1 of 11
Perry Mack
2 of 11
Perry Mack
Although not rated ‘bombproof’, the diamond weave material is tough, durable and fire retardant.
3 of 11
Perry Mack
The Studs are best attached on a smooth, flat surface but the slightly textured black aluminum bottom trim provided us with a solid attachment point. Also, we could see behind it and be confident we weren’t drilling into power or water lines. The plastic wheel well in the left of the image was suspiciously rough, so we applied buttons five inches apart instead of the usual ten inches for additional support.
4 of 11
Perry Mack
Pins (left) snap on to the Studs, which then pierce the skirting. Then you simply push on the cap.
5 of 11
Perry Mack
We ordered Studs colour-matched to the location they would be placed on the RV. You can see black on black to the right and white on white to the left. From two metres away they are almost invisible while traveling. Choices were white, black, grey, and tan.
6 of 11
Perry Mack
We used a chalk line to get a straight edge and the Studs attached securely to the diamond plate. The grey caps with the grey fabric give it a very professional finish. A packaging error meant we didn’t get enough grey caps but for the whole install, but EZ Snap corrected this later.
7 of 11
Perry Mack
It would have saved 20 minutes if we had draped the skirt over the bumper but the straight drop from behind made the finished install better looking. To get around the two frame members attaching the bumper, we added two extra Studs above the frame location, pulled the skirt up from behind the bumper and cut the skirt downwards the required distance.
8 of 11
Perry Mack
It was easy to change direction to accommodate the extra height of the slide. Another install option would have been to use the slide height all the way around the RV. This would have resulted in a smoother drape of the fabric but more cutting around doors and vents.
9 of 11
Perry Mack
After adding two Studs below near the corners of our freshwater intake, it was a simple matter to cut around the door. The same method works for fridge/furnace vents, storage access and doors.
10 of 11
Perry Mack
The ground frame is laid out to attach the skirt around the RV perimeter. We built the frame to include two crossmember pipes parallel to the bumper underneath the RV, to add strength and stability to the frame.
11 of 11
Perry Mack
White clamps securely snap over the fabric and pipe. If you feel you need more downward force against the threat of high winds you can add sandbags on top of the material out of sight underneath the RV.
To skirt or not to skirt. Is that a question? It’s not if you’d like to use your RV through the winter either as a recreational getaway or full-time residence. Even in the shoulder months skirting is an essential accessory to keep you warm and save you money.
We found ourselves out in the cold, so to speak, when our old home sold six months before our new home was finished. We could have rented a home but since we had two perfectly comfortable RVs, and place to park them we decided that from September to March we would full-time RV. My wife and I in our Montana High Country 5th wheel and our come-and-go son in our Black Rock travel trailer, which could do double duty as my office. Sometimes RVing isn’t all vacation time.
The Black Rock is a described as a four-season RV but that doesn’t really include a Canadian winter season. Perhaps there are five seasons? Or is it four Arizona seasons? Either way, we knew from experience that RV skirting was an essential accessory to enjoy our winter.
We reached out to EZ Snap for their Do-it-Yourself application. They are well-known for their patented adhesive snap system, which uses a no-drill 3M adhesive button to attach their RV skirting. Unfortunately, we didn’t order our skirting kit early enough and found ourselves in temperatures of 10°C, under the minimum low of 15°C and well below the recommended average temperature of 21°C for good adhesion of the 3M buttons.
As it turns out the alternate snap attachment was better for us as the available screw and adhesion combination is better in high wind applications and can be installed in cooler weather. Ordering was straight forward and EZ Snap staff were very helpful. We had to measure the length of our RV and count number of slides. Our circumference was 72 feet, so we ordered the 80-foot kit. Then we decided on the width and colour of skirting. There are four colours and two widths, 46 and 60 inches. After measuring the height at which we wanted to hang the skirting, we chose the 46” length. It was tempting to go for the extra length (60 in) as it was only $20 more but we felt the narrower material would be easier to work with. We needed enough width to hit the ground and then fold under the RV and attach it to our PVC pipe ground frame. The snap system holds the skirting up and the ground frame holds it in place from below.
The material is not a tarp but a diamond weave fire-retardant material that someone described as bomb-proof. No, we didn’t test it with a bomb (apparently that is frowned upon in our community) but when it arrived, we yanked, pulled, and attempted to tear it with no result. Yet it was easy to cut with scissors making the install all that much more enjoyable.
Our install procedure went like this; we measured and marked every ten inches along the path of our chosen screw/adhesive buttons (it is every five inches for adhesive only), cleaned the location of each button with 70/30 isopropyl alcohol, peeled and stuck the buttons in place, and then used a battery-operated drill to mount the stainless self-tapping screws through the button and into the RV. Then you snap on the pins. We repeated these steps about 86 times around the RV. That done, we pressed the skirt onto the pin and added a cap to keep it there.
There are some special points of interest where we needed to add some extra buttons and then trimmed material to keep clear of vents, get around the RV frame, and maintain access to our dump valves. All-in-all it was not rocket science.
Finally, we constructed a frame from ¾” PVC pipe and used the clamps supplied by EZ Snap to attach the skirt. We didn’t glue the pipe together since we want to be able to disassemble it for traveling. Material for our frame was cheap at less than $40 from Home Depot.
We have been regularly getting 20+ kph winds, which have had no effect on the skirting or frame, and we’ll report back in the spring after snow and gusty winds up to 50 kph hit us.
After adding a Velcro door to access our dump valves, we were finished and very pleased with the result. The RV looks better after adding the skirting and has a clean, neat finish. Our complete install time with two people including camera work, lunch, and breaks, was seven hours. Take out the camera work and we could have been done in six. After the initial install, installing or removing the skirting should only take 15 or 20 minutes with the supplied removal tool.
Less than the time it takes for an adult beverage to chill!