RV Covers

I use to cover my 2 previous campers (sometimes). First camper I was all "gun-ho!" Climbed up there like I was King Rat and felt proud as a peacock when it was in place. Actually, looking back, I think it was a "show-off" factor more than anything.

Second camper, not so "gun-ho!" any more. It was longer, heavier cover, and more to deal with. Had the camper 8 years and covered religiously the first 4, then realized THIS is really a pain in the "neck!" It takes WORK to do it! I'm sick of work! So, the last 4 year, I didn't cover.

What were the results between the 4 years of covering followed by the 4 years of not covering? Absolutely nothing! Really! When we sold the camper, the roof was still just as clean as it could be. The calking was good as ever, no leaks, no bad spots, and it traded in value pretty well.

I live in Indiana where got down to 20 below zero more winters than not over those 8 years. It had piles of snow on top of it. And then in the summer, it had temperatures of 90 plus degrees with direct sunlight for the entire 8 years. Washed the roof twice a year. Treated it with RV rubber roof protector, and never had a problem.

Current camper is even longer. No way am I covering now. I'm down to washing that roof once a year now, and letting my RV dealership check the roof now. I'm getting too danged old to be climbing around on top of the thing now!

So??? was there any advantage to covering or not covering since I did both? I suppose the answer is found in my next question?

Which is more? Half a dozen of one, or.... 6 of the other?

I don't cover any more. It's just too much work at my age now with bad knees.

Like most other topics here on the forums you'll have responses from those of us who do cover our rigs and believe it to be advantageous and responses from those who consider it a terrible waste of $$$, claiming RVs are "made to be outdoors". That may be true but regardless water intrusion of any kind is the worst enemy of every RV and unfortunately sealant used to prevent this water intrusion does fail with time and exposure to the elements. I've winter covered every trailer we've owned that wouldn't fit in my garage to help protect the sealant AND the awning from the constant snow melt / refreeze we see here in Ontario during the winter and wouldn't ever consider not using a cover. Our first was an ADCO AquaShed, second that we had for 6 yrs was an ADCO Tyvek, current one (3 yrs so far, no issues) is an ADCO Designer Series Tyvek. The key is the installation - pad any and all sharp corners and strap the cover down so it can't blow around and you should find the RV just as pristine in the spring as it was in the fall when you covered it. :)

We keep ours under cover at home. It dose take a little bit to cover and uncover but in the whole scheme of things that we do no big deal. Plus for us to be able to keep at home, I have no problem with covering it. What blows me away is all the RV's I see uncovered.

You may save money. We tried it and went back to paying for covered storage...
Major pain to pull on and off, to store, and to attempt to not damage stuff like antennas, gutter extensions, etc.

Just our experience. Others may have a more positive one.