covers
 

I searched covers and read what came up. Good thing I did because we were going to buy a tarp from Lowes and cover our 31 foot. That appears to be a bad idea from what I read. I see there are cloth and hard plastic ones? Which is better and where is the best place to find one for a reasonable amount?

Kathy

You need to find one that has breathable material like Sunbrella. Anything that traps moisture like plastic is a bad, bad idea. Camping World is showing a big ad now: RV Supplies, RV Accessories & RV Parts for Motorhomes, Travel Trailers - Camping World

Cover for trailer.
 

Recently i called camping world to price a sunbrella cover for my 25ft. HiLo. It sells for so much a foot. The price quote i got was $750.00 plus tax and shipping. No such thing as a cheap sunbrella cover. Just going to use the one that was given to me. This weekend is going to be warmer50s and 60s,so we will see how it fits. Don,t know if a local boat/canvas shop could make it for you any cheaper. Do you have a place near you that makes custom canvas awnings? Possibly could make one up for you in the dead of winter when work is slow.

Yikes. Can't afford that. Guess we won't be covering it. :(

Kathy

covering your HiLo
 

If you can wash your HiLo and put a good coat of wax on it you should be okay. Check and renew as needed your caulking. Helps alot if you use a primer and topcoat on your roof.

How I covered mine
 

This is just an idea. Here is how I covered mine. When I got my Hi-lo it came with an old Adco cover that was torn in spots. What I did was place a dunnage bag (anything that holds air to make an air gap) on the roof between the roof vents then covered it with the torn Adco cover then placed a tarp on top that is 10x24 so it only goes down the sides about 18". To fasten the tarp I cut 2" pieces of 3/4 pvc and drilled a 3/16 hole through the middle then enlarged 1 hole to 3/8 inch. Then I took out some of the #8 screws under the top half and mounted the pvc then I fastened the tarp to the top of the camper with nylon rope. A couple of photos to show what I did. If I didn't have the Adco cover I would have done it the same way. Another benefit is I can raise and lower the camper without taking the cover off.

Your way off covering it Gary sparked an idea but don't know if it is a good one moisture wise. I have an old cloth in ground pool cover. What if I used innertubes on the roof for an air pocket and then draped the pool cover topped with a tarp over it? What do you guys think?

Kathy

I don't know why that wouldn't work. The main issues with covering with a tarp is allowing airflow and stop abrasion. The innertubes will help with the airflow and the pool cover will stop the abrasion. One thing, DO NOT buy a tarp that covers from top to bottom as you won't have any airflow. Take a look at this video Caution when WRAPPING your RV in a blue tarp! - YouTube

Adco covers
 

We are on our 2nd. Adco cover, the first lasted 5 yrs. We feel we got our money's worth out of it considering the Florida weather. The new Adco cover has a UV protection roof panel, this should help a great deal. The protection is worth the cost.:)

I have used the adco covers in the past and they would only last 2 years before the material would fatigue and or ripe. I bought a true canvas and to cover a 30 foot trailer it was unbelievably heavy and quite a chore to put on or remove. I finally switched to the reinforced Poly tarps that either camperworld or lowes has. They lasted me 7 or 8 years, the trick to keep them ventilated is to used dense poly styrene tubes such as those used for swimming pool gadgets for kids, they come in 4 foot lengths and are 2 or 3" in diameter hollow inside. Put several together with a light rope and have several strings of them in place and spaced prior to putting the tarp over this way air can circulate, I also used water bottles equally spaced to keep the tarp in place and it never moved. I also used those plastic recycling canisters that look similar to storage containers to cover the antennae. I no longer have that trailer since my hilo can fit into the garage but that system worked great, lasted a long time and was reasonably priced.... a tri-fecta so to speak

I have an Adco cover on ,now. It is NOT water proof and though it is tied down it is not "wrapped". Right now it has about 15 inches of snow on it and I have to get over and try to shovel some of it off. I suppose the "ventilation" doesn't work as well with snow blanketing it.

rick

covers for HiLo
 

We had a basic trailer cover given to us. It was a challenge to get it up on the roof and pulled correctly in place. It has grommets near the bottom and we were able to attach rope to it and throw it half way under. Our nifty reacher tool pulled it to the underside. I found some big black clothespin tarp holders at Walmart. Only two something and these worked very well. It is good for us that live in snow country to be reminded to brush off the fifteen inches of snow that we have received in the last few days.

I saw the end result of a RV that was covered, or more like wrapped, with a blue tarp. No it was not a HiLo, but I suspect the end result would be the same.

Mold EVERYWHERE! They probably made it worse by leaving the windows "cracked" for ventalation.

Do not use anything that does not breathe to cover your RV - At most all you are trying to do is keep the elements off it and give it some UV protection - if it's not "waterproof" (the RV) in the first place, you have other issues and a tarp is just "temporary" protection...

I will have to disagree with you, I just sold my 91 award 30 footer and it was covered by adco...the dirtiest under the cover since dust must get through, a heavy tarpaulin which worked great but extremely heavy and GREY reinforce poly tarp for almost 10 years and never had any mold or other mositure issues again I used styro foam swimming type tubes to keep an air channel. I even had a tree limb puncture the cover and the roof of the trailer which went unnoticed for almost 1 year without any issues even inside since the cover kept the hole covered

wow, so I didn't see the end result?...

Keep in mind, I said it was wrapped - think like a x-mas present. No air "channels" and the windows were cracked, so any moisture traveling "up" the side went right in those windows... and a blue tarp is waterproof, at least to an extent. Also consider the solar gain you get with it wrapped up.

Let's not even mention the fact that you are talking about a different kind of tarp...

Are you talking the shrink wrap that some people do to boats?
That could be extremely damaging if the unit is damp when it is put on. There was a lot of research done on trapped moisture and mold. Many people who have second homes who shut off the heat for the winter create big health issues from mold that grows in the walls, many aren't aware of the mold till it starts to affect their health and this internal mold doesn't show itelf

Nope - it was a blue tarp... a very BIG blue tarp - 24 x 30 something... As far as I can figure, the moisture had no place to go... nothing to make "air channels" like you did. So any moisture that made it way in had no place to evaporate to.

If you leave something under a cover that does NOT have a way to breathe it will trap condensation - the way this one was done, the condensation went inside the RV because of the windows. Then the sun would hit it creating a "solar oven" effect - and that just made it worse.

You may get away with a tarp just over the roof - but if you surround the RV (the way this one was done) you are not giving moisture a way out.