Cover inquiry

Post your general and technical information, questions or responses in this forum. Viewing messages is open to all with no registration or log-in required. Prior to posting a new message or a response to an existing message, registration or login is required. Please do not post FOR SALE or WANTED ads in this section!

Moderator: bfadmin

Post Reply
davidpbyrne
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2021 8:58 pm

Cover inquiry

Post by davidpbyrne »

We are the second owners of a Born Free 24RB, and absolutely love this coach and want it to last several years thus our question. The previous owners took exceptional care of the coach, stored it in a climate controlled garage, so the coach looks like it did the day it was purchased. We do not have the facilities to store the coach inside or even under a cover. I am thinking about purchasing an RV cover. I have spent a considerable amount of time reading posts on this subject. I was sure I wanted to purchase a cover until I read a post concerning the damage to the gel coat caused by the cover rubbing the corners. Anyone experienced such an issue... recommended cover?
User avatar
Dallas Baillio
Posts: 1181
Joined: Sun Jul 02, 2006 10:52 pm

Re: Cover inquiry

Post by Dallas Baillio »

Had a cover at one time and I may have had the problem you mention and never noticed it. I do not recall any significant problems. If you do have this problem could you just regularly wax those areas? They aren’t visible from the ground. Maybe sone else will come up with a better solution
Dallas Baillio
2001 26RSB
Born Free Leap'n Lions RV Club Member
User avatar
SteveLombardi
Posts: 18
Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2015 6:58 pm
Contact:

Re: Cover inquiry

Post by SteveLombardi »

I have been using a cover in the winter months here in Minnesota. It's a cover made of the gray colored fabric and wasn't one of the really expensive custom types. I do worry about the cover rubbing the gelcoat but after 5 years of covering it I have not noticed any problems. One thing that helps here is when the cover is weighted down by snow it moves around a lot less in the wind. I also use a trick I figured out to protect the most prominent rubbing points. Take some of the blue easy off masking tape and put it on all the susceptible rub points. Then if your really worried add another layer of duct tape on top of the masking tape. This gives you double protection and will still come off easily. I can do my 25RB with about half a roll of each type of tape.
2012 25RB
Jaker32186
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2021 11:07 pm

Re: Cover inquiry

Post by Jaker32186 »

Agree with above. We have a fairly new (5 years or so) generic RV cover for our 24' President, and it is adjustable to keep movement to a minimum. I believe it's from Amazon and costs about $350. The previous owners also used this cover and we have not had any obvious rubbing or wearing issues on any corners. I am more concerned with sun damage when parked for extended periods of non-use. Leaving one side constantly getting full sun and wearing the gel coat and seals that way vs the cover rubbing. The painter tape and duct tape (is necessary) is an excellent solution to any vulnerable spots for added protection.

I'm under the impression that a cover, even with the potential drawbacks, is better than no cover. It also allows us to keep the RV un-winterized during the Maryland winters (mild at best but we do see freezing temps) as we use the RV year round. We run a small space heater with the cabinet doors open to help keep the heat around the water pipes. The cover, in my opinion, is another layer to keep the heat in and the wind from running under the RV and hitting the exposed pipes/tanks underneath. Furthermore we also added an electric heat probe to the water heater and I turn the thermostat down but leave the heater on when I know it will be freezing temps. So far these precautions have kept our coach damage free and functioning great! I can't recommend the electric heating element enough, as we have a manual pilot light for the water heater that is less than ideal for us, so we've only used the electric element since upgrading. You don't get hot water while driving unless running the Genny but that is a luxury I'm willing to forego for the added convenience! (Sorry for going off topic there!)
Post Reply

Return to “General and Technical Information, Questions, and Responses”