long term owners who don't use a cover in summer

ybakos

While some folks have talked about why they cover their Tab, are you a long-term owner who does not cover their Tab in the summer / sunny season? My Tab gets hit by the sun from about noon to six pm during the sunny season, and I am considering covering it to "prevent" UV deterioration. Sun is fairly intense where I live, not a lot of rain.

Any long-term owners out there whose Tab gets hit by the sun daily and don't use a cover? Any deterioration problems?

I'm am trying to discern if covering my Tab from the sun is worth the trouble.

Slackers

We don't cover ours. Our CSS took more damage sitting on the dealer's lot its first summer than it has in sitting two summers at our home. Going forward, we'll get tire covers as one tire's sidewall suffered cracking. With tire covers we may have been able to get another season out of it. We try to keep it clean and waxed though.

XenanMe

Original owner of a 2018 400.  It is left uncovered from April to October.  Full sun south facing.  No UV damage but I do need to redo the sealant around the windows and roof vents annually because it dries out and cracks.  If I had some shade it might not need to be done so frequently.

gulfarea

2016 320  And then 2019 320 on the Gulf Coast, shaded on east side by tree open on west side, never used a cover. Art

manyman297

2021 400 BD. Two years in intense Utah summer heat. So far so good. I try to wax it twice a year and keep the windows and plastic trim treated with marine wax.

It is funny that we all tend to cover the camper in the winter when it really needs to be covered in the summer…but it’s such a pain to keep it covered and the cover scratches the plastic trim and windows. 

ScottG

My T@B is parked outside in partial shade. It's in it's ninth season now and shows now obvious signs of UV degradation. And for the record, I've never even waxed it. Frankly I'm surprised and impressed how well the finish has held up over almost a decade.

My trips tend to be short but frequent, and there's no way I'm wrangling a cover on and off in between them!  :-)

pthomas745

Sun is the enemy.  The top of the trailer is a simple sheet of aluminum with ordinary clear coat.  Already mentioned is the need to protect the rubber window gaskets.  There are plenty of threads about broken, cracked and stretched plastic trim around the trailer roof.  My Outback has the ABS plastic "cladding" added to the older Outbacks for whatever reason, which is getting older and getting a little stiff.  I live in Socal, and we don't get beating sun, but my parking space gets a solid day of sun, with no shade,  during the summer.  I wash and wax and cover mine.  Not covered here in the last couple of weeks because we have had solid cloud cover, but as soon as summer hits here, my cover will go back on. 

If I lived anywhere else in the SW (especially UT/AZ/NM/TX) I would think a cover would be very basic protection.