To cover or not to cover

[moonshoxx]

Hey folks. Wondering what the conventional wisdom is on the board about covering your trailer when not in use

[mkevinmarshsr]

We covered ours only one year when we weren't able to use it from Jan until March. Never had any issues with any scuffs or scratches. My thought was better a few scuffs than water and snow attacking the seals and looking for a way into the camper. We use our camper at least once a month even in the winter so we don't use the cover anymore. It definitely kept the roof a lot cleaner the winter we did use it. So I would say it's worth it if you won't use the camper for months at a time.

[trailrydr]

Covering an outdoor stored RV is a good idea. It can help keep the elements off your trailer during storage. We also manually covered ours the first year we owned it. The biggest issue we had was placing, removing, and storing the cover. They are large, heavy, somewhat cumbersome to manage, and typically take 2 or more people to install at least in our case with our 5er.

Because of this, we opted to rent covered storage for ours. Obviously more expensive, but doesn't require climbing on the trailer or spending any more time other than connecting/disconnecting the hitch each time we want to use it. In our case, it makes it well worth the storage fee just for that convenience.

BTW, minus a litte dust and the occasional bird droppings from being in rented covered storage, our trailer exterior still looks great and has no issues.

[Redapple63]

Covering an outdoor stored RV is a good idea. It can help keep the elements off your trailer during storage. We also manually covered ours the first year we owned it. The biggest issue we had was placing, removing, and storing the cover. They are large, heavy, somewhat cumbersome to manage, and typically take 2 or more people to install at least in our case with our 5er.

Because of this, we opted to rent covered storage for ours. Obviously more expensive, but doesn't require climbing on the trailer or spending any more time other than connecting/disconnecting the hitch each time we want to use it. In our case, it makes it well worth the storage fee just for that convenience.

BTW, minus a litte dust and the occasional bird droppings from being in rented covered storage, our trailer exterior still looks great and has no issues.

Excellent points and things to think about. We chose to cover until we built a covered garage for our rig. The cover makes a huge difference in protection from sun damage/UV.

As pointed out it is challenging to put on and is often much easier with two people. Both my wife and I have put it on occasionally by ourselves but it is much harder.

It is also a function of how often you use your rig. Do you go out every weekend, every other, do extended trips? For us, currently we are both still working full time so it is parked for extended periods making the cover a good thing, your mileage will vary.

You also need to ensure if you choose to cover to get it installed tight so it doesn’t flap and undulate in the wind which can cause damage

Good Luck with your decision.

Bill

[Soundsailor]

Hey folks. Wondering what the conventional wisdom is on the board about covering your trailer when not in use

We cover over the winter (3 to 4 months here in NH). The cover we use is a bit of a challenge to get on and off so it doesn't get used for shorter periods. We're thinking about adding a covered storage shed to our property.

[uwskier]

Mine is under a cover when not in use since it sits next to my house in AZ and I'm trying to keep the UV from destroying it. There's a 2020 Imagine two blocks from me that doesn't get covered and it looks like it was built in the 1980s. The sun is crazy out here.