Hi Folks: I need some input from folks who have stored their Truck Campers outside during the Winter where you could get 2 feet of snow and -30 degree weather for a month and what their experience has been? Has anyone covered their rig with a breathable tarp like a SFS Aquashed? I need 13 foot clearance to get our rig under a roof and that is not likely going to happen. I have successfully stored our previous palomino bronco truck camper outside by providing a mid point support for the roof from inside and covering the roof with 10 mil clear plastic down the sides a foot so all water does not sheet down the walls. For our Lance I have redone all seams below the roof line with new ProFlex RV caulking and the roof seams with Dicor, I was thinking of making coverings for the 3 roof vents from dense Styrofoam and purchasing a TC tarp to cover it. Has anyone added a little 60W light bulb on a timer to address keep humidity down? Looking forward to responses.

Take the camper of the truck and put on wheeled dolly easy to roll into the garage or carport.

There should not be any humidity in the winter. I see no need for a light bulb.

Christl wrote: Has anyone covered their rig with a breathable tarp like a SFS Aquashed?I will NEVER get an Aquashed cover EVER again. I bought 2 at the same time, both very expensive, one for a 40' Toyhauler i had at the time, the other for my TC.Both let in more water, rain and moisture than they kept out. But then again, that is what a SHED is for - storing things inside, like water. More rain was coming down the downspouts of the covered rigs than was coming down of the sides of the covers.But's what's worse was when I called SFS, after all, I just dropped $800 on two expensive but yet worthless covers. They couldn't have cared less. The kid on the other end was like, 'well, consult your dealer for their return policy, I can't do anything'. Well, this was a couple months after I had purchased them that I realized in the first good rain they were worthless, so no returns.I ended up throwing both in the dumpster.Grrrrr.....

We occasionally see freezing weather, but not like yours.I don't want moisture to get into crevasses and freeze, expanding and opening the crevasse for more penetration.So I use a breathable cover for the entire camper,to keep the pollen, dust and leaves off.Then cover that with a blue tarp that only covers the roof and part of the sides.The blue tarps are good for a year or two. The tarp won't blow off but the wind does billow it and fling off water accumulation.It works for me.

I only have to deal with maybe 18" of snow during a bad storm and temperatures down to the single digits occasionally, but I go to the local Lowes/Home Depot and get a heavy duty tarp to pull over the camper in the winter. I don't worry about breathable as the vents/domes on the top of the camper will keep an air gap there for ventilation unless there's enough snow pack, but breathable wouldn't help then either. Cost $40-$50 and generally only good for one winter, but IMHO, better than the snow/water freezing and thawing it's way into any gap it can find. To lash it down, I stretch a cord between the front and rear jacks, then run loops (VVV) through the grommets on the tarp and around the cord tied between the jacks. Better then bungee cords all over the place...Really gotta get that "shed" built...

Storing Truck Camper Outside | Good Sam Community

40 Replies

hedge
Explorer
Sep 03, 2015
I just park it, no cover. I don't think I've ever seen an rv around here with a cover.
MN_Ben
Explorer
Sep 03, 2015
What does the manufacture recommend?
Yeti_plus
Explorer
Sep 03, 2015
I'm in SW Ontario as well and the trailer gets a cover but the Bigfoot just sits in the yard with whatever snow we get on top of it. I have MaxxAir vent covers on both and they are open all year to allow the whole camper to "breathe". I don't have a light on in either and haven't had any problems. If we get winters like last year where it stayed cold not like the winters of a few years ago where the temps were up and down the humidity wasn't a problem.
Of course the all fiberglass construction and rounded corners of the Bigfoot eliminate a lot of the typical ice build up areas.
Brian
d3500ram
Explorer III
Sep 02, 2015
I can regularly see the conditions the OP describes.

I do not cover, but religiously will sweep off when it falls so as to not let build-up/thaw/freeze of the snow. I take the batteries out and store in a heated garage. My climate does not require a need for humidification. I will winterize/ de-winterize at will for when I use it and will always look inside and inspect at least once a week during storage.
Halibut214
Explorer
Sep 02, 2015
I can only meet part of your qualifications to answer this and that was (although slim), the possibility of 2' of snow but temps hardly ever below 10 above zero. I stored my Lance camper, a toy hauler and a travel trailer in Oregon over a period of several years. The absolute best advice anyone ever gave me was NO plastic and an oil heater that I kept on the low watt and setting of 2. It stayed on 24/7 the entire winter and even during long periods of rain in the spring. A lightbulb is not enough. When I started doing this my rigs kept the new smell for years and no more musty smell.
DWeikert
Explorer II
Sep 02, 2015
I only have to deal with maybe 18" of snow during a bad storm and temperatures down to the single digits occasionally, but I go to the local Lowes/Home Depot and get a heavy duty tarp to pull over the camper in the winter. I don't worry about breathable as the vents/domes on the top of the camper will keep an air gap there for ventilation unless there's enough snow pack, but breathable wouldn't help then either. Cost $40-$50 and generally only good for one winter, but IMHO, better than the snow/water freezing and thawing it's way into any gap it can find. To lash it down, I stretch a cord between the front and rear jacks, then run loops (VVV) through the grommets on the tarp and around the cord tied between the jacks. Better then bungee cords all over the place...

Really gotta get that "shed" built...
bighatnohorse
Explorer II
Sep 02, 2015
We occasionally see freezing weather, but not like yours.
I don't want moisture to get into crevasses and freeze, expanding and opening the crevasse for more penetration.

So I use a breathable cover for the entire camper,to keep the pollen, dust and leaves off.
Then cover that with a blue tarp that only covers the roof and part of the sides.

The blue tarps are good for a year or two. The tarp won't blow off but the wind does billow it and fling off water accumulation.
It works for me.
Boatycall
Explorer
Sep 02, 2015
Christl wrote:
Has anyone covered their rig with a breathable tarp like a SFS Aquashed?

I will NEVER get an Aquashed cover EVER again. I bought 2 at the same time, both very expensive, one for a 40' Toyhauler i had at the time, the other for my TC.

Both let in more water, rain and moisture than they kept out. But then again, that is what a SHED is for - storing things inside, like water. More rain was coming down the downspouts of the covered rigs than was coming down of the sides of the covers.

But's what's worse was when I called SFS, after all, I just dropped $800 on two expensive but yet worthless covers. They couldn't have cared less. The kid on the other end was like, 'well, consult your dealer for their return policy, I can't do anything'. Well, this was a couple months after I had purchased them that I realized in the first good rain they were worthless, so no returns.

I ended up throwing both in the dumpster.

Grrrrr.....
MN_Ben
Explorer
Sep 02, 2015
There should not be any humidity in the winter. I see no need for a light bulb.
joe123
Explorer
Sep 02, 2015
Take the camper of the truck and put on wheeled dolly easy to roll into the garage or carport.

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Storing Truck Camper Outside

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