Car Cover (1 Viewer)

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scottryana

scottryana

Joined
Feb 2, 2004
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Is anyone running a car cover on their 80? Things might have just changed again and leaving the 80 parked out in the sun in Moab for a year and a half is a bad idea. Who knew they wouldn't let you put a car in a mini storage for "insurance reasons" lol.

What car cover are you running, is it any good? Fit, finish, etc.
 
Does anyone make one for the 80 specifically?
 
I found covercraft.com and carcover.com both make 80 specific covers, but the price disparity between the two is why I am asking. The cover craft is $630 and the carcover.com is $199.
 
If it's gunna be outside for a long period of time, I'd just get a regular cheap cover from Budge (about ~$35 bucks at any VatoZone), then put a poly roofing tarp over it (about ~$14 bucks) and wrap it tight :meh:

CC-131-053-800.jpg
 
I would NOT use a poly tarp. I realize that you are in the Moab area, but a tarp tends to hold in the condensation and it will cause rust. The Covercraft brand has Goretex in the middle if I remember correctly, and it allows the cover to breathe but does not allow water to come through. I did a bunch of research years ago to find the "right' cover for a classic car, and the covers are all over the map for cost, BUT you get what you pay for for the most part. I have one car in a storage facility with a plain nylon cover on it to keep the basic bird poop, dirt, and stuff from the paint. Dust still gets through and so does condensation drips from the roof of the building.

My better cover is a heavier material that breathes, allows some softer surface against the paint, and is very hard to poke a hole in. (it is not stamped with a brand, but cost about $100 20 years ago.) I use a plastic tarp retainer (from harbor freight) with ropes under the car in order to hold the tarp on the car outside in the wind. The tarp must be tight in order to prevent high winds from beating the tarp against the paint and abrading the paint. It must be loose enough to allow it to breath and to expand / shrink with temperature conditions so it doesn't tear. I only keep this car outside for short times (a few days at a time), so I don't have any long-term outdoor recommendations. The long and the short: Get one that breathes and do NOT use plastic or poly. Also make sure it is light colored for heat reflection.

I will post a pic of the tarp retainer later because this style is the BEST retainer I have EVER found and it holds VERY well, even when I tarped a truck for interstate travel and it did not tear the tarp or come loose. They are yellow, about 1-1/2" in diameter, with a hook out one side. I couldn't find iit on HF site, but I'll post something about them.
 
I do a cheap cover and poly tarp on my nice 40 in IL in winter. It doesn't go under and is a fair distance from the ground-I'm sure it is well ventilated from underneath. It's parked on concrete too. NV can't be too wet. Have a non running 80 need to cover also.
 
I have a cheap $100 car canopy. 10 X. 20. Lasts about 3 years before the Arizona sun burns it up. So that comes out to $33 a year.
 
Harbor freight has a portable garage for 200 with sides. Only 17' but might do the trick
 
For my 60 I use this, does not blow away and no scratches, but major problem is mice eating the stuff to build nests :skull:
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hj 60 said:
For my 60 I use this, does not blow away and no scratches, but major problem is mice eating the stuff to build nests :skull:
file.php
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Put a little cheap cat food out by your rig. Lure in the strays around the neighborhood to help control rodents. Has worked well for me. < $10 per month, just don't feed them too much!
 
tarps are NOT the answer (this comes from 10+ years of vehicle storage experience while living full-time elsewhere and flying in and out): we used a regular blue poly tarp on the Blazer (and for a while on my 40) in various RV storage lots under open sun in AZ; tarps burned up/ripped up every 3-6 months or so - then we switched to heavy duty tarp; burned/ripped up ~6 months later (no matter how well we stretched the tarps, winds tore into the sun-weakened areas in no time) - we never had problems with rodents, fortunately

I would suggest to look into covered open storage, available at some RV storage lots - usually just $10 more/month than uncovered . . . quick search found this in Moab: Carroll's Storage in Moab, UT | 1181 S Highway 191, Moab, UT | Superpages.com, but probably others out there - they have covered parking, too: Moab's Most Modern Storage

alternatively, find someone to rent garage/warehouse space from (yeah, that proverbial old lady with too much house to herself ? we never found it in 10 years :lol:) - IIRC, there's a place in Spanish Valley, and I also recall seeing something on the right side when going out of town towards the south - inquire at places like Moab 4x4 as to where people are storing their projects

and don't forget about the smaller towns outside of Moab, which I am sure will be cheaper (like La Sal or Monticello ?) - although, if you plan on flying in a few times a year, something in Grand Junction would well be worth looking at (check with Safari Ltd. what they would recommend)
 
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and if you are thinking of leaving it for 1.5 years+ without visiting periodically, how about driving it to Kurt (if he has space) in the SLC area ?
 
scottryana said:
@gahi a Moab local looks like he has found me garage space out at the airport! Pretty nice setup looks like.
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yeah, I was wondering about the airport - back in, like, 2006 or so when we parked the Blazer there for a month they had no covered facilities, but I am sure there's more infrastructure now . . .
 
NLXTACY said:
Try a local airport, cheap rent if its county owned.
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dude, have you seen the Moab airport ? :hillbilly: it's not even fully fenced all around :doh:

people in cities have no idea :rolleyes:
 
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