The Complete Handbook of Recreational Vehicle Storage Covers

Chapter 1: Understanding Recreational Vehicle Storage Covers

An RV storage cover is not a tarp and it is not a shelter. A tarp is a temporary sheet of waterproof fabric thrown over a load and tied down at the corners. A shelter is a rigid structure that encloses a vehicle. An RV storage cover sits somewhere between the two, acting as a custom-fitted, semi-permeable membrane that is precisely cut to the contours of a specific vehicle model. Its job is not to keep a vehicle dry in a monsoon. Its job is to manage the entire microclimate around the vehicle so that the causes of degradation are neutralized before they can start. This is a functional definition, and it is the standard against which you should evaluate every cover you will see listed for sale.

Consider what happens to an uncovered RV sitting for six months in a storage lot. The sun does not simply fade the paint. Ultraviolet radiation drives a photochemical reaction in the resin of the fiberglass that breaks down the chemical bonds holding the outer surface together. This is called chalking, and it looks like a white powder washing off the exterior in the first rain. More critically, once the resin is compromised, water can penetrate to the underlying fiberglass mat. In the temperature cycles of a typical spring and fall, that water will freeze and expand, delaminating the fiberglass from the internal structure. The cost to repair a delaminated roof or cap is an order