Good winter cover

[RCrawler]

I'm looking for a good winter cover for my 5th wheel. Any recommendations for a soft cover?
We get a pretty good amount of snow, wet and cold weather.

Thanks,
Jason

[JRTJH]

Some people on this forum will tell you that no cover is a good cover, others will tell you that it doesn't matter, any cover is better than no cover, still others will tell you that Sunbrella is the best, some will tell you that a specific name brand or another is easier to tie down and prevent movement (the biggest problem with any cover)....

We have a CW Tyvek cover (the brown one) that we bought when we picked up our fifth wheel last year. We covered it in early November and didn't uncover it until April of this year. Everything was fine with the trailer and the cover, so I can't complain about how it performed. BUT !!!!! (always a "but" in there)

There is a problem with any cover.... Once it snows and the cover freezes to the roof of the RV, you can't get it off!!! So, if you're planning on possibly going to a warmer climate for a few days, weeks, months after the holidays, don't cover your RV !!!!

Now, as for our plans, we have the cover, it's perfectly good, works very well, but we aren't going to use it this year. Plans are to store the trailer in commercial covered storage (haven't got my pole barn built yet) so we have access to it mid-winter so we have the option of leaving the "frozen wasteland" should the desire arise...... We may well not travel south, but having the option precludes covering the RV.

But again, to answer your question, we have the CW Tyvek cover and it did a super job last winter. Should you get any cover, remember that wind will move the cover as it billows and shifts. This movement can damage your RV finish and some have had problems with the rubber roof being worn through by the cover. So if you do cover it, make sure the cover is tight and secure so it can't move against the RV surface......

[LittleJoe]

Seal up the side vents for your fridge,furnace and hotwater with the shiny finish duct tape (it does not leave residue of glue). Park it where it is not under trees and leave the cover off.

One reason is as stated previously, you will have a real hassle getting cover off if you decide to head south in winter.

Other reason is,,,,,,,,I have seen more problems caused by covers than the perceived benefits from them.

Best case scenario is inside storage, but thats not available or affordable to a lot of people.

[RCrawler]

Thanks for the replies. Once I put the trailer away for the year, it doesn't come out until spring. I'm looking at the custom fit covers, so it should fit pretty snugly and I will be able to tie down the loose ends to keep it from blowing around. Unfortunately, parking it in my shop is not an option right now.

Mainly I am looking at which materials work best in extreme winter environments.

Thanks again,
Jason

[JRTJH]

The CW tyvek cover is actually a 3 layer cover. The inside (next to the RV) is a soft silkspan which isn't as abrasive as some of the other covers I've seen. As for custom cover, it can't be tight or it won't fit the A/C on the roof or arond the other plastic "thingies" up there. Also, it has to be loose enough to be able to pull the sides down. So there is some slack to allow movement. Most covers have multiple straps that go under the RV and tie the sides together, but wind can still get under it and billow it out,

Anyway, TYVEK is what we have and no complaints. be cautious of the blue cover at CW, it is "rougher" on the inside and they advised me that it won't hold up in snow/freezing conditions..... Just what I was told, no experience except with the tyvek cover.

[Festus2]

I am going to try "tying" our Tyvek cover this winter. My plan is to enclose 1/4" nylon line in lengths of foam pipe insulation - lengths long enough to go across the roof and extend over the sides about a foot. I am thinking that 10-11 ft should be enough to go across the roof and I would "wrap" it in 4 different locations from side to side along the length of the roof. All of the roof ties would be "foam wrapped" and shouldn't wear or erode the cover.
From each one of the 4 ties, I would continue the line down, under and up the other side so that there is one tie wrapped around the RV. This would be done 4 times along the length of the RV at spaced intervals.
I am also planning to have one other tie going all around the 5th wheel from front to back.
At each edge where the lines go under the RV, I would also enclose that line with the foam insulation.
All of these "insulated" rope ties would be placed over the cover and tightened just enough so as not to apply unnecessary pressure on any of the rubber roof edges.
Hopefully, I can place the ties so that will allow me access to the door so I can get in and out without too much difficulty.
These home-made ties, will be in addition to the tiedowns that are already sewn into the cover.
I also plan to watch the cover to see if this system significantly decreases both the billowing and movement of the cover across the rubber roof and the sides. At the first sign of any abrasion or other wear, I will remove the cover.

[JRTJH]

Festus, Not sure if you have the same cover as we do..... Ours is the brown/tan one from CW. It has about 8 ties that go from side to side under the trailer, one that goes under the pinbox and then one at the front and rear of the trailer to chinch it up tight (front to back) There are about 4 or 5 zippers in each side to allow access to doors, windows, etc (although I found it easier to unbuckle the undercarriage ties and just slip under the cover)

We don't plan to cover it this winter as we probably will be going south in January, so we're going to store it in a commercial warehouse on a monthly basis so it will be available to tow. Last year we did cover it and we have a "BUNCH" of wind and gale force storms in northern Michigan. The cover billowed a little (not too much) until the snow stayed on the roof, then it pretty much was there with no movement the rest of the winter.

Let me know if it's the same cover, from your explanation, it might not be.... Thanks, John

[Festus2]

John:
Ours is also from CW-- grayish in colour. I believe it is the "Aqua-Shed" style without the white top. I got this type since it seemed better suited to our wet, west coast climate. And yes, it does have a both the straps you described and the zippered sections along one side.
When I have the cover in place and snug using the 5 or 6 long straps or ties, my plan was to use my home-made tie-downs (rope enclosed with the foam pipe insulation) OVER the cover ---- as an extra means of keeping the cover from moving and billowing.
This top of this cover seems to be not as soft as the white top cover which I had previously. Perhaps that is why it caused some mild abrasion and rubbing along the edges of the rubber roof. The white-topped cover seemed to be better suited for areas that received more sun than we do here.
This will be an experiement for me and if it looks like the cover is still billowing and shifting, I'll take it off and put it on Craig's list - not the RV.

[JRTJH]

When I bought mine the guy at CW talked me out of the blue cover. He said it wasn't suited for use where there's snow. We got the brown/tan one with the white top, had no problems at all last year.. I don't know much about the blue one that you have other than they told me it's not a good choice for cold snowy/icy areas.

As I said, we're not going to cover ours this winter and hopefully by next winter we'll have the pole barn built and then most of the toys will be out of the garage and maybe we can park cars/trucks where they are supposed to go LOL

I hope you have good luck with that cover and your improvisions, any protection from rain/ice will help prevent the possibility of water damage. With slides, leaks, condensation and just plain bad luck, it's sometimes tough to keep an RV looking and acting new for very long. <sigh>