To Cover Or Not

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

Yah, but the light, powdery stuff you call snow isn't the same snow everyone gets. Here the typical snow is wet, heavy and turns to ice.

Not so easy to clean off.

Powder snow in Calgary is very temporary when it happens. Chinook winds and sun are that it doesn't last long. I have had to use plastic snow shovels a few times when stored away from home with now AC available.

Now though, I set up the trailer pad at our new place with a 30A outlet and can plug in to charge if ever needed.

[Selkirk]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

Powder snow in Calgary is very temporary when it happens. Chinook winds and sun are that it doesn't last long.

That's why I feel somewhat comfortable relying on the panels to maintain the batteries in my trailer while it's in storage over winter. Even if it stays cold for a prolonged period, it won't be a big issue for me to clean off the panels every now-and-then.

During a boondocking trip this past weekend, it only took an hour or so after sunrise to recharge the batteries from 90% to 100% (and I was still drawing power during this time). With the trailer's 12v system disconnected while in storage (except for the charge controller) I don't suspect that I'll need much in the way of solar performance over the winter to keep the batteries fully charged.

[Chama]

Surprised no one has mentioned the isssue of rodents nesting between the trailer and the trailer cover. We live in the wilds of rural northern New Mexico and one Winter, I tried covering my bbq grill with a vinyl cover made to fit it. Next Spring, the grill was a big mess, thanks to mice. We have not made that mistake again. I expect the same thing would happen if we covered our E21. No thanks, I don't want to face that mess with our trailer.
Chama

[SageRpod]

Originally Posted by Chama

Surprised no one has mentioned the isssue of rodents nesting between the trailer and the trailer cover. We live in the wilds of rural northern New Mexico and one Winter, I tried covering my bbq grill with a vinyl cover made to fit it. Next Spring, the grill was a big mess, thanks to mice. We have not made that mistake again. I expect the same thing would happen if we covered our E21. No thanks, I don't want to face that mess with our trailer.
Chama

Great point. I didn't think of that. We don't cover and just make sure we protecting the gel coat with a good waxing.

[Grasshog]

Yeah, Rick, just reading these post are making me cold. There is still a couple good things about living in California. Ha ha. With this crazy weather we having lately, though who knows maybe will start getting snow.

[TahoeJoe]

I agree with Jim, mine is in Tahoe where we get tons of heavy wet snow in the winter, and I never cover it or disconnect my solar panels, and have never had any problems. To me, the downsides of covering outweigh the very small inconvenience of giving it a good clean and wax in the spring. It's one of the reasons I enjoy having a fiberglass trailer...no cheap "typical" RV roof to worry about, this thing is hardy!

[Darox]

Originally Posted by Nan

We just purchased a new 5.0 and truck this year, so building a carport is not happening at least until next year. We live in New England so we do get a fair amount of snow. Some say cover and some say it can scratch the fiberglass. Does anyone have a 5.0 cover they would recommend and do you cover your Escape?

We wax twice a year and cover our 5.0 in the fall/winter. Our area we get a lot of rain and high winds, not a lot of snow. Will probably start covering in the summer months next year if we're not using for a few weeks, as the sun probably poses the most potential damage to plastics and gel coat. Very expensive, but we purchased a custom made cover from Calmark in California, perfect fit and seems like great quality (made in USA). https://calmarkcovers.com

[Ron in BC]

That is a nice cover. You're right, in the end it's the sun that sooner or later that kills plastics. Quite a difference between plastics. I've seen some become so fragile they crumpled when handled.

It's pretty obvious that the need for a cover also varies widely by area. In my case, a couple of miles from the Port of Vancouver, with all the different terminals, the fallout alone warrants covering the trailer.

Ron

[iamunique127]

Originally Posted by Darox

We wax twice a year and cover our 5.0 in the fall/winter. Our area we get a lot of rain and high winds, not a lot of snow. Will probably start covering in the summer months next year if we're not using for a few weeks, as the sun probably poses the most potential damage to plastics and gel coat. Very expensive, but we purchased a custom made cover from Calmark in California, perfect fit and seems like great quality (made in USA). https://calmarkcovers.com

That is one great looking cover. It fits far better than ours, which we put on today. I doubt ours will last another winter so I'll be looking at one of the Calmarks. Looking at least, we'll have to see what the finances are like next year.

[Darox]

Originally Posted by richnel13@gmail.com

Has any one found a need for one of those tri pod jacks for the front of the 5.0?
You see them used on larger 5th wheels. We are using a cover and we get alot of heavy snow in northern Wisconsin

We saw some videos and notes about the tripod before getting and using our 2020 5.0, and had considered it on that basis. However in real world use, we have seen no need for using a tripod, the trailer is very stable (though we do use the large red Anderson buckets under our landing gear). We also purchased x-chocks, but have never felt the need to use them.

[Dave Walter]

A week or so ago I did the winterizing on both our 2013 15B and 2013 19', including covering them up. Our 2013 15B has a Calmark cover and our 2013 19' has a much cheaper Adco cover. Both covers are still in pretty good shape, even after 10 years of use. The Adco cover is a bit more worn, particularly where it has touched the ground and become frozen into the snow/ice at times. However, both appear to be good for years to come. In 10 years of use, neither cover has caused any damage to the gel coat. The Calmark cover is a bit too thick for light to pass through, so the solar on the 15B does not charge the batteries over the winter. The Adco cover is a bit thinner and the batteries on the 19' are always fully charged from the solar when I take the cover off in the spring.

[iamunique127]

This is the first winter I am leaving the batteries in our 5.0TA.

When I put our Classic Accessories cover on yesterday I observed that light does pass through the cover so I am hoping for the best as far as solar maintaining the batteries.

[Darox]

Originally Posted by iamunique127

This is the first winter I am leaving the batteries in our 5.0TA. When I put our Classic Accessories cover on yesterday I observed that light does pass through the cover so I am hoping for the best as far as solar maintaining the batteries.

The Calmark cover does not let enough light through to the solar panels, so we have a small, portable, 50w panel connected through the Zamp Port to maintain the battery charge above 50%. The Maxx Fan runs continually with windows cracked open to allow air flow, and we have a small dehumidifier plugged into 110v circuit, with trailer plugged into house extension cord. Works fine for our purposes, though we don't get a lot of sunshine in our southwest Vancouver Island location during the winter months

[sofmerc]

I live ln Florida.. I worry about the intense sun on my trailer, but not going to cover it.. I waxed it at 1 year old , and will continue to wax it at least once per year... It does live between my house and my neighbors fence and house... so partially shade during the day from full sun. I have had several Fiberglass boats over the years so, kind of know what to expect

[DanandDaphne]

Originally Posted by Darox

We wax twice a year and cover our 5.0 in the fall/winter. Our area we get a lot of rain and high winds, not a lot of snow. Will probably start covering in the summer months next year if we're not using for a few weeks, as the sun probably poses the most potential damage to plastics and gel coat. Very expensive, but we purchased a custom made cover from Calmark in California, perfect fit and seems like great quality (made in USA). https://calmarkcovers.com

Is that Sunbrella?

We just got our custom made Sunbrella cover from Covercraft out of Oklahoma we got it in tan, gray was the other option. When it came it was from ADCO it says a division of covercraft. It was discounted because of a sale they were having it was $930 with tax.
It took a month and a half to get it from the time we ordered it, which was what was expected.

I just cleaned and waxed the 5.0 and am going to put it on in a couple of days to see how it fits.

I'll post pictures once it's on.

We had the cover from Escape before, a Custom Accessories and it was so big it was really just awful. It flapped around in the wind and it was hard to keep it all up off of the ground so It would get frozen down and then I couldn't get in the trailer for a while on several occasions. It lasted four years though covering it during the winters only. It was uncovered last winter.

I have some foam corners that were packing material for something. They are of a foam similar to pool noodle foam and they work great for covering the sharp corners of the solar panel.

[iamunique127]

Originally Posted by DanandDaphne

Is that Sunbrella?

We just got our custom made Sunbrella cover from Covercraft

I'm really curious to see the photos of how your custom made cover fits.

[MarkinVan]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

Yah, but the light, powdery stuff you call snow isn't the same snow everyone gets. Here the typical snow is wet, heavy and turns to ice.
Not so easy to clean off.



Inexpensive, wide and long enough that it's only one piece and totally waterproofs.

Ron

Hey Ron, do you tape it down with masking tape first? I have a construction site next door for the next 2 years and my cover has aged tremendously since they started. This seem like a good measure while all that is going on.

[Ron in BC]

Yes, I put a few pieces of green tape on it, just enough to prevent the wind from blowing it off before I get the cover over it.

Even though I have a cover it still seems to let micro amounts of particles through. Enough that if I didn't put the vinyl on it'd be a lot of work to clean up in the Spring.

Hope your nearby construction project doesn't prove to be too annoying. We had one just across the road from us. We were surprised when the owner showed up at our door with a humongous gift basket, lot's of good stuff. He said that it was his way of apologizing, in advance, for any irksome noises from construction.

I said that noise from work wasn't really all that annoying and besides, when I built my house I know that the owner of the original house was happy with my building noise on weekends. I know because he told me.

But that construction is pretty much done and quite frankly I'm happy about that. Maybe I'm just getting older and more cranky about noise.

Ron

[Doug2000]

We rarely covered our trailers in the past but the UV was getting to the awning fabric and rotting it. The first 6” are always exposed. I read the UV kills the other plastic covers so we found a used Classic Industries cover here on the forum. One thing to keep in mind, any loose cover will flap in the wind and ruin your trailer. Check it often to make sure the cover is tied tightly.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Doug2000

We rarely covered our trailers in the past but the UV was getting to the awning fabric and rotting it. The first 6” are always exposed.

I agree, more so with the Gen2 awning. We put 303 protectorant on it and keep it covered during times when we're not using the trailer for a couple of weeks and haven't put the cover on.

My wife made an awning cover from Sunbrella scraps. Hope it extends the life of the awning.

Ron