RV covers...are they worth it?

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JaycoDesigner

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Aug 31, 2012
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Home of the Buckeyes!
Hi All...So our newly-purchased 2010 Designer (35RLTS) does not fit into our barn, so unfortunately we will have to store it outside for this winter.

Any recommendations on covers? I'm wondering if anyone out there has a cover on theirs.

The hubby has already "recommended" putting up a new building. I told him we'd have to sell the 5th wheel to pay for it.  ;D

Is a "custom" cover really as custom as they claim? Is a cover really a good idea? We are in rural OH, where winter weather is never predictable.
We've given it a good bath and wax and will be parked against the barn.
 
When we lived in Boston we covered the Motorhome for ice protection. I worried about ice getting between the gaskets on the slides. Many in our RV park did not. Frankly I never had a leak and neither did they.
Now in SC not a issue.
Jim
 
I have heard from some dealers and owners that covers can trap moisture and let mold grow.  Maybe others have experience with this, but I keave mind uncovered in Minnesota.
 
We're actually just selling ours now. I originally convinced myself and the DW that we "had to have one" and after some early enthusiasm and use, it quickly got shuffled off to storage and was rarely used. Here are my new and improved reasons why I didn't use it after all was said and done.
*The 2 year warranty doesn't cover "wind damage".
*We live in the desert (Las Vegas, NV to be exact) and when the wind blows, it sometimes REALLY blows. That brings with it a lot of dust and debris.
*If you tightened the straps down too much, anything on the RV not padded with 6" of protection between the RV and the cover was liable to poke through. It took about 10 minutes to deploy and snug up the cover on a calm day.
*Prepping and padding it always took much, much longer. Too long to justify it in my mind.
*If you left the straps a little more slack, the wind would cause the straps to rub against the fabric and start to wear through the cover. Aggravating.
*I also started to see some early signs of growth (mold, maybe?) and a little softening where the cover contacted the roof corners (you have to pad all of those, too).
*We aren't slobs per se, but I always felt like you'd want to start with a crystal clean coach before putting the cover on due to not wanting any grit and grime to get pushed around under the cover. There may not be any basis in fact to that, it's just how I felt. We do wash pretty regularly, just not after each and every trip.

Having said all of that, we have had the following failures in the trailer that I think are directly attributable to the sun and heat out here:
*Both windows in the doors fell out of their mounts and had to be replaced. (Pretty sure that was due to heat buildup from leaving on those aluminized reflectors all the time, won't do that again by which I mean use reflectors OR replace the window mounts on my own)
*The rear day / night shade plastic mount recently melted (yep, melted) and fell down, so we replaced with a curtain.
*One of the wood cabinet doors just cracked and has a 1/4" gap running the width of the door (it really is a DRY heat).
All happened after expiry of warranty.

We always have a vent open, but when it hits 115+.......

Hope that helps?
 
Suggest you search the topic as this tends to be a "love or hate" relationship.  Most grouse about time and effort with putting it on and taking it off or tears when they don't cover sharp corners.  I like mine and think benefits outweigh negatives and, when covered, RV seems to be cooler and less dirty since it sits under a oak tree and I live in a town with dirt streets.
 
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