Storage Cover. Worth it?

derelekt · 10-17-2021, 01:32 PM

I can't find covered storage within 100 miles but have a lot I can store my trailer on outside.

Does anyone have any experience with the covers that you can buy (like the attached image) that go over the entire trailer? Do they fit and do they work?

Looked for thread but could not find one.

Thanks

**chuckster57** · 10-17-2021, 01:53 PM

Lots of threads- general agreement is a good coat of wax is all you need.

jasin1 · 10-17-2021, 02:01 PM

The general consensus on this site is they are not worth it because 1) theyfreeze to the top of the rig in winter possibly preventing you from leaving for a camping trip down south..2) they can scratch the finish of the rv in windy conditions.
3) they are dangerous and cumbersome to install.
4) they don’t last
5)they can provide a home for rodents

BUT I bought one and installed it last month and used it for a month to see how it works for me in case I needed to return it.

I actually like it…I washed the rv and let it dry before installed …it is really heavy but went on pretty easy..took my wife and I about 30 -40 min to install first time.

When I took it off after a month for a trip,the rv was spotless and as clean as when I installed it…I hate to watch the hot sun fading the graphics.
My thoughts are to use between trips an maybe remove it during the winter if I plan on going anywhere a month ahead of time.
Even if I leave it off for the coldest 3 months of the year it’s still protected the other 9 months.
Eventually I’m building a carport extension to my garage.
I pay a fortune (probably $600 this year) to have one of my boats shrink wrapped yearly and that’s usually “one and done”..although I do save all the wood framing and have reused shrink wrap for two seasons as an experiment..

And I have a good coat of wax

This is the one I purchased and it fit my rig….they were sold out last fall so I ordered late summer this year

Canonman · 10-17-2021, 02:39 PM

I'm on the "Cover It" side of this question. In fact, I just this week ordered the same cover as Jasin. We winterize in October (just finished) and don't plan on any trips until mid or late April.
Having the Cougar covered for 6 months every year when we're not using it has worked out well for us. I think the protection from ice and snow is a good idea. PLus, the added benefit of UV protection for half a year.
Before covering I wash and wax the Cougar. In the spring I find it's a bit dusty but with a rinse and dry we're ready to go for another season.
It's a bit of a PITA to put the cover on and take it off by myself but after 6 seasons I'd say it's worth the trouble.
Buy a good cover that fits well and you can expect several years service.

derelekt · 10-17-2021, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chuckster57

Lots of threads- general agreement is a good coat of wax is all you need.

Hmm. Using "cover" as search I didn't find much. Should I have searched for storage or some such? New to this forum and need to figure out how the search works.

Thanks. Think I'll search for "wax" now. :-)

B-O-B'03 · 10-17-2021, 04:56 PM

I cover mine and if you have a lot for parking yours, you can do the same thing.

I already had most of the concrete pad, for our old pop up and it was just under $3K to have the cover built with water and 30 amp service run to it.

-Brian

derelekt · 10-18-2021, 02:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by B-O-B'03

I cover mine and if you have a lot for parking yours, you can do the same thing.

I already had most of the concrete pad, for our old pop up and it was just under $3K to have the cover built with water and 30 amp service run to it.

-Brian

That's nice.

jxnbbl · 10-18-2021, 04:33 AM

I didn't know anything and upon pick up was convinced to buy and expensive cover so I did at 40% off (or something like that). When I used it on our first trailer was a 273 model length and the cover was big. I noticed it was up to 34 ft length on the box....ok so it worked for the first winter now that I have a 33ft model length I'm assuming it will work. If it does not I still want to cover the roof... So the question.

This year (in case we take an early spring trip) have people covered just the roof with a tarp the full length? With or without the underlying cover, it would seem to be a way to get the crusty snow off.

2nd, has anyone made or used a '2ft high' tent structure (similar to what I've done with boats when shrink wrapping) so that the elements have a tendency to slide off ?

**flybouy** · 10-18-2021, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jxnbbl

I didn't know anything and upon pick up was convinced to buy and expensive cover so I did at 40% off (or something like that). When I used it on our first trailer was a 273 model length and the cover was big. I noticed it was up to 34 ft length on the box....ok so it worked for the first winter now that I have a 33ft model length I'm assuming it will work. If it does not I still want to cover the roof... So the question.

This year (in case we take an early spring trip) have people covered just the roof with a tarp the full length? With or without the underlying cover, it would seem to be a way to get the crusty snow off.

2nd, has anyone made or used a '2ft high' tent structure (similar to what I've done with boats when shrink wrapping) so that the elements have a tendency to slide off ?

Do not use a "tarp" to cover the roof. The plastic, woven tarps do not breathe. They will create moisture then trap it causing mold. Then on sunny days they will heat up beneath it like an oven to the point of melting some plastics.

As for shrink wrapping, I had boats done with shrink wrap and the marina never built any structure above it. Never saw any boat done with a structure other than the old "canvas tarp" covered boats.

Canonman · 10-18-2021, 05:59 AM

Tarps are generally considered a "no,no". They are too rough textured and with the flapping around in the wind have a greater chance of damaging the RV.
I've found that with the A/C and roof vent covers you kind of have a natural support raising the centerline of the cover. Even with that snow still sticks to the top but of course rain rolls right off.

jasin1 · 10-18-2021, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flybouy

Do not use a "tarp" to cover the roof. The plastic, woven tarps do not breathe. They will create moisture then trap it causing mold. Then on sunny days they will heat up beneath it like an oven to the point of melting some plastics.

As for shrink wrapping, I had boats done with shrink wrap and the marina never built any structure above it. Never saw any boat done with a structure other than the old "canvas tarp" covered boats.

I have a frame I have to make every year for one of my boats for shrink wrap..( the other boats has a hard top and stays in longer and gets dropped in early for fishing so we don’t shrink wrap that one)…the frame goes from my radar arch out to my bow railing..have studs that sit on carpeted pads along my forward deck to support it..ropes tied off from sides to prevent it from tipping..another two boards from radar arch down to stern rail…this is all covered by shrink wrap so you don’t see it …otherwise I’d get a couple tons of snow on my bow and ice…they also use shrink wrap string to make added supports.
My buddy owns a marina and I’ve used his material and wrapped it myself but shrink wrap is highly flammable and if your not careful you can burn half the Marina down…had a $250000 boat go up in flames down the street from my house a couple of years ago by the Marina workers…after that most of the local marinas put a stop to diy shrink wrap

jxnbbl · 10-18-2021, 12:56 PM

Good advise on the blue tarp...maybe just shrink wrap with vents? As for shrink wrapping boats. All larger boats in the NH > 18+ ft are shrink rapped with a "ridge structure" sometimes this is just strapping or a webbed strap strung across two poles...or more elaborate. If you don't have that, then your bound to get 1-3ft of snow on the boat blocking the vents and get no ventilation. Picture of something more elaborate attached. (this it the first year I'm not shrink wrapping my 23ft boat in 25 years myself) I use something less elaborate but has worked fine with no mildew in all those years.

Camp CA · 10-24-2021, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by derelekt

............Does anyone have any experience with the covers that you can buy (like the attached image) that go over the entire trailer? Do they fit and do they work?............

I have installed lightweight (easy to install and remove) and heavy weight (very difficult to install and remove) on my fifth wheel trailer and both shredded in high wind over time. Biggest problem with covers is they do not have holes for the gutter spouts at each corner so you end up curtting a hole that is result in localized tear points. So I just store my trailer without a cover and as menetioned above keep the body waxed or in my case ceramic coated.

captainbillyw69 · 10-24-2021, 07:19 AM

Wash, wax, cover. Has worked for 17 years on our travel trailer. Also I use straps that I purchased for use with our kayak in addition to the tie down straps that came with the cover. Winds tore apart our first cover after only couple years. Also cover anything that sticks out like on the awning, the release lever. Our cover came with booties for the drip extenders. I used pieces of foam tube shaped insulation for the protrusions.

Tomcro · 10-24-2021, 07:34 AM

I bought one two years ago, it has a 2 year warranty, it lasted two years. they are thin and rip/puncture easy.

captainbillyw69 · 10-24-2021, 07:51 AM

I believe ours is a Camco ii is about 10!years old, still in great shape

Streetglidejames · 10-25-2021, 09:54 AM

I see you already have several responses regarding cover or no cover question.some tips with using a cover, which we believe is a sound investment. We purchased a cover through Amazon in 2019 and just installed it for the third year in a row. The brand is ADCO and is very reasonably priced in my opinionwith options for most RV types. They are light weight, breathable and relatively easy to install.

Now for the tips that will make a cover last more than the 2 years as stated in some other replies.Tennis balls, pool noodles and duct tape.. Yup, you read it right.

Tennis balls: cut a slit or drill a hole in the tennis ball and put one over each spout on your gutters. If not, this is the first place your cover will rip or wear through on windy days.
Pool noodles: tuck these under the cover at sharp corners at bottom of trailer. they should stay in place just fine if cover is sinched up tight enough.
Duct tape: If pool noodles dont want to cooperate, a little to secure them to cover. (do not tape to trailer) Also when the cover starts to wear and it will at the tennis balls. mearly patch those spots with a little duct tape on the inside and your cover will last even longer.

So for pretty much the cost of storage for one winter, you should be able to purchase a good quality water repellant, breathablr cover that fits your RV and reuse it for at least 5 years, maybe even longer if you take care of and do some maintenance on it. In my opinion, this is a no brainer.
Hope that help. Cheers

Awinkle · 10-25-2021, 01:00 PM

I guess it depends where you are located. In Idaho the winters make it worthwhile to cover the RV. We are on our second Camco - outgrew the first one. Works great as part of the winterizing process. For the roof drains I cut the fingers out of an old pair of leather gloves and slip them over the spouts. No poking through.

dutchmensport · 10-25-2021, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by derelekt

... Do they fit and do they work?

...
Thanks

They fit if you purchase the correct size and keep the straps and ties very, very tight so absolutely nothing flaps in the wind. Any movement (can) rub the finish on the camper and then when you remove the cover, you camper will have a forever blemish.

They work if you have the right expectations out of them. They are absolutely great at keeping acid rain, bird poo, and tree sap off the roof and down the sides while in storage over the winter.

You did not ask the question, "How practical are they?"

Here's the answer? They are as practical as you have tolerance for them. If you travel over the winter months and you have to put them on and off several times, they are not practical. They are a horrible pain in the neck.

If you cover and they sit for 6 months, they are tollerable.

If you live in snow and ice country and you plan on using the trailer during the cold months, then covering is a horrible idea. Once they get wet, they freeze. Trying to remove them off the trailer with solid ice and snow on top of them is near impossible. Then once removed, what do you do with the wet cover? It's too stiff and still ladened with ice to fold up. Then if you return and want to put it back on, you are dealing with a frozen block of ice, unless you can unfold it and dry it out somewhere first.

So, if you plan on using your camper during the ice and snow months, covering is horrible idea. If you don't use the trailer during that time, covering is not so daunting.

**sourdough** · 10-25-2021, 03:26 PM

As posts 18 and 19 mention, a cover is "tolerable" in certain situations given an individuals "tolerance" for messing with them.

Dutch mentioned ice/snow, some have casually mentioned wind. Wind - means different things to different people. In some of the places we travel folks complain about a "windy" day and it got to 15-20mph. An OMG day is 30mph. You might make a cover work and last in those conditions. Where we live a normal day is 15-20, a breezy day will be 30-35 and a "windy" day will be 45-70mph. RV covers do not survive "windy" days here and I've never seen one. I tried them (2) on autos and it was not only a lost cause but damaging. Thought I would put one over a CJ7 I was restoring, just had a super paint job put on it. New cover, wind storm....every surface the cover touched was dulled and marred. Had to have it repaired. The cover? In the garbage. It all depends on the circumstances.

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