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RGC winter prep guide

Storing your ATV, UTV, dirt bike, golf cart, and trailer

Recreational vehicles have one problem that outranks all the others: theft. Most of them are stolen from an unlocked trailer or an open pole barn, and most owners are surprised to learn their homeowners policy does not respond. Here is how to store them and how to make sure they are actually insured.

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The preventable part

Why it matters

  • ATVs, UTVs, and dirt bikes are easy to load and easy to sell. Trailer theft — with the machines still on it — is a winter-long problem across Michigan.
  • The same mechanical issues as any stored engine: stale fuel, dead batteries, dry chains and cables, rodents in the air box.
  • Barn and outbuilding fires take out everything stored inside. The building may be covered; the machines usually are not, unless they have their own policy.

From real claim patterns

What goes wrong over winter

ATV or UTV stolen from a trailer or barn

The owner files under homeowners and learns that motorized vehicles are excluded from personal property coverage. Without a dedicated recreational vehicle policy, there is no coverage.

Trailer stolen with machines on it

Homeowners may pay a small sub-limit toward the trailer — often $1,500 or less — and nothing for the machines.

Machines destroyed in an outbuilding fire

The building is covered under the homeowners policy. The ATVs inside were not scheduled anywhere.

Injury to a guest on a stored machine

Someone takes it out for a spin in the snow. Homeowners liability generally excludes motorized vehicles that are not used to service the residence.

Plain-language orientation

Where coverage can change

These are common patterns, not a decision about your policy. Your carrier's form, endorsements, facts, and policy terms control.

ATVs, UTVs, dirt bikes, and golf carts under homeowners

Usually not covered

With very narrow exceptions (a lawn tractor used to maintain the property, for example), homeowners policies exclude motorized vehicles for both damage and liability — even on your own land, even in your own garage.

Dedicated recreational vehicle policy

Often covered

Covers theft, fire, storm, and collision, plus liability. Inexpensive, and the only way these machines are actually protected.

Trailers under homeowners

Depends on your policy & steps

Usually a small sub-limit for damage or theft of the trailer itself. Trailers can be added to your auto or recreational policy for full value.

Snowmobiles

Depends on your policy & steps

Coming out of storage, not going in — make sure the policy is active before the first ride, and confirm the Michigan trail permit. Liability on public trails is not optional.

Machines stored at someone else's property

Depends on your policy & steps

Tell us. Location and security affect coverage and price.

Reduced to storage coverage for the winter

Depends on your policy & steps

Fine while it sits. Call us before the first ride in spring so liability and collision are back on. Coverage does not reinstate on its own.

Work in this order

How to put it away properly

  1. Fuel, oil, and battery

    Add stabilizer and run the engine to circulate it, or drain the carburetor bowl on carbureted machines. Change the oil. Put the battery on a maintainer or remove it.

  2. Clean, lube, and protect

    Wash off mud and salt, dry completely, lube the chain, cables, and pivots, and apply a light protectant to bare metal. Grease fittings.

  3. Tires and suspension

    Inflate tires to the high end of spec. If storing for months, take the weight off the suspension with a stand.

  4. Pest prevention

    Cover the air intake and exhaust, set traps, and keep the storage area free of food and seed. Rodents like an ATV air box as much as a car engine bay.

  5. Security

    Store inside a locked building if at all possible. Chain machines to a fixed anchor. Lock the trailer coupler and put a wheel lock on it. Remove keys. Photograph every VIN and serial number — including the trailer.

  6. Trailers

    Check tire condition and pressure, lights and wiring, and bearings. Block the tires. Lock the hitch. Consider adding the trailer to a policy at full value if it is worth more than a homeowners sub-limit.

  7. Coverage check

    If a machine does not have its own policy, call us. Adding a recreational vehicle policy takes a few minutes and costs less than most people expect. If you are pulling snowmobiles out, we can activate or adjust that coverage at the same time.

Save as you go

Your winter checklist

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Before you close the door

Tell us about long vacancies, storage-address changes, lay-up periods, and any vehicle or watercraft without its own active policy. If coverage is reduced for storage, call before the first spring drive, ride, or launch.

This guide is general information, not a coverage decision. Every policy is different. Ask us to review your own policy before a loss.