Important info and common questions
Do NOT use a full, pull-over RV cover with our product
We have discovered that the heat load that can build underneath an RV cover can reach 150+ degrees even when the outside air temperature is in the low 80’s. This is a discovery that has really disturbed us and this is why: The manufacturers and sellers of the many fabric types and styles of RV covers neglect to tell us RV owners that these covers meant to keep our RV’s clean and protected might actually do more damage than good.
When we heard from one of our customers that they had found our awning covers, which they purchased and installed on their RV patio awning, “laying on the ground, spread apart,” “opened up,” or “pancaked,” we were baffled. It took some time to finally figure out that the customer had been using our covers underneath a full RV cover. Through further investigation and testing by us, we discovered that the heat build-up under these covers is astounding. As mentioned earlier, the temperature under a fabric RV cover can reach 150+ degrees when the outside air temperature is in the low 80’s. This can soar to 200+ degrees as the outside temperature rises. Imagine what it could be in the extreme outside temps of 100+ degrees in the Southwest.
Avoid Heat Load Damage
This is what concerns us: With a full cover on, you could be literally cooking everything inside your RV – causing advanced aging and damage to everything affected by the heat load. (The manufacturers and retailers don’t tell you this, right?) In addition, when our awning protectors are used underneath an RV fabric cover, the extreme heat load causes them to soften at 150+ degrees, and eventually they will spread open under their own weight and drop off.
So, we highly recommend not using full RV fabric covers and just deal with having to clean your RV more often. You are far better off. If you have purchased one, you might want to try to return it and get your money back! You CANNOT use a full RV fabric cover when using our awning protectors. This is the only way that our covers can fail.
Could Water Get Trapped Under Our Covers?
We have a lot of questions and concerns about water being trapped under our covers and I will address those concerns here.
If you install our covers as instructed, they are 99% water resistant. When installing, you start from the back of the RV and overlap the pieces as you move forward. When storing your RV, you can install the first piece over the end cap, if you wish, for added protection. As you install each piece, with both hands grab and roll the piece upward so that it jams up snug to the fabric roll connection to the trailer. Overlap the next piece and repeat until the entire awning is covered.
Make sure to store the RV with the front higher than the back. If it does rain, the water will flow off the back of the awning, essentially making a “gutter,” if you will, at the connection point to the trailer. The only amount of water (if any) that might get under our cover could be a little “bleed under” at the connection point, but it will be very minimal. NOTE: Do not install Awning Pro-Tech covers on wet awning fabric. Never leave a wet awning rolled up, with or without our product, because it may cause molding and/or mildew. (Please see “Care and Maintenance” under the “Resources” tab for awning fabric cleaning.)
For information on how to clean and care for your awning fabric, click here.
Do I need a ladder every time I want to put on and take off the covers?
This is a very good question and here is what I do: When my RV is in storage, I have the covers on with the Transport Clips. I then travel to my destination. If I want to use my awning, I pop the Transport Clips off with a broom handle (or some facsimile thereof), extend my awning out with the product in place, and remove them when the awning is fully extended. I then slide the pieces inside each other and stow them away. When I am finished using my RV and I have it back to my storage destination, I then use a ladder to put the pieces and clips back on, and I am good to go for next time. That way I don’t have to carry a ladder with me. –Kevin
Can I roll up my awning with the covers installed?
NO, you can only extend (open) the awning with the product installed. Once you extend the awning with the covers in place, you can easily remove the pieces for they will be loose at the end. (Do not stand under your awning while extending in case the cover pieces were to fall off.) You CANNOT re-track or roll-up the awning with the cover pieces on, because they will roll up into the fabric.
Trouble installing “Transport Clips”?
Sometimes it is difficult to get the clip under the rolled up fabric and over our product due to the fabric being so tightly wound. In this case, you can try two things: Try sliding the clip under just a few layers of fabric instead of all of them, and/or install the clip first and then, holding our cover piece at a slight angle, slide the cover piece onto the clip.
YOU MUST REMOVE TRANSPORT CLIPS BEFORE EXTENDING AWNING
DO NOT transport RV with Awning Pro-Tech covers installed unless using the “Transport Clips.” If using “Transport Clips,” remember to remove them before extending your patio, slide-out, or window awning.
Do you ship outside the Continental United States?
Before you order Products via the Site for delivery to Canada or outside the US, you must contact us . If you DO NOT contact us prior to ordering outside of the Continental US, we reserve the right to contact you for additional payment if the rates are higher than what FedEx/UPS calculates on their website. We will not ship your order until these possible extra fees are paid.
Do your covers come in colors?
No, our covers only come in white because it provides the most UV resistance. If you wish, you can paint them yourself using Krylon, a spray paint for plastics. It is available at most home improvement stores.
What if I have sloped fabric, or horizontal fabric from the roll to the connection to my RV?
In the cases where your RV has a fabric connection higher than the roll as seen in the photo above (this one is extreme), or those who have fabric extending horizontally from the roll to the connection, either on the Patio/Slide-out and/or Window Awnings, the following information is for you:
You may have already purchased an Awning Cover Kit from us and discovered that your fabric requires a special piece to cover your “sloped” or horizontal fabric from the roll to the connection on your RV. Or possibly, you have been waiting for us to develop the part to cover this sloped and/or horizontal fabric issue before ordering.
We’ve tried for almost two years to develop a simple, effective fix for this issue, and now we finally have it available! We call it a “Flap” (see photo below). Essentially, it is a clip with a 5-inch long flap of our Awning Cover material, all one piece. The “Flap” will have score lines every ½” running the entire length of the piece. The “Flap” pieces are the same lengths as your Cover Kit pieces. These “Flaps” will have to be custom ordered with each awning cover. So, you would need to contact us to order the covers and/or “Flaps” until we have them up on our website.
We apologize to those of you who ordered our covers and now find that they need an additional piece to protect their awning fabric. We have tried to keep the cost of our “Flaps” to a minimum, but the UV resistant material we use in order to give you a lifetime of protection does not come cheap. However, it is still much, much less expensive than replacement fabric.
