TT cover question

[sgfrye]

My wife and I are about 2 months into owning our TT and loving it. Anyone use or have opinions on RV storage covers. I would love to have a more permanent enclosure from the weather but that ain't in the budget. Its a 33 footer. As always thanks for the help.

[babock]

2012Coleman wrote:
The amount of work required to keep it clean may be considered by some as a downside, but not to me.

Me neither...mine is getting covered.

The argument that a dealer doesn't cover the units is a bogus one. Most boat dealers don't cover boats either but if you let one sit in the sun a coupe years, the upholstery would be trashed.

[2012Coleman]

So I went over to my storage area yesterday with my 8 foot step ladder to check on my - read it - covered - TT after the hurricane. I disconnected one strap so I could open the zippered panel and get inside. I've been using the same ADCO cover since I bought the TT new in 2012. Everything looked good inside, but since there was a lot of tree debris on the roof, I wanted to inspect the rubber for tears.

So I removed the cover in about 20 minutes, and low and behold, no tears, and the roof was as white as it was from washing it after our last trip in August.

Now I'm not saying the cover protected it from getting stabbed by a tree limb but it did protect it from getting dirty. I can also report there were no black streaks - unlike the uncovered units around me.

While off, I inspected the entire TT top to bottom. I can say that my paint is not being worn off by rubbing, holes are not being poked into it from protruding objects like gutter spouts, and it is not being ripped to shreds due to wind - hurricane force at that. Why? Because I read the directions and know how to secure it and protect it from those protruding objects. I periodically check it to ensure the straps do not loosen - they do.

I took another 30 minutes and recovered it, to keep it clean for our upcoming fall trip. The amount of work required to keep it clean may be considered by some as a downside, but not to me.

[SoundGuy]

danimal53 wrote:
I remember reading on these forums the last time this topic came up, the dealers store them all on outside lots without covers.

SoundGuy wrote:
Obviously. :S What dealer in his / her right mind would invest in hundreds of covers and have to pay staff to install & later remove each cover when the entire purpose of the business is to sell lot stock as quickly as possible? Hardly a rationale for an individual owner to not use a cover. :R

danimal53 wrote:
i'm just saying if they sit out in the elements on dealer lots, and still look like new, reason enough for me. not talking about whether it makes financial sense. just saying i dont want to use one, or see a need myself.

Still an irrelevant argument since the goal of any dealer is to move lot stock as quickly as possible, in which case none of it will be on the lot long enough for exposure to the elements to matter anyway. It follows therefore that one's own reasons for using or not using a cover has absolutely nothing to do with why dealers don't cover their own lot stock. :R

[danimal53]

SoundGuy wrote:

danimal53 wrote:
I remember reading on these forums the last time this topic came up, the dealers store them all on outside lots without covers.

Obviously. :S What dealer in his / her right mind would invest in hundreds of covers and have to pay staff to install & later remove each cover when the entire purpose of the business is to sell lot stock as quickly as possible? Hardly a rationale for an individual owner to not use a cover. :R

i'm just saying if they sit out in the elements on dealer lots, and still look like new, reason enough for me. not talking about whether it makes financial sense. just saying i dont want to use one, or see a need myself.

[SoundGuy]

danimal53 wrote:
I remember reading on these forums the last time this topic came up, the dealers store them all on outside lots without covers.

Obviously. :S What dealer in his / her right mind would invest in hundreds of covers and have to pay staff to install & later remove each cover when the entire purpose of the business is to sell lot stock as quickly as possible? Hardly a rationale for an individual owner to not use a cover. :R

[danimal53]

had our TT for 3 years now, and decided against using a cover. i live near Chicago, so we see some pretty cold weather and sometimes a good amount of snow. maybe i was sold some BS, but on purchase we upgraded to a 5yr warranty which included "ResistAll" treatment. supposed to protect from UV damage and other elements. after 3 years now, no graphic fading/peeling, exterior still looks like new. I do have wheel covers and a spare tire cover. Otherwise I just leave it out in the elements. I remember reading on these forums the last time this topic came up, the dealers store them all on outside lots without covers. Not judging those who choose to cover, but I decided it's not for me.

[mgirardo]

We purchased a new TT for use at our seasonal site at the beginning of the season. It will sit for almost 8 months unused, so we decided to get a cover. We purchased a Camco UltraGuard cover. Camco does not make a cover for a 40+ foot TT. Since ours is a Bungalow with 8' ceilings, we decided to go with the 40' - 42' cover for Class A motorhomes. We just put it on yesterday. Sadly, Camco did not include instructions with it, but I found instructions online for it. Even though it was for a Class A, it fit well.

This was the first time we ever covered a RV. Our main concern is sitting snow. Our camper is 800 miles from our home, so we can't get the snow off the roof. It took us about 90 minutes to cover it. I really didn't know what to expect with such a long cover, but it went pretty well. All four of us (wife, 16 yo daughter, 14 yo son and myself) worked together and made pretty quick work of it.

The cover is very well built. It has vents at the top that should allow moisture to escape. The fabric looks similar to clothing designed to wick moisture away. Unlike a tarp, if the fabric was to tear, I don't think it would cause any problems with the camper's finish flapping against it. It's very soft. Since it was such a large cover it was expensive at $331 from Amazon. Our only other option was to have one custom map at over $1,000.

-Michael

[Camper76]

Does anyone use just a roof cover?

[SoundGuy]

ScottG wrote:
Well worth it in my opinion but this is the kind of question that brings out the kind of people who will go negative because they dont have one and are antagonistic towards those who do. It's really quite strange.

Agree completely, and as predicted criticism against covering has already begun yet again in this thread. 😞

In my own case I always kept our popups in my heated workshop but when we moved to a hybrid I had to find an alternate solution. The first winter I paid for indoor storage which around here is quite expensive so the following winter I covered the trailer with an ADCO AquaShed and had no issues at all. By the following winter we had a larger travel trailer so I sold the AquaShed and bought an ADCO Tyvek which I used for 5 winters, again no issues at all. We eventually sold that trailer and the cover so I later purchased an ADCO Designer Series Tyvek cover for our current shorter Coachmen. It's seen 3 winters, no issues at all, but last winter a friend of a friend offered indoor storage so I sold the cover to pay for the storage. If that indoor storage is still available for this coming winter I'll probably go that route again simply because it's easier, otherwise I'll buy another ADCO and cover the trailer for the winter as there's no question in my mind that a covered trailer will survive winter snow & ice much better than an uncovered, unprotected trailer.

[jbjuices]

It's a pain to cover, but I do. You pay that much for a camper, you want some protection so it doesn't look like ****. It takes about 30 minutes to cover, which is not bad considering the alternative. We bought our cover at Camping World (on sale) and bought the warranty with it. The replacement warranty is awesome because I trade that out every 3 years for a brand new one (you do have to buy a another warranty on the new cover, but its better than paying another $300-$400. I found out the hard way that wheel covers are just as important. Had to replace 2 of my tires because I didn't cover.

[Lwiddis]

Yes, the snow will just fall off but the rain will need to be drained.

[denngeor]

I'm a newbie. I plan to purchase a fifth wheel trailer and store it outside during the winter months in Colorado. It will see a lot of snow! Will the snow just fall off? Must I be concerned about snow loads?

[Vintage465]

Our trailer was a total cost of 28k out the door. I don't drop cash like that too often so we wanted to protect out investment. Just for kicks I checked on what a set of graphics would cost. $1000.00 plus shipping. Since the dang graphics are what go to heck and make the rig look funky, the possibility of fiberglass de-lamination and the rubber roof, I think the cover is well worth the investment. Yup it's a pain to put on..........and my trailer is short. But I feel real good after it's on while the sun is beating down on the rig. I still may get a set of graphics for the future, not sure if they have a shelf life expectancy.

[wireman]

Campfire Time wrote:
I used a cover once. It only lasted a few months. A big storm came through and tore it up. And yes, it was secured properly. Never again will I waste money one one. We bought our previous trailer new and had it for 10 years and never covered it. The only thing a cover would have helped would have been to keep the decals from fading. Other than that our trailer looked great.

I do cover the tires in the winter more to keep the wheels from rusting than anything else. I also cover the AC in winter.

Where I can see real value in a cover is in extreme climates like the SW or in Canada. There are lots of trailers and motor homes in my neighborhood and in the 28 years we've lived here we've never seen any of them covered. When all is said done, the best thing you can do is inspect and maintain your trailer. Covers are for the most part personal preference. I believe they help in some circumstances but not most.

Your right. Some situations it's not needed but here in the SW the sun is brutal and plays heck on fading and roof condition.

That's the main reason I can get only about 3 years from a cover.

For a little over $100/year I'll pay the price to help maintain my TT.