Motorhome Covers

[forest]

We bought our first motorhome in May and have had a good summer travelling around mainly in France. We keep it at our home and we have a lot of trees in our garden and have thought of buying a cover. I had read good and bad things about covering Motorhomes and would appreciate any thoughts or advice on this matter.

[Guest Joe90]

You'll be doing your motorhome a much bigger favour to take it for a spin around the block every couple of weeks, than covering it potentially trapping in moisture, besides if your trees are deciduous the leaves will be gone soon enough, I would never use a cover.

[Brian Kirby]

Hello Maureen, and welcome to the forum.

 

Any cover you use should be of breathable type, so that moisture vapour can pass through it, otherwise, as above, you risk promoting condensation. It should also have a soft fabric backing so that it doesn't chafe on paintwork etc. It is surprising how much movement our windy climate creates, and some have experienced paintwork being pretty much worn through by the fabric continually tugging and shifting.

 

Have a look at Van Comfort covers. Not cheap, but excellent materials and well made. You may wish to get just a roof cover rather than a full cover, and you may also wish to consider a separate cab cover that goes over the windscreen and cab doors right down to ground level, so that the whole cab area, which is usually the least well insulated part, is kept dry and relatively sheltered. The two combined are a bit more manageable to fit/remove than a full cover, and leave a substantial part of the van open to air to aid ventilation.

 

However, I have been advised that if the van is new, or at least still carries a manufacturer's water ingress warranty, covers are not a good idea because they protect the potential points of leakage from rain etc. This in turn means that their only periods of exposure are when the covers are removed, which, assuming three months under covers each year, means the van, and its vulnerable joints, only age by approximately nine months in every twelve. The consequence can be a leak that emerges just after the warranty expires, that would have been detected earlier had covers not been used. I'm not advocating this as a reason for or against, but just as something not perhaps immediately obvious, that you may wish to take into account.

[lennyhb]

If you put a cover on it you will be far less tempted to use and to keep them in good running order do as Mike say get out in it.

 

I had the same problem, two trees that overhung the Motorhome, I cut the trees down.

[StuartO]

A chap I know used a cover, which he thought was supposed to be a good one, and it left green marks all over the paintwork which were very hard work to get off. No information about which cover he used I'm afraid but clearly choosing the wrong one can create more problems than it solves.

 

Following Brian's suggestion of a cover which is known to work well would be a good move.

 

A garage or carport are better of course, but not everyone can manage one of those.

[fjmike]

I would advise not to cover your van unless you are in a very sheltered position and you air it frequently. I have seen where expensive covers have rubbed through the gel coat on the corners of vans and they were only on for one winter. Last winter was very wet and this Spring I had quite a number of interior valets to clean green mold on vans that had been covered with "breathable" covers. I did help a customer fit a an expensive leading brand cover and was astounded to read in the instructions " remove cover in adverse weather conditions".If you do decide to cover your van make sure it is spotlessly clean as any dirt will be ground into the surface.

[Mathew1]

Well there are couple of things you can do over here. Firstly if you are not a fan of covering your vehicles (even i dont cover them), then you can just take it for a spin every week or 10 days to keep the parts functioning and make sure you dust it every time you get a change. Washing it with water is fine but if you are not using than you are xposing it o rust for better dust it.

 

The other thing for the oens who like to keep it under covers. Choose the cover that is breathable or else your exposing it to moisture in wet seasons and eventyully it will rust with time.

 

It is the indivicuals preference about what to do. COvers or without covers, it needs regualr check up and wash.

[Sydney1]

We used to store our AT Scout on a farm under some trees and purchased a Riversway leisure cover.

 

Now the Scout is a fairly large beast and we found the time spent hauling a large and heavy cover up onto the roof, then dropping down the sides whilst ensuring it covered the flue, aerials and solar panel nearly, then hopping off and tying down all the straps as just too much trouble when you are back from a long weekend away and just want to get home.

 

We cut it up and one half is now used to cover a BBQ, lawn mower, outside tables and chairs and the other 3 bikes when on the back of the M/H.

 

I can confirm it doesn't trap moisture or damage the paintwork of the lawn mower though!

[Guest Peter Gibson]

I purchased a made-to-measure Pro-Tec cover for my motorhome in 2010 and have used it for 3 years and it has given excellent service. It has a very soft lining, it is very well made with many strong straps all round to hold it in place in very strong winds. I have covered my vehicle from end November to mid March and leave a low heat on inside via a small electric oil radiator. Before putting the cover on I thoroughly clean and polish the motorhome and when I take the cover off in March it has always been in the same pristine condition. I may have just been lucky but I think the cover has certainly offered great protection form the wind and rain on the east coast of Scotland. It has a very effective opening for the habitation door and I shall continue to use it through the worst of the winter weather.

I hope this might help in your decision.