cancel
Showing results forย 
Search instead forย 
Did you mean:ย 

RV Covers in the winter

flyboykuao
Explorer
Explorer
Hello, I am looking for feedback to those who use an RV cover in the winter. Do you use one of the covers that drapes over the roof only, or do you use one that drapes down over the sides and tires?

Was yours easy to put on and take off? I am not as strong or limber as I used to be.

I live in Oregon's Wilamette Valley which is a moderate but wet climate. My main concern is protecting the roof. I understand the concern about the sun rays hitting the exterior. Our exterior is already a bit faded and I suspect additional exposure will hurt much more.

We have a 2003 Fleetwood Bounder diesel pusher.

Thanks in advance for your advice.
13 REPLIES 13

searfoss
Explorer
Explorer
Dick_B wrote:
Sunshield tarp over the roof and part of the sides, front and back. Black side up in the winter. We hold it down with boat fenders half filled with sand. Have for years.


Interesting, any pictures of it tarped for the winter?
Poconos Pennsylvania
2016 Kodiak 286 BHSL
2004 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab
4X2 5.7 hemi 3.55 rear

RIP Mike, we miss you so much

SoundGuy
Explorer
Explorer
Traildust wrote:
When you measure the length do you include the front cap bulge? Ours adds about 2 feet to the length.


The length of the body at it's longest dimension. Some manufacturers such as ADCO say to include the bumper but I never have as I never wrap the cover around the bumper anyway.
2012 Silverado 1500 Crew Cab
2014 Coachmen Freedom Express 192RBS
2003 Fleetwood Yuma * 2008 K-Z Spree 240BH-LX
2007 TrailCruiser C21RBH * 2000 Fleetwood Santa Fe
1998 Jayco 10UD * 1969 Coleman CT380

Sonora108
Explorer
Explorer
I have pretty much been forced into going with a cover by the sun. We live in the high desert of NW Nevada and the sun's rays are intense here all year long and we don't have a indoor place to store it. I am still trying to find the absolute best cover I can and am willing to pay for it. I am a strong believer in, "You Get What You Pay For." Ours is coming up on 6 years with no over and it's really starting to show the effects of the sun and weather. When you measure the length do you include the front cap bulge? Ours adds about 2 feet to the length.
Bill
2013 Arctic Fox 27-5L, B&W Hitch, Twin Honda EU2000i Generators, Tri Metric Battery Monitor, Reese 5th. Airborne.

โ€œGoing to the mountains is going home.โ€ John Muir

RGar974417
Explorer
Explorer
We have a 26 ft TT.At one time I used a cover but found that the trailer was dirtier when I took the cover off because the rain could penetrate the cover. I now use a 30ft x 20 ft tarp. It keeps the RV clean. But don't try to secure it by the gromets alone. I have 3 2" straps which go completely over and under the camper. I bought the cloth strapping material at our True Value Hardware store.Then you buy the plastic ends and make a strap yourself. I then use rope through the gromets to keep the tarp from flapping.

Padlin
Explorer
Explorer
flyboykuao wrote:
Hello, I am looking for feedback to those who use an RV cover in the winter. Do you use one of the covers that drapes over the roof only, or do you use one that drapes down over the sides and tires? YES

Was yours easy to put on and take off? I am not as strong or limber as I used to be. Easy?, no, Hard, no, somewhere in between. Mine is fairly easy if I fold/roll it up correctly in the spring. The better the cover the more they weigh. My Calmark is fairly heavy and very bulkie, for only a 21' fifth wheel. A Tyvek cover, which I had before the Calmark, was much easier to manage and lasted 5-6 years.
Happy Motoring
Bob & Deb

W Ma.
12 F150 HD SCAB EcoBoost LB 4x4
14 Escape 5.0 TA

ksg5000
Explorer
Explorer
I used to put my cover on every year .. but as I got older I haven't for years. In the Willamette Valley your blessed with winters/summers which aren't extreme. I park my rig in a spot where it's shaded in the summer and protected from the winds during the winter ... it's a 92 and looks great ... but the looks are because I maintain it not because I cover it.
Kevin

SoundGuy
Explorer
Explorer
flyboykuao wrote:
Was yours easy to put on and take off? I am not as strong or limber as I used to be.


Once we "upgraded" to a hybrid, then later to travel trailers which I couldn't store in my heated workshop I would cover each for the winter with a breathable ADCO cover. A couple of winters I did pay for indoor storage but the cost each time forced me return to instead using a cover. The upside was that once removed in the spring the trailer would be as clean as I'd left it in the fall but the primary purpose was to protect all those roof seams and the awning from the constant freeze / melt / freeze cycle as temperatures varied throughout the winter. Anyone who says installing and later removing a cover isn't a PITA is sugar coating - it is a total PITA but IMO necessary if you can't find / afford indoor storage. The key is to first pad any & all sharp corners / edges that can rip the cover fabric - that's the easy part and something anyone can do - but if you're concerned about climbing up on the roof pay a young person in the neighbourhood to do the actual installation. It really takes 2 people anyway, one up on the roof to unroll the cover and drape it over the sides and another on the ground to dress it around the body of the RV - you be that person on the ground. ๐Ÿ˜‰
2012 Silverado 1500 Crew Cab
2014 Coachmen Freedom Express 192RBS
2003 Fleetwood Yuma * 2008 K-Z Spree 240BH-LX
2007 TrailCruiser C21RBH * 2000 Fleetwood Santa Fe
1998 Jayco 10UD * 1969 Coleman CT380

SidecarFlip
Explorer III
Explorer III
I keep mine inside all winter and on season when it's not being used (last much longer that way) but prior to that I used an Adco cover and made it fiddle string tight with ratchet straps wrapped all the way around the circumference of the cover. With covers, tight is right, a flapping cover will eat into the filon, mar the finish and eventually tear.
2015 Backpack SS1500
1997 Ford 7.3 OBS 4x4 CC LB

Dick_B
Explorer
Explorer
Sunshield tarp over the roof and part of the sides, front and back. Black side up in the winter. We hold it down with boat fenders half filled with sand. Have for years.
Dick_B
2003 SunnyBrook 27FKS
2011 3/4 T Chevrolet Suburban
Equal-i-zer Hitch
One wife, two electric bikes (both Currie Tech Path+ models)

DutchmenSport
Explorer
Explorer
The 22 foot range travel trailer was pretty easy to cover. The 31 foot range travel trailer was a bit more challenging. And the 35 footer, I never bothered covering. And the thought of covering the 41 foot 5er now is not even an option to consider.

The longer they get, the heavier and bigger the cover gets. Also, the longer they got, the older I got too (funny how that worked out).

Don't know about your intended usage, but if you cover your camper and then decide a few days later to go somewhere with it, then you have to uncover. If you return home and cover again, then decide to go somewhere in a few days again, you'll have to uncover.

It only takes about 3 times for this to happen and they you will probably be ready to throw the thing away. No, not the camper, .... the cover!

I think to cover or not to cover depends upon how much you plan on using the camper, because putting in on and taking it off, and then putting it on and taking it off, gets very-very-very old very-very-very quick, regardless of how old or young, how stiff or or limber your body is.

Covering is nice, IF you plan on parking it and leaving it sit for some time. If you plan to use it frequently, covering will be a pain in the neck and back and legs real fast! If you are in snow country, covering is not a good thing if you plan on using the camper in the winter. It's horrible dealing with the cover when it laden with snow and ice ... don't ask how I know!

You will want a full cover over your camper, not a tarp that fits only over the top. You will want it pulled as tight as you can get it so nothing can flop in the wind. If it flops, it will rub your paint like sand paper.

To prepare it for installing, you'll want a space large enough you can lay out the cover completely flat with the inside on the ground and you are walking on the top. Then fold one of the sides over the top, then the other side over the top, then both ends, in that order. The entire tarp will be inside out now.

Now fold toward the middle again into 1/4's long way on both sides, then fold everything again. The goal is to get the width short enough you can handle it.

Next, select either the front or the back end of the cover. Yes, they are marked front or back. Start either way, just remember which end you start and end on. Let's say you start rolling from the front. Roll the remaining from the front toward the back. Once in a roll, like a sleeping bag, you are done. It's ready to put on the roof.

On the roof, lay the roll on the back of the camper and then unroll it going toward the front. Now you get it, right!

After it's unrolled, unfold each side until it's flat on the roof. Don't lower any sides until its completely opened up. Then... remember how it was folded? Lower the front end and the back end. This will help begin to hold it in place. Then lower one side and then the other.

Once in place, get down and tie all the ropes tight and snug and say good night to the baby.

In the Spring, do it exactly the same way as you did on the ground, except you'll be on the roof.

One side up, other side up, lay flat upside down. Front end up, back end up, lay flat. Fold each side over toward the middle in 1/4 lengths. Once it's all folded to the size of the storage bag length, then being rolling like a sleeping bag again. Front to back, or back to front. Just remember which way you do it. I always did front to back, so when putting on the roof the next time I started from the back.

After it's rolled up, drop it to the grown, put in it's bag and say ... "Hello Baby!" Did you have a good winter!

2edgesword
Explorer
Explorer
I'm a vertically challenged senior citizen. I've covered my prior 23' and now my 32' travel trailer by myself. If you can climb a ladder carrying 30 lbs or so you should be able to do it. It's a lot easier to do if you have a roof you can walk on and if you have a place on the ground large enough to lay the cover down and roll it up in a way so that it's in the correction orientation when you roll it out on the roof. Be careful and don't do it on a day with any wind.

As for just the roof or the whole trailer, the hardest part is getting it up on the roof. Once you roll it out draping it down the sides is the easy part.

Lwiddis
Explorer II
Explorer II
I use a full cover whenever the TT is at rest and since the TT is 7.5 feet wide, I can put it on without getting up on the roof with my collapsible ladder...provided I roll and fold it carefully when removing. You may not be able to do this....if not, be careful!
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad

2oldman
Explorer II
Explorer II
Cover or no? Sept 18
"If I'm wearing long pants, I'm too far north" - 2oldman