Snow white - but snow weight? (How much on roof)

The weight may not be the problem,but if it starts melting the water may back up into some vents or AC openings..happens or regular house roofs many times
I have made snow removal tool shaped like a hockey stick long enough to reach my TC roof from the ground..when its freezing rain sometimes I had to get on steplader and scrape the solar panel clean..

I have had well over 2 feet of settled snow on the roof of my RV and have not had a problem. I agree that you would probably do more damage shoveling the snow off than the snow will do.

I would not worry about it. 1ft isn't that bad. Most people would have a hard time effectively removing it anyway as most RV's have flat roofs and snow removal tools are better for slants.

Don't ask Snow White about her weight, she'll slap you! ;)

Trackrig wrote:
I wouldn't worry about it until you get three feet or if it also rains hard and the snow soaks up the water and retains it. My experience is people do more damage with shovels and brooms than than the snow does. Have broken two sky-lites that way when shoveling from a step ladder. If you do get on the roof with snow, remember it's rounded or crowned so it's very easy to come sliding off of it.

Bill

This is very true, several years ago we had 3 ft of wet snow and and ice on the MH roof. Commercial roofs were collapsing and snow rakes were all sold out. I decided to just shovel off the roof because I was more worried about the old brittle plastic covers on the AC's than the roof itself collapsing. I the process I cracked both covers removing the snow. After repairing them in the spring I now just let the snow melt.

Home improvement centers sell roof rakes specifically designed to "pull" snow off a shingled roof of a normal house. They offer a long telescoping or sectional pole with a light weight head that supposedly is safe for a shingled roof. With it you won't pull the snow on yourself. You won't be able to remove it all off a flat RV roof but enough to make a big difference. Just be careful with your roof vents & antenna. Maybe the rake will come in handy one day for your regular house too.

I use a long handled push broom but in reverse. I stand on the ground and very carefully pull the snow off the roof. I wind up with a lot of snow on me but in 40 years of owning a TT here in the snowy northwest have never had a problem. I don't wait until it crusts over so it just comes right off.

Last year I had 42" on the roof of mine, but was I worried? You bet I was. I kept looking out the window and sweating bullets but nothing happened. I have a long handled squeegee made of rubber that I finally used to pull the snow off. It was a mess because I kept pulling it onto myself and the ladder but I figured I would do less damage dragging rather than pushing. Once I had it down to a few inches the sun took care of the rest. I would have let the sun take care of all of it but was afraid of another storm.

Unless the snow is very wet when it's coming down, you should not have a problem. The issues start when that snow is compacted by the next snowfall and then that is compacted by the next, and so forth.... With snow, 1' plus 1' is usually not 2' so estimating how much snow and how much weight you really have up there is difficult. Also, once you determine that you need to get up there and get it off, your added weight can cause the problems you were trying to avoid.

I wouldn't worry about it until you get three feet or if it also rains hard and the snow soaks up the water and retains it. My experience is people do more damage with shovels and brooms than than the snow does. Have broken two sky-lites that way when shoveling from a step ladder. If you do get on the roof with snow, remember it's rounded or crowned so it's very easy to come sliding off of it.

Bill