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Old 02-03-2021, 05:06 PM   #1
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Snow on Roof

So how much snow can build up on the roof of my C Class before I need to be concerned about it?

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Old 02-03-2021, 05:51 PM   #2
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My RV sits in Amsterdam, NY all Winter. If they're not worried about RV roofs caving in: neither will I.
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Old 02-03-2021, 06:42 PM   #3
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Mine has about 15" on it right now in NW Connecticut after last weekend's storm. I am going over to the storage yard tomorrow to scrape some of it off so the solar panel will work to keep the batteries up.

I have lived here a number of years and have never seen more than 24" on the ground. I think most RVs can handle that fine.

David
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Old 02-03-2021, 07:59 PM   #4
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So my math about the snow currently on the roof:

12 inches at 1.5 lbs per inch per square foot = 18 lbs per sf
8 feet x 32 feet = 256 SF
256 sf x 18 lbs per sf = 4,608 lbs of snow on the roof.


Buddy of mine had is car trailer roof fail with similar loads. Built the same?
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Old 02-03-2021, 09:17 PM   #5
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Snow on Roof

That sounds about right and this kinda validates your math.

https://www.omnicalculator.com/construction/snow-load

So according to this you exceed the maximum snow load for a flat roof in NY and need to shave an inch off the top based on a “settled snow” load. I lived in NH for 20 years and we raked the roof when we had 10 inches or more if we were expecting back to back storms.
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Old 02-03-2021, 09:22 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by jimbo12 View Post
That sounds about right and this kinda validates your math.

https://www.omnicalculator.com/construction/snow-load

So according to this you exceed the maximum snow load for a flat roof in NY and need to shave an inch off the top based on a “settled snow” load. I lived in NH for 20 years and we raked the roof when we had 10 inches or more if we were expecting back to back storms.
Thank you.

There certainly is a difference between a building flat roof and a camper flat roof.

I am going to sweep a few inches off just because.
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Old 02-04-2021, 05:27 AM   #7
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I start getting snow off of ours once it gets to 6 inches. The worst part is if it melts then ices over and then snows again. I would rather get as much off as I can while it’s still soft and moveable.
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Old 02-04-2021, 11:25 PM   #8
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It finally turned clear after a 12-16" snowfall here in NW Connecticut last Monday. So I went over to the storage yard to shovel the snow off of the roof of my MH. Came prepared with a snow shovel and a push broom. My primary purpose was to get the snow off of the solar panel so the batteries would stay charged.

I crawled up on top and was amazed. The solar panel was clear and there was only 3" or so of snow around it. It was quite windy and cold so the snow was dry and apparently the wind blew it off as it fell.

I don't think this would be the case with a wet snowfall with little wind.

But, you never know.

David
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Old 02-05-2021, 02:41 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by DavidEM View Post
It finally turned clear after a 12-16" snowfall here in NW Connecticut last Monday. So I went over to the storage yard to shovel the snow off of the roof of my MH. Came prepared with a snow shovel and a push broom. My primary purpose was to get the snow off of the solar panel so the batteries would stay charged.

I crawled up on top and was amazed. The solar panel was clear and there was only 3" or so of snow around it. It was quite windy and cold so the snow was dry and apparently the wind blew it off as it fell.

I don't think this would be the case with a wet snowfall with little wind.

But, you never know.

David
That's the same here, after the sky stops sending it down the wind typically removes half of it.
As far a snow loading, the calculations that you can look up for density, weight, loads, etc. are set up for buildings and the ratings are also and assume a safety factor. RV's are only about 8' wide and buildings are much larger in span between supports. So engineers talk about fully distributed loads and point loads. RV's should be able to handle a fully distributed large static load of a few thousand lbs., the concern is a point load where the weight is concentrated at the center (worse case) of the span between the sides. A drift in the center around a A/C unit causes a point load that is more than the applied load at other locations.
In all my years have yet to see a failure of an RV roof where the snow caved it. Have seen trailers such as car trailers, trucking trailers, small utility trailers where the load was too great in the center and caused the support ribs to buckle.
I would guess that somebody has seen an RV somewhere that buckled!
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Old 02-05-2021, 03:35 PM   #10
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Has anybody ever made a Snow Angel up on the RV roof?
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