I'm interested in possibly owning a small aircraft sometime in the future.  In the interest of finding out how much money it would cost, I recently called a local FBO and asked about a hangar rental.  I was told that it starts out at over $300 per month and that there is an 18 month long waiting list to get one!  I am talking about an older used piston engine plane, not a private jet.

I'm quite aware of the fact that it is *money*, rather than aerodynamics that keep a plane in the air, and I'm getting the impression that it takes a lot of *money* to keep a plane on the ground, too.  

The only other thing I know of is to tie it down, which I was told costs $150 per month at this same FBO.  The issue I have with that is concern about the weather.  I live at high elevation; the summer sun is very intense, thunderstorms and hail and common in the summertime and winter brings plenty of snow; sometimes up to two feet at a time.  Temperatures fluctuate from about 0 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

I was wondering if there are ways to effectively protect an aircraft from the elements while it is tied down, or if there may be some more cost-effective storage solution than a rented hangar.