Outdoor storage question

[drose5432]

I sold my house, and subsequently have no garage space this winter. I have an outdoor space for my 68 M715, but I am reluctant to just let it sit there in the snow. Anyone find a suitable cover that will fit these trucks and give it some degree of protection against the weather?

[Tomahawk715]

A good heavy tarp if your not worried about paintjob that much.

Dont let the tires set on the frozen ground-at least park on boards.

Dont park over grass if you can at all help it.

[randyscycle]

For periods during the Winter when my shop is full of other stuff, I park mine outside and cover it with a really big tarp. Its enough to cover the whole truck and sides. I bungee it down really well, so it can't move around when the wind blows and it works fine to keep it clean and the weather off of it.

[syzygy]

I found out the hard way that the cheap carport style thing from harbor freight will NOT carry anything more than 3 inches of powder. The tarp is nice and heavy duty and would handle it but the tube is way too thin, and it collapsed. In my case it mostly just bent until it leaned over onto the building it was next to and also rested on the cage bolted to my bed, but it could have been more disastrous had it been over something else.

I should have spent double the money to get the next step up... much heavier duty frame which would have handled the snow load better. Also -- the tarp on the more expensive ones wraps around the edge of the frame so that snow can slide off. The tarp on the cheap one is held on to the frame with short bungies so that the edges of the tarp are an inch or two INSIDE the edge of the frame, which is fine for rain, but when you get a load on the tarp the bungies stretch and the tarp edge droops below the top rail of the frame, so when the snow tries to slide off it runs into the frame and gets held on the tarp.

[Pineyguy]

I wouldn't use a tarp if you're not parking on concrete or asphalt. If you're on dirt the moisture that comes up from the ground during the day will condense and cause rust. When I had to have my truck outside, I put rubber belting down, parked on that and then tarped it. (Of course that was after I parked on bare ground and figured out the mini-greenhouse effect.)

[randyscycle]

The carport things are OK, but not the best. I've tried a few and here is what I found:

Unless they are a heavy gauge frame, they will bend, break and collapse.

The good quality ones last a lot longer, but still the UV kills the tarps material after a couple years.

If you are in a windy or open area, be sure it is well staked down. Not just with the chintzy little tent spikes they send with it either.

If it snows much, be sure to either clean it off regularly during the storm, or have it somehow protected so that snow can't lay on top.

The bungees don't seem to last quite a year when exposed to sunlight.

Many of them still leak here and there and like Pineyguy mentioned, on gravel or grass, they will turn into a greenhouse quickly if there is a big temp swing between day and night.

They are great temporary storage, but for the long term, a garage or carport is best.