No cover for my Fifth-Wheel

mileshuff

appreciate your reply. If I regularly Wash the trailer which I do after every trip and wash the roof (how many times for the roof??), will my trailer stay looking like new even though it will be exposed to the Arkansas weather? I recently washed the trailer with a wash&wax product from Camping World and it really looked good. Will this type of product help to keep the trailer from fading? Also, I applied Poly-Glow on the front and rear fiberglass caps last year. What is your thoughts on the Poly-Glow?

B.O. Plenty wrote:
Why does it need to be kept clean? Nobody can see it.

Because dirt draws out the oils in rubber, paint, caulking etc. causing them to dry out, fade, crack or rot.

Take a look at cars that are never washed after 5-8 years. Usually badly faded paint unless they were parked in shade most of the time. A car kept clean often looks good as new even if kept in the sun.

Thank you for your replys to my question. Will just hope for the best and will take your advise and keep the trailer clean and waxed. I recenstly used the wash & wax for the first time and was surprised that it worked as well as it did. Don't know how long a wash & wax job will last, but it is worth a try since I have no other options.

My park trailer had a rubber roof. It sat on a seasonal site, uncovered year around for 10 years. I might have washed the roof once or twice. Why does it need to be kept clean? Nobody can see it. Never wasted any money to treat it with anything. Used it the way it was designed to be used. The sky never fell, nothing ever happened to it. It was in very good condition when I sold it. Only had to touch up the caulk a couple times. Just enjoy it and don't worry about it. Everything will be fine...

B.O.

It is hard depending on the weather conditions. I live in the Calif. Desert and it is always dirty because of the winds and I lost all graphics on front,rear, and driver side of fiver. Trying to keep it clean is a full time job. I can not even use a cover because of the winds during the afternoon hours. A wax job only last about 2months

Our previous fiver was always in the sun and weather.
We owned and used it for 14 years with on and off care.

The posts above provide the best advice.
Don't work too hard trying to keep it clean, just maintain it with regularity.
A once a month clean water spray and wipe down will work wonders.

I assume much has to do with where you live. In 10 years with my last trailer I never treated the roof nor waxed the trailer. Never recaulked, basically nothing! I did keep it clean and it was stored in full time shade. Trailer looked good as new when I sold it recently. Never any leaks or any signs of trouble. I live in AZ where the sun bakes so shade is greatly needed. Humidity and sun are the biggest sources of trouble.

If you cannot construct a shade cover over your trailer and you do not want a canvas cover then your only other options are to keep it clean, roof treated often and trailer waxed.

Our fifth wheel is parked out in the sun full time. We wash and treat the roof twice a year. We also wash (with wash on/wax) at least twice a year. Our previous fifth wheel was 8 years old and no problems with the roof. The fifth wheel before that was 10 years old when we traded it. You do have to carefully inspect the caulking and seams and add dicor self leveling caulk (or equivalent) on occasion. We did have to replace the vent covers a few times as that plastic would get brittle and disintegrate. That problem was solved when we put a max air cover over the vent. So in summary, it is possible to leave them parked without a cover but you need to be very conscientious in your maintenance and inspection procedures.

Dick B
This is Not a duplicate post. I followed your suggestion and found no answer to my question, however, found alot of suggestions about RV covers.
a pull-on RV cover is not an option even though it would be nice if it were. Your input on other options will be well appriciated.

Is this a duplicate post? Search this Forum for `RV Cover' for lots of previous or current posts.