I am so far behind in my blog posts that I have decided to produce just one blog post for all of last fall and winter. I’m going to try to get back up-to-date with my camping trips here, or at least close to it. I’ve read that online bloggers should not post about a trip while they are on the trip, since bad people could figure out my name, where I live, and then figure that my house is sitting empty. So I never upload a blog post while I’m actually on the trip … I always wait about a month or so afterwards. But I’m now MANY months behind … so let me catch up a bit. 🙂
And so, here’s the ONE blog post about this past winter. I brought the trailer back home after that last October, 2020, camping trip to Silver Lake and the Mount St Helens volcano, and then parked the trailer in the storage lot where I live.
As true winter weather approached, I knew that I needed to put the cover on the trailer to protect it from freezing rain and snow. But I didn’t want the cover to be damaged by any sharp corners on the exterior of the trailer … and there are some sharp corners! Here are two photos (below) that I took of the roof of the trailer when the trailer was still brand new and sitting inside a building at the Escape Trailer Industries facility in British Columbia, Canada.
The solar panel is on the right in the photo below … at the rear of the roof of the trailer in the photo below.
Those are some sharp corners!
So I concocted and constructed a foam-and-tape “surround” protection that would prevent the canvas cover from being damaged by the sharp corners. I also taped a large piece of cardboard over the entire area of the solar panel, to minimize any damage if any small tree limbs were blown onto the unit during these coming winter months.
In the photo above, the RED arrow points to my backup camera that’s mounted on the back of the trailer. I built a foam box to surround those pieces as well.
Ok, all sharp corners protected? Aye-aye! All right, let’s get that cover on the trailer.
Here she is … snug as a bug. 🙂
And just in time, too. It wasn’t but two or three weeks later this past winter that a really big (for us anyway) … really big snow storm hit.
Oh my it was pretty. And oh my, am I glad I got that cover on the trailer when I did.
The snow had already started to pack down, and to melt, by the time I stuck this ruler in the snow, out in the middle of the lawn. There had been ten inches of snow. And it hung around for 10-12 days. That’s a lot for us in this part of the world.
Even the bird feeders were socked in and were inaccessible by our feathered friends.
It was gorgeous. And it was so quiet! The silence was partly due to the fact that snow absorbs sound, but it was also partly due to the fact that very few cars and trucks were on the roads. About five days into this snow fall, I either emailed my neighbors who couldn’t get out or I walked to their front doors and asked if they needed groceries or medical supplies. Some did. So I took their lists and drove my big white truck (in 4-wheel-drive, she had no problem with this snow) … and I got the provisions needed and delivered them to the neighbors. My neighbors thought I was a hero, but I made sure they knew that, in truth, the big white truck was the hero. In fact, the big white truck asked if we could go again a few days later, so I got another couple of lists from neighbors and we made the trip out and back again. My truck is the best! 🙂
I know you told me before, but I have forgotten how the trailer breathes when it has that cover on it.
Good question, Jan. In order to allow the trailer to breathe, and so not have mold/mildew on the outside of the trailer (between the trailer outer wall and the cover), the cover has to be a bit loose so that it billows when the wind blows. Some people put sticks/battens on the roof of their rigs to keep the cover from lying directly on the roof. Since my fiberglass trailer doesn’t have corner seams along the tops of the walls, and since my A/C unit and my solar panel keep the cover from lying directly on the roof, I don’t use battens. The cover I use is just a bit large for the trailer, and I don’t tie it down tightly. Also, this cover is purported to be waterproof and yet also breathable. I see people use plastic tarps for covers, and usually they are tied down tightly … but that allows moisture/condensation under the plastic and then that moisture can get down into the walls of those square-cornered/roofed trailers. Those folks may have mold inside their walls but they’ll never know it unless they open up the walls.
On the INSIDE of the trailer, I use Dry-Z-Air containers (four of them) to keep moisture out of the air and off the walls, and I open all cabinet doors and the table/settee seats and the door that accesses the area under the bed. I empty those containers every week or two, any time I check the trailer anyway. Other folks use other really good devices to lower the humidity inside their rig, some of which have a drain tube so nothing needs emptying all winter.
I’m not sure it matters which method/device one uses, just as long as steps are taken to reduce humidity, which then reduces the risk of mold.
Oh, that cold snow feels so good! We’ve been so hot and dry this summer, thank you! Brrrrrrr! 🙂
Ha! I know the feeling, Rob. I felt cool and wonderful too, just looking at the photos as I posted them. It’s been one HOT and dry summer.
That’s our Ann. Truly an angel 😇 in a big white truck!
🙂 thanks Kathie.
I’m curious, too, about air flow inside the covered trailer. Nice job getting out in the snow to help your neighbors!
I think I got your question and Jan’s question answered above. yes? If you want more info, Dawn, just holler. 🙂
It feels really good to help other people, doesn’t it?
Great solution for protecting your cover, and then in turn, protecting your trailer!
Isn’t snow lovely?
I want to be your neighbour, Ann, and when you venture out I would promise to keep a vigilant eye on the place for you!
Oh snow is lovely indeed! Especially when one is looking at pictures of it during the summer when the temperature is over 100 degrees and it hasn’t rained for two months.
You would be a great neighbor, Robin. 🙂
Compared to what we get over here in Montana, that’s just abit of a dusting of snow. But compared to what snowfall there is in other parts of the world, even Montana gets just a bit of a dusting! So it’s all relative. Your photos are really pretty. Your generosity and thoughtfulness of others is exemplary, Ann. I’ll keep that in mind as a really good reminder to help other folks whether I know them or not!
Oh yes, I suppose it is all relative. You’re right on there, Tim. So many people where I live in western Washington aren’t prepared for more than a couple of inches of snow at a time, if even that. Our 10 inches probably seems pretty puny to you in Montana! And yep, let’s just help each other on this planet, we all need help from time to time. Let’s be good neighbors. 🙂