Car Cover recommendations

[march]

Hi, Sorry if this has already been discussed. Does anyone have any suggestion for a good outdoor breathable car cover that does not cost the Earth. The car will be living in a barn but as the barn is Yorkshire boarded some rain can get through. Thanks

[UKPhilTR7]

I personally would not bother. I had one on my car, before I built the carport. It was breathable, fluffy on the inside and everything. However, it still managed to rub the paint off the corners of the back wings. From the sound of it, being in a barn, it will be far better protected that if it was sat outside. Even with a little water getting through the barn.

[Hasbeen]

I'm with Phil. I destroyed a paint job on one 7 by using an expensive, good quality cover on it. Dust got up under the cover in windy conditions, forming a nice cutting compound.

If you really want to cover the thing. polish it well, with heaps of wax. Then make up or but a cover of bead sheet material, & another of blanket. With both of these inside a shed, you have just a chance your paint won't be scuffed in windy dusty weather.

I use 2 covers made of bed sheets in the shed. It gets damp occasionally, our wet season it almost rains in the house with the humidity, but dries out quickly.

Even then I never cover it if it is at all dirty or dusty from a run. I leave it until after it is washed before covering it.

Hasbeen.

[FI Spyder]

If the rain isn't dripping through the roof, I wouldn't worry about any rain getting blown in through the side boards. I would be worried about the dust being kicked up by the hay/straw or dirt floors depending on your situation or worse yet by bird poop from birds taking shelter in the barn.

[Dave Dyer]

Hi Marc,

I used a breathable car cover, but it still let the rain in!! Because its breathable the downside is moisture can travel through both ways. It even said on the packet not water proof, I did think whats the point of that then!

I bought a very cheap grey plastic cover that was water proof and put a sheet of polythene under the car to stop moisture rising.

But I've looked at all the points rain water can get in and the main place seems to be the Bonnet vents, so now I just cover the whole bonnet up, tucking the sheet so the water can't get under. I also 'tape' a poly bag over the fuel filler hole.

Dave

[march]

Thanks for the responses, not the results I was expecting but good to hear peoples experience. Having read through the comments I remembered I once had a cover on a TR7 convertable many years ago and wearing through the paint on a corner. I may have to rethink my approach to this - may be one of those car tents Machine Mart sells, I just need to wait until they do their 20% off Clarks products .

[saabfast]

I have used a cover for a few years now as my car is outside, has a mohair roof and is on a practice bombing line for the local pigeons. I git through a number of cheaper ones which all seem to fall apart in the sun. I now have a Coverzone indoor/outdoor cover, actually intended for a 1 series BMW and bought off ebay to try. It is a much lighter material but has lasted much better than all the others. It has been on there for 18 months to 2 years and is now showing some signs of wear but has been better than Halfords, Mayflower etc.

[spanner]

Hi
We have had a wide variety of road going and project cars stored outside over the years and have been through a few covers. Best results have been the soft grey Halfords covers with the tiny holes in covered with a heavier cover or even a flat weave tarpaulin. They seem to do a decent job but please note that we have never been obsessed with shiny, shiny paint work or car polishing contests!

[busheytrader]

We had an extension built last year meaning the wedge had to stay on the drive from April to October last year. I bought a Stormforce cover through PJ Car Covers in Devon. It wasn't tailored to fit the car, more like a generic shape and fit with an elasticacted perimeter around the bottom and 2 adjustable straps that run underneath the car. The cover is pretty heavy which combined with the straps, stops it moving or flapping about in heavy winds.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Triumph-TR-7- ... 3a80791712

The cover survived heavy winds, torrential rain and large amounts of abrasive dust from the building work. None of the dust penetrated the cover since it stayed put the whole time with the straps and elastic keeping it tight. The builders managed to nick a few tiny tears in the fabric as lots of deliveries passed by it but thankfully there were no scratches on the paintwork. The car also stayed dry during an incredibly wet August.

I don't know if the cover would survive longer than a whole summer outside. I use it as an additional inside cover now as the car's back in the garage.

Adam