Snow pack on roof

[mtnlvr]

I live in the Sierra Mtns. at 7,100 ft. I've been shoveling heavy wet cement-like snow all day for the past seven days with about two feet on the roof of my Solara. Two more feet are expected tonight. Yesterday we got the "Pineapple Express" and the snow turned to inches of rain and flooding. I was too busy sandbagging to find the time(and energy) after tunneling to the moterhome to go get my ladder and clear the roof. But, I was VERY happy to go inside and find that everything was dry, all things considering!
Four more days of storms and I'm so ready to have my neighbor with his big plow come dig out my motorhome from my 125 ft. driveway. Heading to the coast and Leo Carrillo State Beach, Malibu; next week never looked better!! ( I lived next to there for over 30 yrs. and didn't appreciate it like I will now.)

[mikdor1]

I live in upstate NY and we experience lake effect snow. I don't worry about snow load but I do put down my stabilizer jacks in the fall, thinking weight would be distributed over jacks and tires more evenly than just on tires and axles.

[youroo]

We were at a C/G in the High Elevations where the seasonal units are supported with Tee supports on the Inside! They were installing them while we were there! They said they get "6-8 feet" of snow! Youroo!!

[grumpy0374]

Originally Posted by TimVWulp

so if the roof can support 150 lb / sq ft with a 35' unit that is 280 sq ft
280 X 150 = 4200 LB of snow on the roof! The roof may be strong enough but the axles may be bent.

This is why I remove snow Tim

Only problem with your caculations is that snow dosen't weigh 150 lbs per sq ft. Dosen't even weigh 150 lbs per cu. ft.
A cu. ft. of plain water weighs only 62 lbs.
And, your 150 lbs X 280 is not 4200 lbs, it's 22,500 lbs.
280 cu ft of water, if possible to put on roof, would only be 17,360 lbs.
Didn't realize that snow was heavier than water.
If roof is rated to hold 150 lbs per sq ft, and water weighs 62 lbs per sq ft, than it would take an awful lot of snow to reach that weight limit.
Considering that, on average 1 inch of rain = approx 8- 10 inches of snow. a one foot sq of watrer, 1 inch deep would be 10 inches of snow. One cu ft of water or 12 inches high, would be approx 120 inches, or about 10 feet of snow. To reach the weight rating of 150 lbs per sq ft, would take snow approx 25 feet deep per sq foot.
Grumpy

[TimVWulp]

OK so I did an unscientific measurement of one cubic foot of fresh snow that is falling right now. The one cubic foot of snow weighed in at 6.6 LB.

6.6 LB X 280 SQ Foot = 1848 LB. This is a lot of weight and may put the unit running gear in a over load condition. One foot of snow is just a drop in the bucket when the annual snow fall for the year is 8'. Now it may not be there all at once but 2-3' on the ground and roof is not uncommon.

This snow was fresh so it did not have time to compact down.

2 foot will weigh in at 3696 LB so don't think that the lite fluffy snow dose not add up to a back breaking load.

Hope this helps Tim

[itat]

When's the last time anybody heard of a dealer or private owner writing off a unit due to snow load? IMO, it's not an issue and certainly not worth the risk of damaging something on the roof or me falling off. I say leave it be and stop worrying.

[FFred]

Folks living aboard in the cold should remember snow is a great insulator.

[WFD]

Originally Posted by TimVWulp

OK so I did an unscientific measurement of one cubic foot of fresh snow that is falling right now. The one cubic foot of snow weighed in at 6.6 LB.

6.6 LB X 280 SQ Foot = 1848 LB. This is a lot of weight and may put the unit running gear in a over load condition. One foot of snow is just a drop in the bucket when the annual snow fall for the year is 8'. Now it may not be there all at once but 2-3' on the ground and roof is not uncommon.

This snow was fresh so it did not have time to compact down.

2 foot will weigh in at 3696 LB so don't think that the lite fluffy snow dose not add up to a back breaking load.

Hope this helps Tim

If this is the case then every RV dealer in my area better load up on "running gear" and axles because all the trailers on their lot may all need replacing!
Heck for that matter all the trailers that owners have in storage here should all need replacing too...I think I better buy shares in the axle manufacturing companies.

[Taranwanderer]

You could always go inside and blast the furnace up to 80 degrees or so...with the low R value in these things, you'll lose a good deal of heat through the roof and melt the snow...?

[elind]

I lived in a part of the country that could get over 300 inches of snow a season. Homes, garages, and RVs sometimes need to be cleaned off during the winter season. Snow mixed with a thawing or rain showers builds up some heavy weight on the roofs results in disaster. Some winters we have spells of warm weather that melts down the snow but sometimes it just keeps adding up to damage the roofs. You need to be the judge when it's adding up.

[Coolharts]

I would think the stabs being down could cause problems since the trailer's suspension couldn't flex as the snow buildup occurs.

[D-Man]

I've had 3+ feet of snow on my TT before No problem.

[elind]

I've had 3' on mine but I shoveled down to 6" before trucking down the road heading south.

[bob caldwell]

Hope it all blew off!...lol

[elind]

Originally Posted by bob caldwell

Hope it all blew off!...lol

The last of it blew of in Kansas.