Cover or not to cover?

D

Doricden

Joined
Jun 28, 2017
Posts
22
Likes collected
3
Location
Southam
Funster No
49,220
MH
Adria Matrix
Exp
Since 2019
Have just needed to take my motor home of-road due to my partners serious illness, and it will probably be a considerable time before the van can be used again.
When purchased it came with a cover which I have not used as yet. The van is parked in open storage and is facing the sun throughout the day.
Question to those who know "stuff".
Is it better to leave the van exposed to the elements or to cover it. Not sure if the cover is breathable or not.
My instinct is to leave it open but I would value the opinions of more experienced motorhomers please
 
I personally wouldn’t put a cover on it. Covers, however well they fit, will move about with the wind and could damage the paint. They may also reduce any ventilation inside which is important to keep mould away from the interior.
go with your instincts, but it may be an idea to get wheel/tyre covers to reduce UV damage to the tyres.
i would also lift any cushions ( or store them in the house if you can) and leave all cupboards open. Open the van up when you can too and let some air circulate inside
Keep an eye on the batteries and take it for a run every few weeks if possible
 
Sure this will be a controversial topic but I would say no.. defo not cover
 
IMO , More important is taking it a run every 3-4 weeks to stop the brakes & discs from rusting/seizing up ,
It also helps to keep the engine & electrics sound
 
The other thing to consider is that if you have solar panels and cover them they won’t top up the batteries?

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if its parked on grass, try to park it onto the plastic 'skid/traction' sheets and has been suggested cover the tyres from the sun, remove the soft furnishings AND any foodstuffs that may attract mice. consider putting a couple of traps down? Make sure you have antifreeze in the radiator and its topped to the right level with oil (and check again before you start it) and do the things you would do when winterising, drain down etc.


i hope your wife recovers soon, and starts to feel well in herself, send her our best wishes, even though we've never met !!!
 
I have never used a cover so I can’t claim any personal experience. However there are several used on the storage site I use and on windy days even the best fitted ones seem to shiver and shift even if they are not outright flapping. I would be concerned that they are chaffing paintwork/windows and possibly blocking built in ventilation.
 
Covers are particularly usefull in the case of overhanging trees that loose sap and disguising the style of van from prospective theives. With or without cover do periodic checks for damp.
 
Dear All
The consensus seems to be no cover. Thanks for the advice and it will be followed to the letter. Also thanks for the good wishes for the wife.
PS. Does anybody want a cover for an Adria Matrix M680 SL680 ? Free for collection from Southam, Warwickshire.
 
Last winter I put a cover over the front of my MH to combat "the beast from the east".
I used a sheet of plastic, but although only on for a short time, with wind movement, the paint wore through to the black plastic. Unfortunately, I didn't make sure the plastic was completely clean before I fitted it. I lived with it last year, but have a mobile paint repairer coming next week to re-spray.

IMG_20200115_113925183.jpg

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I know this will not help Doricden as his MH is not on his own property, but we built a 'MH-port' using the outbuilding roof.

So we have cover from leaves and elements. Of course solar is negated but we have a proper EHU point for batteries.

Bit of initial expense, but it has served well for 7 years now and probably has added value to the property, especially as it is over an pre-existing inspection pit.

I am surprised by comments about damp and mice. We have neither and we leave all bedding, cushions etc. in situ. Maybe our well-insulated construction accounts for that.

I knew I was buying a quality MH(secondhand), but the more I read on forums the more I learn that the quality is more than I realised.

Geoff
 
Revolvor said:
Last winter I put a cover over the front of my MH to combat "the beast from the east".
I used a sheet of plastic, but although only on for a short time, with wind movement, the paint wore through to the black plastic. Unfortunately, I didn't make sure the plastic was completely clean before I fitted it. I lived with it last year, but have a mobile paint repairer coming next week to re-spray.

View attachment 358963
Click to expand...
Would you mind letting us know how the mobile repair turns out I have a few marks on mine that need attention.
 
You will get lots of different opinions on here, but for us we will not use a cover again on a motorhome that's parked outside, the reason why, well we used a cover over winter to keep the muck and grot off and although the cover was tight on the motorhome the wind moved the cover about and rubbed through areas of paint to the aluminium on the corners of the motorhome. The cover was not a cheap one, it was a Royal breathable with a soft flock type lining.
 
A good polish and wax would’ve more use than a cover imo. Ventilation is better than heat too, again imo.
 
Covers are a bit Marmite on this forum! In an ideal world we would all be out using our motorhomes so much that there's no need to cover them but not all of us can do that.
We tried several different covers when we had caravans & found Maypole covers https://www.maypole.ltd.uk/Leisure/Maypole-Motorhome-Covers to be the most effective & breathable. The golden rules are to make sure that the cover is put on just after washing the motorhome (still wet is fine & actually helps the cover slide on so no grit or dust to cause scratching), to tension the straps so no movement to cause damage, be parked in a well drained area & if the motorhome is at an angle that helps water to run off the roof whether it is covered or not. We use two poles with tennis balls on the ends to lift the cover onto the roof & also have extra wheel covers. After a whole winter stored it is clean enough to use without washing off again :)
This is our previous coachbuilt (we now cover our PVC too):

1579952418920.png


When we took our cover off to take it for servicing & MOT & this is what our roof looked like after 10 weeks under cover:

1579952538891.png


When we sold it at just under 5 years old it was almost like new with very little discolouration of the plastics which made it easy to sell.
The downsides are that we have to have EHU connected for the alarm as being covered the solar panel doesn't do much & the cover generally needs replacing after 2-3 years but saves a lot of time & effort & also protects the motorhome from aging.
If you can't or don't choose to cover even spraying (with garden spray) with Bobby Dazzler after washing is worthwhile & giving it a coat of wax doesn't have to be difficult - we use Autoglym Rapid Aqua wax which gives good long lasting results for the minimal effort required.
Even if Doricden has decided against a cover then hopefully the above will be informative to anyone reading this thread.

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Last edited:
Hi. I have just joined this group and one of my first posts was going to be "to cover or not to cover?" so this has been an illuminating thread to follow. I wish I'd seen it last year before purchasing an expensive cover which not only wore through in a couple of places despite only being on the van for about four months but also flatted the paintwork in several places - as pointed out by the professional moho valet that I invested in to kickstart this year's season. His advice was no cover and an occasional rinse off over the winter and that's what we will be doing this year. I will be putting a barely used cover for an Ace Siena on the classifieds if anyone is interested :)
 
TDub49 said:
Hi. I have just joined this group and one of my first posts was going to be "to cover or not to cover?" so this has been an illuminating thread to follow. I wish I'd seen it last year before purchasing an expensive cover which not only wore through in a couple of places despite only being on the van for about four months but also flatted the paintwork in several places - as pointed out by the professional moho valet that I invested in to kickstart this year's season. His advice was no cover and an occasional rinse off over the winter and that's what we will be doing this year. I will be putting a barely used cover for an Ace Siena on the classifieds if anyone is interested :)
Click to expand...

Your not selling it to me! :LOL:
 

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