Winter Storage in Northern States - Montana Owners Club

RKassl · 08-18-2005, 01:27 AM

Would like to hear from owners who must store their 5'er outside in the snowy winters, we are in northern Wisconsin.

Does anyone have experience with any covers for the rv, can you recommend any that won't damage the rig?

Any advice would be appreciated.

snowbunny · 08-18-2005, 03:25 AM

We leave our Montana on our property in Vermont all winter. That will change in two years when we retire and head south.

We do not use a cover although we cover the tires and the air conditioner. Of course, you do have to winterize the Montana (clear all water lines etc.) Only once in the past two winters did I feel it necessary to get up on the roof and push off the snow. Our only winter problem was red squirrels that got into the underbelly and chewed through some of the heating ducts. This summer I have tried (again) to seal up any space big enough for them to use and have been trying to get rid of the red squirrels on my property but all means possible.

In any case we have had no leaks or other snow or ice related problems.

richfaa · 08-18-2005, 04:12 AM

Pretty much the same as snowbunny here in Northern Ohio.I also blow out my water lines with a air compressor just to be sure all the water is out..Still use the anti-freeze. As for the covers , my personal opinion is they can do more damage that protect..High winds getting up under the cover, cover blowing off and flapping in the wind, Etc..I have never seen a covered Rv in a dealers lot during the winter????

Montana Sky · 08-21-2005, 06:54 PM

I keep my coach and other summer toys stored indoors for the winter months. We get a large amount of ice here during the winters and do not want to take the chance of having something get ruined due to winter wear. I found a great indoor storage shop that charges $2 per foot to have them in a shop with concrete floors and it is heated at 55 degrees all winter. In my case it is 40'X$2=$80 a month for the coach. I pay upfront in full and get a 35% discount for all the toys. Much cheaper in my opinion for this then repair bills from leaving the stuff outside. If you are going to leave your coach outside, I would not cover it. I have 3 neighbors who have covered their trailers and was amazed at how much damage they cause. Again just my opinion.

Fordzilla · 08-22-2005, 01:57 AM

I would look for somewhere to store it for the winter also. We store our inside the fairgrounds. They have a building with cement floors and doors that seal very tight. In the past 6 years we have stored our trailers there we have never heard of any problems. Only thing is space is a premium. So they want you packed in there like sardines. Once they had me park so close to the next trailer that I couldn't even walk between the two to get to the chocks I put between the tires. But it's very reasonable and only costs us about 160 or 165 for the 32 5'er we had last winter. I'm sure the Monty will be a bit more. But, still under $200 a year. We can put into storage any time after August and must have it out by the following July.

315RLS · 08-22-2005, 02:11 AM

This topic has come up a number of times and the consensus is usually that the covers cause more damage to the decal and exterior through wind beating it against the trailer as well as the continuous moisture build up between the cover and the trailer.

adelmoll · 08-22-2005, 02:30 AM

We left ours out in the winter because we always went somewhere in Feb.and couldn't find a inside storage that would let you take it out before April. We didn't have any problems. Just covered the air conditioner. If you come through Minnesota in January you will see thousands of RV Lots full and most of them have their slides out too so we figured it was safe for us. Course now that we are fulltimers we will even keep the air conditioner cover off. LOL

Bowie · 08-22-2005, 04:24 AM

Storing this winter at a reportedly very windy campground in upstate NY. Have been advised that AC cover, well anchored, and wheel covers, ditto, should be sufficient. Anticipate that we will need to do a good exterior cleaning before we hit the road in spring.

snowbunny · 08-22-2005, 08:33 AM

With ours living outside with no cover we have to clean it at least twice a year to remove black streaks etc. I am sure that part of the problem is that our Montana is nestled on three sides by trees, mostly, spruce and pine and they all put out pollen and needles that end up on the Montana!

Merv · 08-22-2005, 11:04 AM

I just blow out the water lines with air. Be sure to blow out the sink and shower drains also. They will hold water in the elbows.
Pull in the slides and remove the batteries.
Always keep an eye on how much snow is building up on the roof. When it gets about 8" to 12" deep I shovel some of it off. Dont try to scrape down to the roof, just remove most of the snow. You dont want to damage the rubber roof.
Then when the snow all melts, (sometime in May), its time to start camping again.
Merv

Montana_4391 · 08-22-2005, 04:18 PM

Well we don't have our Monty (yet) but as for our travel trailer, we store it in a covered - but not heated - storage facility. This keeps the snow off the roof which is a big plus here in Alaska, but the cold still is a factor. What we do is just make sure it's properly winterized (water drained, and everything than can freeze is removed).
As for covers, just make sure whatever cover you get can breathe - you don't want condensation to stay under the cover and do it's dirty work! Many of the covers out there are good at this. Another thing is to make sure the wind doesn't make the cover flap too much and wear the cover or the roof of your RV. Use plenty of tiedowns to keep it securely in place.

Now for my own question...do the Montana fifth wheels come with "low point drains" on the water lines? I couldn't find this anywhere and since I am currently winterizing my trailer, I thought it would be a good idea to find this out for the future.

campbud · 08-22-2005, 05:16 PM

We blow out the lines add antifreeze, cover the tires and the air conditioner too. We are in Central Illinois. We have never had a problem keeping it outside.

Montana_1197 · 08-22-2005, 05:27 PM

Our low point drains are simply hanging down below the panels near the hotwater heater. There's also one for the fresh water tank. If we're not planning on going out again within the week I usually take the caps off and let them drain on the way home. Yours has got to be there somewhere. When you do drain the hot water line don't forget to open the relief value on the HW tank while you do it or it'll be a long slow drain. don't forget to "bypass" the HW heater when you do winterize

, that is unless you want to use 10-13 gallons of the pink stuff. Since I replace my anode rod in the heater every season I pull it (also helps the draining)and clip off what's left, clean it up, and then lightly screw it back it. This seems to make the tank easier to flush out in the spring.

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