Travel Trailer Cover? Good/Bad Idea?

[imq707s]

Thinking about getting one of those special covers designed for travel trailer to keep the sun and rain off of my trailer. Does anyone have one? It looks like they range in price anywhere from $150 to $500+. Some have zippered door that make it easier to get into the trailer if you don't want to pull the entire cover off if you need into it for some reason. Some are one single piece (a paint to put on?)

Any opinions on these? What's a good one?

[SoundGuy]

ktmrfs wrote:
how easy is it to get the cover over the AC, tv antenna, solar panels etc? I know others have suggested or done this, curious as to how to get the cover over these items w/o damaging the cover.

I've never had solar panels on the roof but all the usual stuff - A/C, vents, antennas, stink pipes, etc - and never have had an issue dressing the cover over them without catching. I don't care for the idea of first laying the cover on the ground where it will pick up grit so I do climb on the roof. It's far easier IMO to climb the ladder pushing the cover in it's bag ahead of me and then once on the roof unroll it and drape the side panels over each edge as a helper on the ground gently pulls to help dress it. Takes much longer to pad sharp corners than to actually install the cover.

[Bmach]

Just flip it over them, not a problem. Remember the sides have the straps on them which helps.

[ktmrfs]

oldcat1 wrote:

Bmach wrote:
To avoid getting on the roof you lay your cover on the groung. Fold the sides onto the roof portion of the cover. Next fold it in half length wise. Now roll it up back to front. Put your ladder at the side of your camper towards the front. Place your cover on the roof. Unroll it as far as you can move your ladder unroll it more. When completely unrolled flip the sides down and secure the cover. This is all done without ever getting on the roof and with one person. Two people, two ladders it is even quicker.

This ^^^ I use a pole with a padded end to help push the cover around so I don't have to move the ladder as much. 25' TT and I can put it on in 15 minutes by myself. Worth it to me if I'm not going to use the TT for a month or more. Sun is my biggest enemy.

Safe travels.

how easy is it to get the cover over the AC, tv antenna, solar panels etc? I know others have suggested or done this, curious as to how to get the cover over these items w/o damaging the cover.

[oldcat1]

Bmach wrote:
To avoid getting on the roof you lay your cover on the groung. Fold the sides onto the roof portion of the cover. Next fold it in half length wise. Now roll it up back to front. Put your ladder at the side of your camper towards the front. Place your cover on the roof. Unroll it as far as you can move your ladder unroll it more. When completely unrolled flip the sides down and secure the cover. This is all done without ever getting on the roof and with one person. Two people, two ladders it is even quicker.

This ^^^ I use a pole with a padded end to help push the cover around so I don't have to move the ladder as much. 25' TT and I can put it on in 15 minutes by myself. Worth it to me if I'm not going to use the TT for a month or more. Sun is my biggest enemy.

Safe travels.

[RV_Cover_Supply]

Adding an RV Cover to your arsenal of RV supplies it a great idea. An RV cover will protect your unit from the harsh elements like rain, snow, sun and falling debris. It will also aid in keeping out rodents and bugs during storage. We have found that Carver offers the most durable cover on the market available at https://rvcoversupply.com
It is a small price to pay to keep your travel trailer, 5th wheel or motorhome looking new for years to come.

[prolandsurveyor]

the best thing ever got for my camper was a metal cover to go over it.

[RGar974417]

We have used covers in the past, but they didn't seem to last more than 3 years and they let the water and snow go through the cover leaving the roof very dirty. So for the past 6 years,we have used a 30 x 20 ft tarp. It works better than any cover we ever had and it doesn't leave dirt trapped on the roof like the covers did. We don't hold it down using the grommets. We use 2" strapping we bought at the local hardware store. You can cut it to length and they have latches to connect the 2 ends together.We use the straps over every year. Then we use ropes through the end grommets and tie them together to keep the wind from getting under the tarp. The tarps cost around $80 and usually only last one year. But the covers were over $300 and only lasted 3 years so we come out ahead with the tarps and the trailer stays cleaner than with the covers.

[SpeakEasy]

SoundGuy wrote:

farmer's daughter wrote:
The RV dealerships don't cover their new ones on the lots.

Think about it ... is that any reason to not cover your own trailer? What dealership is going to invest tens of thousands of $$$$$ just to buy 100s of covers, then pay someone to install them in the fall, then pay again to have them removed in the spring, especially when those trailers are only intended be on the lot for as little time as possible before being sold. That argument makes NO sense at all. :R

I disagree that the purpose of a breathable cover is to keep the trailer looking "purty", although by default that's what it will do. 🙂 It's real purpose is to protect the many seams and the awning from the ravages of constant exposure to the elements, particularly snow that melts and turns to ice then melts again then freezes again, over and over. I've been using breathable ADCO covers on any trailers I've stored outdoors for the last ten years and would only not do so if I were storing indoors, which I am doing this winter. For me there's no question that any recreational vehicle not stored indoors is better off protected over the winter with a breathable cover than not. JMO.

My reasoning exactly. I'm new to TT ownership this year, and I went through this entire decision-making process. I figure that the TT will be sitting unused for at least 5 months. That's a lot of days of just sitting there in the sun, wind, rain, ice, and snow. Protecting the caulking, seams, and seals makes a ton of sense to me.

-Speak

[Bmach]

To avoid getting on the roof you lay your cover on the groung. Fold the sides onto the roof portion of the cover. Next fold it in half length wise. Now roll it up back to front. Put your ladder at the side of your camper towards the front. Place your cover on the roof. Unroll it as far as you can move your ladder unroll it more. When completely unrolled flip the sides down and secure the cover. This is all done without ever getting on the roof and with one person. Two people, two ladders it is even quicker.

[Ken_O]

ktmrfs wrote:

Ken O wrote:
I'm also thinking of a cover, we had a real bad tree sap summer. Any recommendations for a cover?

my first cover was an adco with tyvek roof, the designer series. Lasted 4 years, maybe could have gotten one more year out of it but the sun had definitely started to degrade the fabric. Downside is the weight and bulk of the cover. It would barely fit in a 50 gallon garbage can for storage and was not easy to get on the roof.

Current cover is a Classic accessories perma pro lifetime warranty cover. 3 years old, holding up well, big advantage it is ripstop nylon, much much lighter than the adco, but seems to be holding up and doing as well or better than the adco.

Also has more zippered panels so likelyhood of getting easy access to a door is better.
And, amazingly it will actually fit into the supplied duffle bag!!

Also the adco length breaks pretty much matched my trailer length, like 6 inches over my trailer length so I had a very good fit with the adco. with the classic accessory I was about 10 inches over the length for one size, so the next size up gave me about 3 extra feet, tougher to get a nice firm fit.

Thanks!

[ktmrfs]

Ken O wrote:
I'm also thinking of a cover, we had a real bad tree sap summer. Any recommendations for a cover?

my first cover was an adco with tyvek roof, the designer series. Lasted 4 years, maybe could have gotten one more year out of it but the sun had definitely started to degrade the fabric. Downside is the weight and bulk of the cover. It would barely fit in a 50 gallon garbage can for storage and was not easy to get on the roof.

Current cover is a Classic accessories perma pro lifetime warranty cover. 3 years old, holding up well, big advantage it is ripstop nylon, much much lighter than the adco, but seems to be holding up and doing as well or better than the adco.

Also has more zippered panels so likelyhood of getting easy access to a door is better.
And, amazingly it will actually fit into the supplied duffle bag!!

Also the adco length breaks pretty much matched my trailer length, like 6 inches over my trailer length so I had a very good fit with the adco. with the classic accessory I was about 10 inches over the length for one size, so the next size up gave me about 3 extra feet, tougher to get a nice firm fit.

[Ken_O]

I'm also thinking of a cover, we had a real bad tree sap summer. Any recommendations for a cover?

[ZeeLet50]

I cover mine and install it myself. Yes it does involve getting on the roof but as most have said, in the spring you uncover and have a clean camper. Mine will last maybe one more season as i did put a few tears in it last winter scraping the 5 feet of snow off it.
paid around $300 for the cover and never had issues with bug, rodents or wind.

[Bmach]

I have never once had to get on my roof to cover my camper. It is all done from a ladder. I will always keep mine covered during the winter. No worries about ice forming any where on the roof, it would be on the cover, trailer is clean when uncovered. Cover any sharp edges strap it down tight and the wind is not a worry.