17 replies to this topic

[alanwetherall]

I just love this sign, its hanging on my garage wall above my VX which is snuggled up under its winter cover.. roll on the summer

Attached Files

•  VX sign 190106.jpg   246.94KB   29 downloads
•  VX on drive way 190106.jpg   225.01KB   25 downloads

[oblomov]

Why is there a hole in your cover?

[CocoPops]

Why is there a hole in your cover?

Aerial by looks of it.

[Rosssco]

That cover looks like a flapper! Not ideal for paint..

[Sutol]

Hmm just unscrew and remove the aerial, doh. I suppose the hole does allow a bit of through ventilation.

[alanwetherall]

Its a made to measure bespoke cover especilly for the Vx220, hence the ears and arial hole which has a velcro cover

[Sutol]

Its a made to measure bespoke cover especilly for the Vx220, hence the ears and arial hole which has a velcro cover

oh that must have been expensive. I have seen covers where a hole has been cut for the aerial which I always thought was a bit daft.

[alanwetherall]

It was an expensive buy but so far i am very pleased with it. Was made by a compnay who specilise in caravan covers and I had bought covers from them for my caravan , I was very concerned that it wouldnt fit correctly but I am very pleased with the fit. The arial like the mirror covers (ears as i call them) must have been a real pig to manufacture, The cost was £200

 

https://www.speciali.../caravan-covers

 

[Sutol]

At the end of the day the cover has to protect the car. How well do you think it does this? How many layers does it have?

[oblomov]

I live in a high wind area.  The cover needs to be a snug fit.

You can see the dart I've had to put in the side to take up the slack which then had to be seam sealed.  Similarly at the rear and front.  Also there's an indoor cover underneath that to be absolutely sure of no chafing

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•  Car 2.JPG   364.34KB   8 downloads

Edited by oblomov, 08 January 2019 - 12:38 PM.

[alanwetherall]

I dont know how many layers it has but it definatly stops the water getting through and there is no condensation underneath as I have been checking this out from time to time

[Alpha Tango]

I have a Genuine VX220 cover, it has the ears but no Ariel hole, the idea is to remove the Ariel.

 

I'm guessing www.specialisedcovers.com didn't know that the Ariel simply unscrews when they manufactured this bespoke cover ?

[Nobbymogs]

Here's mine

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

[oblomov]

It was an expensive buy but so far i am very pleased with it. Was made by a compnay who specilise in caravan covers and I had bought covers from them for my caravan , I was very concerned that it wouldnt fit correctly but I am very pleased with the fit. The arial like the mirror covers (ears as i call them) must have been a real pig to manufacture, The cost was £200

 

https://www.speciali.../caravan-covers

 

The quality of the fabric on yours looks far superior to mine, in fact it looks similar to the fabric that Stormforce used to use about twenty or more years ago.  In those days it was much thicker and softer on the inside (lined).  I still have quite a lot of it from an old car cover from those days.  I made a shower cap from it when I first had the VX about fourteen years ago and it's withstood all weather until this summer when the fabric finally started becoming water logged instead of shedding the rain, but even so it didn't let the moisture through.  I'll make a new one this spring.  Today Stormforce is marketed as '4 layer' but basically it feels rather like stiff paper and the 'soft ' inner surface isn't a patch on the old stuff.  You get what you pay for I suppose.

 

 

You'll find that moisture underneath is nothing to do with the cover letting moisture in, it's to do with whether or not the temperature and conditions are such at dew point that condensation forms on the car under the cover - hence the need for the cover to be breathable.  As I've got an indoor cover under the outdoor cover, whenever we get a good dry day I take the top cover off just to check the indoor cover is dry and to let it air out any moisture that might be in it.  I've also got a couple of small space heaters in the cabin on a time switch because condensation can form in there too so just raising the temp a few degrees is enough to prevent that.  As any heat in the cabin leaches out of the soft top I also place a sheet of cardboard under the soft top to help on really cold mornings.
 

[g1977]

Out of interest do people rate storm force covers. I bought one and I get lots of condensation under it?

[Sutol]

The problem is that when it rains if a degree of water gets under the car this will then evaporate off and then condense when it hits the cover. So all covers will do this unless they have good insulating properties. I have a cover that is quite thick and made up of 4 layers and the amount of condensation I get is very disappointing.

Edited by Sutol, 13 January 2019 - 09:17 AM.

[oblomov]

Out of interest do people rate storm force covers. I bought one and I get lots of condensation under it?

 

 

The problem is that when it rains if a degree of water gets under the car this will then evaporate off and then condense when it hits the cover. So all covers will do this unless they have good insulating properties. I have a cover that is quite thick and made up of 4 layers and the amount of condensation I get is very disappointing.

In my experience claims of breathability are always exaggerated. For moisture under a breathable cover to evaporate through it, it requires that there is enough warmth or relative humidity difference to make it happen. That's seldom the case unless the car is in a place where it catches the sun, and even if it is how often does that happen in winter. Similarly with 'breathable' fabric outdoor jackets, I've never had one yet that lived up to the claims. A stiff mountain ascent on a cold day and no matter how theoretically 'breathable' a fabric is, the temperature differential is such that perspiration will condense inside on the jacket lining far faster than any alleged breathability can get rid of it. The colder the day the worse the problem. You ameriolate the problem by wearing clothing beneath the jacket that can absorb moisture and allow a wicking process to take place driven by the heat of the body. A car under a cover doesn't generate any heat, which is why I remove my covers regularly on a fine day.  A bit of wind helps too.

[oblomov]

I should add that if Stormforce had stuck with the fabric they had twenty years ago they would be very good covers, as good as Alan's, but now the fabric is too thin so although they're waterproof they're nothing special. My showercap made out of the old Stormforce fabric has been superb, it covers the windscreen and right back to the rear of the boot lid (tucks in around and beneath the last 12 inches of the lid) and never has any condensation underneath which I think is basically down to the thickness of the material.