When to wax

[Frisbeekev]

Heading out this weekend then putting the rig away for winter. I am going to cover it, but just wanted opinions: is it better to wax it before I put it away, or wait until I get it back out in spring?

[{tpc}]

I would probably wax it before, that way in the spring you can just pull it out and go. If its covered I wouldn't expect the wax to degrade from weather, though it may.

[sourdough]

I would wax it before putting it away. If you are covering it one benefit would be the increased "slickness" of the surface that would hopefully minimize any scuffing the cover will do to the finish.

I would also wax it at least once during the camping season. I made the mistake of not doing that last year and I'm paying the price. Usually go to FL for 4-5 mos. in the winter. Always waxed and put 303 on before we went and after we returned. In 2017 we returned in April then left again in Oct. After our return in April, I injured myself in Sept. 17 and was unable to do any exterior cleaning prior to our Oct. trip so we went. Did not do anything to the trailer for the duration of the stay in FL. About the last month or so there I began to see what I thought was possibly a salt water film building along the top half of 2 of the sides but it would not just "wash" off. Got it home, put it in the barn and looked at it more closely. One side and the back had oxidized pretty badly in that short period. I was very surprised and aggravated at myself for not paying better attention and taking care of the exterior (although it was virtually impossible to wash, wax or anything else with a torn rotator cuff and ruptured bicep tendon).

All that to say stay on top of the exterior. Although it is a lot of work to keep putting wax/303 etc. on it, it is much harder to try to get your finish back if you let it go....even for a short while.

[mskeyspirate]

I wax spring and fall. Before and after storage, may be over kill, but my vehicles get the same treatment. And I use a product that is supposed to restore and preserve all decals. So far I've seen no fading that many others have. I suppose that i'll keep up this routine as long as I'm able.

[Canonman]

When NOT to wax. The day before a surprise shower:facepalm:
Spent most of the day yesterday waxing the Cougar hoping to put the cover on today. Weatherman said 4 days of good weather. Woke up this morning to discover it had rained overnight. Guess I'll be doing the Mr. Miyagi again today before putting on the cover.
To answer the OPs question, I wax at the end of the season to remove any oxidation that's occurred. Then again at the beginning of the season to protect the finish. During the season regular washings with Meguirar's Ultimate wash and wax.