Toyhauler protection from rain when ramp is out

[Donna Ford]

I’m new here and just purchased a small toyhauler.
I had the ramp set up to be a patio. I’m wondering what others
are installing to keep the rain out if they don’t close up their
ramp for when it rains. I’ve viewed the ‘add a wall’ but it doesn’t
mention anything about keeping rain out. I’ve seen other post about
three season doors, but I cannot find anything like that. I’ve also seen the d’s a room but this isn’t really what I want. Curious on what others are doing and possible options? Or...do most just close up at night and when they aren’t their in case it rains? Thanks for any input. Donna

[hamm2018]

Originally Posted by Donna Ford

I’m new here and just purchased a small toyhauler.
I had the ramp set up to be a patio. I’m wondering what others
are installing to keep the rain out if they don’t close up their
ramp for when it rains. I’ve viewed the ‘add a wall’ but it doesn’t
mention anything about keeping rain out. I’ve seen other post about
three season doors, but I cannot find anything like that. I’ve also seen the d’s a room but this isn’t really what I want. Curious on what others are doing and possible options? Or...do most just close up at night and when they aren’t their in case it rains? Thanks for any input. Donna

We try to close up when it is predicated to be a hard or long rain. If just pop ups we leave it out. After the rain sweep it off or use a leaf blower and dry it out. We have been in our unit since Oct 2017
By the way what rv did you get? Also check and see who made the ramp for you, it should be a sticker on the side of the ramp. You can call them and see what they recommend, just to CYA.

[Scarab0088]

We use an Xtend-a-Room:


There are a few brands and we have the Dometic, like:
https://www.amazon.com/Dometic-95408...dp/B002UC2RKM/
We fold it up when not in use.



A big warning is that these ramp/decks are typically not totally water-proof. If water enters at a fastener, the wood and metal bits can be ruined.

Best luck

[redhooker]

We close every time. Annoying and it is the main reason we would never own a side patio model as they are dark and lack space when side patio is up.

They should design a waterproof door. I considered taking it to the Rhino Liner roof place (they spray the liner that is truly waterproof) and spraying the door with all the brackets on. Combined with adding a link to the cables to give it some slope for drainage it might work but would be an experiment at best.

[aknavy]

Originally Posted by redhooker

We close every time. Annoying and it is the main reason we would never own a side patio model as they are dark and lack space when side patio is up.

They should design a waterproof door. I considered taking it to the Rhino Liner roof place (they spray the liner that is truly waterproof) and spraying the door with all the brackets on. Combined with adding a link to the cables to give it some slope for drainage it might work but would be an experiment at best.

I plan on getting Linex sprayed on ours in the near future. Not so that I can leave the door down in the rain, but just in case it does get wet.

[hamm2018]

Originally Posted by redhooker

We close every time. Annoying and it is the main reason we would never own a side patio model as they are dark and lack space when side patio is up.

They should design a waterproof door. I considered taking it to the Rhino Liner roof place (they spray the liner that is truly waterproof) and spraying the door with all the brackets on. Combined with adding a link to the cables to give it some slope for drainage it might work but would be an experiment at best.

On our we leave the side patio out 90% of the time. We extend the awning and use a sun zipblocker to tie it down. So far it has held in 50 mph wind gust.
The zip blocker is great. Once installed we just leave the 3 foot section in the awning and take down the 6 foot section.

[redhooker]

Originally Posted by hamm2018

On our we leave the side patio out 90% of the time. We extend the awning and use a sun zipblocker to tie it down. So far it has held in 50 mph wind gust.
The zip blocker is great. Once installed we just leave the 3 foot section in the awning and take down the 6 foot section.

We live in Florida so unfortunately we can never leave our awnings out. I have a fantastic tie down system I had made at a local upholstery place and when in use I can at least not worry about the wind. But here in the summer massive downpours are the norm. And even with our “kneeling” Dometic awnings the rain can quickly overwhelm the awning and cause a catastrophic failure. These failures are so commonplace it is the norm to see bent awnings almost every trip we take. Combine that with the fact that all rear patio decks have even weaker cassette awnings.

It is the one thing I truly miss about my old-style manual carefree awnings. Properly deployed they were almost bulletproof.

Also the patio ramps are an aluminum frame-looks like a single wall of an animal cage. This has styrofoam between each “stud” and then there is a thin sheet of plywood on the deck side and a sheet of luan/fiberglass on the outside. Water seeps in all around the aluminum trim as well as through all the screw holes. So the areas you need to protect the most are the edges-which not too many awnings will keep that area dry.

[hamm2018]

Originally Posted by redhooker

We live in Florida so unfortunately we can never leave our awnings out. I have a fantastic tie down system I had made at a local upholstery place and when in use I can at least not worry about the wind. But here in the summer massive downpours are the norm. And even with our “kneeling” Dometic awnings the rain can quickly overwhelm the awning and cause a catastrophic failure. These failures are so commonplace it is the norm to see bent awnings almost every trip we take. Combine that with the fact that all rear patio decks have even weaker cassette awnings.

It is the one thing I truly miss about my old-style manual carefree awnings. Properly deployed they were almost bulletproof.

Also the patio ramps are an aluminum frame-looks like a single wall of an animal cage. This has styrofoam between each “stud” and then there is a thin sheet of plywood on the deck side and a sheet of luan/fiberglass on the outside. Water seeps in all around the aluminum trim as well as through all the screw holes. So the areas you need to protect the most are the edges-which not too many awnings will keep that area dry.

Our main awning is 19 foot. It does a good job covering the patio. But the rear I agree that the awning is small and will not cover the rear patio. It won't even cover the entire length of it.

[Donna Ford]

Originally Posted by hamm2018

We try to close up when it is predicated to be a hard or long rain. If just pop ups we leave it out. After the rain sweep it off or use a leaf blower and dry it out. We have been in our unit since Oct 2017
By the way what rv did you get? Also check and see who made the ramp for you, it should be a sticker on the side of the ramp. You can call them and see what they recommend, just to CYA.

Thank you for your response. I called and you are correct, the ramp is NOT waterproof. So that I guess I’ll close up my ramp/patio when I’m away and at night. A little disappointing to find this out but I don’t think it would have kept me from making this purchase. I appreciate your response. We purchased the Ventura Sporttrek 19’. The only toys I plan to haul are my kayaks and paddle board. I liked the idea of the option to have the camper open during nice cool weather. Haven’t used it yet as we just got it but have a planned trip soon.

Donna

[Scarab0088]

But...you can waterproof it yourself.

There are different ways to do that, from rolling out a sheet of rubber flooring you carry rolled-up - to applying a waterproofing product to every fastener and seam.

Best luck