# I Have To Ask....



## OregonCampin (Mar 9, 2007)

OK - first, yes, I do still lurk around the darkside







... mostly to laugh at the different things that people say... I mean heck, this poor guy was tarred and feathered because he asked what the reprecussions of removing his battery from his PUP would have...







.....

soooo ... I am doing my ususal lurk around the







- I jump around from the Toy Hauler (Hey Y-guy!) section, the Travel Trailer section and the PUP section primarly but I have been know to lurk in other places.... so today, after researching "RV covers" I come across a thread on the darkside about just that subject.... MAN, talk about some angry, must do it my way attitudes... I was afraid to post anything for fear of losing my fingers....

sooooooo .... I am asking my happy, go lucky, just give me the facts, jack Outback family. Many of you saw the concrete mod we did to our backyard so that our OB could live at home.... which it does, but during the summer months it gets BEAT on by the sun for most of the day. The back and the door side primarily. We have talked about putting up one of those metal, permanent structures, but honestly, I don't want that thing in my back yard forever! So, after talking to my DH we decided on getting a UV protection cover for our OB, just for the hot summer when the OB is being beat on for hours a day. Does anyone else use a cover? What are the pros and cons? Any other suggestions for protecting the OB from the UV rays? We have also looked at Perma Plate - has anyone done this treatment?

As always, thanks for your input!


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## Rollrs45 (May 7, 2007)

I thought about one of those temporary carport style metal structures however, in order to get one big enough to park an OB under you're looking at around 2000 - 3000 bucks. I]m interested to see what others think, have done or may come up with. Good question.

Mike


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## Acadia Hiker (May 29, 2007)

If you live where it snows, whatever you do, don't buy one of these:










Don't ask me how I know...


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## Camper Man (Jan 12, 2006)

The main problem I've found is that our RV cover is a P-A-I-N to put on and fully secure (to minimize wind damage). It takes about 1 1/2 hours every time for me and my son. We take time to place padding at the corners and other edges where the cover might rub, and we tie and tape down every part of the fabric that might flap in a heavy wind.

We have ended up just covering ours once a year -- at the start of winter, and it now sits out in the sun from March to November. I figure we're getting some protection from the most severe winter elements; and hope that extends the life of the camper enough to make it worthwhile.


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## 4ME (Sep 11, 2006)

Acadia Hiker said:


> If you live where it snows, whatever you do, don't buy one of these:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I found my employers cover like this a block away in a small storm!


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## battalionchief3 (Jun 27, 2006)

I put on the adco cover in the off season and the rain spouts poked through the cover....but its still in good shape and I will put it on this year again and it is a pain. Like the others have said I would like the metal carport cover but it would run me about 2000 bucks, little high for me right now and I wont have this camper forever and if I ever get a 5er it wont fit and then I have to sell that and blah, blah, blah....


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

We are planning to get a cover for the winter....all the rain we get in Oregon, just makes this an easy decision for us.


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## CanadaCruizin (Jul 3, 2004)

Our TT sits with the back-end facing south/sunshine. Was thinking of sinking a couple of 4x4 posts into the ground behind her, about the same width as the TT, then install some lattice between them. Should breakup the sunshine thoughout the day and not let the sun beat down on the entire backside all day.


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## biga (Apr 17, 2006)

CanadaCruizin may be on to the best overall solution. I have heard horror stories of water getting under the covers and causing problems, as well as the flapping ruining the finish of RV's. So, if sun is your primary issue, an arbor over the concrete pad that the OB could fit under would reduce the effect of the sunlight, while looking good, and with a bit of shopping and elbow grease, you might be able to do fairly inexpensively.


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## hurricaneplumber (Apr 12, 2004)

Seems a cover would be a pain if you wanted to use the camper at home, we sleep in ours on weekends, not sure how much airflow you can get through a cover.

What about planting a few trees??? You can buy some large ones for less than a roof or go out in the woods and find one. Where's John Denver......

stay away from







see it's just not woth it. Outbackers


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## dougdogs (Jul 31, 2004)

Acadia Hiker said:


> Don't ask me how I know...


ROTFLMAO!!!

Been there. . . done that!


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## Drac (Apr 26, 2007)

hurricaneplumber said:


> Seems a cover would be a pain if you wanted to use the camper at home, we sleep in ours on weekends, not sure how much airflow you can get through a cover.
> 
> What about planting a few trees??? You can buy some large ones for less than a roof or go out in the woods and find one. Where's John Denver......
> 
> ...


Actually that's my biggest concern about parking mine "back in the woods" where I live. I've seen lots of large limbs and some trees come down back there. The thought of one taking out my OB gives me shivers. I like the arbor idea a lot though.


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## Raymond (Mar 1, 2007)

I for one use a cover. In my opinion, Adco covers are the best and offer the best protection. Now, I must say I learned the hard way and am on my 2nd cover. I took the advice of someone and bought too big a cover and although never damaged my trailer, it ended up ripping all over. I learned tons in the last 3 years about how to properly cover your trailer. First off, you need to buy the right size for your rig and do not over tighten it. I have had my new cover (now that I have the hang of it) for 1 year now with no rips nor chaffing marks (so slight you cant even notice) and have had great success. It takes me 20 min to put on and 10 min to remove. I am very anal and my trailer gets waxed 2x a year with NuFinish. I consistently get comments on how nice my trailer looks. It looks like it is garaged and has no fade marks from the sun whatsoever which is the only reason I bought it. The sun beats down so hard on it (even in Mich) that I decided to cover it for protection. You need to decide what is best for you. There are pros and cons I admit, but it is also very nice to have a spotless trailer everytime I pick it up from storage. Right before I put it away after a trip, I wash it then put the cover on. My trailer always looks clean and the only real cleaning it needs are the bugs on the front after a trip. It is nice to have no streaks on it nor fading of the rig. I used to get so frustrated using the old cover that I almost gave up. Again, I learned the proper way to secure it and it holds up fine, even in heavy wind gusts. It works for me but it is personal preference I must admit. I personally would rather spend 20 min covering it up when I put in storage then picking up a dirty, filthy trailer and having to clean for 1.5 hours before a trip. That's just me. My old trailer was 4 years old and looked so good on the exterior that I sold it in a week to a couple who didn't even like all it's features but bought it anyways because the exterior looked so new compared to other 4 year old trailers that looked like 10 years old due to fading from the sun. I now demonstrate patience when installing the cover and make sure the tie downs are taunt but not overtightened. It is not always the most fun putting the cover on after a trip but again, it works for me and I am confident I will be able to sell it in a few years because it will look so nice. All in all, I prefer the inconvenience up front for a shiny trailer on the back end. You need to decide if the extra frustration is worth it to you because I also used to share the frustrations of covering my trailer, but $300.00 later, I know have a system down pat the works for me. Hope this helps. I use the polypropelene adco cover.


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## shaela21 (Aug 16, 2005)

I have often thought about a cover for the OB, but like some of you have said: it would be a pain to put on and take off. So, my solution is fairly easy. Every few months I go out and wax the OB or polish it with NuFinish as this does help to ward off the harmful UV rays. I use 303 on the tires to prevent drying out and cracking. But this may not work for everyone since we do not get the harsh sun the some of you folks do down south. But it seems to work for me in the Northwest.


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

If the wind in your area isn't too bad a cover would probably work well for you. I've wanted to cover the trailer to protect it but I live where its very windy. At the storage lot where our Outback is kept I've seen every cover that other people try get ripped to shreds. I've thought about a covered storage area but I'd go from paying $10 to $70 a month and so far I can't justify the expense. Good luck with whatever solution you choose.


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## photosal (Nov 16, 2004)

We went through these pains when we bought our rig 3 yrs ago. Both the dealer and the rubber roof manufacturer said do not cover it. But we live in snow country, so we felt we needed some kind of protection. We ended up buying a metal 'carport' sized for the 5er. Yes, it was expensive. But we live in the middle of a wooded lot. The first winter a tree came down right over what would have been the skylight in the 5er. Since we had the carport, it landed on that and did not hurt the rig. So in our case we figure it was money well spent. When the wind blows we don't have to worry about falling limbs, or snow loads in winter.

Just my two cents...


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