Cover or not for outdoor storage in Winter.

brianw

I am planning on storing my T@B outside this winter.  We live in Wisconsin.  Should I get a cover for the unit or will that just invite critters to nest inside the cover?

Verna

Give it a good wash and wax and put the cover on. The cover is held in place by two bungee cords and is loose enough under the bottom to not invite rodents, but tight enough to stay on in windy conditions. 

Spruce1

We stored our T@B outdoors in western Minnesota with the cover  on.  Agree with Verna that the loose fit should not attract rodents.  Like we've done with our boats in the past, I tossed in a few dryer sheets to keep discourage rodent activity.

jgram2

Steel wool in the bottom open drains if your T@B isn't covered underneath like the newer models.

ScottG

The risk of ice and snow damage is probably greater than that of critters, so I'd go with the cover.

If I were a critter, I'd crawl into the open ends of the plastic trim and nest up in there. There's no way I can find for them to get into the T@B from there, but cleaning them out could be a little tricky without removing the trim. When I put the camper up for the winter, I stuff a little "copper wool" (made for that purpose) into those openings.

That said, I've never heard a report of this happening, so I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it either way.

rfuss928

Because of the concern with snow and ice, I chose a "portable shelter".
Hundreds of pounds of snow and ice can easily accumulate on the roof and damage the trailer
It survived 4 western NY winters.
Under $200 at Harbor Freight

Sharon_is_SAM

Bob, that's a sweet set up for those of us who don't have permanent housing for our TaBs.  Do you leave it up year round?

rfuss928

SAM
The portable shelter was up year round for 4 years.  The cover began to tear at the top corners and it didn't look like it would make it through the fifth winter. 
SUNT@B had clearly become a long term accessory to our travel so...........





I built this on the side of our shed in the fall 2015.

Kind of a stretch for the topic of covers though.

Sharon_is_SAM

Nice!  A TaB garage!

Ratkity

I had a similar set up (not the nice garage, the portable). The wind played havoc and pretzeled several poles. I had the sucker tightly tied and staked down. The times I had it, we didn't have much snow or ice. It goes on sale yearly for $99 at Advanced Auto. It was a tad longer than @rfuss928's. The cheap aluminum poles in mine wouldn't have survived 4 winters. The fabric held up great!