To Cover for the Winter or Not?

temccarthy1 wrote:

Camper G wrote:

ktmrfs wrote:

Camper G wrote:
one time, years ago i covered mine at the end of the season with a blue tarp and thought i had it secured well. i didn't and it scuffed the paint off the corners. since then, i don't cover.

I'm sure a proper rv cover would be better, but i just keep mine washed and wax it once per year and the finish still looks good, 28 years later.

I'm sure if it's secured well and a good cover it could help, but i don't bother with covers

IMHO as you experience, the "blue tarps" cause more problems than they solve. One is wear as you experienced, the other is they don't breath at all, so moisture going through the threads or anything gets trapped underneath keeping the roof and sides wet, resulting in mold, dirt and graphics curling.

Good covers will breath and let the surface dry quickly and at the same time not allow much water to penetrate during rainstorms. and the fabric is soft enough to not scuff the surface.

With a proper rv cover, do you still need to pad the corners before you cover it, or just put it on and secure it? Thanks. I'm going to be building a new garage soon and hope to have the room to back the tt in it for the winter and then I won't have to worry about a cover anyway.

If you have rain gutters that stick out you definitely need to get some pool noodle and cut it to slide over the protruding spouts or they will cut through any cover quickly as I learned the hard way. The little slipons that come with the covers don't work. Any other sharp ridges or corners at top OR bottom need to be covered with non residue duct tape or painters tape first. The prep is the most important part to prolong the life of the cover!

x2. either pool noodles, ping pong balls or something on the gutter spouts.

And top is more important than the bottom. properly installed the top of the cover is almost always going to be pull down over anything, or rubbing in the breeeze. things on the very bottom are most often somewhat loose and only get pressure when wind blows. On the bottom watch for any sharp exposed metal the cover may go over and protect that.

The trick is to get the cover snug. not to loose that it blows all over and rubs, and not so tight that edges are very tight and cut through the cover. Kinda like a nice fitting shirt.

Camper G wrote:

ktmrfs wrote:

Camper G wrote:
one time, years ago i covered mine at the end of the season with a blue tarp and thought i had it secured well. i didn't and it scuffed the paint off the corners. since then, i don't cover.

I'm sure a proper rv cover would be better, but i just keep mine washed and wax it once per year and the finish still looks good, 28 years later.

I'm sure if it's secured well and a good cover it could help, but i don't bother with covers

IMHO as you experience, the "blue tarps" cause more problems than they solve. One is wear as you experienced, the other is they don't breath at all, so moisture going through the threads or anything gets trapped underneath keeping the roof and sides wet, resulting in mold, dirt and graphics curling.

Good covers will breath and let the surface dry quickly and at the same time not allow much water to penetrate during rainstorms. and the fabric is soft enough to not scuff the surface.

With a proper rv cover, do you still need to pad the corners before you cover it, or just put it on and secure it? Thanks. I'm going to be building a new garage soon and hope to have the room to back the tt in it for the winter and then I won't have to worry about a cover anyway.

If you have rain gutters that stick out you definitely need to get some pool noodle and cut it to slide over the protruding spouts or they will cut through any cover quickly as I learned the hard way. The little slipons that come with the covers don't work. Any other sharp ridges or corners at top OR bottom need to be covered with non residue duct tape or painters tape first. The prep is the most important part to prolong the life of the cover!

ktmrfs wrote:

Camper G wrote:
one time, years ago i covered mine at the end of the season with a blue tarp and thought i had it secured well. i didn't and it scuffed the paint off the corners. since then, i don't cover.

I'm sure a proper rv cover would be better, but i just keep mine washed and wax it once per year and the finish still looks good, 28 years later.

I'm sure if it's secured well and a good cover it could help, but i don't bother with covers

IMHO as you experience, the "blue tarps" cause more problems than they solve. One is wear as you experienced, the other is they don't breath at all, so moisture going through the threads or anything gets trapped underneath keeping the roof and sides wet, resulting in mold, dirt and graphics curling.

Good covers will breath and let the surface dry quickly and at the same time not allow much water to penetrate during rainstorms. and the fabric is soft enough to not scuff the surface.

With a proper rv cover, do you still need to pad the corners before you cover it, or just put it on and secure it? Thanks. I'm going to be building a new garage soon and hope to have the room to back the tt in it for the winter and then I won't have to worry about a cover anyway.

I covered mine.


With a barn. :)

Thanks to all who responded and offered ideas on the cover / not cover question. I will definitely be covering this winter.

MtView wrote:

SoundGuy wrote:

MtView wrote:
That is my point. A dealer will look at the cost vs risk of covering their inventory. In this case, they roll the dice. If there is weather damage they already have people on payroll who can fix the damage and get the stock looking like new again. The cost vs risk calculation is not the same for most owners.

I fail to see what the big deal is about saying dealers don't cover their inventory because they already pay people who can fix it if they have a problem? I would also like to know how many RVs you think get sold in the winter in New England? :Rp

No dealer factors in "risk" in storing outdoors, is not "rolling the dice", it's simply done because there is no other choice, to suggest otherwise is part of their business plan is naive. If a unit proves later to have suffered any sort of damage, whether during storage or prior delivery from the manufacturer it will be addressed, but that has nothing to do with the fact it's winter as the same applies for units that arrive any other time of the year. As for how many trailers are sold during the winter? - here in Ontario, plenty - a brief slowdown from now to just after New Year and is the time dealers use to catch up with tasks they just didn't have the time to deal with during the peak season but right after the first RV show of the season in January traffic accelerates noticeably. This past season was a record year here in Ontario for many dealers, mine included which is the second largest Coachmen dealer in Canada, selling more units than he's ever sold with new units still going out the door in early November. That's the goal - get 'em in from the manufacturer, prep 'em, and get 'em sold ASAP ... covering for the winter is entirely moot, not even a consideration.

Again - you're making my point for me. There isn't a risk because the dealer can easily fix any damage that occurs - thus no need to cover the inventory. I'm saying that risk calculation may not work in an individual owner's favor.

Can you please point me to the post where I stated this was part of a dealer business plan and some nefarious way to make money? I just can't find it.

Kind of difficult to show trailers if they're all covered. While they may not sell a ton of trailers in New England in the winter, the rv show rooms are far from dead in NJ and PA.

MtView wrote:
This is our first year owning a 22' ultralight TT and I live in New England. Should I cover the TT or just leave it exposed? I would anticipate a full range of New England winter weather - snow, an occasional Blizzard, freezing rain, etc.

I'm having a hard time coming to a reasonable conclusion on this. None of the dozens of RVs and TTs at the dealer get covered, but then again they have trained professionals on payroll who can get everything up snuff if anything goes wrong.

DEFINITELY cover it! You spent probably 20,000 of your hard earned money and a $300 cover will keep it looking new with a 3 yr warranty! Get an ADCO from Amazon with the TYVEC roof. It is called " all climate + wind" You are in NE and I am originally from Maine so you will need it with the ice and snow! That ice laying directly on your roof can do damage not to mention the sun fading your decals. It also comes with tire storage covers to protect the rubber from sun fading. Don't take shortcuts with your new TT! Mine is 3 years old and looks brand new!

I think that if you can afford the cover, and are willing to take the time to do it RIGHT then covering for winter is smart. If you buy a cheap or poorly fitting cover you may well do more damage than leaving uncovered. I have always been fussy with wash/wax/detail on my rv's and they look almost as good 4-6 years later without a cover. Perhaps less rain/UV here than elsewhere but for me a cover is not worth the hassle.

Daryll

MtView wrote:
Can you please point me to the post where I stated this was part of a dealer business plan and some nefarious way to make money?

"Nefarious way to make money"? ... now you're being silly. :R The point is that covering lot stock isn't even a consideration for any dealer as the entire point is to sell that stock as soon after it arrives as is possible, regardless of the time of year, and doing so would only incur unnecessary expense that would affect the bottom line. It's therefore pointless for anyone to even bring up the idea that covering an RV isn't worth an individual owner's time & expense because dealers don't ... that's just a dumb argument. Hey, you asked the question, with the best answer being it's your choice - cover if you're convinced the end result is worth the time & expense, don't if you don't. ;)

Drive by any RV storage lot and you'll find the vast majority uncovered but read through the responses you've received here on this thread and you'll see the vast majority are in favour of covering. Given this, does either tell you anything that will help you make a decision? Likely not, is my guess. ;)

Camper G wrote:
one time, years ago i covered mine at the end of the season with a blue tarp and thought i had it secured well. i didn't and it scuffed the paint off the corners. since then, i don't cover.

I'm sure a proper rv cover would be better, but i just keep mine washed and wax it once per year and the finish still looks good, 28 years later.

I'm sure if it's secured well and a good cover it could help, but i don't bother with covers

IMHO as you experience, the "blue tarps" cause more problems than they solve. One is wear as you experienced, the other is they don't breath at all, so moisture going through the threads or anything gets trapped underneath keeping the roof and sides wet, resulting in mold, dirt and graphics curling.

Good covers will breath and let the surface dry quickly and at the same time not allow much water to penetrate during rainstorms. and the fabric is soft enough to not scuff the surface.