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Old 11-18-2018, 06:29 AM   #1
joeboh
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Default winter storage - covered (carport) or uncovered?

Will snow exposure decrease the life of the TM in any way?

I have a 2006 2619 which has been primarily stored indoors according to the previous owner. This year I've been storing it outdoors at a U-Haul location under a ADCO 22895 Pop Up Trailer Tyvek & Polypropylene Cover.

The current u-haul place is close to home and reasonably priced, but it has no covered storage. The next closest one is 30 minutes away and about $40/month more. It has covered parking, like a giant car port.

I'm wrestling with whether it makes any difference to store under a carport or if the cover outside is fine for it.

Thanks
Joe
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Old 11-18-2018, 08:04 AM   #2
stormpeakco
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Joe,
some more experienced folks will be chiming in about tyvek locking in moisture, the numerous thaw/freeze cycles and I wonder how much snow depth you expect to experience during the winter.

folks, please double check my math but
~6" of non-compacted snow is roughly 0.6" of rain equivalent on 160 sq foot roof (20'X8' like a collapsed 2720 model), assuming a collapsed TM and not an open one..a couple autumns ago we were camping outside of Telluride Colorado and received an inch and half of wet snow overnight and it was a bit treacherous closing the TM in a semi-controlled fashion.

or ~13,824 cubic inches of water per 6" of non-compacted snow (240"X96"X0.6").

the volume of a gallon of water is 231 cubic inches.
so 59.84 gallons @ 8.34 lbs per gallon
or roughly 500 lbs of water per 6" of non-compacted snow...

(IMO) seems likely worth the $40 extra per month. Dave
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Old 11-18-2018, 08:48 AM   #3
Bill
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Dave is right. It depends, at least partly, on whether you live in snow country. On this forum, we have had several reports of TMs whose roofs were bent by heavy snow load. The front shell is especially vulnerable because it is already carrying the weight of the air conditioner. A bent roof is difficult (though not impossible) to fix. Check out posts by Bruce Perens, among others.

To repeat Dave's reasoning, we find in New England that the worst situation is a storm that dumps a couple feet of snow - and then it begins to rain. The snow soaks up water like a sponge, and holds it without letting it drain off. A warm rain would tend to melt the snow, but cold rain - likely as part of a snow-turning-to-rain scenario - will not. I'm sure you've seen pictures of commercial buildings with collapsed roofs, which is often the result of a snowstorm followed by rain.

In snow country, you can get away with outside storage if you buy and use a snow rake to clear off the TM roof, without fail, no matter how inconvenient at the moment.

Finally, the TM owner's manual suggests that you should not let even dry snow accumulate to more than 6 inches.

Of course, if you don't live in snow country, you have a different question.

Bill
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Old 11-18-2018, 09:37 AM   #4
joeboh
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Dave and Bill - thank you so much for the responses. I live in Columbus, OH. It's fairly common to get 4-8 inches of snow a few times a year. Based on the replies, I'm going to move to the covered location. Thank you!
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Old 11-21-2018, 06:20 AM   #5
stormpeakco
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Quote:
Originally Posted by joeboh View Post
Dave and Bill - thank you so much for the responses. I live in Columbus, OH. It's fairly common to get 4-8 inches of snow a few times a year. Based on the replies, I'm going to move to the covered location. Thank you!
Roger that...consider tossing in a few packets of Fresh Cab balsalm fir scented rodent deterrent (4-6 packets, some in the cupboards, have been wonderfully effective here in CO (zero droppings) for a full season at thwarting field mice toward some neighbor's coach)
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