Outdoor Car Cover
Discussion
Si
I'd bought a Specialised one for my old Europa S and it is a general pain to use as when you want to fit it the car is usually dirty and the weather Phishing down, so the ideal conditions for fitting dont occur that often.
I now use it as a dust/safety cover for the TVR when its in the garage, luckily it fits quite well bar the mirror pockets being in the wrong spot.
Had a quick look at the website and product/price seems to have changed from when I got mine (though that was about 2 years ago)
I'd bought a Specialised one for my old Europa S and it is a general pain to use as when you want to fit it the car is usually dirty and the weather Phishing down, so the ideal conditions for fitting dont occur that often.
I now use it as a dust/safety cover for the TVR when its in the garage, luckily it fits quite well bar the mirror pockets being in the wrong spot.
Had a quick look at the website and product/price seems to have changed from when I got mine (though that was about 2 years ago)
For what they are worth here are my thoughts on storing cars & outdoor covers.
1) A cheap cover will definitely scratch the paint, I use the excellent Hamilton Classic fleece lined cover that is the only one I have found that doesn't scratch paint
2) Never put a cover on a wet or dirty car
3) No quality outdoor cover is 100% waterproof, if it was the car wouldn't breath and would do more harm than good
4) A well secured loose fitting cover is far better than a fitted one, it's essential air can circulate between the cover & the car body
Although my Chimaera is completely leak free I use a Leven hood cover followed by the Hamilton outdoor cover, this combination works a treat.
It only takes a few minutes to tuck the car up and when I uncover it, it's always nice and clean.
Issues with using an outdoor cover are:
1) If you use the car every day putting a cover on could become a hassle
2) If the car is wet it's better to let the car dry naturally before you put the cover on
3) If you want to use the car and it's been raining you need to find somewhere to put that big wet cover
On the flip side, if you have a garage you still shouldn't be putting your car away wet.
I have seen garaged cars that have rusted much worse than one that's been kept outside.
Storing a car correctly is all about ensuring there is sufficient air flow and parking it on hard standing.
Surprisingly if there is good airflow around the car and its not sitting on soil or grass a car thats stored outside may well last longer than if it was cooped up in garage with little or no airflow.
Remember a lot of garages suffer condensation problems, this is the perfect environment to promote chassis corrosion.
So in my opinion there is nothing wrong with keeping a car outside as long as you follow airflow & hard standing rules.
In fact in a lot of cases its going to be way better off outside with the air naturally circulating around it!
1) A cheap cover will definitely scratch the paint, I use the excellent Hamilton Classic fleece lined cover that is the only one I have found that doesn't scratch paint
2) Never put a cover on a wet or dirty car
3) No quality outdoor cover is 100% waterproof, if it was the car wouldn't breath and would do more harm than good
4) A well secured loose fitting cover is far better than a fitted one, it's essential air can circulate between the cover & the car body
Although my Chimaera is completely leak free I use a Leven hood cover followed by the Hamilton outdoor cover, this combination works a treat.
It only takes a few minutes to tuck the car up and when I uncover it, it's always nice and clean.
Issues with using an outdoor cover are:
1) If you use the car every day putting a cover on could become a hassle
2) If the car is wet it's better to let the car dry naturally before you put the cover on
3) If you want to use the car and it's been raining you need to find somewhere to put that big wet cover
On the flip side, if you have a garage you still shouldn't be putting your car away wet.
I have seen garaged cars that have rusted much worse than one that's been kept outside.
Storing a car correctly is all about ensuring there is sufficient air flow and parking it on hard standing.
Surprisingly if there is good airflow around the car and its not sitting on soil or grass a car thats stored outside may well last longer than if it was cooped up in garage with little or no airflow.
Remember a lot of garages suffer condensation problems, this is the perfect environment to promote chassis corrosion.
So in my opinion there is nothing wrong with keeping a car outside as long as you follow airflow & hard standing rules.
In fact in a lot of cases its going to be way better off outside with the air naturally circulating around it!
Edited by Chimpafrolic on Thursday 4th August 13:09
I'm not thinking of using it for long term storage, I just want to cover the car overnight when away on trips to keep the rain out. Had a problem recently with water in the electrics and want to try to prevent it in the future when away.
Chances are the car would NOT be clean and dry, so might have to think of something else..
Chances are the car would NOT be clean and dry, so might have to think of something else..
Si, I had a T350T that I kept outside and frequently used a 'Stormforce' 4 layer outdoor cover from Cover Your Car; did the job perfectly, although other advice about not using when car is dirty is spot on.
I adhered to same advice given (and I am paranoid about my motors) especially the TVR as it was a Reflex colour, but I had no problems.
Web here: http://www.coveryourcar.co.uk/store/product.php?pr...
First time I've clicked on their site for about a year and they've actually nabbed some of my photo's from the PH classifieds when I sold the cover last year!! Ha, ha! So it's actually modelling a T350T underneath! Maybe they'll give me a discount when I get one to fit my Noble for this winter!! Some other phots here:
It was £145.00 very well spent for me.
I adhered to same advice given (and I am paranoid about my motors) especially the TVR as it was a Reflex colour, but I had no problems.
Web here: http://www.coveryourcar.co.uk/store/product.php?pr...
First time I've clicked on their site for about a year and they've actually nabbed some of my photo's from the PH classifieds when I sold the cover last year!! Ha, ha! So it's actually modelling a T350T underneath! Maybe they'll give me a discount when I get one to fit my Noble for this winter!! Some other phots here:
It was £145.00 very well spent for me.
Edited by grant3R on Thursday 4th August 22:08
I just bought a Halfords one..
Plan on using it just for the odd 1 night here and there when it's parked in hotel carparks.. the car probably WONT be clean and dry, but hoping it will be ok with just 1 night. It's not a proper fitted one so hoping that will help it to not scratch the paint.
Plan on using it just for the odd 1 night here and there when it's parked in hotel carparks.. the car probably WONT be clean and dry, but hoping it will be ok with just 1 night. It's not a proper fitted one so hoping that will help it to not scratch the paint.
I tried a car cover and it was a right hastle. Car had to be cleaned before cover was put on, wind blew cover and paint was scratched and had a mat finish and fasteners nearly damaged paint too. This was on my last TVR and I have now had my current TVR for over 10 years and always outside without a cover and all is ok.
Beware of covers if you do have to use one.
Beware of covers if you do have to use one.
I have a few covers for my Sag. I think the one I use most is by
http://thecovercompany.co.uk/contact.html
I'll check who made it tonight. It is a very good weather proof and breathable custom cover.
Whatever cover you get make sure it is
- custom made to the car shape
- breathable (most important)
- weatherproof (or storm proof)
- soft interior
- don't use on dirty car
- let car cool down before putting on.
http://thecovercompany.co.uk/contact.html
I'll check who made it tonight. It is a very good weather proof and breathable custom cover.
Whatever cover you get make sure it is
- custom made to the car shape
- breathable (most important)
- weatherproof (or storm proof)
- soft interior
- don't use on dirty car
- let car cool down before putting on.
I checked the ones I have. I have a few different makes from various companies, but the one I usually use is by a company called Covercraft, a WeatherShield one.
http://www.covercraft.com/weathershield_hp.htm
It works well for me.
They are all pretty much the same - the custom ones - shaped, soft interior lining, breathable, weather proof...
At least the ones I have are.
http://www.covercraft.com/weathershield_hp.htm
It works well for me.
They are all pretty much the same - the custom ones - shaped, soft interior lining, breathable, weather proof...
At least the ones I have are.
Have you already found them. I used to get Waterproof car covers in Motorlicious. The prices are reasonable and you could find variety of car covers
I was using an indoor cover on my 911 at my old house which had a garage. However, on the new place we have a stone and tile built car port. I was still using the same cover, which is low falling apart which is fair enough as it wasn't designed to get wet.
Basically, from the top of the rear screen backwards catches the weather, and obviously airflow is good as it's an open setup.
Would most people not bother with a cover at all, or an outdoor cover? I don't use the car much, probably a couple of times a month and only in good weather and car is always cleaned before put away.
Really thinking about the Halfords car covers as have. I took a swatch of fabric from one of the expensive places and when comparing it against the inside of the Halfords covers I really didn't feel much difference.
Edit.... searched for outdoor cover topics and replied before realised it was tvr section!! Same principals apply though.
Basically, from the top of the rear screen backwards catches the weather, and obviously airflow is good as it's an open setup.
Would most people not bother with a cover at all, or an outdoor cover? I don't use the car much, probably a couple of times a month and only in good weather and car is always cleaned before put away.
Really thinking about the Halfords car covers as have. I took a swatch of fabric from one of the expensive places and when comparing it against the inside of the Halfords covers I really didn't feel much difference.
Edit.... searched for outdoor cover topics and replied before realised it was tvr section!! Same principals apply though.
I have a 'Stormforce' 4 layer breathable cover on mine. The first lasted almost 7 years before the wind ripped it one night where it got caught on the exhaust heat shield.
Its replacement (same cover from the same supplier - see link in Grant's post) has lasted 18 months, the outer fabric layer had started to disintegrate in places. Contacted them the week before Christmas, sent them a picture as requested and they replaced it under warranty no quibble.
Excellent customer service, not the cheapest cover on the market but assuming the issue with the current cover was an isolated material fault I would buy another without looking elsewhere.
Its replacement (same cover from the same supplier - see link in Grant's post) has lasted 18 months, the outer fabric layer had started to disintegrate in places. Contacted them the week before Christmas, sent them a picture as requested and they replaced it under warranty no quibble.
Excellent customer service, not the cheapest cover on the market but assuming the issue with the current cover was an isolated material fault I would buy another without looking elsewhere.
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