areas such as the beach or snow country in the winter and we get no condensation inside the windows.

Passive dehumidifiers such as Dry-Z-Air or Eva-Dry also help. We use to use Dry-Z-Air but the crystals are calcium chloride and is corrosive to metal and leather so requires care in handling. Now using multiple Eva-dry units and they hold the interior humidity to 70%. We leave all drawers, cupboards, freezer, fridge, etc. ajar

I don't know about covering it (unless under a roof or in a building) with an RV cover. RV covers keep an RV too closed up. We had a nasty mold problem once that developed inside an RV we kept completely closed up during the winter.

I'd recommended not covering it and keeping a front roof vent and a rear roof about half-way open (assuming you have rooftop covers over the vents) for good fresh air cirulation. Also, keep a thermostatically controlled electric heater inside turned to 50-55 degress so as to further keep moisture driven out and everything dry. It's the UV rays from the hot spring/summer/fall sun that can ruin RV exteriors more so than anything else ... so keep it covered those times of the year (under trees or a roof structure) ... but STILL with some interior air circulation. I'd never use an RV cover on ours, anytime, because fresh air circulation is impossible then.

Mold/mildew inside an RV can get into "everything" and come close to ruining it for human occupation from then on. We never want to risk this happening again!

If the MH is going to sit for over a month between trips:

Once a month we drive our MH to a nearby mall - about a 40 mile round trip. Gets everything up to operating temperature, exercises the brakes, etc. We enjoy the ride as well.

Once a month, I run the generator for an hour with a load - in the winter a space heater, in the summer the A/C.

I have kept my rv on my driveway for up to 6 month over the winter and been doing that for the last 10 years. All I do is
1. Top up the gas and add Stabil,
2. Run the generator and engine at least 1/2 hour every month
3. Top off the gas tank and add more Stabil to keep condensation out of the tank as required over the winter with a gas can
4. Fill all tires about 2 psi above the max rated (in my case 82psi) to minimize flat spots.
5. Park the rv (all wheels)on top of at least 3/4" thick wood boards. This will ensure that the weight is distributed on the driveway and also to ensure that water will not collect around the tires and possibly freeze.
6. Cover the tires and AC. I do not cover my rv over the winter as I found the hard way that the wind will cause the cover to rub against the edge of the roof causing small pin holes. Also, without the cover we can get away at the last minute over the Xmas break without too much work.

I've been doing this on my previous and current unit for the last ten years and had no problems.