Living in an RV I hate the rain. I don’t know if this is the case for all RVs, but our RV has a rubber roof, which forms a taut skin much like a drum. Now imagine that you are inside a drum when rain falls on it. Fortunately, it only rains a few weeks a year, that is, fortunately for us; It’s not so lucky for California agriculture.
The second problem is that our roof is old. Maybe it should be replaced. However, this will cost several thousand dollars. This is the high price we have to pay, when we stop in a place where there is little rain. However, I don’t want to repeat years past’s routine of climbing onto the roof with a tube of decorative sealant at every opportunity. That’s why I was looking for other solutions.
- Obviously the first solution would be to send the RV in to replace the roof. Duration, several days during which we have to check into a hotel. The cost is several thousand. I suspect this will be the popular choice.
- DIY. Now, I don’t think I’m qualified to do roof repair, which is to say, if I had all the time in the world, I probably could get it done. However, it will require a construction site (such as a barn) and two weeks. Not an option.
- Purchase a huge covered carport with a canopy to cover your RV. We’re talking about covering something 8×34. This will cost $2000-2500 and will be a semi-permanent installation.
- A fabric awning similar to a car awning. This will cost $500 or so. My concern is that this has to be huge. We may have problems installing on the side of the concrete patio of the RV.
- Regular tarp ($150) tied with bungee cords and sandbags.
Which one did you choose?
None of the above. I purchased an abandoned listing on eBay. This is a tarp-like material that is three times thicker than heavy tarps and is waterproof and resistant to moderate dew, 10’x36′. It cost me $30 plus $40 shipping. I then got a grommet set and additional grommets that cost about $15. I got some tarp bungee cords for $8 or so. And I got nylon and diamond braided rope, 200 feet total, $20.
I spent the afternoon hammering the loops. I then rolled up the tarp and with a little help from DW pulled it up to the roof where I opened it up. It was relatively painless but took a few hours in total. However, now that I know how to do it, next time I can probably do it on my own in less than an hour – now that I’m better at tying balls .
So far our RV has been covered with a large orange former billboard advertising AT&T Advanced TV 
😀
.
So this should solve our water problems, and hopefully also prevent “soothing” raindrops from hitting our roofs. 
Oh yeah, out of respect for the new FCC regulations on blogger compensation, I won’t get any compensation from AT&T for mentioning this
😛
I’m glad I don’t advertise tissues or laxatives or anything like that.
Update: We are currently having a rainstorm all day and it is working great. Instead of flooding the microscopic gutters, water flows off a tarp hanging about 6 inches from the walls. The sound of raindrops was somewhat muffled, but not as silent as I expected. Being in the lower registers, it’s not as annoying as rain usually is.
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