Melting snow leads to water damage.
Snow on roof of rv.
It then can migrate throughout your rv causing serious structural and cosmetic damage.
By breaking up ice you will also disturb the seam sealer that is preventing leaks at any seams or joints.
Concentrate on removing the snow but leave any ice buildup alone.
1 foot of fluffy snow would be around 20 pounds per running foot of the rv length.
After that you re on your own and had better start checking for leaks when things thaw out.
Once the ice is exposed to sunlight it will melt and run off on its own.
If the snow is not removed the snow acts like an insulator and starts to melt the ice under the snow.
The water can start to open up seams on your roof.
It is typically an elastomeric coating that can adhere to metal aluminum granulated rolled roofing and other roofing systems.
The rv is 8 wide so it can be 250 pounds per running foot if 1 foot of water is on the roof.
The ice buildup can be the worst damage your rv could endure.
This would be equal to about 12 feet of fluffy snow.
Scraping snow off the rv roof is a headache but not as much as an interior leak.
A snow seal is a valuable roof coating that can offer a shield to your roofing system against the elements.
A plastic shovel is much less likely to catch and tear your rv s rubber roof.
Whenever neurotic people like me think to ask this question northwood will tell them that 2 is an acceptable load for the roof of any rv including theirs.