Snow on roof

[cccougar]

Hi to all,
We live near Philly, and just recently received close to 12 inches of heavy, wet snow. It has been a brutal winter with snow fall totals. Should I be concerned with that much snow on the roof? We have a cover on it (not a blue tarp) and I'm thinking it will help with protection, but the shear weight is a concern. Should I get up there and shovel? Thanks.

[Harvey51]

I use a roof rake to pull the snow off whenever the weather report suggests melting. Have to be very aware of where the vulnerable vent covers are and be careful. I stand on a ladder, never on the roof. I know my roof is very poorly supported - just 2x2 cross pieces.

[OldRadios]

Paoli wrote:
All dealers up north in Canada leave the snow on the RV's.
I think removing would do more damage than leaving it on there.
We have had RV's over 20 years and never ever removed any snow.
We get about two feet every winter.

We usually get between 100 and 300 inches. There is over two feet on it right now. I'll stick with the cover.

9 out of the top 12 snowfall cities in the U.S. currently are in upstate NY.

[jeffengle]

With my 10 year old motorhome the snow load broke the plastic AC cover & the vent covers, I think older plastic becomes brittle. I always cover it with a tarp.

[Robocop]

tenbear wrote:
Have you ever seen your local dealers removing snow from their RV roofs? I haven't.

:h

That was so funny I almost fell off the roof of the MH while shoveling it. Nah. The sun will do that just fine. Solar energy works for me!

[Paoli]

All dealers up north in Canada leave the snow on the RV's.
I think removing would do more damage than leaving it on there.
We have had RV's over 20 years and never ever removed any snow.
We get about two feet every winter.

[OldRadios]

I have mine covered and there's about two feet of snow on it now. The cover has breathable sides and the top is waterproof with vents around the sides under the top flap. Cover probably does not make much difference but we get ice sometimes so I feel better with it under the cover knowing water and ice won't find it's way into something.

[tenbear]

I have never covered mine and have only attempted to get some of the snow off once. I have had as much as 3' of snow on the roof and now have close to 2' on it. Never have had any damage from snow/ice.

Have you ever seen your local dealers removing snow from their RV roofs? I haven't.

[Dennyf]

Like the others have said, if it is covered with a tarp or whatever, leave it alone,. If not covered there is a small risk of damage from the melt and refreeze cycles. The blue or gray tarps are very good insurance and very cost effective for those winter stored campers and motorhomes.

[RayPayne]

I leave my RV outside for the winter and have seen well over 2 feet of snow on it pretty much every winter. Even with the ice storms that have added a couple of inches of solid ice to the weight there has never been an issue.

[BuckBarker]

I've had near 4' of snow on mine in N. Arizona. You can do more damage than good trying to remove it. You will be fine.

[Dieter_Heinzer]

Not to worry; the below picture is my 17 year old RV with 23" of snow on it that we got here in Central Oregon last weekend; then we got 4 days of rain... The key is having it covered, which avoids those expansion / contraction damages caused be the melting / re-freezing cycles. Shoveling off snow will most likely do more bad than good. Stay warm and dry.

[rockhillmanor]

Before I left the frigid north I swept the snow off the roof of the MH 'every' day. A lot of damage is done when the sun comes out and it melts the under layer and then at night THAT freezes. Can cause a lot damage to seams, vents etc as it gets under neath and heaves them. So I sweep it off every day instead of letting it get thicker and thicker with snow.

The one thing I can tell you NOT to do is brush the snow off the cab over. I used the extended RV broom commonly found at RV stores. It has a big broad brush and soft bristles. So I thought it was ok to use on the RV..........well, come spring my cabover decals had feathered cracked edges.:(

The decals are cold and brittle in freezing temps and me brushing the snow off feathered the edges.

[gbopp]

I had 4 inches of ice on the roof of our Southwind, we just got 12 inches or more of snow today.

I'm not concerned about the weight.

[brirene]

I've probably got close to that on mine and I hadn't really thought about it. I don't plan to do anything with mine.