Winter Cover

[Donna & Chris]

Hi,
We are making plans for the winter storage of our 17' Bigfoot. We are likley going to store it outdoors and are considering a purchase of a cover. We see a few materials available, polyester, polypropylene and we have not found any comments on either here in the forum. If there is some discussion on them we would appreciate some direction.
Donna & Chris

[Chris C]

http://www.covergiant.com/covbonbrvanc.html

[Donna D.]

Here's a couple of discussions:
Portable Garage

Need a cover for a 13 foot Burro...

and I've heard if you search for a Horse Trailer Cover, it's the same thing, only because it doesn't say "RV" in the title it's cheaper!

[Joe Z]

Any cover that is breathable is fine........ If it doesn't breathe items under the cover will get alot of moisture. The covergiant (the link that chris c sent you) is polypropylene and will work fine ....will give you a fair amount of years (with proper care) and is not too expensive. "Cotton Duct" is another inexpensive choice....

If you want to spend more money for a "top shelf cover" that will last a very long time find one that is made out of "Sunbrella"."Top Gun" or similar brand "Acrylic fiber".... but expect to pay about three times as much.

CalMark Sunbrella cover Company Direct:
http://www.calmarkinc.com/

I've spent many years fabricating Boat tops.....Hope this helps.
Joe

[Chris C]

Donna and Chris,

I've really been researching this question because it's one I'm facing myself. After all I've learned, I think the Calmark cover is the best way to go.......................not the least expensive by any means, but I think it is probably worth every penny I'll spend on it. I'll just have to save a little while to buy one! After all, I need to protect the investement I've made in purchasing my Casita and I don't have a garage in which to store it.

[Donna D.]

I live in an extremely windy area of northern Oregon.... covers that sit on anything are a no-no. The chaffing of a cover will wear through gelcoat or paint in one season. No matter how careful, dust and dirt can get in the underside of the fabric and if there's any movement at all chaff the surface where it touches. I was fortunate to be able to build a carport for my trailer. If that had not been an option I would have settled for a very good coat of wax before I would have considered a cover.

My 2 1/2 cents.

[Joe Z]

very good point donna ....and that should come into consideration in high wind area's...... we used to live on waterfront property near the Atlantic Ocean and unless that cover was brought down tight it did do damage.
You are extremely knowledgeable on this forum and your input is greatly appreciated.
Joe

[Michael Pupeza]

Hi,
We are making plans for the winter storage of our 17' Bigfoot. We are likley going to store it outdoors and are considering a purchase of a cover. We see a few materials available, polyester, polypropylene and we have not found any comments on either here in the forum. If there is some discussion on them we would appreciate some direction.
Donna & Chris

Donna & Chris;
I just covered my Bigfoot 17CB with a Classic Cover from <http://shop.coversuperstore.com/index.cfm?...;categoryID=394> .
I bought the smallest one, which is actually for trailers up to 20'. Unfortunatley, that means the actual body size, so I have about 7' extra material tucked up under the front end. An hour or two with a sewing machine and you could cut out a section for a better fit. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that I would recommend it for that reason, and the extra $108 that UPS charged for Customs Clearing. That, plus the $179 and $32 shipping puts it at about $320, which is a bit pricey.
The material seems good and the quality seems OK, however, and I think it will do the job for a few years. I can always alternate the extra material from front to back for a new end every year!
I also got a price of $28 per running foot of trailer body from <fastquote@calmarkcovers.com> for a semi-custom cover made from Sunbrella - which would be $476 plus shipping - again costly and subject to Custom Charges.
The Classic Cover came in 3 days - fast service!
Good luck.
Mike.....

[Patty S.]

I have a Beverly Bay cover which works great.

[Donna & Chris]

Thanks everyone,
We are going to look for more info on what products to use to apply a good coat of wax. Does any one prop up the ceiling (roof) for the winter snow load?
Donna and Chris

[dkdavies]

I guess we've got it pretty good here. We store our Escape in a storage area built especially for RV's. When a local fellow retired, he constructed a 100-stall covered RV storage area on a farm he purchased. It has a large roof that overhangs by quite a bit thus preventing any rain or snow from hitting the equipment. It is open all around the four sides so there is good air circulation. The security is great because he and his wife live on site and there is only one way in and out. His prices are very reasonable and he fills the entire area each year. I don't know if this sort of thing exists elsewhere but it may be a good idea to check around. Maybe even build one yourself. It would provide quite a nice little income I'm sure.

Doug & Kathy
Terrace, BC

[Donna D.]

Thanks everyone,
We are going to look for more info on what products to use to apply a good coat of wax. Does any one prop up the ceiling (roof) for the winter snow load?
Donna and Chris

Check out Gerry's posting here: Heavy Snow Cover, Winter is a comin' in

I heard the brace described as a capital "I"

[Carolyn Patterson]

Does anyone store their trailer at a storage rental facility? Our new-to-us Uhaul 16ft VT will be put into storage November 1st at a secure rental facility near by. Gated, garaged, and ability to plug in so the deep-cell battery stays charged. The storage garage is large enough for the egg, and my 89 Buick Reatta. $110 a month for secure, dry storage for both 'toys' for the winter.

I didn't think that price was bad, and didn't want her tucked away into a larger facility incase we can take her to Florida for a couple weeks this winter, and we'd be unable to get her out whenever we wanted. Even if to work on new cushions or maybe a new gel coat (after all, she IS 22yrs old).

So no one else stores their egg in such a facility for the winter? We have community rules about keeping her in our driveway over the winter, and outside storage in a yard didn't sound appealing.

Are we spoiling her?

[Donna D.]

Nope, not spoiling her... if that's what you want and can afford, lucky egg.

I stored my trailer for more than three years (when not camping of course) at a secure lot. Cost me a dollar a day, sounds cheap until you add up 365 days a year.. times 3+ years. I chose to have a large area asphalted beside my home (behind a 12' driveway gate) and an 18' X 25' carport built. That was more than three years ago. It's as secure here as the secure lot and I think I've added value to my property (as an RV storage area being available) when I go to sell. I know not everyone has the space nor permission due to CCRs.... fortunately this met the CCRs of my neighborhood.

I'm still bugged about spending $1,000+ in storage fees for an egg than cost me less than $10,000.

[james kent]

What types of cover??
This year I put it inside the garage. I covered it with a big poly sheet a couple of times but have left it uncovered for the last ten years and see no significant difference.
OTOH This time of year it's covered with several inches of maple leaves and later will have c 2 foot covering of snow.

[Ron N]

Does anyone store their trailer at a storage rental facility? Our new-to-us Uhaul 16ft VT will be put into storage November 1st at a secure rental facility near by. Gated, garaged, and ability to plug in so the deep-cell battery stays charged. The storage garage is large enough for the egg, and my 89 Buick Reatta. $110 a month for secure, dry storage for both 'toys' for the winter.

I didn't think that price was bad, and didn't want her tucked away into a larger facility incase we can take her to Florida for a couple weeks this winter, and we'd be unable to get her out whenever we wanted. Even if to work on new cushions or maybe a new gel coat (after all, she IS 22yrs old).

So no one else stores their egg in such a facility for the winter? We have community rules about keeping her in our driveway over the winter, and outside storage in a yard didn't sound appealing.

Are we spoiling her?

How interesting...and rare...to assign a gender (her) to an inanimate object such as a trailer. I MUST think some more about that. P.S. I'm a 1974 grad of the Univ. of Akron. Got tired of shoveling snow so now I get to shovel rain!

Ron

[Phil H.]

Hi,

I thought I might not cover the trailer so that I could have unfettered access to the trailer over the winter to work on a few projects but I was finding that the leaves were accumulating on the roof and were staining it. In fact, I don't know if anyone else has noticed this but water does collect a bit on the roof on either side of the raised portion and makes a nasty brown soup when mixed with leaves. So, I rinsed it off and wrapped up the trailer in a tarp. This will hopefully make everything last longer and I will just have to undo one corner to get into the door.


[ATTACH][/ATTACH]

[Steve L.]

How interesting...and rare...to assign a gender (her) to an inanimate object such as a trailer. I MUST think some more about that. P.S. I'm a 1974 grad of the Univ. of Akron. Got tired of shoveling snow so now I get to shovel rain!

Ron

I wondered the same thing...
Trailer Gender Poll