Newbie winterizing question

[Twnky]

Hi,
We are Newbie Airstream owners. Bought our Excella and had enough season left to spend a couple of weekend in Maine. I am looking forward to a week on the outer banks come April.

In the meantime, I came home from work to find my husband and son had moved our Airstream to it's winter location in our yard and covered it according to instructions from the previous owner.

I can only hope he winterized it correctly, but my one question to all you experienced folks: Living in New England and knowing we have winter bearing down on our doorsteps and our Airstream will be under cover for at least 5 months- should we leave a window open just a crack as ventilation during the winter storage?

Thanks in advance for all your advice!!

Martha

[easyride]

I would remove cover,it will cause rub marks from the wind moving it.Wouldn`t hurt to just barely crack a couple of windows and maybe a roof vent.Dave

[53flyingcloud]

I agree about the removal of the cover..

As far as leaving a window cracked open.
Can't hurt tho it's not necessary.

A roof vent open?
NO..I would never leave an open (of any kind) in the roof area unattended for any long period of time..

Last thought,
you could head South for the winter and, enjoy your new Airstream for 5 months..

[moosetags]

First off. Welcome to the Forums, Martha. We're glad to have you with us.

I, also, would caution against using a cover on any Airstream. Covers on Airstreams often cause more damage than they do good. There are two issues involved. One is the wind blowing on the cover cause abrasions on the clear coat or polished finish. The other is that a cover tends to trap moisture inside wreaking havoc on all sorts of components.

If you have power available, try one of the the small humidity control units that are available. They use very little power and keep the moisture under control.

Brian

[CanoeStream]

You experience periods of thaw and periods of sharp cold? Weather.com shows near-zero possibilities in December.

Honestly, I wouldn't leave any window open. Wind driven snow will put more moisture inside than anything else ... if the wind doesn't damage a loose window, creating a bigger problem. Humidity is low in cold weather anyway -- low atmospheric humidity is not going to contribute to funky smell. I'm not trusting to my '06 having a perfect shell ("they all leak") and should consider a Sealtech check soon (here or here).

I put a container of DampRid (check an ACE hardware near you) on a pie plate set on a counter. I store inside an unheated covered garage and still leave the Safari shut up tight. The mineral content in the DampRid tub keeps any collected moisture from freezing - and it doesn't collect a lot during the winter. (DampRid is too slow, ineffective in warmer moister months IMO)

You are winterizing the plumbing, right?

[Airtandem]

having read alot on the covering on the blogs, I understand the reason for not covering. My question is this; has anyone used or thought of using the shrink wrap that is being used on boats?? What are the pros and cons?
mike

[53flyingcloud]

Mike,
Excellent idea..would it work? It might..
Two questions pops to mind..
1.) Cost..(don't you hate that.?)
2.) Reaction with Aluminum. (bearing in mind, it's a material normally used against fiberglass, etc)
Will YOU be the first?
Martha,
Please accept, a warm and sincere welcome to the forum, the Airstream family.
When you made the comment,
"I can only hope he winterized it correctly,". Ask him again just how it was done..
You can read up on numerous methods on winterizing, to be found on this forum.
You might even check with any member of the NEU to see if someone close by your location might go over the process one more time to make sure your all ready for winter..?
Again, welcome..
ciao
53FC