What a season of Georgia sun does to a camper
The reason people cover an RV is almost never rain. It is ultraviolet. A camper parked out in the open through a Northwest Georgia summer is taking months of direct sun on a rubber or TPO roof membrane, on the sealant beading every seam and vent, and on decals and gel-coat that chalk and fade. Roof sealant is what keeps water out of the walls of an RV, and sunlight is what destroys it. A cover puts the entire top surface permanently in shade, which is the one intervention that meaningfully extends the life of the roof.
The second reason is what falls. Most properties here have mature trees, and a season of sap, pollen, leaf litter and the occasional limb sitting on a camper roof holds moisture exactly where you do not want it, right on top of the seams.
Sizing is where these go wrong. A cover built to a standard carport height does not fit a fifth-wheel; one built to the exact height of the unit leaves nowhere to stand on the roof to reseal it; one built to the exact width means the awning cannot come out and you cannot get a door open on the far side. We build these clear-span and deliberately generous, because a cover you have to reverse into perfectly every time is a cover you will resent.
- Height set from your unit. Measured from the tallest point — air conditioner, antenna, roof box — with working clearance above it.
- Clear span, no center post. Nothing to thread between when you are reversing a trailer in.
- Width for the awning. Sized so the awning can extend and doors open on both sides, not just to the width of the body.
- Depth for the hitch. Length measured over the tongue and the spare, which is where most covers come up short.
- Metal roof in your color. Panel, ridge and eave trim matched against the house so it does not read as an industrial add-on.
- Gravel pad or concrete. Compacted gravel drains and is usually the right answer; concrete where you want to work on it.
How we size and build an RV cover
We measure the unit, not the category
“Fifth-wheel” and “travel trailer” are not dimensions. We want the height to the top of the air conditioner, the width with the awning out, and the length over the tongue. If you are likely to upgrade in a few years, we will size for the bigger one now — the marginal cost of extra height at build time is small and it is unrecoverable afterwards.
Approach and turning worked out on site
How you get the unit in matters as much as the cover. We look at the approach, the turn and where you will be reversing from, because a cover that requires a perfect three-point turn every time is a cover that gets used for a season and then abandoned.
Drainage and the pad
Water coming off a large roof has to go somewhere. We set the pad and the fall so runoff leaves rather than pooling under the unit. Compacted gravel is usually the right surface; it drains, it costs less and it does not crack.
Posts, clear-span trusses and panel
Posts in concrete to depth, trusses ordered to the clear span so the bay is genuinely open, and metal panel over the top with closures at the ridge and eaves.
Room to work up top
Where the plan allows, we set the height so you can actually get on the roof to inspect and reseal it. That is the maintenance job that keeps an RV watertight, and a cover that makes it impossible has cost you something.
Why homeowners choose us for this
We size for the awning and the hitch
The two dimensions people forget. A cover measured off the body alone is one you have to back into perfectly and cannot sit under.
Clear span every time
Reversing a trailer past a center post in a mirror is nobody's idea of a good evening.
Sized for the next camper too
Extra height costs little now and cannot be added later. If an upgrade is possible, say so and we will build for it.
Matched to the property
Panel color and trim picked against the house, so a large structure does not dominate the yard.
RV & Boat Cover Questions
Taller than the unit, measured to the very top of the air conditioner or antenna rather than to the roofline, plus working clearance. If you ever want to get up top to inspect seals and reseal seams — and you should — the cover has to leave room to stand. Tell us the real measured height rather than the brochure height; they differ more often than you would expect.
Wide enough that the awning can come out and doors open on both sides with room to walk. Sizing to the width of the body gives you a cover you can park under but not use. The extra width is the cheapest part of the structure and it is the difference between shelter and an outdoor room.
Compacted gravel is usually the better answer. It drains, which matters under a large roof, it costs considerably less, and it will not crack under the point loads of jacks and stabilizers. Concrete makes sense if you want to work under the unit or keep the area spotless.
Yes, either now or later. Fully enclosing an RV cover turns it into a building with all that implies for permitting and cost, so it is worth deciding early. If enclosure is a maybe, tell us and we will set post spacing and headers so that it is straightforward rather than a rebuild.
A tall structure with a large roof plane is exactly where post depth, bracing and fastener pattern matter, which is why posts go into concrete to depth and get braced properly rather than being set shallow and backfilled with spoil. This is the part of the job nobody sees and the part that decides how it behaves in a storm.
Yes — the reasoning is the same and so is the build. What changes is the sizing: measure over the tower or the top of the windscreen, and remember the trailer tongue when you are working out the length. Boats on trailers are frequently longer than people estimate.