cover for a 40' older toyhauler

WhitehouseLV wrote:
We have a 2009 Keystone Raptor 380LEV. ~40' long with 2 slides & 2 entry doors.

Looking to get a cover that will cover the full length of our toyhauler and still allow access through at least one of the doors, preferably the main and garage doors.

What has been your experience with one (pluses & minuses)?

How do they hold up with the changing of the seasons...when it snows and the snow melts?

Which material is protects your RV the best?

Are they difficult to install and remove?

Do they make them that allow you to put the slides out?

Do they make a cover that allows you to put the rear ramp down?

Some Manufacturers choices are 37'1" - 40'0". Our toyhauler according to the mfg measures 39'11". Would you recommend the next size up 40'1"-44'?

Anything else we should know?

cheers!
Jason

It's great to see you around again, Jason.

I don't recall where you live, but is it very windy there? The wind is really the biggest enemy of the RV covers.

When time permits, I like to take a lap around the storage yard after I park ours and put it away. There are a couple of oddball things that I see, so I like to watch them over time just to see "how's that working out for ya?" One of the nosy games I like to play is RV Cover Rodeo: When I see someone put on a new cover, I like to watch and see just how long they can ride that horse.

Every last cover user in my storage lot gives up eventually; it's just a matter of how long they'll last. The owners who use their rigs often are the ones who quit the soonest. I can't tell if that's because they get tired of removing and replacing the cover, or if it's because they're more attentive and see the damage sooner. The owners who use theirs less often let the wind take over. The wind destroys the covers, and then the covers destroy the coaches. The trademark sign is the long upside down rainbow arc of damage caused by loose lashings that swing back and forth in the wind. It's so cringeworthy.

There was one guy with an absolutely gorgeous motorhome near our dumpster, so I'd look at his rig after every trip no matter what. When he added a cover, I figured "this ought to be good". He worked so hard to tailor fit his cover to his beautiful coach, but his mirrors stuck out too far and he had to make cutouts for the mirrors. He was really diligent about strapping down his cover and adding padding beneath the friction points, but he quit after about nine months after it started rubbing the finish on the nose of his rig just beneath the windshield.

It's not that they don't work for anyone, but I've yet to see one last even a year in our 28 years of using storage yards. I keep watching and rooting for them, but I haven't seen a real winner yet.

I should note that we don't even live in extreme weather. We don't get extreme high or low temps (except for the usual hellish high temps for a week or two in August or September) and not a ton of precipitation either. The winds are pretty constant in the wide open parts of town where we have so many storage yards, but even those aren't very extreme. Those constant winds are too much for the covers though.

Good luck with your shopping and your choice.

It's good to see you again. Take care.