Is a Cover Worth It?

we have the ADDCO cover for our TH. this one is going on 4th season.(we do have a walk on roof with a ladder built on that make it easy to cover)

the sun in north west co here is brutal,then the sun reflecting of the snow on top of that,.
the sun is as bad as vegas where we keep a boat.

my son has a T H very similar to ours. sam size and brand. ours is aluminum and his is fiber glass. his (no cover) is starting fade in spit of waxing each spring.

we cover our at thanksgiving and don't uncover till around memorial day.

i am happy with the cover and defiantly helps and protects the trailer from elements. we use it as a storage cover. i don't think any cover would be practical to use in camping season. we use our T H for a week or so each month. this is would where the car port style shine.

any type of cover has to help. i think most over look the heating cooling cycle that goes on each day. this is natural. not much you can do, but shading when in direct sun has to help as surface dos't get as hot and must minimize the the expansion-contraction some, and shade from harmful U V rays

I would forget a cover. I had one for my 27" Jamboree in '89. My experience was that it took my DW a lot of effort to get it on the roof, (I don't do heights) Once there it was not very difficult to open and put in place. I tried the lines attached to the eyelets on the cover with weights attached all around. That lasted until the first wind. The cover ended up in the cornfield across the street. Next we tied it down and across the bottom of the MH until the next wind. I then bought 750' of rope and tied that around in every direction. The next big wind took the cover again and left all of the rope still in place. We sold the cover with the MH and have had open storage until we moved to Holland amd now keep it in a barn.

I have spots of clear coat delaminating off the body that I'm trying to delay as much as possible until I'm ready for a full body repaint. The cover costs me just under $300 from amazon and I like it a lot. I can put it on myself in less than 10 mins and off and stored away in 5. On the hottest days of summer I've seen temps of 113 around here so it helps me sleep at night.

We have a cover that came with the private purchase of the fifth wheel. I have used it two winters, and because of where the RV sets and the resulting wind that is nearly always blowing from some direction, I have also used ropes around the RV to keep flapping to a minimum. Yes, I know this is not "properly installed", but it has rubbed four spots in the roof where the white oxidation is off the rubber roof. I have patched these places with appropriate materials (I just don't remember the brands right this minute) and Dicor sealer around the rounded off edges. This does not look good, in my opinion, but didn't know what else to do. Don't want a problem to begin, if I can help it.

I also plan to replace this roof at 15 years (its an o7 Jayco) with a spray-on material such as Rhino liner, which I have had very good results with in more than one truck bed. I hate the black/grey streaks, but they are impossible to eliminate with the current roof set-up.

Our friends have had two for their TT. The wind has taken a toll on both of them. Where we store our unit I've seen some nasty damage to the cover from wind and hail. I just think they are too expensive for the effort.

Never owned one & and never will. I see them all torn up from the wind in our storage yard every year, along with the paint damage from them rubbing. I have counted maybe two out of many who have made it more than two years.

Having a perfect fit seems to be the trick. If you screw up putting it on right it is just waiting to be destroyed and damaging your camper finish along with the process.

I've seen awaaayy more failures vs success.

I have had my Class C since 2004 and I have never used a cover. Of course sun is not a problem here, but rain and snow are. I don't think the RV would look any better if I had used a cover. I have also never seen a dealer using a cover.

Dick_B wrote:
Buy a Sunshield tarp; the ones with silver on one side a black on the other. Install the tarp with the silver side up and hold it down with either gallon bottles or we use boat fenders half filled with sand.
Size the tarp so part of it hands down over the sides and ends.
IMHO the covers that completely cover the rig are too heavy to install, remove and store.
We fold up our Sunshield like the sailors fold up a sail; accordian-like. We have an approx. 30 x 20 foot tarp and can lift it up and carry it to its storage location.

Dick,
Sounds interesting. Is this the one you've got?

Tarp

Buy a Sunshield tarp; the ones with silver on one side a black on the other. Install the tarp with the silver side up and hold it down with either gallon bottles or we use boat fenders half filled with sand.
Size the tarp so part of it hands down over the sides and ends.
IMHO the covers that completely cover the rig are too heavy to install, remove and store.
We fold up our Sunshield like the sailors fold up a sail; accordian-like. We have an approx. 30 x 20 foot tarp and can lift it up and carry it to its storage location.

I've owned 2 of the ADDCO covers and have a love/hate relationship with them. I love the way they keep the rig clean, but hate putting them on and taking them off. I also hate the cost, over $300 for the cheap Tyvek cover with the white top, plus the fact they only last 2-3 years in the hot Southern California sun. BTW, the ADDCO "warranty" will get you 1 free replacement when the original does not make it to the end of the warranty. Like posted above, there are covers and there are "covers", like the ones made from Sunbrella material which cost $900 and up depending on length. Another good brand I might look at down the road is Goldline as they get pretty good reviews but cost more than the ADDCO Tyvek.