RV Covers Experiences

[Dean Akerman]

Has anyone had any positive or negative experiences with RV Covers?
I’ve heard about them damaging paintwork, Pros and Cons of Using a RV cover For Winter
If so, ideas to abate same?
I was considering buying rv cover to protect my rv well in such a cold winter.

[2edgesword]

I am a total advocate of covering a trailer during the off season. While it takes some work to get the cover on and off it keeps a tremendous amount of dirt, dust, leaves, bird droppings and assorted grime from having to be clean off the RV at the start of the season. It also offers some UV protection if the storage area is exposed to direct sunlight. I had my first trailer for five seasons and it looked almost new the day I traded it in for my current unit. The cover lasted four off seasons before it started to shred but in my opinion the $250 spent for it ($65/off season) was well worth it. The pleasure in uncovering a clean trailer ready to go for the first trip of the season is a tremendous plus in my view.

[LuckyDuck]

I won’t claim to be an expert, but I’ve used a cover to protect our trailer from intense summer sun, when we’re not traveling. And this year, I put it on for the winter, too. It passed its first test — a recent storm that dumped a couple inches of snow and had 50 mph winds. I had used tennis balls on the four gutter downspouts and cut half sections of foam pipe wrap to cushion the straps from the bottom edges of the TT. Everything stayed in place with no rips. I have an Elements All Climate Tyvek cover with plenty of vents. Quite sturdy.

[RAurand]

We cover our 28BHBE with an ADCO cover. Takes my kids, wife and I about 1/2 hour to cover the whole trailer. We use Slit x's on Tennis balls over the rain spouts to keep from punching holes in the cover and a pool noodle up the outside step bars of the ladder to keep them from punching holes in the cover too. Going on out 4th winter now with the same cover.

Use cut off 1/2 gallon plastic milk cartons on the front corners at the bottom.

[JFlightRisk]

We cover ours at the end of the season, and after 7 years, there's no damage caused by it. It's in the driveway on the west side of the house, so it does get the wind. We protect the gutters and sharp things the best we can, and this will be it's last winter on the camper. There's a new one on the way as we speak, for the next 7 years (I hope).

If you clean the outside of the camper before you install it, it'll look just as good when you remove it.

[CAG]

The general feedback from another site I belong to (previous RV) was that they were tough to get on and off, and if you live in a windy environment they flap and wear the finish off of areas of the trailer/RV. The other complaint was from humid parts of the country and the amount of moisture that gets trapped causing mold and other issues.

[2edgesword]

Originally Posted by CAG

The general feedback from another site I belong to (previous RV) was that they were tough to get on and off, and if you live in a windy environment they flap and wear the finish off of areas of the trailer/RV. The other complaint was from humid parts of the country and the amount of moisture that gets trapped causing mold and other issues.

I'm a 5'6" senior citizen and cover my 32' TT by myself. I store the cover rolled up and when it's time to cover the trailer I carry it to the roof, unroll it front to back, let the sides fall over each side and strap it down. Taking it off pull the sides, front and back up, roll it up from back to front, tie it up and toss it off the side.

This is something you should NOT do on a windy day for sure and you need to be careful walking around on the roof to insure you don't trip over anything but it's not an extremely difficult job. In the seven years I've been covering my trailer there has been no damage to the finish. That said I'd take the minimal abrasion of a cover over the work of having to clean the filth off of the trailer after sitting through the fall and winter uncovered.

[Lake Huron]

This is the 4th year we've covered our 5th wheel and it's been covered in the winter months since we bought it brand new 4 years ago. Our cover is a Classic Accessories brand. I've found one small spot on the lower corner of the front cap where it rubbed the paint down a little bit. The bottom of the walls where the straps go under is a painted sheetmetal that's angled in and those strap locations put a little wear on the paint.
To keep it from happening anymore I put 4 layers of painter's tape on the front cap corners and a couple of layers on the wall bottoms in the strap locations. I also put cut pieces of a pool noodle on the straps for added protection.
When I take the cover off in the spring the trailer is just as clean as when I put it away and the painter's tape will have some wear but not all the way thru. Nice thing with the painters tape is it peels right off very easily, but it may also have something to do with the fact that the trailer got a fresh hand wax job before I put the cover on.