Winter cover for TT

[rfloyd99]

We live in Florida and have never covered our TT. This year I plan to winterize it and leave it in Colorado October through June. It will be at about 8,300 ft elevation, so quite cold, lots of snow and very low humidity. Also intense sun at that altitude. 

I'm pretty sure it should be covered, for protection from the sun if nothing else. Here's my question:

Can, or maybe should, I use tarps instead of a breathable cover? Beside the fact that the tarps would be much cheaper, I'm wondering if the breathable cover would allow moisture from the snow that will accumulate on the roof to affect the RV. Tarps wouldn't let moisture in, and in the low humidity there wouldn't be moisture inside that would need to get out.
Anyone have any thoughts, or experience?
Thanks!

[solman]

I think a proper RV cover is a good idea and used one years ago on a smaller Trailer. It helps keep it cleaner and protected to a point. I used a blue tarp one year just on the roof and a bit over the sides. It did not work out well at all. Scuffs the finish and doesn't breath at all. Did more harm then good perhaps.
I want to cover my 5th wheel but at 36 feet I don't think I can do it alone. I don't really have anyone nearby to help with hauling it up on to the roof. The covers can be heavy and unmanageable for one person who is at retirement age.

[docsouce]

I had an "Elements All Climate" that came with the new class C I bought 5 years ago. It lasted very well for the 4 harsh winters I used it. As suggested here I made sure all the corners and pressure locations were covered with a good thickness of cloth. in my case I bought some cheap bath towels and taped them up as needed. My plan was to buy a new cover for this coming winter. I bought a new Class C and this one didn't come with a cover. I went to buy another "Elements All Climate" it seemed a bit thinner. So after some research, and seeing the prices about the same, I bought an ADCO Designer all weather cover. We'll see how this works. I live in the Southern New England where we tend to get very slushy heavy snow/rain that flash freezes, along windy conditions.

[pasusan]

We put a RV cover on our class B for one winter before we built our garage. That was the year we had more snow than any other place in the country. Everything was fine when we took it off in the spring.
Sorry I don't have the brand available - but it was $380.00!!!

[hotjag1]

coolmom42 wrote:

hotjag1 wrote:
We have two motorhomes and leave one of them covered all winter. I bought a good quality breathable rv cover which covers the entire motorhome. I then bought a blue plastic tarp of a size that covers the roof and only comes down over the sides and front and rear cap about a foot. The tarp does NOT cover the windows.

I leave a roof vent open(it has a vent cover over it). We get quite a bit of snow, wind, and rain and I have never had any mildew or mold because of the breathable cover and the tarp not covering the windows. We also have never had any chafing on the motorhome since the tarp only comes down about a foot over the edge of the roof. You could leave a window cracked if more ventilation is wanted. This method has worked for several years for us without any problems.

Why do you use a tarp on top of the cover?

The breathable rv cover is not waterproof, so even though I check and keep all roof seams sealed, I don't want any possibility of water getting in a roof seam crack that may appear during the winter. The tarp is waterproof.

[coolmom42]

hotjag1 wrote:
We have two motorhomes and leave one of them covered all winter. I bought a good quality breathable rv cover which covers the entire motorhome. I then bought a blue plastic tarp of a size that covers the roof and only comes down over the sides and front and rear cap about a foot. The tarp does NOT cover the windows.

I leave a roof vent open(it has a vent cover over it). We get quite a bit of snow, wind, and rain and I have never had any mildew or mold because of the breathable cover and the tarp not covering the windows. We also have never had any chafing on the motorhome since the tarp only comes down about a foot over the edge of the roof. You could leave a window cracked if more ventilation is wanted. This method has worked for several years for us without any problems.

Why do you use a tarp on top of the cover?

[Lwiddis]

National RV Covers should be considered.

[rfloyd99]

OP here. Seems like I better start shopping for a cover. Any suggestions for the best/least expensive option, and where to look for one?

And, it will be at my daughter's, so there's someone to help with the snow. Good question though.

[jdc1]

Who's shoveling the snow off that trailer?

[hotjag1]

We have two motorhomes and leave one of them covered all winter. I bought a good quality breathable rv cover which covers the entire motorhome. I then bought a blue plastic tarp of a size that covers the roof and only comes down over the sides and front and rear cap about a foot. The tarp does NOT cover the windows.

I leave a roof vent open(it has a vent cover over it). We get quite a bit of snow, wind, and rain and I have never had any mildew or mold because of the breathable cover and the tarp not covering the windows. We also have never had any chafing on the motorhome since the tarp only comes down about a foot over the edge of the roof. You could leave a window cracked if more ventilation is wanted. This method has worked for several years for us without any problems.

[ktmrfs]

Thermoguy wrote:
A tarp will get mildew underneath. It will scuff the surface of your RV if it moves, and if long exposure the tarp will start to deteriorate with weather and wind.

A RV cover is much higher quality than a typical tarp. And probably not that much more expensive when you start looking at how many tarps or the cost of a large tarp that can cover most RV's.

exactly. a plastic tarp is a BAD idea, will trap moisture, scuff the surface. In our community RV lot it seems like every year someone (tries to) cover their trailer with a tarp. Even with moderate wind and moderate sun, by the end of the year it's shredded and the next year that trailer is either uncovered or a trailer cover over it. And then someone else tries the same experiment, same result.

What I can say is that the trailers that are covered with a trailer cover are in much better shape than those that are not. No yellow plastic, minimal or no black streaks, no chalky faded sides, no cracked peeling decals.

Now, we seldom have winds over 25mph and even those are rare, and lots of rain but not a great deal of sun or snow.

[Thermoguy]

A tarp will get mildew underneath. It will scuff the surface of your RV if it moves, and if long exposure the tarp will start to deteriorate with weather and wind.

A RV cover is much higher quality than a typical tarp. And probably not that much more expensive when you start looking at how many tarps or the cost of a large tarp that can cover most RV's.

[Lwiddis]

Breathable coverings are always better for RVs than ones that don't IMO. Use extra straps too.