Design
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Read moreTo size an RV cover, measure your RV’s height at its tallest point (usually the rooftop air conditioner), its width with slide-outs and awnings extended, and its length including the hitch or ladder. Then add clearance: a few feet of height above the roof, enough width to open slide-outs under the cover, and length to park without the ends sticking out. The right cover is built around your coach, not picked from a chart.
Height: measure the tallest point
Most motorhomes and fifth wheels run 11 to 13.5 feet tall including the air conditioner. The cover’s leg height should clear that with working room, and the roof pitch adds more at the center. Class A coaches and fifth wheels generally need leg heights in the 12-to-14-foot range; smaller trailers need less. Measure your own RV rather than trusting the brochure, and remember that a taller cover catches more wind, so its anchoring is specified for the height.
Width: slide-outs and awnings
An RV is about 8.5 feet wide with everything retracted. Open a slide-out and an awning and you can add 3 feet or more per side. If you want to use the RV while it’s parked, size the width so slide-outs and awnings open under the cover. If you’ll only store it, width for the body plus room to walk around is enough.
Length: the hitch counts
Measure bumper to bumper, then add the hitch overhang on a fifth wheel or travel trailer and any rear ladder or bike rack. A cover should be a few feet longer than that so the ends are shaded, not just the middle.
Open, partially closed, or enclosed
Most customers close in the back wall and one side. That blocks wind-driven rain from the weather side without turning the cover into an enclosed building, which can bring different permit requirements. A fully enclosed RV garage gives the most protection and the most cost.
What a cover protects
Eleven months of parking a year is the worst thing for an RV. Sun chalks gelcoat, dries out roof sealant, and cracks tire sidewalls. A cover with the right height and width keeps all of that in the shade and usually outlasts more than one roof reseal.
Boats, trailers, and tall vans
The same sizing logic applies to a boat on a tall trailer, a horse trailer, or a box truck: measure the tallest point, the widest point with everything open, and the full length including the tongue.
Get it sized
Tell Metal Dreams the make and model of your RV and we’ll size the cover, including the leg height, the width for your slide-outs, and the anchoring for a tall frame on your ground. Estimates are free, with no deposit. Request one here.
