By William Coleman
For some reason this is still a question we see being raised by people all over the country- “why do people bother with caravan covers?”. I feel that the answer to this question is clear but there are still a lot of people who simply do not see the point. So I will list a few “pros and cons” so you can see both sides of the coin and decide for yourself. If you haven’t already
So let me start off by saying that I can see the ‘for and against’ of both sides of the argument and that each individual situation has different needs. Where some people may use a cover others simply may not have that same need, so I will try to be as impartial as possible.
A cover provides great protection, right?
For- A cover offers protection in a lot of different ways, certainly more than just shielding the van from the elements.
The old saying, “out of sight out of mind” pretty much sums up one major positive that the caravan cover brings to the table.
A cover hides the van in plain sight and acts as a fantastic deterrent for would be thieves and vandals. Plus they know that taking a cover off in the middle of the street outside someone’s house is not the most inconspicuous of activities.
When it comes to the weather, of which we can have all 4 seasons in 1 day at the moment, the cover can be worth its weight in gold. Provided you buy a good quality one.
Come wind, rain or shine the cover does provide a warm cosy shield and also can really help against water ingress for those little drinks and dents that are not visible to the eye. I have known some vans that were pretty much new but still leak due to heavy rains. So if you had a cover you could really limit the vans exposure to adverse weather.
Against- Having a cover does protect against outside elements but it can also create a situation where the cover can actually damage the chassis, windows and other panels of the van.
If any kind of dirt or grit is on the van before you cover it the cover itself then turns into a large surface to drag the dirt and result in a lot of unwanted scuffs and scratches. Not something you want when you are trying to protect against such things. But clean before covering should help reduce this risk entirely.
There are some instances where using a cheaper cover ends up being a lot more expensive than spending out on a top end one. The cheaper ones can just fall to bits after 1-2 uses and then you’re back at square one in a situation where you need to keep spending.
A lot of people are put off by how much time you’d need to spend taking off and putting it back on. With today’s tech you should be able to get a cover on quite quickly without much fuss. That being said there are some covers that take age and require multiple sets of hands. It’s these latter ones that really put people off the whole idea as its just too much of a chore to deal with.
Another argument for not using a cover is the van should be used enough to not need to cover. A lot of owners who use their vans all year round feel that it is a pointless exercise and that the time and effort outweigh the actual need for one. One person once said to me that “a van cover shows you do not go away very often, which begs the question of do you even need a caravan”. Not an opinion I agree with but everyone is entitled to one.
There are some, not a lot, who want to actually show off their vans to the world. A sort of keeping up with the Jones’ mentality I guess. These are the folks who think a cover is ridiculous and clean the van once a week even if they have not used it for 2 months. My argument to that is you raise the chances of undesirables seeing and potentially damaging the van.
For me it really does boil down to what needs you have and what suits you the best. If you are fortunate enough to be able to get away in the van quite a lot and think you do not need a cover then more power to you.
But in reality the van tends to be on the drive or in storage more than it does pitched up on site. So having a cover is probably a good idea. Better to have one and not need it than need it and not have it
