RV’s can sit around a lot. Whether they are in your driveway or a storage unit, many RV’s spend much of their time waiting for the owner to take a little vacation. This isn’t a bad thing, of course, and it’s probably better than a timeshare!
When RVs do sit around, you might start thinking about how to protect the exterior and how a cover might help the interior.
RV covers have their own advantages and disadvantages. The biggest purpose of covering an RV is to protect the RV from weather and wear. We will cover issues and positives with RV covers in detail below.
Advantages to an RV cover
Protects from UV Damage
RV owners don’t get a lot of choices in colors, but maintaining the color you do have makes your RV look sharp. In addition, the sun continuously beating on your RV siding can lead to the graphics and wording fading out.
One of the biggest reasons for having an RV cover is to prevent exterior deterioration. Reselling an RV with faded graphics tells the potential buyer that you might not have maintained the RV quite completely. Your RV could look older than it really is, and the resale value could be lower.
If you are going to be in a sunny party of the world or don’t enjoy sitting in the shade, you can also get an RV cover with UV protection built into the dye. These are usually made of acrylic and are lightweight. Overall, they both protect the RV from UV rays and help keep the RV cool for when you hop in.
Exterior Protection
Have you ever left your RV and come back to a smattering of bird droppings, leaves, or other natural debris visiting the siding? RV covers can readily keep nature off your RV and at least make it easier to clean. Most RV covers are designed to handle a good wash and are easier to raise or lower if the cleaning is necessary higher than you can reach.
Another major exterior protection element is warding off rust and corrosion. Rust and corrosion come from the repeated exposure of worn metal to a combination of water and oxygen.
Also note that not all RV covers are waterproof. This doesn’t mean that water damages them, but they tend to absorb water. Consider getting a waterproof RV cover so you can more easily wash it.
Less Maintenance Required
Maintaining your RV’s appearance can take work. Between scraping off leaves and dirt or using a pressure washer, you are either using elbow grease or a hose.
It’s also less than fun, especially when you are not even using your RV. You might have a yard to take, grass to mow, and snow to blow. An RV cover ensures that especially when parked, you’ll have one less item to maintain.
Disadvantages to an RV cover
In order to keep a balance article, we’ll also discuss a few things that are not so great about RV covers. Here are a few reasons why RV covers have issues.
Extra work
Which would you rather do, clean your RV or cover it? If you prefer cleaning to the process of getting on the roof of your RV and covering it, you might prefer to keep it uncovered.
Covering a larger RV can also be challenging and might require an additional person to complete, especially if you are physically unable to get up high.
RV covers can also be heavy. This is not a bad thing, but the combination of needing to get the RV cover on the roof and weight can make things difficult.
Quality
The quality of an RV cover does matter alot. A low quality RV cover can be hard to put on and remove. Worst of all, a thin RV cover can let the very natural debris and rain through that you intended to keep out.
It’s also possible to get the wrong kind of RV cover for the purpose. If you are in a cold climate, strongly consider getting an RV cover designed to handle the weight of snow while maintaining waterproof abilities.
Getting the right kind for your uses is also pretty important. Buying an RV cover that isn’t waterproof when you are likely to face snow and rain often isn’t a great idea for the future of the cover or RV.
Snow Removal
Snow can be difficult to remove, no matter how you do it. Snow is heavy, especially when it’s very wet, so this is more of a mixed disadvantage.
Your RV cover will probably be hard to remove when it’s covered in snow. Your other option is getting a scraper or, or even warm water out, and removing the snow by hand.
On the other hand, removing your RV cover will probably be easier than starting and running your snowblower or shoveling, both of which might be necessary to move your RV.
Storing it
RV covers can be a pain to put back in the box. The method is like folding a fitted sheet. One option observed is getting a large heavy duty outdoor trash can. You can store the trash can in the RV or outside when not in use. The trash can doesn’t require much, if any folding or manipulation.
Conclusion
RV covers certainly have a range of advantages and disadvantages. A couple of the major factors that can swing an RV owner either way is weather and use. If you don’t plan to resell your RV, ever, than appearance might not be a significant factor.
Weather can be a bigger deal though. Ensuring that the exterior metals stay in good shape is important to the overall structure of the RV. If you plan to simply not use your RV for a while, an RV cover is advisable regardless.
