To cover or not cover?

kit33r · Veteran Member

To cover or not cover?

brickies · Guru

Yes we had a cover till it fell apart , And decided it out on the road half the year anyway so why bother with covering it was a pain away .

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Waste of money.
A polish every 5 years will look after it.

Cheers,
Peter

Gwian · Senior Member

Hi Peter

Can you advise what you polish the M/H with and does it last 5 years?

Thanks

Geeco · Senior Member

My MH is parked in the open when not being used and I do not plan to use a cover. I use Septone marine polish on the hab area & car polish on the cab. I have always polished all my previous vehicles once per year.
Cheers,
Gary C

hako · Guru

Whilst the main body of your MH may just need a polish every few years if left uncovered, you may also find the all plastic fittings like window frames, catches, hatches etc will start to degrade and eventually crumble away from U.V. degradation.
Our first cover only lasted 2 years, so the 2nd one we bought we place a silver tarp (cheapy) over the top only of the cover. This is where they fail and it's best to sacrifice a silver tarp every 2 years than the whole cover.
If you go to a sales yard and 2 MH's are sitting side by side and one looks sunburnt whilst the other is nice and shiny which one would you pay extra for?
Good Luck.

aussietraveller · Guru

One of my previous posts was related to this question my van when not being used lives under a carport with a brick wall on one side, a heavy duty shade cloth down to the fence line all of this was to protect my substantial investment

. It did not work and Jayco told me that the deterioration of the fibreglass gel coat was because I only polished it once a year with a polish purchased from a Jayco dealer, I know of two other Jayco vans with same issue.

If you want advice on this question that will protect you into the future ask the manufacturer for the information in writing, mine has the potential to cost me quite a few thousand Dollars to repair which at this time I don't have.

Desert Dweller · Guru

We have an uncovered Jayco Stirling in our street. Over the years it's become gradually duller & now it looks like the fibreglass could be in the early stages of osmosis. Covers really only last around 3 years but they are good insurance in our opinion. Many polishes bring up a shine by cutting the fibreglass. We've had a fibreglass boat for over 20 years.

Jafan · Veteran Member

My cover lasted around 2 years, it was good quality but failed in the high wear spots. They can rub on the corners causing damage to the exterior surfaces. Mine didn't rub because I protected the areas that could possibly be damaged. All to much hassle to put the thing on, far better to apply a good quality car polish. I use Nu Finish twice a year & it works well, takes a day but is worth the effort. My van has aluminium cladding. The ultimate is a garage for complete protection. My van was garaged for most of its 43 years which has contributed to it surviving the test of time although it's now outside 24/7.

Cupie · Guru

I'm in the camp of those favoring covering the van.

My old Jayco is pre fibreglass & still looking good, except for the blue fiberglass cover over the A frame mounted gas bottles.

I was going to sell it after a couple of years & a round the block trip, but still have it after 17 years. Given that I wasn't going to keep it I didn't build a carport to keep it under cover. Bad call.

I have always used the best quality (or at least the most expensive) silver tarp that I could find. I put broccoli boxes between the roof & the tarp to provide an air gap & minimise rubbing. Then I put my shade mesh floor material over the roof section. The current one is 5 years old and still OK but previous ones lasted only 3 yrs or so (without the shade cloth). It takes around 15 min to set it up & less to remove it now that I have refined my process.

It has gone through a few hail storms OK too.

This set up allows me to leave the windows open in all but storm weather to allow air flow thru the van keeping temperature down a bit.

A relatively small cost for possible protection & insurance against damage.

Edit .. I keep my cars under cover so why not the van.

-- Edited by Cupie on Friday 15th of January 2016 12:10:13 AM

hako · Guru

Some good tips there Cupie especially using the shadecloth over the silver tarp, also the brocolli boxes. I'm going to steal those ideas.

Regards

Fastcoach · Senior Member

Anyone who doesn't cover their van has clearly got too much money!! Weather will quickly deteriorate any painted surface and cause fibreglass to breakdown.

We had an older (16 years) Aluminium clad camper trailer and it looked pretty much the same when we sold it as when we bought it. It was always kept under a heavy duty, custom built, canvas cover and was thoroughly washed prior to taking it on the road and when we returned home.

If you really love your freedom machine, buy it a good quality cover assuming you don't have a garage for it. The best investment you will ever make.

Cupie · Guru

hako wrote:
Some good tips there Cupie especially using the shadecloth over the silver tarp, also the brocolli boxes. I'm going to steal those ideas.

Regards

Great. Glad that I could help.

I tie one box to the top of the A/C housing.

Two sets of three are joined with long lengths of rope threaded thru them & kept in position at front & rear, just at the roof 'roll over points' tied off to the van chassis.

To make it easy to tie down the tarp, I thread extra long lengths of rope thru the slots in the Jayco chassis & pull up loops to the tarp tie off points fixing with 'S' bends made from wire coat hangers.

To give a bit of spring, I use rubber bands made from old tyre inners, at every tie off point.

For a final security, I throw a rope over the top of the tarpaulin & shade mesh to stop it flapping in the wind.

I'll try to get a chance to take a few pictures & post a thread on 'Hints tips & good ideas'

rockylizard · Guru

Fastcoach wrote:
Anyone who doesn't cover their van has clearly got too much money!! Weather will quickly deteriorate any painted surface and cause fibreglass to breakdown.

We had an older (16 years) Aluminium clad camper trailer and it looked pretty much the same when we sold it as when we bought it. It was always kept under a heavy duty, custom built, canvas cover and was thoroughly washed prior to taking it on the road and when we returned home.

If you really love your freedom machine, buy it a good quality cover assuming you don't have a garage for it. The best investment you will ever make.

Gday...

Those who travel and live in their vans full-time certainly do not have too much money.

I think it is an unhelpful comment to simply berate them for not using a cover. Full-time travellers also want to maintain their investment in as good a condition as they can.

There is a product on the market called Vantec - and I believe there are at least two other such products that I am not personally familiar with or have used.

I, and others on this and other forums, have responded to queries on the value or otherwise of Vantec and I, and others who have used the product, have had high praise for the excellent protection it provides to the paint of aluminium vans.

My van is a Nov 2008 build and had Vantec applied in Dec 2008 before I took delivery. I travel full-time and the van is outside in the elements 100% of the time including many months spent in outback QLD, NSW, SA, parts of WA and much of VIC. I have never applied polish to the van and it is washed, at best, twice a year.

It still looks like new.

I have absolutely no idea if Vantec is of any value to a fibreglass van. Perhaps someone who has had their fibreglass van treated with Vantec may want to comment.

Cheers - John

Fastcoach · Senior Member

Obviously Rockylizard, nobody would cover their van when they are using it on the road. Der!!

Of course I meant people should cover their vehicles when not in use and assuming they don't have a proper shelter for them.

One thing I do agree with you on, is the value of having Vantec treat your new RV. They do a great job and I also highly recommend them.