You’ve just gotten a new RV so that you and your family can vacation without worrying about having to book a hotel room. An RV is nice because you can bring all of the comforts of home along with you on your trip. However, you may be wondering how you can protect it against the elements, most importantly, hail.
If you’re wondering if an RV cover will protect against hail, the answer is not as much as you might hope for.
Advantages Of RV Covers
Of course, while an RV cover may not offer you as much protection as you’d like against hail damage, there are plenty of advantages of RV covers.
Costs Less Than Storage
First of all, an RV cover is going to cost you much less than storage fees would. In fact, a good quality cover costs around $200, which is a lot less than you’d pay if you were to build a shelter on your property or rent a storage unit to keep your RV in.
Keep RV On Your Property
Another argument for an RV cover is that you can keep the RV on your property. Of course, you could always build a shelter to do that- but that goes back to the cost effectiveness. A shelter may not be in your budget- but a cover just might work.
Easy To Store When Not Needed
While a shelter is a permanent structure on your property, a cover can be folded up and put away when you don’t need it. You won’t have the POA or HOA of your neighborhood making an issue of you having an RV cover, but they might not want you having a shelter for your RV.
Disadvantages Of RV Covers
When you’re trying to make a decision, it’s good to look at both sides of the coin. So now we’re going to look at some of the disadvantages of RV covers.
Can Be Difficult To Use
The biggest issue that people have with RV covers is that they are so hard to maneuver and put on. It’s almost impossible to do it alone and can even be challenging with several people working together.
Won’t Protect Against Everything
While it’s true that an RV cover will over some protection– more than if it were just left sitting out on your driveway- it’s not going to protect against everything. Even with a cover, some people have reported hail damage and snow accumulation putting dents in the roof or even breaking through.
Also, in some cases, water can get through the cover and cause mold and other water damage- especially if it’s a low quality or cheap RV cover.
Covered Storage For Your RV
The best option for protecting your RV is covered storage. Of course, this also comes with it’s own set of advantages and disadvantages. We’ll look at both of those here.
Advantages Of Covered Storage
Covered storage has some advantages- whether you rent a unit somewhere or you have a shelter or garage on your own property. Following are a few of the advantages of covered storage:
Better Protection Against Weather Conditions
First of all, one of the major benefits is the protection offered by the cover. Your RV is protected against storms, including hail, but is also protected against the harmful UV rays of the sun. Finally, you don’t have to worry about shoveling the snow off of it when you’re ready to take it out.
Climate-Controlled Options
If you are willing to pay for it, there are climate-controlled options for RV storage. Of course, you could also build a unit like this on your property. Either way, you won’t have to winterize your RV before putting it away for the winter, which means you’ll be able to get moving quicker when spring rolls around.
Ease Of Use
The final advantage of using covered RV storage is that it’s so much easier to use. As we mentioned above, RV covers can be a hassle to get on your RV- even with several people working on it. However, with covered storage, simply pull the RV in and you’re done.
Disadvantages Of Covered RV Storage
On the other hand, there are a few disadvantages to using covered RV storage. We’ll take a look at those below:
Costs Much More
The primary reason people choose not to use covered RV storage is the cost. Regardless of whether you are building your own or you opt to rent a space, it’s going to cost you a lot more than a cover would.
May Have To Store Offsite
Unfortunately, not everyone has the skills or the land needed to build a storage shelter for their RV. Perhaps they live in a neighborhood with a POA or HOA and it’s against the rules to have such a large structure. Either way, choosing a covered storage unit for your RV may mean that you have to find somewhere off your property- which some people might not be comfortable with.
Bottom Line
The bottom line is this: RV covers do offer some protection, but they’re not going to protect against everything. However, they are cost-effective, while storage units are not. Ultimately, you have to decide which one fits best into your budget and lifestyle at this time- both options are pretty viable.
Whatever option you choose to protect your RV against the elements, make sure that you’re still keeping an eye on it. You should still be running the generator about once a month even if you’re not taking it out. Plus, you’ll want to make sure that your batteries are not draining and that your RV is safe.
Of course, if you want to avoid paying for storage or buying a cover- and making a little extra money on the side- you might want to consider renting out your RV when you’re not using it.
