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.