Outside car cover recomendations???

CaifanSC

Hi all,

I dont have the luxury of a garage, but i'd still like to protect my 92 feature with a good car cover. Does anyone have good recomendations? I went to the california car cover website, but they have a bunch of different ones. Does anyone have any experience with those? Thanks!

TWF_John

I don't know much about many different brands but I do have experience with Covercraft covers of which I have owned several. I currently have an Evolution 3 (they now have Evolution 4 where 4 = 4 layers vs. 3 on mine) custom fit cover that I bought in 1991 (yes, 1991) for an LX hatch that I stored outside at the time. I used it to cover another non-Mustang after that and today use that same cover on my feature car indoors during winter storage. Being for a hatchback, it's not a perfect fit but it does the job. It's survived all these years without a tear and it's still very soft and I have never attributed any paint wear due to using it. I never cover a dirty car.

It's been through the wash many times. It's recommended that it be washed in commercial washer due to its size which is what I usually do but I have washed it in our front loader which is pretty large and it was OK.

The biggest pain with covering outdoors is snow and ice. Any moisture under the cover (and it will get under there) will likely result in the cover freezing to the car. At least that's my experience with Covercraft covers.

And while we're talking covers I still have a cab cover from a 1999 Explorer 4 door. It's also Covercraft Evolution fabric and covers the cab which I found useful for keeping snow off it. If anyone wants it they can have it for just the cost of shipping. I've had it on ebay a few times with no luck. I've attached a stock photo of it on a two door. Mine fits 1991-2001 Explorer FOUR DOOR with roof rack and is BLUE in color. I used it about a dozen times and it could use a wash but is otherwise perfect. PM or email me.

frankenstang

Just saw your post that mentioned covering your car in the garage during the winter. My car will be garaged, too, but we don't have the luxury of climate control. So, I'm wondering if anyone has had any negative experiences in using a car cover in a garage over the winter, especially on those days when the temps outside go up and it's rainy. The inside of my garage seems to collect moisture and under my car cover, the car still gets wet from the dampness. Any thoughts as to whether there's anything that can be done, short of my telling my wife we need to heat and dehumidify our garage? She already laughed at me when I thought of doing this with my first classic car (a Corvette).

Thanks,
frankenstang

TWF_John

Good quality car covers allow moisture to escape.

Is is possible the moisture is coming through the floor? My garage is unheated as well but never drops below 35F even on the coldest days. When it rains I see the floor get noticeably darker. I don't have any visible moisture, though. I have thought about garage flooring from time to time and, in addition to the modular type, I have seen the rollout type and thought it might also serve as a vapor barrier.

white6468

I too live in a cold climate (Connecticut) and keep my car in the garage covered from the first snow till spring. My garage is not climate controlled and like John’s it never freezes though it does get it fair share of snow tracked in by the snow blower and the other cars. I cover the car with a relatively cheep (but oh so soft) car cover. It is like a cotton flannel on one side and a non-woven fabric on the other. It was marketed as an inside car “dust cover”. It does just what it is suppose to do. It keeps the dust, etc… off the car and I also suspect it also provides a little cushion for when it accidently gets brushed up against by my children, me as I walk by with the snow shovel, bags of ice melt, you get the picture.

As for the vapor getting trapped under the car cover, with the “dust cover” it does not matter as that the water vapor (if any) can escape. The car is no more wet than the air in the garage.

I am just glad it does not have to spend the winter outside.

frankenstang

Thanks for the information. Yes, there is moisture coming from the floor, but it also hangs in the air (and on my car) whenever it is wet outside for any length of time. The other day, I took my car out of the garage and found that the chrome wheels were covered with moisture. Obviously, I don't want this to continue, so I'm thinking about putting the car on blocks or maybe throwing down an old carpet to form a barrier between the car and the concrete. My car cover is the original Mustang dust cover, which should be fine if I can just keep the moisture down a bit...

frankenstang