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Old 02-26-2018, 08:33 AM   #1
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Snow on Roof

We keep our Adventurer in the mountains. My concern is potential for roof damage from snow accumulation. Does anyone have knowledge of how many inches of snow a 1995 winnebago adventurer will support?
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Old 03-08-2018, 05:21 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by plamb View Post
We keep our Adventurer in the mountains. My concern is potential for roof damage from snow accumulation. Does anyone have knowledge of how many inches of snow a 1995 winnebago adventurer will support?
Even though you may be more concerned about keeping warm at home and tossing logs on the fire at this time of year, you should know that all the snow that’s accumulating on your RV can easily do some serious damage.

With economy being a high priority today, many RVs are constructed very lightweight. One of the areas where manufacturers can save some weight is the roof. In fact, a lot of the travel trailers built now are constructed with thin enough material that simply walking on the roof requires laying down some plywood to spread the weight, in order to prevent damaging the sheeting under the rubber membrane.

Imagine how much weight is involved when wet slushy snow is allowed to build up on this same roof about 12″ to 18″ deep. With the levels of precipitation that have been falling this winter, you can see this amount after just a few weeks of snowfall. Something you can hardly afford to overlook.

The Wrath Of Snow
Any amount of snow beyond a few inches is enough to cause serious damage.

As Spring gets closer, the melting and refreezing cycle will let water creep into all kinds of little places. When it freezes and expands, any “slightly leaking” seams will turn into major entry points for water. Soon, the insulation will be saturated and water stains will start appearing on the ceiling.

If the extreme weight of the heavy snow isn’t enough to outright collapse the roof, the water seeping in will quickly do damage amounting to many thousands of dollars.

Unfortunately, the damage often remains hidden, and once the stain on the ceiling dries out you may think you’re good to go. However, water that will remain trapped in the insulation can quickly start the process of dry rot, de-lamination, or worst of all mold. All of that can easily de-value your RV by a very large percentage.

Jesse
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Old 03-09-2018, 04:41 AM   #3
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Having shoveled and plowed much more snow than I care to remember, I can tell you that there is no hard and fast rule that X inches of snow is where you should draw the line.
The RV will be able to take much more of the light fluffy stuff than it will the wet heavy stuff. Personally I would draw the line at 2 or 3 inches, any more than that and I'd be inclined to be out there trying to get the snow off the roof (from a ladder, you don't want to add your weight to the possibly already overweight roof).

And as Jesse points out, you have as much (or possibly more) to worry about with the thaw/refreeze cycle than just the weight of the snow itself. You've likely seen what that cycle can do to the roads around town. If it can tear up concrete and asphalt, it could certainly do damage to a 1/4 inch of fiberglass. So you'll want to make sure you've got good seals everywhere up there in the fall before you park it.

Is it notable that your responses so far have been from people in Florida??
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Old 03-09-2018, 09:26 AM   #4
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Just to break the trend, I'm not in Florida but NC. As has been said I'd be more concerned about the freeze/thaw cycles. If the snow is deep enough this will allow water/ice to build up under roof vents, The A/C housing and other loosely fit items like that. If I was in your place and I couldn't store the RV in a building of some type I would probably tarp the roof to keep the snow from being directly on it.
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