Snow Cover

[kimbill]

I did a search, and came up empty...... For 15 years, we've unsuccesfully stored our pontoon in cold snowy Minnesota. We've tried all sorts of systems. but the snow load always wins. Has anyone "engineered" a cover system to handle snow loads, and yet, disassemble it at years end? No one around to knock the snow off....... Will a good summer cover with support poles handle a snow load if a sturdy "ridge board" is part of the system?........ Your thoughts.

Ol' Bill

 

[WaterDR]

Re: Snow Cover

Frankly, I have always stored our indoors. I have two options near me. One place charges $125 for the season and is the county fairgrounds. The other costs me $35 a month and it gets stored 40 feet underground in an old missile silo. Not what you wanted to hear, but safe and out of the elements.

 

[mrbusdriver]

Re: Snow Cover

A friend of mine bought one of those aluminum car ports, he just puts the regular boat cover on and puts the boat under the car port works great. I think it was around $ 1500 or so. Mine is just the regular cover with support poles and I live in Michigan close to the lake and we get SNOW, but I still have to sweep the snow off once in a while.

 

[rogerwa]

Re: Snow Cover

I store mine every year in back of my cabin in snowy nw Wisconsin.. I build a frame and use a huge tarp. I use these tarp clips and tent stakes to tighten it down. Here are a few pics

The key is the 7' rise off the deck.

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: Snow Cover

I think I got it beat. Our toon stays at the cottage all winter in Ontario cottage country. Last year the snow was light but the previous year was over 18' for the season. A few storms dumped more than 3'. I made up 6 frames with a 45 degree slope, center post. angled braces and a short base (2'), all constructed from 2x4. They all get attached together on each side of the peak with 1x4 strapping and along the sides with the same. All the corners and the ends of the peak are covered with old pieces of carpet to prevent wear on the tarp. Tarp gets pulled over and tied down. Last season it took just over an hour to put up and about 45 minutes to take down. The frames and strapping get stored away. Been good for 2 seasons and hope to get 2 more seasons out of the tarp. Tried using 2" pvc but it was very brittle when frozen and it failed miserably.