Caravan covers

Gerty Dancer · Guru

Caravan covers

Joe · Senior Member

I'll be interested in this too. So far we have just wrapped the van up in a huge tarp and left it at that. The tarp needs replacing annually though (tropical sun does that) and it probably isn't the kindest thing to the van's finish.

shazartist · Senior Member

Hi Gerty Dancer,

I would love to get one for our MHome..... someone turned me off having one.

Anyway this person said that the covers chafe the paint work if it is windy and can do a lot of damage.

My thought, was the cover would have to be kept very clean in side or dust and dirt would chafe the van even worse.

Maybe someone has had some experience with them and can enlighten us.

cheers Sharon

rosco · Senior Member

I've got a Prestige brand caravan cover. Google "Prestige caravan cover". Got it from BCF years ago.

We've not had any chafing or damage to the van with this cover, nor our previous van which we had a similar cover for. The material on the sides feels quite soft, and on the roof it is a little thicker. It is not heavy at all and its supposed to protect against UV and rain.

I would not recommend using a tarp, they are a little harsher and are likely to cause damage.

The only thing I find is that its a two person job, and a bit of a mission at that, to put it on. Getting it off isnt quite so hard, although dont try it on a windy day. For this reason ours only goes on when we consider the van wont be used for several months. You've got to watch putting it on too as we've got a couple of little tears where the cover has caught on sharp edges, one being the rear window surround, the other the camber switch for the roll out awning. I've patched them up though with patches that comes with the cover.

We have a double driveway and the van is parked on one side of it and not under cover, hence the need for a cover.

Hope this helps
Ross

Duckster · Veteran Member

Bought 1 of these Maxi Covers http://stores.ebay.com.au/fca1989/Caravan-Parts-Accessories-/_i.html?_sacat=50067&_sid=117396588&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322 and impressed with the quality. Having experience with caravan covers, would have no hesitation in recommending this brand. Where covers do damage to the paint work is when there are insufficient tie downs to prevent flapping. The Maxi Covers have sufficient tie downs and more than some brands. There are islets on the front to and back to use cord to pull tight. Has good zips and Velcro at button of zips to prevent force on the zips when windy. The fabric is soft on the inside and a hell of a lot better than a poly tarp would be. Last cover lasted 4 yrs and would expect the Maxi Cover to go the distance. Good indication of quality of Maxi Cover comes in bigger box and heavier weight than many others.

Boroma577 · Guru

If you have solar that keeps your batteries charged, a standard cover will prevent this happening.

shazartist · Senior Member

Boroma577 wrote:
If you have solar that keeps your batteries charged, a standard cover will prevent this happening.

Good point Boroma

And our MHome does not stay put for more than a week. So I wonder if it would be worth it...although, we have had some horrid storms and a cover may protect the Solar as well as from the sun.

cheers Sharon

Landfall · Guru

rosco wrote:
I've got a Prestige brand caravan cover. Google "Prestige caravan cover". Got it from BCF years ago.

We've not had any chafing or damage to the van with this cover, nor our previous van which we had a similar cover for. The material on the sides feels quite soft, and on the roof it is a little thicker. It is not heavy at all and its supposed to protect against UV and rain.

I would not recommend using a tarp, they are a little harsher and are likely to cause damage.

The only thing I find is that its a two person job, and a bit of a mission at that, to put it on. Getting it off isnt quite so hard, although dont try it on a windy day. For this reason ours only goes on when we consider the van wont be used for several months. You've got to watch putting it on too as we've got a couple of little tears where the cover has caught on sharp edges, one being the rear window surround, the other the camber switch for the roll out awning. I've patched them up though with patches that comes with the cover.

We have a double driveway and the van is parked on one side of it and not under cover, hence the need for a cover.

Hope this helps
Ross

Same brand as we have and the same scenerio.
Our van has been parked outside with the cover on for five years. No scratching or damage to van.
The cover is showing signs of sun damage, but this has been repaired with the repair material supplied with the cover.
Dusty

jimricho · Guru

Boroma577 wrote:
If you have solar that keeps your batteries charged, a standard cover will prevent this happening.

Just plug the van into the power once a month and let the van's charger top up the battery. If this doesn't adequately keep the battery charged it means there is some "leakage" somewhere, ie something in the installation is drawing current, or the battery has seen better days.

If putting the van into storage for an extended period, take the battery home and give it a top-up charge once a month, or if using a smart charger you can leave it connected.

vanman · Senior Member

Gerty Dancer wrote:
We are still looking for a 'down-size" type home, and are considering one where we will be able to park the caravan in the front yard while we are home.
It would need a cover... any recommendations or warnings on types of cover, please? How do you prevent moisture build-up underneath? Thanks

Hi Gerty Dancer.

I have a Prestige caravan cover for sale. It has been used only once for about 4 weeks and is as new. It will fit a van 19 to 22ft. and comes with the standard repair kit if (it should be required ) and instuctions as to the best way to put it on you van. The reason for the sale is that the van is going to be used now continuously. I live in Hervey Bay. Asking $290 RRP $435 at BCF.

Chris

Gerty Dancer · Guru

Thanks Chris, but would be too big for our little pop-top.

Thank you everybody for your responses, very helpful!

labrat · Member

Gerty Dancer wrote:
We are still looking for a 'down-size" type home, and are considering one where we will be able to park the caravan in the front yard while we are home.
It would need a cover... any recommendations or warnings on types of cover, please? How do you prevent moisture build-up underneath? Thanks

We have had a Prestige cover on the van now for over 12 months and so far so good only slight chaffing on some of the corners but no scuffing on the caravan .As we have 3x120 watt solar panels on the roof I cover them with a cheapie tarp tied down so the cover doesn't get caught on the corners of the panels whilst putting it on .

Whilst it is covered I connect a 10 watt solar panel directley to the 2x110 batteries through the drain hole in the boot and it has no problem keeping the batteries fully charged ..The batteries have to be fully charged before connecting which happens of course on our way home and nothing running in the van before putting the cover on .

We always have batteries that are fully charged when the cover is removed ready for our next trip ..Cheers ...BOB...

Duckster · Veteran Member

Boroma577 wrote:
If you have solar that keeps your batteries charged, a standard cover will prevent this happening.

solar panels been directly under the cover still get sufficient UV through to keep the batteries maintained.

Gerty Dancer · Guru

Thats interesting about the solar panels, although it doesnt apply in our case as our solar panels are the portable type. Our idea was that we could park the caravan under a shady tree, then put the panels out in the sun. That works some of the time!

Ma · Guru

Got the same set up as you Gert. Works for us

Gerty Dancer · Guru

A couple of times we have misjudged where the sun/shade will be when parking the van, then its too much trouble to shift it. Its good fun selecting our parking space, without having any domestics! biggrin

JRH · Guru

We have one panel fixed to the van roof and one portable panel.