How to Store a Jet Ski

When you’re out on the water with your jet ski, creating those white waves behind you and feeling the wind cool you down on a sunny day, you’re probably not thinking about where you’ll store it during the winter. We’re here to help you do just that.

Keeping your jet ski in your driveway at home is unattractive and can leave it open to theft. Your garage may not be large enough for it, or you may use your garage for other things. Self storage is the safest way to keep your jet ski in great condition.

Whether you need to store it for the winter time, or for a longer period of time, here’s what to do:

Preparing Your Jet Ski for Storage

The winterization process includes either draining your tank or filling it with gas and adding a stabilizer. Which one you do will depend on what the facility allows. If they allow you to fill the tank, we recommend the latter.

We’ve already covered the winterizing process in detail. Before you complete that, though, you’ll want to find a place to store your jet ski. Also, winterizing isn’t difficult, but if you don’t have time or the inclination to do it yourself, you can always hire a professional.

Storage Options

The first thing to keep in mind when picking a facility is how the weather will affect your jet ski. Sunlight can damage the paint, seat, and all other parts of the exterior. So can wind, rain, hail, and snow. As such, the best type of storage is fully enclosed.

Fully indoor storage provides an enclosed room where your jet ski will be safe from the elements. It may be an individual unit made for a vehicle or inside a warehouse along with other vehicles. One excellent, and specific, type of indoor storage for jet skis and boats is dry stack storage. These facilities are found along the coasts rather than inland. With dry stack storage, you’ll want to fully clean and winterize your jet ski and drop it off at the facility. They will place your jet ski safely on a rack until you need it again. This will generally cost less than renting a fully enclosed, individual unit.

Covered open-air storage is the next type. It is also cheaper than fully indoor storage. Your jet ski will go in a covered parking space without a door, next to other vehicles. In most locations, it will get very little sunlight on it, but some, so you will want to wax it and cover it with a tarp. It will also be susceptible to wind, snow, and so on.

Finally, we have uncovered parking. These sorts of facilities are basically gated parking lots. The security may range from poor to excellent, but your jet-ski will be in a parking space without a cover. You’ll definitely want it covered with a tarp in this situation. It may not be ideal, but it is the cheapest solution.

If you can’t find vehicle storage you find satisfactory in your area, there is one other option. Contact self storage facilities that usually don’t store vehicles. Ask if you can store your jet ski there, and if so, what the conditions are. Some facilities will allow jet ski storage. You’ll want a drive-up unit so when you retrieve your jet ski, you can drive your car or truck up to the door and hitch the jet ski to it. A 10x10 unit is just the right size for most jet skis. A facility that doesn’t usually allow vehicle storage may require that you drain the gas tank before leaving your jet ski there, which is why you’ll want to have your storage space secured before you go through the winterization process.

As you can see, there are plenty of ways to store your jet ski, and have it ready for you the next time you want to take it out for a spin.