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Unicorn Driver · 12-10-2019, 05:27 AM

Hi,

I recently had a concrete pad put in at home to store our coach. We had the area cleared but left 4 Maples in place that are about 15 foot from the coach. The tree co only stated that are in good health.

We had some tree damage on the other side of the property in a recent winter storm.

Will branches from this height damage the roof?

Thanks,

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**Spdracr39** · 12-10-2019, 05:33 AM

They don't look prone to losing branches but if one falls over looks like the bus will protect the house.

Podivin · 12-10-2019, 05:34 AM

COULD a branch falling from that height damage the roof of the RV - certainly. But it would depend on exactly how big it was and how it fell.
Would I cut the trees, nope. I've got some like that near my rig (Live Oaks, as opposed to Maples, but still big trees very near the RV). I'll watch them, if they start to drop their small branches - which is what happens first to these trees, then I'll start thinking about trimming or cutting them. But at this point they were here before I was, so they get to stay.

Unicorn Driver · 12-10-2019, 05:36 AM

Thanks both, they are near the property line and give us a nice bit of privacy.

Have not noticed any branches so far.

cavie · 12-10-2019, 05:41 AM

I'm a tree hugger. I planted 4 large oak trees in my yard 10 years ago. They went from 5 gal buckets to will over 30 tall. You have insurance. You camp in wooded campgrounds right?

Dav L · 12-10-2019, 05:53 AM

I live in the woods too.
Will branches from that height damage the roof? Yes.
Should you cut the trees? That's just up to you.
Keep your pressure washer handy to keep the RV top clean. Leaves and branches will be continual.
Me? Yes, I would have given the RV more room.
Most important is to keep tabs on the tree health. Especially since you poured a pad over 1/4 of their root system.
I got rid of a whole bunch of trees that were dead / dying within striking distance of the RV over the last two years. A few more to go. They look so dead in the winter...

I have a 60ft man lift that makes tree maintenance a whole lot easier and cheaper than hiring a pro. I also have a backhoe that I pull the stumps and burn them on a regular basis along with smaller stuff. A neighbor heats his home with the majority of my downed trees so some BTU value is derived.
So, I would have pulled the stumps and allowed two years for the ground to settle and then poured the pad. If you leave stumps, they decompose and become a hollow under the pad. Certainly too late for that activity.

darbyjudy · 12-10-2019, 06:06 AM

I built my house in 1989, at that time I had some small oaks in the yard. Well over the years the trees grew into large trees and then they got some rot in them. the insurance co said I must remove the ones that over hung the house , so I did. I had several in the yard near my RV pad, it was impossible to keep the mh clean with out a cover. So I had a medal cover put up. Thern those trees also got rot so had them removed. It is up to you but you are going to need a cover in order to keep the mh clean. I did have a lot of years to enjoy the trees but now I only have trees in the back of my property. Spent a lot of money getting the rotted ones removed.

hohenwald48 · 12-10-2019, 06:46 AM

You're going to have little maple tree "helicopters" in every nook and cranny of your motorhome.

WantAB · 12-10-2019, 06:59 AM

I had a perfectly good looking hickory tree that decided to fall in the only direction that would cause harm, onto my steel shop roof. $500 insurance deductible and the insurance company paid the remaining $2,500.

The hickory stump was Swiss cheesed by insects. Damaged wasn't visible before the tree fell.

USMCRET · 12-10-2019, 07:14 AM

Consider having a tree service “dead wood” those trees every couple or three years. If a branch falls, it will be a dead one and you can prevent that from happening by being proactive.

mokurt · 12-10-2019, 07:54 AM

Besides leaves and small branches falling on the roof expect bird poop!

WagonMaster · 12-10-2019, 07:54 AM

If those are Silver Maple trees, the ones with the helicopter seeds, than I would get rid of them pronto. Every ice storm and high wind event produces broken limbs everywhere. I won't even park my car near them during storms. Silver Maple roots have broken my driveway because they travel under the ground very near to the surface. Just IMHO.

grindstone01 · 12-10-2019, 08:11 AM

How about a carport roof over the MH? It won't help for large branches, but it will keep the smaller branches from nicking the roof and will keep the staining leaves off.

Gary RVRoamer · 12-10-2019, 08:22 AM

It's kind of a philosophical thing. I live in an residential enclave inside a National Forest full of oaks and pines. City dwellers come and see the beautiful trees and the animal they harbor, and rush to buy home here. After a year or two they get worried about swaying trees, falling branches, and constant leaf & dirt clean-up. And the shade makes pretty grass lawns hard to grow. So they start cutting trees and within a few years their lot looks just like their previous city home, with one small bush in the front yard. Then they wonder why there are no longer any deer or or eagles or rabbits around anymore.

I guess I'm a tree-hugger. We may trim or even remove a tree, but it has to be a serious and imminent danger and not just a worry or inconvenience.