Is indoor winter storage worth it?

[TigeMike]

Being in NE Ohio, I’ve been routinely paying $600/year for up to 6 months of indoor storage. It’s not heated and so boat is winterized as well. My question is whether there’s actual value in avoiding snow. It does sit outside during the boating season, with a good cover to keep the interior dry. Am I really getting value in paying $600 to avoid snow annually?

[lee]

Yes, It will stay dryer indoors and the moisture will not freeze if it is not wet.

[UNSTUCK]

I sneak my boat under my back yard patio for winter time. It's probably the next best thing to indoor storage. It is completely out of the rain/snow, but still gets the cold. I'd love to have heated indoor storage, but it's not in the cards for us. I imagine the cold temps on the vinyl isn't great, but I don't think you'll go from like new to cracked and junk in a couple years. At least I haven't. I think the main things are to not walk on the seats when cold, and to do everything you can to keep water and snow from weighing down your cover.
You could hang several desiccant bags around the boat to help with moisture. I never have. I do place several dryer sheets all over the boat which is supposed to keep bugs and such away. Seems to work good.

[sandm]

in wisconsin we paid $250 for indoor storage from mid oct to mid april. only caveat was you CANNOT access the boat/rv/car/whatever you store until it comes out. it was a big empty warehouse that the guy did winter storage for toys and summer storage of pallets of wood pellets. was not heated but did stay in the low50's all winter. best money we spent on the boat imo. I'd continue to do it if I were you BUT the cheapness in me would continue to look for cheaper storage.
in bad winter climates I would store. some lighter winter climates I'd follow unstuck.

[cucv]

I think it is a great value, reduced risk of moisture damage, snow damage, UV damage. Shrink wrapping for outdoor storage isn't cheap and your trailer tires are still exposed to UV.

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[bsreid]

600 for the season indoors is insanely cheap in my areas. Depends on what climate you’re in but moisture can be a problem and covers are only so waterproof. Shrink wrapping is always an option but for that will probably cost half of your storage fees.

[lee]

People around here get $300 a month for storage.

[MikeB313]

Short answer, yes it is worth it. $600 seems very cheap. I know many places near major cities/big boating areas are well over $1000 for indoor cold storage.

[TigeMike]

Appreciate the responses. My angle was that I stored my boat indoors the past 9 years, which is essentially putting $5400 into it. I’m trying to figure out if avoiding snow exposure is a greater value than fixing what may go wrong if left out. Good to know about the cost of shrink wrap bc then I’d really only be saving $300/yr.

[BCRider]

I'd agree with the above. $600 is cheap considering. It also has another level of security that being outside can't really provide. I used to pay $ 800 for winter storage and my boat would sit in my driveway for the season.....gawd, I hated it being in my driveway. I don't live in a bad area whatsoever but I hated the fact that my boat was essentially exposed. I make sure my vehicles are locked meanwhile I have thousands of dollars worth of stereo sitting under canvas and a tarp. It would've been a lot cheaper to keep paying for storage but we ended up renovating the whole front of our house so I could make my garage big enough for my boat to live inside. Now, I can plug away at winter projects are season long rather than cramming it in to a couple weeks in the driveway when the weather is nice.

[D&P Powell]

My angle was that I stored my boat indoors the past 9 years, which is essentially putting $5400 into it.

Man, what a depressing way to look at it. Logical, yes, but depressing. If I counted up all the wasted expenses involved in our boat/boating...

[Brianrzr]

If you really want to be depressed, think about the wasted money over the years on insurance lol. Here in MI I have a great deal on heated storage, $300.00 oct to April. It does cost about $300 to shrink wrap and there can be a mold problem.

[bsreid]

Seriously Brian?? I pay that for a month of storage at the dealer.

[Brianrzr]

Absolutely serious. They don’t keep it 68 degrees in there, it probably 40’s at the coldest time of winter. They recommend to still winterize because you never know if heat will go out. I’ve using them for about the last 6 or 7 years, they actually started at $275 for season. I guess that’s one good thing about small town Michigan.

[NAstleford]

We could never imaging storing ours outside.
It is in the boat garage but we still winterize it for safety sake. Don't think our garage gets much lower than 50 but warms up when the cars come in after work.
It's out of the elements though and that's the bigger part.