My first post! And probably not my last... :)
We (wife, kids, myself) just invested in our first Scamp 16’ after researching for months. We had our hearts set on a 13’ without AC, then stumbled across the deal of a lifetime on a 16’ with an AC (funny how that happens)—so now we are looking at alternative storage options for the new addition.
We live in snowy cold (but wonderful) Minnesota, so adequate storage is huge. After looking around, it looks like either a CalMark cover or an aluminum & canvas portable car port are the ways to go if the standard garage won’t work (won’t for us)...
Has anyone (especially in colder climates) had luck or bad experiences with either? Pros/cons? Any suggestion is helpful! We are as novice as can be so no tip is unwelcome. We want to keep the Scamp a long time, so if anyone has suggestions that include both “short term” & “long term” plans that’s great too!
—Seth aka MN_Scamp_Family .
If you mean a portable carport like this, it will not take the snow. Further, the stock anchoring system is not much. I beefed mine up a lot in many ways and I still expect to only have it for a year or two at the most before it comes down in a storm. You are not supposed to leave them up in snow or high winds even. Its nice while I have it, and at $100 I can replace it easy enough... i'm just hoping it does not damage the trailer when it comes down.
Opinions on the use of a cover are mixed. I dont think there is much debate that the Calmark cover is best but some people have been satisfied with much cheaper ones such as the one Scamp sells now. There are some advantages and some disadvantages to using a cover but in your area, making sure that the snow load on the trailer is not excessive is most important. You might even put temporary braces inside over the winter. BTW, prefer ventilation over using a dehu, and I go in and out of the camper A LOT when its parked at home, so the carport works well. If I had the room, i would be putting up a proper carport that could handle the weather. Its not cheap, but IMHO worth a few thousand dollars.
We wrapped ours with a heavy vinyl tarp but left the windows open a little. We push the snow off before we go to Florida for March and April. This year we will brace it inside too on your advice. Thank You.