We never cover our van, you don't see them covered at the dealers. The only time I would consider using a cover is if it was stored near trees. Ours is out in the open all year round and a clean when we arrive on site is all that is required.
Covered mine one year and had condensation dripping from the roof.And before anybody says no ventilation i can asure you it was well ventilated.The Scottish weather is different from down south we have a lot of damp in the air.
However,if you are not bothered with a lot of sap falling out a tree or dirt in the air i dont see the point as a lot of vans are not covered all the year round.
we were advised to cover by our engineer due to there being 70% damp at the back corner, it did slow the damp down but obviously wont cure it altogether.
Covered mine (pro-tec) for a few months while waiting for damp repairs to be carried out.
3 years on and you can still see the marks on the paint work.
We have a protec and it never damaged our paintwork, but we always cleaned any grit off first. Out of all the thousands sold I have only seen a couple of complaints. If it was damaging to paintwork then it would be damaging a lot of them.
there is no point in getting a cheap cover for an expensive van. Either Protec or Specialised - worth paying the extra for.
Our drive is on a very exposed hill top. We had to use a cover due to van being near a tree.
Its a good point about damp entrance. The year before our damp warranty ran out we left it uncovered before its service and slight water ingress at the front window was found and then sorted out at the main dealers.
The van is now in Spain and we don't cover it now.
We cover from September through to May, as soon as it is dry after wash and waxing. I don't remove the wheels though. I can only easily access one side of the van.
There is something satisfying about unwrapping a clean shiny van ready for the summer expeditions!
Also, the boiler fitted is the heavy duty model so the van is left plugged in with the heating on the lowest 1kw & thermostat set to 4 deg c. No condensation issues, but just in case we also remove & store all the foam seating, mattresses, soft furnishings and carpets.
interesting one, i have been contemplating asking the same question. where i store my van is not under trees but is on a farm where the storage areas have earth banks around them presumably for planning purposes. the vans get very dirty very quickly and also quite covered in algae. some vans look abandoned where they may have only stood for 3 months. there must be large numbers of birds partial to a vindaloo living in the area also.
the question is is it better to risk damage buy UV and the fact the caravan will get dirty or risk condensate damage inside. my cover never did scratch the paint or windows. as i recall its was made by maypole and its silver and very light fabric.
my previous Bailey i stored with a cover over winter and actually got mildew on the ceiling around the bathroom roof light even though the damp readings there were quite low.
i bought my latest caravan in january so covered that for a couple of months. my cover is not at all waterproof, i think it should be but after rain the caravan roof is wet and algae will start growing although not at the rate if it was not covered.
for condensation our climate is savage, one day warm the next cold and always humid. i keep my motorbikes in a garage and some times the frame parts (that take longer to warm up) are wet with condensation.
i keep several big calcium carbonate moisture traps in my caravan and they fill up quickly. not sure if they help or not. if i kept my caravan on the drive though i would run a heater in it.
before i traded my bailey in i took it home and ran a dehumidifier in it for 2 weeks with the heater on. there were no damp readings even approaching 20%
Post last edited on 24/10/2016 13:31:40
------------- First van bailey ranger 550/6
Now the proud owner of a coachman amara
I put a maypole cover on mine throughout the winter and have never had any problems. I store the seats/backs on their ends in the middle aisle, and open all the lockers, cupboards and doors (including the fridge door). Open the door (access from outside with a zip on the cover) on nice dry sunny days throughout the winter for a quick airing. The air circulates around the inside of the van, mostly from the air vents underneath through the opened seat lockers. Never had a problem with mould or damp this way.
I live on a road that gets quite busy, as I live three doors from a school. The resulting muck/dust/fumes means that a cover is essential over the winter - and it's nice and clean for the spring - it just needs a quick spray with a hosepipe to get rid of a bit of dust through the breathable cover.
We were in two minds about this. Our Motorhome was stored at the back of our property partially under a tree. We tried a cheap cover which ripped during the first gale. We then researched a protec one but realised that this cover does let moisture in and out.
After a bit more consideration we decided that the faff of putting it on and off and the mixed reviews for covers in general it was not worth it.
The big Oak tree did affect it though and led to extra cleaning.
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Topic: to cover or not to cover
