Storing 5er

[CygnusSailor]

I have my 5er completely winterized and it is now sitting under the shelter I built for it. Currently it is only sitting on the wheels and the front jacks. Should I provide more support if it is going to sit for an extended period of time? Are the tire covers worth the investment? Should the tires be sitting on something other than the ground?

Thanks,

[avvidclif]

The biggest enemy of tires (next to low pressure) is UV rays and the tire covers block that. Definitely worth it. Some people say put it on blocks with the tires off the ground. Your call, depending on how long it's going to be in storage. I would add a hitch stabilizer to the front to take some of the load off the jacks and support the front.



I use the tire covers and the hitch stabilizer, that's all but realize in Texas we can go camping probably 48 weekends out of the year if we wanted to. Mine's ready to go at a moments notice. Winterizing to me is putting a small electric heater in the camper and putting my long sleeve shirts in the closet.

[KennyB]

I too believe in tire covers but this past winter I discovered something that I feel was attributable to the covers. My center hub caps and lug nuts were all rusted! That was the first winter for our Cruiser so don't know for sure if the covers caused it or not. We live in Washington and where our trailer spends the winter it's really damp.
While at the factory for some warranty work this summer I pointed it out to Randy and they replaced them for me so I don't know if they had a bad batch or he was just being nice.
I'm leaving the covers off this winter and will see if it makes a difference. I'm also going to wax the dickens out of them.

[Stan]

Kenny, every chrome cap I have ever owned has rusted. I think they are made cheaply. I polished mine and they still rusted. The lug nuts are damaged by impact wrenches at tire centers which chips the chrome. Again, cheap plating on the nuts.

[danyshula]

I store the 5W for the whole winter period at the end of each summer trip in an open space fenced area.
Here is my action list:
A.Winterize.
B.Cover the A/C using the CW cover.
C.Remove all food and liquids from the 5W.
D.Spread mice poison in compartments .
E.Put wooden boards under the wheels.
F.Put grease on wheels nuts and cover the wheels.
G.Put grease on 5W hitch.
H.Place locks between the wheels.
I. Positioned the trailer leaning towards the front to let the water slide from the roof more efficiently.
Till now and after 10 winters it worked for me.





Edited by: danshula

[mbinohio]

My camper has sat for almost 3 yrs, with the same ant-freeze, and it's just fine, I covered the tires when I parked the unit, the A/C covers finally gave out this summer and I did replace them, as far as the caps and lug nuts are concerned the only way to beat the trust is to replace all them with stainless stee, Mc Gard mad lug nits called "tuff nuts" all stainless, I replaced all mine the first year I had the camper and they are still shinny and lookin good, not to cover your tires to try and save some cheap lug nuts and center caps may prove to be a costly mistake.....