tarp over class C?

I had never thought of that...glad you shared that..I am off to home depot..thanks

I have seen tarps chew up rigs after a while, especially when they tear and start billowing. Here in central Texas, between the UV light in the summer and buzzsaw winds in the winter, tarps do not last long. The blue tarps turn to powder in the summer, rip apart, then flay the rig alive come January to April.

The best improvised solution, if at all possible, is what ronfisherman described -- get some schedule 80 1.5" PVC pipe, some clear solvent cement (no need for the purple stuff, since this is about aesthetics, not being water tight), and go from there. The one thing I might add to that would be to have some form of fan (even if it is just a cheapie) to blow air over the top just to keep mildew from forming in a humid climate.

Of course, the absolute best solution is a carport, because if build solidly enough, one can toss solar panels on it, which can always come in handy (or maybe I am just a fan of using any south facing horizontal surface for something productive.)

I made a 1 1/2" PVC frame that keeps cover off roof and AC's. Has worked well for 9 years. Pipe is cheap. The 20 Tee's cost a few dollars.

suprz wrote:
I wish I could afford a good RV cover

I'm seeing them for around $180 for our sized Class C. You're probably half way there with tarps, pillows, bungees, etc.

A tarp will work. The problem is, keeping it tied to the RV. And, the rope could rub the paint if you have windy conditions.
In my area the wind would probably tear the tarp apart. We get a lot of winter wind.
If you secure it well and don't have a lot of wind, you should be okay.
Check the tie downs often to make sure they're tight and secure.

I use a cover and need to check it often so it doesn't blow off.

I put a blue tarp over the Adco breathable cover.
The blue tarp covers only the roof and part of the sides, front and back. Amazon has a selection of different sizes.
This lets the camper breath and keeps rain from puddling on the roof.
Wind gusts will billow the tarp and flip any accumulated water into the air where it gets blown off.
I don't tarp it down tight all over. I want it to billow - only tie it down at the corners and at one point in the middle.

Blue tarps are cheap and I replace it every two years.

suprz wrote:

scenicgreenrr wrote:
If you have a roof mounted AC .... won't that act to keep the snow from accumulating?

Well, sort of but I want to keep as much snow load off the roof, and vents as possible. I might make some sort of "roof structure" from pic pipe that can sit on the pillows so the snow can fall off because of the pitch of the tarp

Chances are fairly decent the wind will drive the snow against the tarp and just make it so you have the same amount of snow (or more) piled up on the roof anyway, with the added bonus of trapping moisture underneath.

One of these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/10-ft-x-20-ft-portable-car-canopy-69034-8696.html

Might work, but in SoCal we've had one collect rain water in a bad storm and found it the next morning with bowed legs about 4' shorter than it was the previous night.

I wish I could afford a good RV cover

We used to tarp our trailer. We realized after the 2nd season it was trapping more water than it was keeping off.

I do cover my new trailer, but I used a one of those breathable RV covers. Seems to do much better than a tarp.

Also, tarps self-destruct with every wind-storm.

scenicgreenrr wrote:
If you have a roof mounted AC .... won't that act to keep the snow from accumulating?

Well, sort of but I want to keep as much snow load off the roof, and vents as possible. I might make some sort of "roof structure" from pic pipe that can sit on the pillows so the snow can fall off because of the pitch of the tarp