After reading about Calmark custom fit trailer covers on another post, I checked them out for my 28 foot Classic. Calmark wants about $1200 (3 times the price of non-custom covers). They look good, but are they worth the high price?
I am just looking for comments from people that own a Calmark cover.
IMO, yes. I had one made for my 28' as soon as I bought my AS. Our 2nd trip with our new trailer was a trip down the coast to pick up the cover. Met owner, design engineer, and checked out their facility. Impressed with all. I keep my trailer covered whenever not in use, regardless of season. It is truly a custom made cover to your exact measurements. Fits like a glove with no wind flap. Thus far, no damage to AS surface. I wash my trailer before covering.
I keep mine mostly indoors, but when outside, it's uncovered. My concern is not with rain, leaves, etc touching the surface, it's the kids that play around it(baseball, football, bike riding, etc), and my biggest concern of all-- hail. Anything more than pea sized hail and, well, you know what happens.
I have been seriously considering something like this:
Yes, it's prob 2.5-3x what the Calmark cover costs, but the Calmark won't protect against hail. Now if you park in a place without power, the car capsule also won't protect against large hail, but it is thicker than the Calmark cover FWIW.
I look at it this way, if you park outdoors and have access to power, car capsule seems like a logical (though expensive) solution. A panel overlay or replacement will be 2-3x the cost of a car capsule. Stops thrown baseballs, softballs, bike collisions, and most importantly significant size hail.
It may be a bit much to setup and take down as well, buy my guess is, not vastly more than throwing a cover on your Airstream.
I emailed the guy about a year ago. For a 30' (I tended to get a size bigger than I needed today) was going to be about $3k-$4k IIRC, this was to be approx 10' high, by 32' long 10' wide. This was prior to the ducted A/C units which added hight to the equation, so if you consider this solution, make sure you have ample space all around so that the "air" chamber fills and can get run into....last thing you want is to have it near snug fit like a cover.
IMO, yes. I had one made for my 28' as soon as I bought my AS. Our 2nd trip with our new trailer was a trip down the coast to pick up the cover. Met owner, design engineer, and checked out their facility. Impressed with all. I keep my trailer covered whenever not in use, regardless of season. It is truly a custom made cover to your exact measurements. Fits like a glove with no wind flap. Thus far, no damage to AS surface. I wash my trailer before covering.
Your cover looks nice and tight - smooth, even. Who is your cover maker? And if you don't mind, will you provide a ballpark cost for such a nice cover? 🙏🏼 🤔
Wow, the appeal of this is that it keeps the AS dry.
Probably not. The covers must breathe or else it develops mold.
Not sure how one puts the cover on and off without getting on the roof. All the stuff up there will snag. Solar panels will be even more difficult. And although the zipper doors allow access, you can't run the AC or fridge(?) because there's no where for the heat to escape.
I bought a cover for my last truck, planning to keep it new looking. I gave up because it was heavy, awkward, and when wet it weighed a ton.
The mfg. of my cover is Calmark, calmarkcovers.com. They are made to order and sold direct. They will email a quote and send a fabric sample. If requesting a quote, give actual shell length instead of your model number as it helps save a few bucks. My trailer is a 28QRB, but the shell is only 305" (25.4') long, so my quote was for a 26' Airstream. If memory serves, my cover ran $1025, then I added the propane tank/jack cover for something like $95. If ordering, they supply a Airstream specific measuring diagram with many measuring points. Measure carefully, don't add inches for error.
Not sure how much it weighs. I would be happy to weigh it, but it's currently on the trailer. When it is rolled on the pipe, it is very easy to handle.
I have probably taken it on and off 8-10 times, so far. Pretty easy and we get better at it each time. To save some typing, I am copying a reply I posted a couple of days ago in a similar thread on same question:
I roll the cover on to a 2" x 6' piece of PVC pipe to act as a spool. I make the roll about 5' wide. I then slide a 1-1/2" x 10' piece of PVC pipe through it (long enough to extend past the width of trailer). Then I slipped a 90 degree elbow on each end of the 10' pipe and cut two 8' pieces of 1-1/2" PVC as a down tube for each side. This allowed wife and I to lift and walk the spool down the middle of the roof without using ladders. Two ladders and two people, without the down tubes, also works well. Lately I have been doing it myself with just one ladder. Put spooled cover over shoulder, step up ladder, lay spool over roof where white roof starts, then just unroll from one side, moving ladder as I go. It rolls right over AC and vent covers, skylights, etc.
I bought the cheapest plastic flower pot I could find that was large enough to cover the mushroom TV antenna. Cut the bottom off so it is just a little higher than antenna. Put foam pipe insulation on top and bottom where it touches roof and cover. I use pieces of pool noodles to cover refrigerator vent heat shield on roof, stove fan vent on side, and other sharp edges. Probably sounds like a real PITA, but it's not.
We do not try to roll when removing. I lift it up on one side, while wife gently pulls on other side, starting at front or back. She stuffs it into a large, plastic, tote bin as she pulls it off. I later, at home, lay it out on a clean, flat surface to re-roll for next use.
As I have mentioned before, I would never tell someone they should cover their AS. I know it goes against the majority thinking. I am simply relaying, upon request, my covering experiences with this specific product, after as much research as I could find.
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