Trailer outside up north in winter

[4077]

Anyone here used trailer cover in the winter? Inside storage would be nice, buuuut it ain't gonna happen for the price. I read about chafing of the trailer surface being an issue with the covers. I can see how that would happen... I don't imagine they can ever be taught enough to resist those 40-50 mph winter winds. If you have/do use a cover, have you come up with any solution to avoiding surface chafing? Who just leaves it uncovered? What issues has that created, if any?

 

[4077]

...and I am sorry for all ready bringing up a future winter...

 

[bjschil]

Anyone here used trailer cover in the winter? Inside storage would be nice, buuuut it ain't gonna happen for the price. I read about chafing of the trailer surface being an issue with the covers. I can see how that would happen... I don't imagine they can ever be taught enough to resist those 40-50 mph winter winds. If you have/do use a cover, have you come up with any solution to avoiding surface chafing? Who just leaves it uncovered? What issues has that created, if any?

We leave our 2013 Sanibel 5'er outside all winter, slides in, here in Wisconsin. Looking around at all the rv dealers for all kinds of rv's, they do as well. A local dealer even has their slides out. We will not use a cover, believe that invites problems. This is our 4th new 5'er, and have never had any problem. We are a hardy bunch, don't at know!!! Think Spring. It has been a long, LONG, hard winter.

 

[4077]

We leave our 2013 Sanibel 5'er outside all winter, slides in, here in Wisconsin. Looking around at all the rv dealers for all kinds of rv's, they do as well. A local dealer even has their slides out. We will not use a cover, believe that invites problems. This is our 4th new 5'er, and have never had any problem. We are a hardy bunch, don't at know!!! Think Spring. It has been a long, LONG, hard winter.

I lived in WI for a bit under a year and commuted there by air for a further 5+ years when I was a pilot at Skyway (Midwest Airlines)...you have to be hardy out there! I was living in Orlando before I moved there, and that is why I moved back to FL and commuted to work in Milwaukee! Needed to go home and thaw out after 3-5 days at work up there! 4:30 AM mornings on the airport ramp in blowing snow and minus 20 degrees was brutal! New England winters are cold, but I still say WI is worse!

I think I am leaning no cover as well. Thanks for the input!

 

[sippican]

After numerous RVs braving the New England winters, we now store outside, but under a roof. The issue we've had is water getting into even the tiniest cracks, then expanding as it freezes = bigger cracks and leaks. I would think that a cover is the lesser of evils

 

[Sundancer330]

Most of the trailers and RVs I see stored during the winter up here in the frozen north have no covers. But after the eight feet of snow we had this winter some were shoveling some of that extra weight off mid winter. The ones that do cover use boat shrink wrap, you can get it tight as a drum so no worry of chafing.

 

[2goofycampers]

I was told to be sure you get a breathable cover. And use swim noodles and blankets to prevent rubbing.

 

[4077]

Yeah....seems to be one of those 50/50 arguments from reading around some other places...I was trying to figure out where the rubbing occurs. If I do go cover route, I would definitely try noodles on all the edges...I assume this is where the rubbing/chafing would occur...fortunately I have summer to think about it

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) RV's are designed for outdoor use.
2) That includes storage (as long as it is "winterized").
3) Don't use a cover, due to the chafing your mentioned.
4) You will not have a problem.

 

[1Grumpy9]

We cover ours for the winter. We use pool noodles to cover the sharper edges (around the steps and at the awnings). We also use blankets at the top near the air conditioner unit and the vents. We do have some weak spots in the cover...but our cover is two years old. We store ours at a friend's house that is very windy and the wind is the most damaging part of this whole thing.

When we bought the cover we got the extended warranty on it...the person at Camping World told us that right before the end of the first warranty is up, inspect the cover, take pictures of the "weak" spots and send them to CW. We would get a replacement cover.

No matter what you do with the cover and outside, you will have the chafing and if you can get 3 yrs out of a cover you are in good shape. This is our second cover and we have only had the camper 4 yrs.

 

[super_camper]

I don't think covers are worth the hassle, several people at our storage lot have tried them and all but one have given up. They offer very little protection but significantly increase the risk of winter damage, which in many cases is not easily repairable.

If you want to see some pics of the kind of damage covers can do visit rv.net and search the topic.

 

[jbrostek]

I had a cover for my class A. Since it only went unused from mid November to new years, then again from my return from FL till mid March, it was a LOT of work to get the cover on and off. I sold it 2 years later.

The new 5th wheel has no cover for the same reason. But I did learn that if you get lazy and skip a year in waxing the unit its twice as hard the next year.

 

[photogal06]

We finally gave up on covering ours. We never had a cover last more than 2 years...as soon as the wind kicks up and starts pulling on it, it gets thin spots and then holes. Also, they're not exactly easy to put on, being as large as they are. And since you have to get a breathable one for northern climates, a lot of stuff goes right through them anyway, so it's not like your camper is clean and dry when you pull the cover off....it's sort of wet and gunky. If you take it off in spring, you have this gigantic, dampish cover that you have to lay out to dry before you can store it.....our options for laying it out were the driveway, where it would get gritty or the yard where it would get wetter and a little muddy. It wasn't worth the hassle for us.

We do use tire covers when ours is parked for a long time, winter or summer. Those are much easier to maneuver

Ours is doing fine without a cover. We did have to shovel the roof off a few times this winter due to the weight of the snow, but we'd've been doing that even with a cover.

 

[amylevan]

We have an Adco cover for our 5er. We use pool noodles around the edges.

We live in a place called "Wind Gap", so 50 mph winds are a pretty regular occurrence, and is often just a "breezy" day. The cover has withstood the regular wind, as well as Hurricane Sandy.

We used to not cover, but our camper is parked under trees and the cover helps keep it clean during the long winter. No other issues occurred from not covering, though.

 

[CamperMomma]

Here in northern North Dakota, where it's not at all uncommon to have days upon days of 30-40 mph winds (or more!) in the winter, we choose not to cover. There is one unit that is covered currently in the storage lot we use on the air force base, and it's quickly being torn to shreds by the wind. Folks I know that have used them still end up with dampness underneath the cover, and for as cold as it gets I'm sure it freezes just the same as if it was wide open with no cover. We make sure to pressure wash the unit in the fall before it goes to it's resting place for the winter, and check all the seals/wall joints/roof areas that we can get our eyes on for anything out of the ordinary. We winterize fully (with the pink, not just blowing out the lines) make sure all batteries are taken out for the winter, chock wheels very well to avoid movement in all the wind (a friend found their trailer upside-down after a storm this past winter!) and try to peek in on it once a month or so, or if nothing else, certainly after a strong blizzard to make sure it still looks good. Anywho, back to the original question, to me the cover would be more of a hassle then it's worth, and with such strong winds in our area likely to cause damage to the unit that would need to be fixed along with having to purchase another cover.

 

[4077]

Thanks for all the responses....It seems my original lean towards no cover is going to be the best option....