keen canary Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 Hi everyone. I am a new member and have recently purchased a new Eldiss Autoquest 115 after having a campervan for around 6 years. This will stand on my drive over the winter. I would appreciate any advice or tips you may be able to offer especially on the subject of motorhome covers. Should I use one this winter or not. The cost of these varies alot and also I am concerned if a cover can do more harm than good. Tips on winterising the van would also be very helpful. Regards Keen Canary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DickB Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 I am just as inexperienced, but have interrogated many friends with vans/Motorhomes. Some have gone for covers and others not. My decision to get a cover is that I live near the sea and the vehicle will be parked very close to trees in my garden. I have had bird droppings already and come winter the salt will be blowing too. I have gone for one from Protech (spelling may be wrong) in Barnsley. I went there with the van as I was already touring Yorkshire and was impressed. Van was measured while I had a coffee and because they videoed the process for the benefit of future customers I got a good discount. The materials are excellent,, I was shown the process of making and the method of fitting makes it relatively easy. I expect to use the van a bit over the winter and easy fitting and removal is essential. Hope this helps a bit DickB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witzend Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 are these the people http://www.pro-teccovers.co.uk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keen canary Posted October 17, 2018 Author Share Posted October 17, 2018 Thanks Dick B for your reply. Yes it does help in as much as I take your point about ease of fitting. This is a must because we will be using our van a little during the winter months as well. My main concern though is the trapping of moisture inside the van and ending up causing more harm than good. Have Any members found this to be a problem after using a cover ??? Also I will take a look at the link someone has posted. Thanks Keen Canary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keen canary Posted October 17, 2018 Author Share Posted October 17, 2018 Thanks for the link Witzend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjmike Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 I have seen plenty of cover damaged motorhomes and would never recommend them. If you must use one please make sure that the van is immaculately clean before fitting and once fitted make sure that it can't move. Also every couple of weeks open the van up to get a change of air as even the so called breathable ones don't allow enough circulation of air, leading to green mould on all the shiney surfaces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryE Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 Any chance you could say what it cost you please? Thanks M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 A sideways thought! I have seen a number of large boats and yachts being stored under marquees, with fronts high enough to move the boats and trailers out. So similar to high sided polytunnels. Not a permanent structure so some planning rules would not apply. No idea of the cost. Rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binlicker Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 I've had 3 m/homes in the last 10 year all I covered up in winter. The 1st cover was a pro-tec cover, it was excellent but when we sold the m/home it went with it , no good for the new m/home because it was made to fit the first. The second cover was a generic one and was fine just make sure the m/home is clean and polished and the cover is fastened down. There was no condensation although we leave a small condensing dehumidifier running in the m/home. When we sold the second m/home we kept the cover. The only thing is once the cover is on you really don't want to be taking it off until you intend to use the m/home for the next season the reason being the cover is heavy and not easy to put on and secure this also includes the pro-tec cover. Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 keen canary - 2018-10-16 4:13 PM Hi everyone. I am a new member and have recently purchased a new Eldiss Autoquest 115 after having a campervan for around 6 years. This will stand on my drive over the winter. I would appreciate any advice or tips you may be able to offer especially on the subject of motorhome covers. Should I use one this winter or not. The cost of these varies alot and also I am concerned if a cover can do more harm than good. Tips on winterising the van would also be very helpful. Regards Keen Canary You may wish to bear in mind any water ingress warranties. I have heard the view expressed that it is preferable not to use roof, or whole vehicle, covers during the warranty period, as this may conceal manufacturing defects or weaknesses, meaning they do not emerge as problems until after expiry of the warranty period. Make of this what you will, but it seems a reasonable, if somewhat counter-intuitive, point to me. Coachbuilt motorhomes rely extensively on (frequently very good) sealants for weatherproofing, but the various joints are not always well designed, either according to the sealant manufacturer's recommendations, or from the point of view of the operative who has to form them, and the joint seals are invariably manually executed. This creates opportunity for minor defects that result in future ingress, as the mix of materials used in the outer shell all begin expand and contract under varying weather conditions, creating stresses along the joints. Having said this, the idea of protecting the van if kept in a coastal environment (which will extent several miles inland), is probably wise since salt air and aluminium (with which many motorhome bodies are sheeted) is not a good mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 Reference earlier comments regarding damaged motorhomes, we have used one on our old motorhome for around ten years and there was no sign whatsoever of damage to the motorhome. Our neighbour covers his caravan every winter and he also has had no damage whatsoever. If any moisture should get under the cover it will evaporate out, in reality it rarely does but should you cover the van when it is still wet it will disperse. I have actually been under the cover on the roof doing a job when it has rained and I was dry. The motorhome actually damaged the cover, a sharpish rail at the bottom of the sidewall and a protruding roof ladder at the rear caused the material to wear through after about three years, but these were easily repaired by Pro-Tec FOC so I would definitely recommend both covers and Pro-Tec. I have a cover bought for our current van but so far have not used it due to the difficulty in securing the straps because of our ability to park down the side of our property with a PVC restricting access, the old coach-built was too wide to fit down the side so we could cover it easily at the front of our house. We often had people ask if our old van had a personalised plate on it as it looked in such good condition for the age of the plate. IMO if you don't want hard work cleaning, or have to employ a valeter to clean your Motorhome then a cover fitted correctly is definitely the way to go. Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjmike Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 Basil the end of your post is a bit contradictory. Unless the motorhome is very clean before fitting a cover it will damage. Putting any cover on a dirty van is just asking for trouble and it will mean that you have to bin that expensive cover as the dirt will be ingrained Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don636 Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 When we had a caravan which was kept in a local storage location I bought a cover for it. It was a real pain to get on the caravan the first time and when I went to collect the caravan the first time it was raining and I then had to really struggle to get this massive wet thing back off, roll up and get home to dry out a bit in the garage whilst we were away. Never used it again and it is still up in the garage loft along with the large awning and the porch awning that also never got used much - far too much hassle. Moved on to a PVC and definitely no cover!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keen canary Posted October 21, 2018 Author Share Posted October 21, 2018 Thanks for your posting and I don't wish to appear stupid but what's a PVC ? Keen Canary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted October 21, 2018 Share Posted October 21, 2018 A van based motorhome, often called a campervan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will86 Posted October 21, 2018 Share Posted October 21, 2018 PVC = Panel Van Conversion = an everyday very ordinary and completely empty commercial van kitted out to be live in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noble1 Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 I don't know if this helps but I bought a cover for our 6.7m long chausson -then we moved house - didn't require the cover it's never been taken out of its box - cost 200 will take 50 for it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keen canary Posted October 24, 2018 Author Share Posted October 24, 2018 From Keen Canary. Thankyou for your post noble 1 and that seems a very good offer for an unused cover. Don't know how how that would fit on my 115 bearing in mind a couple of replies on this thread about damage to covers and MH's if the fit is not good. I still dont know which way to go about covers. The fact that we want to use the 115 during the winter occasionaly for days out makes me wonder about the taking off and putting back on of the cover, and is that a lot of unecessary work ?. Keen Canary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noble1 Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 Thanks for your reply - unfortunately I can't answer the question on whether its a hassle to remove , perhaps someone else can . If you are going to buy one and wish to buy mine just let me know I am based in Edinburgh - a courier would have to collect . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 keen canary - 2018-10-24 11:08 AM From Keen Canary. Thankyou for your post noble 1 and that seems a very good offer for an unused cover. Don't know how how that would fit on my 115 bearing in mind a couple of replies on this thread about damage to covers and MH's if the fit is not good. I still dont know which way to go about covers. The fact that we want to use the 115 during the winter occasionaly for days out makes me wonder about the taking off and putting back on of the cover, and is that a lot of unecessary work ?. Keen Canary We used our cover all the time, winter and summer, and it was never a problem putting on or taking off, wet or dry though if wet it spent time in the bath to dry off and our Eldiss was larger than yours, I believe, for me, covering yours would be a doddle, we were very used to the full awning we used to put up and take down on our 23foot twin axle caravan however! Clearly if the van is dirty it would need to be washed down before covering but I assumed anyone with an ounce of common sense would realise that, covers keep a clean van clean they don't clean a van that is already dirty! Basil Basil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keen canary Posted October 29, 2018 Author Share Posted October 29, 2018 Hi Noble 1 With Ref to your Motorhome cover could you give me some more details please. The length, Height and width of the van you purchased it for. The sizes of the cover. What sort of access panels it is fitted with?. What colour is it,? Which make and how is it secured ? I take it that it is both water proof and breathable. Any other info please Could be interested. Maybe you could send anonymous if you wish and if this forum allows that. Kind regards keen canary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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