Storing Truck Camper Outside

[Christl]

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.

[kjenckes]

mkirsch wrote:

You can't let the snow build up AT ALL. I've had days where the driveway was clear when I went to work in the morning, and came home to >12" of accumulation. That much snow would collapse one of those shelters, and there would be nothing I could do about it.


I guess I was lucky then. I used a 12x24x10 tall, house shaped, portable garage to store my bassboat. I paid 299- for it and used it for 10 years here in NH where we do get snow. I put a new tarp over the top of it once as it developed pinpoint leaks. We would clear the snow off when we could get to it. There many winters where it would have a foot or more of snow on it for several days to even weeks before we could clear it off. Ice built up under the snow several inches thick over the entire top. I fully expected it to collapse. No problems. I sold it this year for 100- so I guess I got my money's worth from it.

[kerry4951]

Grit dog wrote:

IMO the soft synthetic covers are more for keeping sun, sap, leaves etc from building up. Not waterproof.

Right on!! I spent $500 for a Calmark cover because they are suppose to be the best. Maybe for sun and dirt they are, but not for keeping out water. Sold it and put up a carport.

[Grit_dog]

Yeah not a big deal. Had my first AF outside in AK for the winter.
Normal winterization. Drained tanks, pink juice in the drains. Blew out the water lines.
Left it plugged in with the batteries in it on the charger.
I got a soft cover with it when I bought it. The cover got shredded by the ice build up on the sides of the cover when the snow melted.
Kept the bulk of the snow swept off the roof periodically.
I would either just cover it with a plastic tarp next time or tarp on top of the cover. Would have made snow removal easier and saved the cover.
IMO the soft synthetic covers are more for keeping sun, sap, leaves etc from building up. Not waterproof.

[Christl]

MN Ben wrote:

Why do you have the jacks on bricks? Is your truck lifted?

I did not feel comfortable with having bottom of TC so close to the ground (in 2-3ft of snow) with the corner jacks retracted during winter storage but still like the added stability you get from having jacks retracted as much as possible. I therefore placed the jacks on "solid" concrete blocks two courses high to keep TC >16" off ground with jacks retracted. In addition the TC is partially supported by a 6x6 square timber across the back and 8 concrete blocks under the front so the corner jacks do not carry all the weight all winter. cheers everyone

[scottz]

MORSNOW wrote:
I've stored mine outside with a cover for the past two Alaskan winters. My ADCO cover still looks and works great. I place tennis balls over the rain gutter downspouts to prevent rubbing holes.

I have similar weather to the OP ad this is what I have done for 10 winters. Cover it for the winter and forget about it until spring.

[free_radical]

Christl wrote:
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.

I put my camper on the ground,suported by a flat concrete tiles at each corner to keep it couple inches of the ground ..

placed several wooden strips 1x2 wide on the roof and tied heavy waterproof tarp on this,that way air can circulate under it..

Left windows open a bit as there is nothing to freeze inside..

Only clean the snow from solar panel to keep bateries charged,got about couple feet last year..

Always make sure that air can circulate under the roof covering,even though snow and moisture may not hurt anything the heat from the sun
especialy if its dark cover will increase the roof temperature so much it may destroy cook melt something

My roof is made of plywood coated with epoxy and marine enamel and the heat got so high under dark tarp it cracked in several places..got some work to look forward to next summer

[MN_Ben]

Nice set up. Very well thought out.
Why do you have the jacks on bricks? Is your truck lifted?

[Christl]

Hi Folks: Taking various ideas from everyone that commented previously I wish to share how I ended up covering my Lance 1181 for outside winter storage. I used two aluminum saw horses which are 3ft high by 3ft wide and are rated for 300lbs load. The saw horse legs sit on 1/2 inch plywood and support a ridge beam composed of two 2x6 each 10ft long joined together in the middle. The ridge beam is held on edge by four metal "L" brackets fastened on each saw horse. I used coffee cans at each end of the ridge beam to protect the tarp and allow me to draw it tight over the ends of the ridge beam. The tarp is an old cover from a 10ft x 20ft Shelterlogic portable garage I had. The 3ft high saw horses provided a slope on the cover tarp of close to 1:1 and therefore I do not believe there will be any significant snow or ice accumulation on the tarp during the winter. Both ends of the tarp are open to allow good circulation of air while keeping any snow and rain off the TC roof. I am able to keep one of the air vent fans open a crack in the TC to allow any moist air to escape. In addition I put containers of DampRid in the TC as an added precaution. See pictures to help explain. I will be checking the TC interior every couple of weeks during the winter.

[Christl]

Hi Folks: I just wanted to add the following information on availability of portable storage sheds that one supplier does provide a storage shed with a 14foot door height clearance. I would find it somewhat comforting that it is presumably made to withstand normal Canadian winters. It is a little pricey but I have not ruled it out as a longer term option. cheers
Here is their web site link.

http://www.cover-tech.com/portablegarages.htmhttp://www.cover-tech.com/portablegarages.htm

[Christl]

Hi Folks: Good discussion. I am looking forward to Johnny G1 getting back to us with pictures of how he is storing his unit using aluminum saw horses and tarp. If the angle of the slope is steep enough it would shed snow without major build-up. I have a full portable garage/shelter (Shelterlogic) and I agree that you must take precautions from collapse by keep snowfalls from accumulating on it, keep the cover taunt at all times and replace the cover if it starts to let snow and ice cling to the surface (looses slippery surface from UV light degradation) . I understand from the suppliers of these units that round domed roofs shed the snow quicker or more readily. My portable garage is not domed so I do not know this from experience (can anyone confirm). My previous cover lasted 5 years before I replaced it prior to failing. I believe in may parts of our country the snow and ice can build up heavy enough on some camper to damage the roof (especially some pop-up campers like palomino). I always supported mine from the inside with a 2x4 and cross member to the floor and below to provide additional support to the roof and had it covered with 10ml plastic sheet just over the roof and down the walls 1 foot so no water would ever get in. I am looking for other options for my new Lance 1181 due to its size. cheers christl

[Grit_dog]

You should ask yourself since you said you're asking advice how to store your camper outside and then say you've stored your other camper outside for years. Maybe I missed something??

[finaddict]

mkirsch wrote:
You can't let the snow build up AT ALL. I've had days where the driveway was clear when I went to work in the morning, and came home to >12" of accumulation. That much snow would collapse one of those shelters, and there would be nothing I could do about it.

Certainly true that if you let a foot accumulate it will collapse, but I have had up to 6" on it. That doesn't happen very often here in Vancouver. I get that there are places where this set up won't work, but here in the warm wet PNW, it works just fine. And while you are suffering through another ice storm, we are forecast to have another unseasonably dry and warm winter;)

[silversand]

I agree with mkirsch vis snow (and, ice!) accumulation on these "Tempo" plastic sheet / metal tubing structures. We have thousands of these things collapse every winter in Quebec (similar snowfall to the Lake Ontario northern New York snow belt).

From what I am seeing in the most recent ENSO diagnostic discussions, the strong/steady easterly (high and low streams) atmospheric coupling to fast sea surface temp increases in el nino 3 region looks poised to deliver warmer temps this coming winter. This really worries me, because when this set-up happens, the Northeast regions of North America may get more ice and rainfalls than snow (read: extremely heavy loads; not light powder snow). The next diagnostic discussion will happen on the 17th.

IF Ontario, Quebec and New England get hit with severe ice storms this winter, it won't bode well for outdoor RV/truck camper storage (read: falling trees, branches, ice, and lots of other similar hazards!). Our entire rig (truck and camper) will be stored indoors this winter, particularly.

[mkirsch]

You can't let the snow build up AT ALL. I've had days where the driveway was clear when I went to work in the morning, and came home to >12" of accumulation. That much snow would collapse one of those shelters, and there would be nothing I could do about it.