Leaving Trailer Uncovered During Summer

manyman297

We're taking delivery of our 400 sometime in feb/march. We're lucky in that we have an RV pad on the side of our house to park the T@B but it's west-facing and will be taking the brunt of the sun. Plans to create some kind of carport will happen down the road but I'm curious if others on the forum are leaving theirs uncovered throughout the year. 

Our current popup camper stays covered in the winter and maybe only half of the summer. The problem is that I don't want to keep having to cover/uncover it every other week or two just to take it out for the weekend. This last summer I left it mostly uncovered to make life easier...but this camper also was a third the price of the 400.

My question is are people leaving theirs uncovered in the summer months? Ironically we all tend to cover our trailers in the winter when I think the summer is when more damage occurs from the sun. My assumption is the windows and trim are going to take a beating over time but I really have no idea. 

DougH

Summer hail will do a number on the roof, before you finish the carport. UV tends to also degrade some plastic parts like the fridge vents. And finally the tire sidewalls. Cracks often occur in the ABS trim pieces, but only in bitter cold.

manyman297

I'm in Salt Lake and we don't get hail often (and when we do it's rarely...actually in my lifetime, never been the damaging kind) but were definitely get sun. I may have to just bite the bullet and get used to keeping it covered as much as possible and then plan on that carport ASAP. 

DougH

Well that may also depend on the wind there.  Some T@Bbers with covers have reported that the inside of the covers can chafe some corers of the trim.  I used a brand of cover, Classic I think, with soft cloth on the inside, but it still wore some of the silver off the top corner of the front window.  Guess anything rubbing back and forth for long enough can wear off paint.  After a year or so I decided to leave it uncovered, and I just check the roof Dicor and other sealant spots more often. After four years no haze on the windows, and roof is fine in TX sun aside from some hail dings, but there's a little fading of the paint or gel coat above the wheel wells.

Bclarke

This is a question I have as well.  We just took delivery of our new Tab 320 S.  For the next 2 months it will be outside in the snow. Then we head to MT for 2 months ... and again in the fall. So overall it will be outside about 4.5 months of the year .. otherwise in a garage. Our dealer said not to worry about a cover for 4.5 months.  Would you agree?  

jimcenname

Since I live in my 400 it is never covered. I wash it every two weeks and wax it about twice a year. I wax the windows about once a month. My T@B looks like new, actually better that when the dealer delivered it. One disappointment is the black plastic trim. The tub, rear bumperish thing and wheel well covers. They get hazy after a few weeks or a month in direct hot sun. I have to polish and then wax them to make them look like new. A few of the decals deteriorated.

manyman297

Bclarke said:

This is a question I have as well.  We just took delivery of our new Tab 320 S.  For the next 2 months it will be outside in the snow. Then we head to MT for 2 months ... and again in the fall. So overall it will be outside about 4.5 months of the year .. otherwise in a garage. Our dealer said not to worry about a cover for 4.5 months.  Would you agree?  

I would be more concerned about the summer heat than the snow. I think you’ll be fine. As long as it’s not being towed on salted roads.

manyman297

jimcenname said:

Since I live in my 400 it is never covered. I wash it every two weeks and wax it about twice a year. I wax the windows about once a month. My T@B looks like new, actually better that when the dealer delivered it. One disappointment is the black plastic trim. The tub, rear bumperish thing and wheel well covers. They get hazy after a few weeks or a month in direct hot sun. I have to polish and then wax them to make them look like new. A few of the decals deteriorated.

That’s not good news about the trim. Might be an issue down the road.

Also not good news about the decals. I waxed and waned about just doing the single accent line vs. the tempest scheme. Ultimately we went with the tempest scheme because I felt like the accent line left the trailer looking “naked”...I may regret that it sounds like.

jimcenname

manyman297 said:

jimcenname said:

Since I live in my 400 it is never covered. I wash it every two weeks and wax it about twice a year. I wax the windows about once a month. My T@B looks like new, actually better that when the dealer delivered it. One disappointment is the black plastic trim. The tub, rear bumperish thing and wheel well covers. They get hazy after a few weeks or a month in direct hot sun. I have to polish and then wax them to make them look like new. A few of the decals deteriorated.

That’s not good news about the trim. Might be an issue down the road.

Also not good news about the decals. I waxed and waned about just doing the single accent line vs. the tempest scheme. Ultimately we went with the tempest scheme because I felt like the accent line left the trailer looking “naked”...I may regret that it sounds like.

I should have been clearer, the design decals are holding up well. I meant to say that logo decals, the ones near the door aren't holding up well.

Denny16

The certification stickers by the door in our 2018 TaB are still in good kit.  What has deteriorated is the nüCamp builders sticker in the tongue, it needs replacing, as the Vin number is not legible any more.
cheers

manyman297

jimcenname said:

manyman297 said:

jimcenname said:

Since I live in my 400 it is never covered. I wash it every two weeks and wax it about twice a year. I wax the windows about once a month. My T@B looks like new, actually better that when the dealer delivered it. One disappointment is the black plastic trim. The tub, rear bumperish thing and wheel well covers. They get hazy after a few weeks or a month in direct hot sun. I have to polish and then wax them to make them look like new. A few of the decals deteriorated.

That’s not good news about the trim. Might be an issue down the road.

Also not good news about the decals. I waxed and waned about just doing the single accent line vs. the tempest scheme. Ultimately we went with the tempest scheme because I felt like the accent line left the trailer looking “naked”...I may regret that it sounds like.

I should have been clearer, the design decals are holding up well. I meant to say that logo decals, the ones near the door aren't holding up well.

Ahhh. Haha, good to know. I was expecting a season to go by and all of the decals would be curling up. 

manyman297

Denny16 said:

The certification stickers by the door in our 2018 TaB are still in good kit.  What has deteriorated is the nüCamp builders sticker in the tongue, it needs replacing, as the Vin number is not legible any more.
cheers

Luckily that side and tongue of the trailer will be out of the sun. But the driver’s and rear of the trailer will get baked.

Yeah. Those stickers (VIN) are on the driver’s side of our popup right now and they’re faded after only a couple of years.

manyman297

Hate to resurrect this thread again, but just curious who actively covers their trailer in the summer? I’m tempted to but since we’ve been using it every other week and then some, not sure how much of a pain it will be to remove/replace constantly. 

Slackers

We're not covering ours in summer, but also curious as to others' viewpoints.

Tabaz

I used this for several seasons years ago.  Made by Shelter Logic.  I recall having to buy a few extra poles to get enough height. Added shade screen on the West facing side.  Was very stable, even in wind.  About $150 at the time.

manyman297

Tabaz said:

I used this for several seasons years ago.  Made by Shelter Logic.  I recall having to buy a few extra poles to get enough height. Added shade screen on the West facing side.  Was very stable, even in wind.  About $150 at the time.

We considered something like this but with the height of the 400 it's been difficult to find something that looks nice (like yours) and is tall and stable enough.

I've thrown around the idea of making a half-shade (the backside is what really gets hit by the sun) out of PVC and outdoor fabric but it's a bigger project than I want to tackle right now. Plus it might be kind of ugly. 

I'm definitely going to wax the entire trailer with a good ceramic coating and put some 303 protectant on the plastic trim to delay the effects of UV damage. 

Denny16

We just wash and wax ours, keep it clean and it has held up in the Pacific Northwest and Northern California summers quite nicely.
cheers

DenverJaguar

The UV rays in Colorado are killer. I plan on buying the cover for the 320S and draping a moving blanket between the roof and cover to give some hail protection. It's going to be on the east side of my house so it will have some protection from wind. 

nmdream

Neighbor has Pecan trees near ours, some trees worse than others. Tough stains, something to consider as well.

qhumberd

UV radiation is bad for just about all parts of a trailer, from the plastic trim to the tires. It may not show up the first summer, but it will over time. The time spend covering and uncovering is well worth it from my viewpoint.

manyman297

qhumberd said:

UV radiation is bad for just about all parts of a trailer, from the plastic trim to the tires. It may not show up the first summer, but it will over time. The time spend covering and uncovering is well worth it from my viewpoint.

Yeah, I may be to that point at least until I figure out a more permanent carport/cover solution. Just ordered a cover and I'll be applying some ceramic wax and 303 protectant this week.

Blueespy

We purchased a full cover for our t@b 400 BDL.  We live in FL and due to the local HOA, we store our t@b on the nearby AFB.  When going into storage, we back the t@b up onto 2x6 blocks, use tire covers, the a/c vent cover, and then the full trailer cover.  The way we install the cover is we have it laid out (only the first time) and then roll each side inward creating a tube.  On the end of the cover we have two grommets where we attach 550 cord and a small shot bag.  Then everything thing is rolled and stored in the bag.  When it comes time to install, I life the bag onto the storage tube, take the shot bag and throw it over the t@b to the back.  My wife pulls and I feed the cover out of the bag.  It's important you pull the cover between the A/C and bathroom vents.  Once it's all the way over, we simply unroll each side and let it fall down the sides.  Takes a bit of practice but we can have everything on in about 15mins.  Removing is just opposite.  We try and roll the sides up to the top of the t@b and then slowly pull the entire thing forward.  We have a 2019 and had a custom wrap put on both sides.  Just back from a trip and our t@b looks brand new, wrap doesn't show wear, etc.  We also try and wash it after every trip.  I know it may seem like a lot but we plan to use our t@b for many years.

MissScarletAnd3Doods

@jimcenname - since you live in your 400 and wash/wax regularly.
Do you have recommendations for 
window wax?
body wax?
trim wax?
Thanks......

jimcenname

@MissScarletand2Doods I'm not particular about the cleaning supplies, I buy reasonably priced stuff at Walmart. 

Parlando

I bought a pack of two heavy duty tarps from Costco. I use one of them for the T@B, mostly to protect it from sap and other tree droppings. I tie it down over the T@B with rope.  It works great, and inexpensive.