TT storage ?

[jcarr56506]

OK here is another question :

Ive heard that covering or tarping the TT or RV is bad cause moisture can sit under the tarp or cover and freeze and thaw over and over again but i see a whole bunch of them that are covered. i would assume that a custom cover would be better than just a blue tarp but would i really be hurting my trailer if i get a good cover for it. it has to sit outside all the time and i hate to see all the snow and rain hit it constantly.

what do you guys think

ben

[rthrbelsewhere]

I don't know what others will say, but my experience has been that I covered mine for the entire winter with a gray tarp from harbor freight tools and bungied the thing down and I didn't have any moisture under it when i pulled it off last weekend. Each situation is different, but that's been mine. My buddy owns a true engine driven motorhome and he covers his with one of those expensive covers and he has to replace it about every 2 years due to the wind tearing the fabric. I almost went that way with a $100 cover, but not if i have to replace it every 2 years. The tarp was around $35 if i remember correctly and it's a bit heavier duty then the blue or green ones.

Another thought is drainage off of the roof of your TT or RV. It's probably not a bad idea to have it tilting back or forward (drive an axle up on blocks if you need to) so that if anything does collect under it, when it thaws, it drains. I guess something is better then nothing and depending on how much you want to spend is what it comes down to. I had a couple of my plastic vents crack on me so when I decided on my cover, it was a last minute, need it quickly, kind of decision. It worked...lucky me

[jcarr56506]

that was what i was thinking, so i think this season will be tarp season

thanks for the info
ben

[rthrbelsewhere]

Hi Ben,
No problemo.
Oh, btw, my wife is from Brighton...semi close to Detroit.
Say YA to da UP, eh?

[acadianbob]

You can get "breathable" covers. That's what I would recommend. Had one for a F150 that I had to leave outside. Worked great. No trapping of moisture but kept sun, debris, rain, off the truck. Amazing stuff.

[jcarr56506]

yeah Brighton is about 40 minutes from me, sweet

how much are the breathable ones, are we talking hundreds of dollars ?

[rthrbelsewhere]

As an example, at rv covers direct dot com, an 'up to 20 foot' cover for my roo would run me over 200 bucks. The price goes up as the size of trailer goes up. Now I know that I could surf around and maybe find it less somewhere else, but it will still never be less then the price of the silver tarp i purchased. If i have to replace the tarp once a year, I could go 5 years before i break even with the single purchase of the 'aqua shed' or other brand of breathable cover.

[rvparttimer]

I use silver tarps and deliberately leave some slack so snow weight does not tear the cover or press too hard on AC covers, etc. The looseness also allows air to circulate and keep things drier. If moisture is still a concern, top vents can be left slightly open to circulate fresh air under the cover. Weight, for covering and removal, is a consideration. Probably the biggest thing to watch for is wind-induced abrasion by grommets and such. My fix for that is to tie soft strips (bike inner tube strips will work) at the grommets.

[08flagvlite]

I feel for you guys. I use our camper year round, MORE in the winter than the summer actually. NO NEED for a tarp! I KNOW it's BEAUTIFUL out west or in PA, but to each his own, I suppose! Randy

[jcarr56506]

i would use mine all year but most of the campgrounds are closed that we like to go to. and the wife thinks it is too cold even with the heat running

[dharri770]

When you guys buy tarps to use, how much bigger do you go over the length and width? Do you run the cover down the sides a foot or two or do you bring the cover all the way down to the frame?

[rthrbelsewhere]

I bought mine big enough to come down the sides, just around the bottom of the window seal and long enough to cover the top of the bed hatch in front in back. I don't have the new seal kit for my roo, so I added some extra insurance and tied a 2nd tarp (another $4 on sale) to the large one to cover the bottom hinge of the front bed door so I don't get any small leaks in there.

One thing that I did learn was to not every buy those rubber type bungees with the metal S-shaped hooks on them. The rubber weathers very quickly and I found myself having to replace many of them or double them up so they didn't break on me. End result...I trashed all of them and replaced them with the nylon wrapped ones with the plastic hooks. I think I paid like $10 for a round tube of 10 cords with different sizes and colors. Worked like a charm. I Didn't have to rewash the black rubber marks off of the camper again either, which was a heck of a difficult job the first time around.