RV cover

[SummerShandy]

I live in Northern Ontario where it gets near freezing in November and snow until May. Lots of snow sometimes. I've used Classic covers for sometime now on my late class B and my parked TT we call camp. After a couple years at camp I gave up covering the TT. After 8 years of not covering my TT at camp, there's no worse for wear. Besides, the cover was at it's end of life. The rig that we got last year came with a brand new cover so I used it. From my past experience, it keeps the snow off but can rub and make marks.
I'm wondering what others in my type of climate are doing. Am I wasting my time covering the rig every fall and possibly damaging the paint? I've always made sure that little or no flapping occurs but we get some wicked winds in the winter time. I suppose in the spring, a thaw/refreeze could happen and get inside cracks and crevices but I thought these covers aren't water proof.
Most Canadian parks are closing soon so I gave it a good wash today. I'm going back in to do touch ups and clean the inside. By that time I should have a little input and decide whether to cover by the end of October or not.
Thanks!

[SGilbert]

I just bought this cover.
Still in the box, but plan on using it around December 1st or so.
Seemed like a decent compromise between quality & price.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01L2JR2GM...t_details&th=1

[Scubawise]

Originally Posted by SummerShandy

I live in Northern Ontario where it gets near freezing in November and snow until May. Lots of snow sometimes. I've used Classic covers for sometime now on my late class B and my parked TT we call camp. After a couple years at camp I gave up covering the TT. After 8 years of not covering my TT at camp, there's no worse for wear. Besides, the cover was at it's end of life. The rig that we got last year came with a brand new cover so I used it. From my past experience, it keeps the snow off but can rub and make marks.
I'm wondering what others in my type of climate are doing. Am I wasting my time covering the rig every fall and possibly damaging the paint? I've always made sure that little or no flapping occurs but we get some wicked winds in the winter time. I suppose in the spring, a thaw/refreeze could happen and get inside cracks and crevices but I thought these covers aren't water proof.
Most Canadian parks are closing soon so I gave it a good wash today. I'm going back in to do touch ups and clean the inside. By that time I should have a little input and decide whether to cover by the end of October or not.
Thanks!

Used to live in MONTANA. 100 inches of snow.
Freezing 🥶
No cover

[ducksface]

100 threads on covers.
The General consensus, by great percentage, is they are more trouble than advantage.

Very few experienced folk use a cover.

I did, now I don't.

I live in Arizona.
It will snow in October through May.
38° 2 weeks ago, a frost in July, and,our last snow was in May.

Except for roof weight snow has little affect that rain does not.

[SGilbert]

Originally Posted by ducksface

100 threads on covers.
The General consensus, by great percentage, is they are more trouble than advantage.

Very few experienced folk use a cover.

I did, now I don't.

I live in Arizona.
It will snow in October through May.
38° 2 weeks ago, a frost in July, and,our last snow was in May.

Except for roof weight snow has little affect that rain does not.

Duly noted.
Question for the "experienced": what do you use for snow removal on the roof?
(Northern Indiana is a snow belt, getting all that Lake Michigan can dump on us!)

[Chateau_Nomad]

I'm in Ohio and sounds like your winter isn't much worse then here. I have used covers in the past, but have since axed the covers in favor of using a high quality UV protectant.

I've used Meguiar's carnauba wax, and currently I'm testing a product called RejeX, which is polymer based. The idea is to prevent UV damage to the fiberglass and vinyl decals.

I skipped the cover last winter and everything was fine. I strive to keep a high gloss on the fiberglass and keep our 2020 motorhome looking new as long as possible. Two good coats a year seems to do the trick so far.

[SGilbert]

Originally Posted by Chateau_Nomad

I'm in Ohio and sounds like your winter isn't much worse then here. I have used covers in the past, but have since axed the covers in favor of using a high quality UV protectant.

I've used Meguiar's carnauba wax, and currently I'm testing a product called RejeX, which is polymer based. The idea is to prevent UV damage to the fiberglass and vinyl decals.

I skipped the cover last winter and everything was fine. I strive to keep a high gloss on the fiberglass and keep our 2020 motorhome looking new as long as possible. Two good coats a year seems to do the trick so far.

That does not address the roof, however.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by SummerShandy

I live in Northern Ontario where it gets near freezing in November and snow until May. Lots of snow sometimes. I've used Classic covers for sometime now on my late class B and my parked TT we call camp. After a couple years at camp I gave up covering the TT. After 8 years of not covering my TT at camp, there's no worse for wear. Besides, the cover was at it's end of life. The rig that we got last year came with a brand new cover so I used it. From my past experience, it keeps the snow off but can rub and make marks.
I'm wondering what others in my type of climate are doing. Am I wasting my time covering the rig every fall and possibly damaging the paint? I've always made sure that little or no flapping occurs but we get some wicked winds in the winter time. I suppose in the spring, a thaw/refreeze could happen and get inside cracks and crevices but I thought these covers aren't water proof.
Most Canadian parks are closing soon so I gave it a good wash today. I'm going back in to do touch ups and clean the inside. By that time I should have a little input and decide whether to cover by the end of October or not.
Thanks!

Others do what you said ...

Your plight reminds me of how our pool came with a solar cover heater. You could not argue the concept that it could take the sunlight and warm the water a few degrees while also serving as a cover supposedly for leaves... but it was a major PITA. I finally got smart enough and left it on the front curb one day and let the city come haul it way.

My suggestion is give it to a neigbor you don't like

[dkoldman]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chateau_Nomad View Post
I'm in Ohio and sounds like your winter isn't much worse then here. I have used covers in the past, but have since axed the covers in favor of using a high quality UV protectant.

I've used Meguiar's carnauba wax, and currently I'm testing a product called RejeX, which is polymer based. The idea is to prevent UV damage to the fiberglass and vinyl decals.

I skipped the cover last winter and everything was fine. I strive to keep a high gloss on the fiberglass and keep our 2020 motorhome looking new as long as possible. Two good coats a year seems to do the trick so far.

__________________
2018 Axis 25.2 V10; 2021 Genesis GV80 3.5

Originally Posted by SGilbert

That does not address the roof, however.

The Chateau is 100% correct, and you are correct that you can't wax the rubber membrane roofs; although I do wax my fiberglass SOB, but in my opinion the rubber membrane roof would be easier to clean because of the design, and the fact no waxing is required. I would suggest contacting the roof manufacturer to see how they recommend keeping the rubber roof clean.

That is what I did with Filon Composites and I follow their suggestions with Meguiars products.




4 years now, parked under a tree, leaves falling now, but they simply blow off and the leaf stains that show with rain, will naturally disappear on it's own due the bleaching from the sun.

Now the wax or as the Chateau is learning that the Rejex ( I have not used Rejex ) can provide looks like this on your Fiberglass sides without using a cover.



These are my most recent roof pictures on a 2019 year model. Never been covered and never will be as long as I own it.

Note: I spend about 20 hours per year washing & waxing myself as an alternative to using cover. I use my RV year around. A cover would incent me to not use as times I may have otherwise wanted to. I also personally know what is going on with every inch of my roof.

Update: I will add that while I may spend 20 hours washing and waxing with no cover; if I had a cover and if it did exactly what it is suppose to do, I would still have to spend 15 hrs / year washing and cleaning, maybe more.

[Chateau_Nomad]

IMO, meticulous cleaning and keeping a protective coat of UV block is the best protection... just as with a daily driver automobile. I've decided a cover - done incorrectly - can cause more damage from wind chafing than if just left uncovered. You can easily spot an RV that's been neglected for several years.

No doubt RV upkeep is a LOT of work. Short of keeping your RV parked in it's own climate controlled den (Duck ) there's no shortcuts to keeping it looking new. And simply slapping a cover on it over the winter won't do the trick.

An RV cannot survive with a cover alone... it must have UV protective coating!

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by SGilbert

Duly noted.
Question for the "experienced": what do you use for snow removal on the roof?
(Northern Indiana is a snow belt, getting all that Lake Michigan can dump on us!)

I will give my 2 cents and a video on this question. Obviously the 2 inches of snow we may see in Dallas is non issue, but I have to be prepared because we travel.

Case in point, our first trip to Colorado in RV was was met with the worst snowstorm in Colorado history where they had tracked the data. All interstates were closed and there was no getting in or out of Denver. Must have been about 3 feet of snow in about 12 hours. We did NOTHING, we sat it out. Eventually the sun started to melt it. I waited until the windshield cleared, I had heated side mirrors so when roads back to Dallas were open (2 days later) we were ready. The snow / ice mix on the roof stayed on our journey, but as we got closer to New Mexico; I could see it starting to fall off the roof. I did notice some melted water coming through AC vents but it was just tiny droplets.

Here is the video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KL5M31TPnw

But I am not sure a cover would make a difference? I mean if your RV was covered, you don't plan to go anywhere. Unless you say you clean snow off a covered RV? So if it is uncovered and it snows why not just leave it alone and let it melt?

[Scubawise]

Our winter solution, executed this past year.
Use family property in MT during summer.
Moved to amazing Las Cruces NM.
next week till May we can camp play outside.
No Cover

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Scubawise

Our winter solution, executed this past year.
Use family property in MT during summer.
Moved to amazing Las Cruces NM.
next week till May we can camp play outside.
No Cover

Our winter solution executed past 4 years
Turn the ACs off some time maybe Decemberish?
No Cover

[SummerShandy]

A lot of interesting suggesting here. I really understand if you live in a harsher climate the damage UV can do. Our rig sits snugly between two houses and up against the garage. Summer sun has a very hard time doing it's damage during day and in the winter it's so low barely hits the rig at all.
I'd be more concerned about the freeze/thaw/freeze in spring.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by SummerShandy

A lot of interesting suggesting here. I really understand if you live in a harsher climate the damage UV can do. Our rig sits snugly between two houses and up against the garage. Summer sun has a very hard time doing it's damage during day and in the winter it's so low barely hits the rig at all.
I'd be more concerned about the freeze/thaw/freeze in spring.

As long as you otherwise properly winterize there is no concern with freeze, thaw or refreeze. With that in mind how do you see or envision a RV cover helping with freeze, that or refreeze?

[ducksface]

Originally Posted by dkoldman

As long as you otherwise properly winterize there is no concern with freeze, thaw or refreeze. With that in mind how do you see or envision a RV cover helping with freeze, that or refreeze?

Snow weight as a problem is also doubtful.
If it's level with the highest roof accessories there's not enough weight to even bother with.

Any broom...brooms.

I say this because if it's not said, some newb will be playing Twister on the roof trying to not trip so they can immaculately clean off that inch of snow.

I'll do the same math I did for the
Water condensation in a gas tank myth:

Newbs:
Average unpacked snow weighs 3 to 9 lbs per cubic foot.
8ftx30ft is 240sqft x 3=720lbs per 12"depth
8ftx30ft is 240sqft x 9=2160lbs per 12" depth.
240sqft x 144(square inches in a square foot) is 34,560
2160lbs(wettest of snow)/34,560= .06 POUNDS (or 3/4 oz)PER SQUARE INCH OF WET SNOW.

My
In my head type math
Might be off by a factor of ten.

But without math;
My no support except the edges honeycomb polycarbonate(like election yard signs are made of) 2ftx4ft greenhouse panels hold 24" of snow with only slight sag and zero support.
Even Thor builds a better roof than a harbor freight greenhouse.

I hope thoughts are quashed and actions are squashed.

[Chateau_Nomad]

Freezing and thawing shouldn't harm your RV if everything is sealed properly. In winter the only reason I clear excessive snow off the roof is to allow sun to reach the solar panels... to keep the batteries topped off.

In my experience, the only reason I'd use a cover would be to keep the RV clean from environmental dirt, bird droppings and such... the same for using on a car. Problem is most covers are generic, especially RV covers. A cheap cover improperly installed could potentially do more damage than good by trapping moisture.

If your RV is already in a fairly sheltered area, just clean it, wax it well and make sure all roof and window seals are solid. Winterize it if necessary... it will be waiting for you in Spring!

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by ducksface

Snow weight as a problem is also doubtful.
If it's level with the highest roof accessories there's not enough weight to even bother with.

Any broom...brooms.

I say this because if it's not said, some newb will be playing Twister on the roof trying to not trip so they can immaculately clean off that inch of snow.

I'll do the same math I did for the
Water condensation in a gas tank myth:

Newbs:
Average unpacked snow weighs 3 to 9 lbs per cubic foot.
8ftx30ft is 240sqft x 3=720lbs per 12"depth
8ftx30ft is 240sqft x 9=2160lbs per 12" depth.
240sqft x 144(square inches in a square foot) is 34,560
2160lbs(wettest of snow)/34,560= .06 POUNDS (or 3/4 oz)PER SQUARE INCH OF WET SNOW.

My
In my head type math
Might be off by a factor of ten.

But without math;
My no support except the edges honeycomb polycarbonate(like election yard signs are made of) 2ftx4ft greenhouse panels hold 24" of snow with only slight sag and zero support.
Even Thor builds a better roof than a harbor freight greenhouse.

I hope thoughts are quashed and actions are squashed.

Exactly, we don't want readers with good intentions to think " OMG, I need to get up there and brush that snow off", or buy some heavy arse cover to haul around and put on/ off that rig. Both, brushing and putting on a cover can be very, very dangerous. It is enough to worry about with an RV, so scrap those two thoughts if you can.

Ok for the Math because that is where the fun is.

My 1st comment is numbers don't lie You broke it down well, I will try to make an analogy with your data.

Using worse case scenario; the heavy wet stuff at 9lbs/cubic foot. I let Big Mama (300lbs) climb the roof to put a heavy cover over the roof. Both of her feet is about 1 square foot; so that is 300lbs distributed over 1 square foot of roof surface area; if my roof don't collapse with that; I don't see snow being a factor.

Note: I don't really have a Big Moma to carry out this scenario, but I thought it may help bring the Math to life

[ducksface]

I left out the footprint stuff for someone like you, because it's fun stuff.
Now,
Take a 120lb woman and put her on a 1/2 square inch spike heel...
Whatcha gots for psi?


The custom cover for my little 19ft toy hauler(a nitrous if you've ever seen one) weighed in at 110lbs and wadded ed up to about 30inches square. A hateful thing similar to wrestling the clown in the Spawn movie.

I installed a davit to lift it.
There was absolutely no fun in dancing around the solar panels(I had to make corners out of urethane to keep the panels from shredding the roof) the a.c., the antenna, the cell booster, the light bars(yup, three 52's along the front and 52's on the other three sides).

Aside;
I have three spare 52's laying around. Considering them on the passenger side of the 24.1....

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by ducksface

I left out the footprint stuff for someone like you, because it's fun stuff.
Now,
Take a 120lb woman and put her on a 1/2 square inch spike heel...
Whatcha gots for psi?

Can I assume this woman has two feet, with same spike heel shoes, with all her weight on back of both heels?

I going to go with 120psi total (72 square inches per heel)