HomeRV Do-It-YourselfHow To Protect Your RV Cover ― Use Your Noodle!

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How To Protect Your RV Cover ― Use Your Noodle! — 59 Comments

  1. This is awesome. I’ve covered our camper every year and tried numerous solutions – duct tape, foam, rubber pads. Its always better than nothing but every year there’s a hole from the padding giving way somewhere, and lots of goo gone needed in the spring. I believe in the covers, our 8 year old trailer looks awesome – but the recurrent holes have been frustrating. I don’t think I’ll put on as many pads as you, just because I know the trouble spots – downspouts, corners, gutters and awning top. I’ve searched the forums every year for a solution and never found anything new until now – thanks for your ingenuity, and for sharing!!

    • Bill, thanks for the comment. I hope the noodles work as well for you as they did for us. Look Ma, no holes! You’re probably right about not needing all the pads, but they were so easy to cut and fit, what the heck. I think I got the idea from seeing other RVers using them to pad their slide corners to prevent “head damage.” We’ve since found some other uses for the noodles. I may post about a couple of them. I’m thinking they might fall into the duct tape category…don’t leave home without some!

      Pete

  2. Great simple tips. I used a cover
    the first winter my rig was in storage. Once I removed it to prep for travel, I found lots of mildew on the top. The manufacturer;s claim of breathability didn’t quite measure up to reality. After that, I started storing it in a shady area with no cover. It got dirty, but no mildew or mold. A good wash and it was good as new.

    • Hmmm – thought I replied to this – sorry. I never had a problem with mildew, but, if eliminating the cover fixed it, I can see why you’d give it up! Maybe the prevailing combination of temperature and humidity contributed, too.

  3. This is the best post I’ve seen so far on covering a trailer. I’m covering my trailer for the first time this year. Is there any follow up on this? Like how good has it worked over the last two years? I’m also curious if the masking tape left any residue on whatever surface is was stuck to?

    • Neil, it has worked well and has kept the cover from being ripped by sharp corners and edges. We used the blue painter’s tape, not regular masking tape. The adhesive on the painter’s tape is less sticky than the other and we’ve not yet had any problems with residue. Another reader mentioned the same concern. We remove the cover and the pads and any tape in early spring before the weather gets too warm. I’d say though, use your own judgement, use caution, and check periodically to be sure there’s no bad interaction between any tape you use and the surface of your rig.

    • Robin, glad you found it helpful. Since then, I’ve found a lot of uses for these colorful pool noodles, both in and out of the RV: padding for bikes on our pull-out cargo tray, padding for places I bang my head from time to time, making spacers, and more. They’re light weight, cut easily with a razor knife, and are just handy to have around…like duct tape!

    • Well, lousy idea then – for you. But, if you’re an RVer, I’ll bet you’ll come up with something else that will work great and make you happy.

    • But it’s for storing away…where nobody sees it…under a cover…so what does that matter? Your comment is the ugliest freakin comment I’ve seen on this post, so I guess it’s even, lol!

  4. The use of noodles for padding is a great idea, but I wouldn’t leave them taped to the siding over the winter. RV overs are dust covers and are designed to not be waterproof (ie, they “breathe”) so you should expect rain and snow melt to penetrate the cover which will render the tape useless. If the tape doesn’t fail due to water, my (indoor) experience is that blue tape leaves a gummy residue if left too long (more than 2 weeks) and I’d be concerned of permanent finish damage if it should get baked on in the summer sun (if you don’t uncover the following summer).

    • Jerry, thanks for the comments. We put the cover on just before (hopefully) the first snow and removed it in early spring. A couple of pieces of tape came loose, but no real problems. I’m sure you’re right about not leaving the tape on in the summer. We got it off early enough so it came off cleanly, but I’ll keep your cautions in mind. Thanks again.

        • Sorry to hear that! As I noted in response to Neil b, I had no problem with the painters tape. But maybe I was lucky, or maybe it’s a temperature thing, or has to do with the finish on a particular rig. Best to test first, check periodically, or, if there’s concern about it, find another method.

  5. As an alternative to all the effort involved with the swim noodles solution, one might consider visiting RV-Cover-Rescue.com or if you like less typing, RVCOVERRESCUE.com. Simple, quick to install, and entirely effective.

    • Hi Michael – I checked out the website you mentioned (you wouldn’t be the MH in MH57 Products, Inc. would you?) and this looks like a really neat product. Great way to protect your RV cover from damage caused by the rain-gutter spouts most of us have on our RVs. I didn’t know about RV Cover Rescue when I decided to go the noodle route. I might give it a try for the spouts, but I found there are quite a few other places on the rig with sharp corners or edges that can cause damage to the cover. The ol’ noodles solve those problems pretty well.

      Happy travels – Pete

      • Hi Pete, MH I am, to be sure. Thanks for the positive feedback and as a long-time user of improvised solutions for taming gutter spouts, all I can say is give one a try and you will be pleasantly surprised at how quickly and easily they go on, even if you still use noodles in other spots. It’s a new product and wasn’t available until November of 2016, so don’t kick yourself for not knowing about them sooner. I hope many of your site visitors find the product to be useful and worthy of their curiosity. Thanks, Mike

  6. I have had two ADCO covers, the first one lasted about 2 months and was torn to shreds. It was replaced under warranty, the second one lasted two season, the first indicated some worn areas whrre i used parts of the first vover to 3M and glue them over the holes, despite putting added support over areas indicated in your post as well as others not indicated like the exhaust pipe for the generator and vehicle. There were so many tears it was hard to know where it started and ended. I have decided not to bother purchasing another voter spent over $600 and only got 1 year service. Probably better off keep8ng it clean and waxed.

    • Stephen, it sounds like you’ve had lousy experiences with your RV covers. We had an ADCO Designer Series cover and, fortunately, had no problems. Although I did burn a small hole in it by getting too close to it with my riding mower’s exhaust pipe! Not the brightest thing I’ve ever done. Anyway, clean and waxed is certainly a good thing.

      Best of luck – Pete

  7. I am using tennis balls for the gutter spouts and then made a frame work of re-bar and flat steel to cover up my antenna before putting the cover on. All the re-bar and flat steel is covered with the noodles.

    • Tennis balls! I never thought of those, but they might be easier to cut and fit onto the spouts than noodles. Certainly, they’d protect the cover and that’s the goal. Do you secure them with tape, or some other way, so they don’t come off when it’s windy?

      Thanks for the idea – Pete

  8. Put the tennis balls in an old pair of socks and slip the tennis ball inside ti the sock at the other end and attach it to another one for the other side

    • Hey Joe, great idea! I’m not sure I would have thought of socks! They would certainly do the job. Guess if you wanted something that would hold less moisture, you could do the same with an old pair of nylon stockings. RVers are sure an inventive bunch, huh?

      Happy trails!

  9. I took the center piece from a dinning canopy added dowel rods to it. this covers the air conditioner and the antenna- forming a “dome”- kind looks like a single hump camel. I did plan on using the pool noodles- just have not got to them yet.

    • Wow, I love the “camel” picture! That’s a neat idea. I assume it’ll hold the weight of whatever snow accumulates over the winter, or don’t you get much of that lovely white stuff?

      Thanks for the comment – Pete

  10. I use a laundry basket to cover the antenna, tennis balls for the awning posts, tennis balls under the windshield wipers, and noodles on the straps of the RV cover to take care of rub marks. We live in Texas and cover our Motorhome year round to protect the paint from the sun. RV covers are expensive and don’t seem to last very long. I’d be interested in hearing about RV covers that would last more than 2 years.

    • I say again…RVers are an inventive bunch! The laundry basket is an interesting idea. Someone else also mentioned tennis balls, and I’ll be trying those instead of some of the smaller pieces of noodle. Thanks for sharing your methods.

  11. No matter how much the covers cost they are not covered on the warranty.. since it is an act of God.. get this we bought one the pricey one called the warranty got laughed at & was even asked if we tarped it.. please, tell me why would you tarp it if you buy a cover? Just my 2 cent worth..

  12. I THOUGHT OF NOODLES TOO AND HUSB MADE FUN OF THE IDEA. OUR CONCERN: COVER SCRATCHING OR SCUFFING THE CAMPER COVER. WE MAY JUST BUT A CANOPY AS WE DONT WANT COTACT TO OUR TENT TRAILER.

    • Hi Shirley. When we had a pop-up camper (tent trailer), we bought a Cover-It shelter to protect the camper from snow and ice. It worked very well and the material lasted for quite a few years. I’m not sure the Cover-it brand is even still available, but there are several others – ShelterTech, Garage-In-A-Box, etc. When we went to a travel trailer, the Cover-It was too small and we first used a big, heavy duty tarp in the winter, then switched to a fitted cover. Fortunately, we never had a problem with scratching or scuffing. Now, with the fifth wheel, we use it a lot and it doesn’t get much exposure to ice and snow.

  13. Bill, We purchased a new motorhome in 1996. We also bought the first of many covers, life of a cover is 2-4 years. Sure the sharp edges will make holes but the movement from the wind will wear through the cover also. One thing I did was to put ropes with bungee cords under the rig from side to side. I also wraped a small rope and bungees allthe way around the rig. This rduced the wind flapping &wear on the cover. But no. Matter what I did a cover will no last more tha four years. Save your money put up a rv carport, thats your best bet. Ken

    • Appreciate your thoughts, Ken. One of the great things about this RVing community of ours is how much we can learn from each other…and how willing everyone is to share what they’ve learned!

      • Some good ideas here. I used some old tennis balls, just slice a slot in it, to put over the roof gutter spouts. I also did use some duct tape to help hold in place. Yes, I cover the RV every winter. For the roof AC, which has many sharp edges, I cut some big trash bags then duct tape it along the bottom, before putting the cover on.

        • Jerry, another RVer also said he uses tennis balls over the gutter spouts. Sounds like it’s worked well for you, too. Thanks for the tips.

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    • I’ve really enjoyed the RV Travel newsletter over the years. Chuck Woodbury (and his team) not only provides lots of great information, but I love the way he speaks his mind about the RV lifestyle and the RV industry. I was surprised and gratified to see mention of our little blog in his newsletter.

  15. I don’t use tennis balls for the spout covers. I use plastic wiggle balls already perforated with holes. Easily cut the ball to slide over your spouts, and run an elastic cord/bungee between them using the top vent cover as a pivot point. Easy peezy

    • Tom, thanks for another example of RVers’ inventive thinking! Gotta admit, I never heard of “wiggle” balls – too old I guess. Googled them and, sure enough, there they are. Brightly colored kids balls with knobs to make them wiggle when rolled. Although, you mentioned holes, so I immediately thought of the “wiffle” balls the kids and I used to bat around.

    • Todd, we used that travel trailer cover for a couple of years after writing this post. It was still in great shape when we sold that rig and bought our present fifth wheel. The only real damage to the cover was due to my own carelessness. I was mowing the grass next to it, got too close to the side of the rig with the ol’ John Deere’s exhaust pipe and burned a small hole in the cover. The cover material was NOT very heat resistant!

  16. I just want ideas of where to store that big bulky cover when we are on the road. Small trailer stored in outside lot. Not much storage space.

    • Sonja, I’m not sure I have a good answer to that one. An RV cover does take up quite a bit of room, but we always left it home when we were on the road. Guess if I absolutely had to take it along, I’d either stick it in the tow vehicle, or find a spot in the rig somewhere…but it would have been tough. Good luck!

  17. I loved this article. I already covered the trailer, however, next time I am going to use a couple of these ideas. I have covers on the gutter spouts, but they probably wont stay so I like these ideas here for that. Good job! Thank you for sharing.

  18. I really like this idea because it seems it would create less point rub friction. Even with a tennis ball, wiffle ball or other you still have the point (ball) protrusion that could create a weak spot in the cover. Need a new cover (again) from the spout, Lots of good ideas here thanks for starting this thread!

  19. Wow! you published this in 2017, so why am I just now seeing this?!?! LOL This is so crazy it could work, Pete!!! I just emailed the link for the post to my husband so we can try this on our rig when we put her to bed for the winter. I’m tired of buying the rip-stop fabric and luggin my sewing machine to the garage to do the plethora of repairs each Spring. It’s one thing to repair a strap; quite another to fix a hole!

    Awesome idea, my friend! We don’t have the downspouts on our rig yet, but with a few minor modifications, this could do the trick. We’ll let you know how our experience turns out!

    • Well, Cindy, there are other solutions as you can see from some of the comments. The noodles worked out well for us and, hopefully, for you as well.

  20. Pete, thanks for sharing your invention. Always looking for a better way. Will give it a go this fall when I put the trailers to bed for the winter.

    • Good luck to you Brian. As I’ve noted before, folks have come up with other solutions, but this has worked well for us.

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