Snow on roof

[tenbear]

Over the years, there have been many posts about should I, or shouldn't I, shovel the snow off my RV roof?

With all the snow that has fallen in the Boston area, is there a big problem with roofs collapsing? Have the RV dealers shoveled the snow off the roofs of the RVs in their lots?

Just curious. :h

[OldRadios]

youngone wrote:

That garage is Awesome! Tell me the little building next to your new garage is your house! I always say Man's best room in his house is his heated garage!

No, It's my wood shop. It's insulated and wired for 220. Has a wood stove I fire up in the winter when I want to work out there. It was an old 22'x22' two car garage I converted. Left one garage bay with doors in it so I can pull the car or the Harleys in to work on them. Made the other bay the front door. This spring it's getting new windows and will be painted to match the new garage.

I left 14' in between the buildings to park the RV. It's stone now but will most likely pour a pad when I have the garage floor poured in the spring.

On the other side of the new garage buried in the snow is a 20'x20' pad for an old two car garage we tore down. That will eventually be a car port.

[youngone]

rockhillmanor wrote:

OldRadios wrote:
My biggest worry has always been the snow melting and water seeping into things then freezing again. Always had covers to keep the snow and water off to prevent that. This year has been the worst yet for snow but we built a new garage with a bay for the RV in December so no more worries.

Gotta love those metal roofs. I built an RV garage similar to yours and nothing stays on top of that roof not even the worst of blizzards and below zero temps. Even at 10 below zero the sun hits that metal roof and melts it right off!

That garage is Awesome! Tell me the little building next to your new garage is your house! I always say Man's best room in his house is his heated garage!

[tenbear]

Here in the east the TV has been full of news about roofs collapsing under the weight of the historic snowfall in the Boston area. Lots of photos of streets that have be reduced to one lane due to all the snow.

But I have not seen any mention of damage to RVs due to the snow. I have to think that most RVs in the area are left uncovered. I was somewhat surprised not to see crushed RVs in the news, hence the post.

Here in the north we have had our usual snow fall but we have not had our usual thaws. My MH has about 18" of settled snow on the roof. BTW, I have not cleared the snow off the roof in 15 years of RVing.

[kohai]

tenbear wrote:
Over the years, there have been many posts about should I, or shouldn't I, shovel the snow off my RV roof?

With all the snow that has fallen in the Boston area, is there a big problem with roofs collapsing? Have the RV dealers shoveled the snow off the roofs of the RVs in their lots?

Just curious. :h

I know here in Utah if people leave their trailer in the mountains, they have to have a shed with a slanted roof over it because the weight of the snow can crush some RVs.

[tenbear]

NY RVer wrote:
I was just thinking about going out and turning the heat on in the TT to help melt the snow off the roof before more comes in, but I can't remember if the flue goes out the roof, or side. If out the top, then I am better off plugging in an oil filled electric heater,correct? I am concerned about the flue being covered on the roof.

I would try and clean off with a broom or roof rake, but don't want to take a chance breaking anything plastic that is up there, such as vents, etc.

Any RV I know of, the flue comes out the side, right where the heater is.

[rockhillmanor]

OldRadios wrote:
My biggest worry has always been the snow melting and water seeping into things then freezing again. Always had covers to keep the snow and water off to prevent that. This year has been the worst yet for snow but we built a new garage with a bay for the RV in December so no more worries.

Gotta love those metal roofs. I built an RV garage similar to yours and nothing stays on top of that roof not even the worst of blizzards and below zero temps. Even at 10 below zero the sun hits that metal roof and melts it right off!

[NY_RVer]

I was just thinking about going out and turning the heat on in the TT to help melt the snow off the roof before more comes in, but I can't remember if the flue goes out the roof, or side. If out the top, then I am better off plugging in an oil filled electric heater,correct? I am concerned about the flue being covered on the roof.

I would try and clean off with a broom or roof rake, but don't want to take a chance breaking anything plastic that is up there, such as vents, etc.

[westend]

Dang, I just feel better seeing all that snow out East and not here, lol.
I rake the snow off my trailer when it's a wet mix or rain is coming. I'm not worried about leaks but it does deflect the roof rafters if allowed to accumulate.

I installed two plastic wheels on the sides of a roof rake. It allows the blade to ride 1/4" above the roof surface. I did that for scraping residential asphalt roofs but it woks well on the RV too.

[OldRadios]

My biggest worry has always been the snow melting and water seeping into things then freezing again. Always had covers to keep the snow and water off to prevent that. This year has been the worst yet for snow but we built a new garage with a bay for the RV in December so no more worries.



Now it stays tucked away out of the snow and ice in the winter and sun in the summer. Big enough for the RV, trailer, dolly, both cars, lawn equipment, and the and the bikes. The second floor I use for storage stops at the RV bay so I can walk onto it's roof and work on it inside out of the weather if I need to. December was too cold so I still need to pour the cement floor in the spring.

Just in time...

[therink]

My son and I removed 90 percent of the the snow today. About 2' deep x 37 feet long. Used a snow rake from a step ladder. Worked well but it was not easy.
Is supposed to rain next weds and then freeze again. That wouldn't have been good. I bet I removed about 2000 lbs.
Also did 4' up from gutters around the entire house. Time for a nap.

[TurnThePage]

Well... Commercial buildings often don't have a mechanism to remove the snow/water weight fast enough. They're nearly flat, much more square footage, and often have walls higher than the roof edges that slows down natural drainage.

I agree that the freeze/thaw cycles can be hard on the roofs. But, since I've lined nearly everything up there with Eternabond 10 years ago, I've not had any problems with snow. And we've had several 2014/15 Boston equivalent winters in that time. It's almost impossible to remove all the snow, and you can't do anything about the ice that's frozen into those areas you were mentioning except to heat the RV enough to allow it all to melt off. Of course I'm open to suggestions!

[rockhillmanor]

First of all the comment 'if you can stand on your roof it will be ok' with the snow is SO WRONG.

If that were the case you wouldn't see all the roofs collapsing on commercial building and house roofs during this past year. :R

The snow needs to be removed. There is a formula out there that explains how many inches of snow load causes how much extra weight. All roofs are designed to carry a specific load and it never includes the weight of excessive snow.

AND

What happens is that when the sun comes out and it doesn't matter how cold it is, it starts melting the layer on top of the roof under the snow and then the temps go down at night and it freezes.

This frozen layer under the snow load starts breaking apart all the vent flanges, seals, etc on your roof. You WILL have leaks come spring.

From Wisconsin, from experience.

And I will also add do NOT use a brush to sweep off the snow from the sides of your RV where the decals are. I did and because they are brittle from the cold come spring I saw I had broken off small pieces of the edges with the broom.:(

[TARDIS_TIME_TRA]

SNOW & ICE
A reminder to all, be sure to check outside areas along mounting flange of your awning and other areas for collecting snow & ice. If allowed to stay for an extended time it can cause cracking damage to your RV or its exterior fittings. We are in Virginia an undergoing a rear deep freeze in our area. The snow starts to melt, freeze, melt and freeze again causing expansion around the fittings. Take the time to check on your RV an avoid possible damage...The Tardis Time Travelers Holly & Dave Fox

[John_Joey]

Remember what is so unique this year to you, is standard weather to many places in North America. Add in the knowledge that most RV's are made in the same place, and I think you might get some peace of mind.

Stay off the roof unless you can't sleep at night thinking about it.