5th Wheel Trailer Cover

[Montana_2852]

We just purchased a 2005 Montana 3295RK and plan to park it along side the house in Vancouver WA when not traveling. The prime reason is convenience, but saving storage costs is nice. We of course get lots of rain, some ice or snow and lots of pine needles, so were thinking of a cover for protection, especially during the period November to mid February. We'd like to keep 5er looking nice as we were impressed the first time we saw a Montana. We were looking at ADCO Products, either SFS or Tyveck and maybe custom fit($1000 vs $400 for Universal fit). I'd really appreciate any recommendations: 1) Buy cover 2)Rent Storage for 3-4 months 3)just wash and polish more frequently. Thanks

[Glenn and Lorraine]

Welcome dave soco to the MOC family.

I favor number 3

The "Cover" subject was just covered in a thread by 2002dura.
Here is a link to that thread...http://www.montanaowners.com/forums/...ead.php?t=7644

[rames14]

I agree with Glenn. The fiberglass has U.V. protectant to maintain the finish and prevent fading. If you look at older Montanas, they seem to hold up very nicely. Hope I age that well.

[DarMar]

Welcome to the forum Dave, and ditto on item #3

[Chester]

I also agree with no cover. BTW we had Maxaires on our 2750RK and will put them on our new 3475RL as well. With those you can leave your roof vents open all the time and let air circulate in your trailer. We left ours open all winter (for 4 years) and never had any snow blow in. I would recommend the same to anyone.

[vickir]

Welcome to MOC, Dave. We too have the 3295RK (2003) and before we started full-timing, we kept it parked next to our house in Topeka, Kansas. I'm sure you get lots more rain than we ever got in Topeka, but I think we may have beat you on the snow and ice and we did not cover ours. For awhile, a long time ago, we had a 1963 Impala convertible (it was so cool) and kept it covered and parked on the driveway. Well, Kansas winds being what they are, that cover really blew around and by the end of winter, the cover had worn off the paint along the knife edges of the fenders. Needless to say, Steve has been anti-cover ever since.

There is also a mildew issue with a cover and with all the rain you get, that could be a biggie.

This is yet another personal preference issue, and you'll get lots of input, but from our point of view, it's better to leave your Montana uncovered and clean it at the beginning of the camping season. I don't know what damage, if any, pine needles do, but maybe a mid-winter sweep of the roof would be called for.

Good luck with your decision!

[Montana Sky]

Dave,
I am over here on the other side of the state and will put my two cents in, first, do not cover your coach. I have seen the damage they can do to the sides of your coach and roof blowing in the wind. Second, find some inside storage for the winter months. Most places charge $2 per foot for indoor storage. I like to think of it like this, when you spend $45,000+ on a coach what is in my 39' x $2 = $78 per month x 6 months = $468 for the entire year of worry free, weather free storage. Some places will give you a 10 - 15% discount if you pay for the entire 6months upfront. Again, just my two cents but I would not store my boat, waverunners or coach outside during the winter months. If you do choose to keep it outside buy an a/c cover to keep ice from going into the coils and expanding causing damage the a/c unit. Those are approx. $30 and well worth the cost. Congrats on your new coach. Hope you have many miles of happy rv'ing

[Montana_2694]

This has been our second year using covers (ADCO) here in Jersey. We keep it on a storage lot which is adjacent to a wood line. I don't think it protects all the wind we get but at this point we have not seen any issues using it. We usually have it on from September to Jan-Feb. Of course I also recommend cleaning the roof at least once a year and hitting the sides with a cleaner/polish too. ProtectAll makes a great line of products for cleaning your camper.

[2007dura]

I am using a cover on mine. I got the Adco from Camping World, and so far like it. I looked at inside storage here, cheapest I could find was $275 a month, 6 month lease required. A shed, or outside storage garage, not an option due to neighborhood restrictions. I also want to protect sides from the sun.

I know alot of people don't like covers and have had bad experiences. Before buying mine, I did some research. I talked to some service managers and techs. at area dealers, and they have not had to repair any damage caused by a cover.

I have read about damage, and most seemed to be in high wind areas, especially in winter. It also seemed that areas that have heavy snow and bad winter storms had more trouble. Where I live, that is not a problem. A big storm here is a couple of inches, that melts off in 2 days. We have some wind, again not like some areas.

I saw that mildew could be problem. The cover I bought is breathable. I have checked after a rain, and the cover and coach dry off before the ground. I also put 2 cans of Damp-Rid inside, and so far I have not had a drop of water in either can. I also have Maxx air vents, so I can leave vents open. I could see moisture developing if you have alot of snow that would freeze and melt over and over not letting the cover dry out.

Finally, I asked some people that I saw in the area that had their RV's covered. None have had a problem.

Finally, if you do decide on a cover, I use pipe insulation to cover rain gutters to keep from tearing cover.

Good luck on your decision, and CONGRATS on the new 5er. Hope you have many enjoyable trips, and maybe we will see you in a campground in the future.

[sreigle]

I hope I'm not out of line but I'd like to thank both Smoketrain and 2002dura for their posts. Sometimes I think when a bunch of us jump in quickly with 'no' responses, the 'yes' people may fear jumping in with their opinions. But in MOC we encourage all viewpoints to be aired so those wanting to make a decision have the benefit of all the experience of the members in this forum. Dave soco and others with questions deserve that much. Thanks to both of you for your very helpful posts. I can't speak for everyone here but that's just my opinion.

[Montana_2730]

I use a cover on our Monty for a good reason. Texas bird poop. We always seem to catch all the northern birds comming down here to winter and they seem to have a pretty good aim for the top of our campers. The other reason is the sun, please don't think that just because the manufacture says it has UV protection that it is protected for a long time. In time all protection systems break down. I am in the fiberglass component manufacturing business. Gelcoat is a very porous surface under a microscope. With time and gelcoat starts chalking and UV protection goes away. Moisturizing the gelcoat helps prevent this an adds a layer of protection. What is moisturizing, well ladies just think of dry skin on your hands. So if you do not cover your Monty or if you do, at least once a year you should use a good product on it like 303 Aerospace or Protectall. The new spray-on-wipe-offs are great products if it has carnuba wax in it "use it".

If your going to keep it for a long time and want it to look good during that time cover it and moisturize. Most new covers are very light weight and have never caused any problems for our past campers. But we do not live where snow, ice, and freezing rain are everyday occurrances in the winter. But when I do the math $360 divided by 24 month warranty on cover = $15.00 a month for cover storage. Waxing and cleaning 32' camper = 6 hrs. Uncover camper = two wax jobs a year, covered = one. My personal hourly rate for cleaning/waxing camper is $10.00/hour plus materials so that = $80.00 (includes wash, wax, and 303 Aerospace on roof).

Notyet50