caravan cover

[jaybee]

Who makes the best caravan covers?

Good points, bad points.

I've had a price from specialised accessories and have emailed ProTec twice but have not received an answer, are they still in business ?

 

[Auvergne]

Yes, they are both still in business. We had a written quote from Pro Tec and an email reply from Specialised Accessories. What van is it you need a cover for? We have a SA one which has been used for 1 winter only, now changed the van.

 

[jaybee]

Hi Valerie,

I have now received quotes from both, the van is a Compass Corona 556.

 

[Chrissylizzie]

Hi jaybee

A few years ago we had a made to measure Protec cover. The first winter it was great, the second one resulted in the caravan emerging covered in patches, some shiny, some dull. Protec were most disinterested in this, although they did say they had heard of it once before. They did polish out (just about) but took a lot of hard work.

When we bought our new van, we didn't really want the hassle of a cover, especially as this van is 6.3 metres long. However, we are now stored close to trees and the birds were making a continual mess of the roof. A cover became obvious so we bought a very lightweight one (speedwell star website) which has been great. We have just taken it off as we go to Scotland tomorrow and the van is perfect. We did adapt the straps

slightly as the original ones were a bit lacking.

The main benefit of a cover is that your van comes out clean and ready to go, and if they were to be used just for winter storage they would be great. The downside is that they are heavy, take two people on steps to put them on and can be very expensive. It is for all these reasons that we went for the speedwell which we feel meets our requirements. It can also be stored in a very small bag and even hung on the line to dry if necessary. Our size cost about

 

[john_374366540]

I have used Protec covers for the past 7 years on a motorhome and the last 2 years on my caravan, I feel they are worth there waight in gold. I have tried the others and whilst Protec are not the cheapest you do get what you pay for. JN.

 

[Howard_374311998]

I have used Protec covers for the past 7 years on a motorhome and the last 2 years on my caravan, I feel they are worth there waight in gold. I have tried the others and whilst Protec are not the cheapest you do get what you pay for. JN.

Hi and particularly to ChrissyLizzie

Most interested to read your comments re the Pro Tech cover, I bought one for last winter, we washed the van a few days before and put the cover on after a few days of breeze, I made sure it was dry and free of grit. When we took the cover of this year it was and still is (windows included) covered in the blotches which I cannot get off. I e mailed Pro Tech but got no response.

So having spent

 

[Howard_374311998]

Hi and particularly to ChrissyLizzie

Most interested to read your comments re the Pro Tech cover, I bought one for last winter, we washed the van a few days before and put the cover on after a few days of breeze, I made sure it was dry and free of grit. When we took the cover of this year it was and still is (windows included) covered in the blotches which I cannot get off. I e mailed Pro Tech but got no response.

So having spent

 

[Chrissylizzie]

Hi Howard

I am very interested to read of your findings. I would be interested to know what your blotches looked like! Ours were patches, like a leapards skin, some shiny and some dull. Protec tried to tell me that the shiny bits were where the cover had polished it. I could accept this if it were just say, the corners, but it was all over the flat sides and no way, could a cover rub in this fashion. I have a photo somewhere which we went to Protec but still no results.

I too therefore, feel very disappointed in this product and would not buy one again. Our cheap cover has done a good job and no patches, so you do not ALWAYS get what you pay for.

 

[Howard_374311998]

Hi ChrissyLizzie

You have described the effect exactly; also the windows are now slightly opaque. With the light from a particular angle the windows (from inside) look really dirty, but have clear patches where the blotches are.

Regards

Howard

 

[CameronBurns]

we got a purpleline cover for around

 

[Chrissylizzie]

Hi Howard

It seems to me that Protec should be taking more notice of these patches. Have you tried phoning them - you spent a large amount of money and they should be a bit more concerned. I remember know that these patches were VERY difficult to remove and like yours, they were still there when seen in a certain light. The van we had then was coming to the end of it's life but had it occurred on our new van, then I would certainly have been making a stronger case.

 

[Howard_374311998]

Hi ChrissyLissie

Thanks for the feedback - they do look terrible, how did you get them off - i have tried polishing with Turtle wax to no effect. where the cover didnt touch, eg under aerial there are no patches.

Regards

Howard

 

[Chrissylizzie]

Hi Howard

I think we used Care-a-van polish and it took a lot of hard work and made it acceptable (on an old 'van). Had the result occurred on our new van and that had ended up with these marks, albeit better than originally, then we would have taken a different stance with Protec. I cannot really give you any more suggestions as to what to try, but I hope you can improve it somehow.

Chris

 

[Chrissylizzie]

Hi Howard

I think we used Care-a-van polish and it took a lot of hard work and made it acceptable (on an old 'van). Had the result occurred on our new van and that had ended up with these marks, albeit better than originally, then we would have taken a different stance with Protec. I cannot really give you any more suggestions as to what to try, but I hope you can improve it somehow.

Chris

I forgot to say that we too had done all the correct things prior to using the cover, i.e. washing off grit, drying, polishing etc., so it should not have been down to our negligence in preparation.

 

[Howard_374311998]

Hi ChrissyLizzie

That's hard to type! thanks for the info - i'll get some and try it.

no cover this year methinks

Regards

Howard

 

[joeby]

we had a protec cover for about three years ,you still get a slight residue of water come through with time ,plus it takes 2 to put it on ,its murder if its windy ,plus you are supposed to clean it before you put the cover on , easier just to clean the van just before your trip ,which in our case is about once a month ,and as we use the van 12 months of the its hardly worth while , so we sold it

 

[steve_374234388]

We used a specialised accessories cover for 5 years on our old van & only after the 5th year did i start to see marks on windows & corners of the van. We are going to try fenwicks overwintering solution this year, the reviews on fenwicks website look good unless someone knows different.

Cheers

 

[Chrissylizzie]

Hi ChrissyLizzie

That's hard to type! thanks for the info - i'll get some and try it.

no cover this year methinks

Regards

Howard

let me know how you get on.

 

[keith_374371176]

Hi to Howard and ChrissyLizzie

My Name is Keith and I along with my wife own Pro-tec Covers.

We are as you see a family firm and also caravaners, our products and customer care are very important to us.

The problem with the dark marks are still a mystery to us and our fabric manufacturer. We have had 9 instances of this, 4 were down to the covers being used on caravans with dull and faded paintwork, the cover had polished the caravan and in each case the customer had thought that the dark dull bits were caused by the cover, when in fact it was the other way round. This was remedied by t-cutting and polishing.

Our fabric is manufactured in the UK to a very high standard, out of each roll of 250meters of fabric we can get approx 12 covers, so logicaly we thought if there was a problem with the fabric the other customers with covers from the same roll would have the same problem, we contacted them, and all were fine.

We are still trying to find a likely cause, even though out of the 2,000+ covers we produce every year, 5 is a very small percentage.

We have asked questions like what surface is your caravan parked on, what polish did you use, is the area dusty etc but as yet haven't found a common reason for the marks.

Pro-Tec Covers will have been selling covers for 10 years next year, we have used our covers all that time with no problems but more importantly 43% of all orders we now take are from existing satisfied customers.

If any one would like to contact me they are more than welcome.

Regards Keith

 

[Chrissylizzie]

Hi Keith

Thank you for your post. I appreciate your concern and it seems that there is just no logical explanation for these marks and therefore no definite solution either. However, I do appreciate some recognition of its happening. As stated if this had happened on our new van which is a retirement purchase and therefore a long-term investment, I would have been very annoyed, and it has made me fearful of using such a cover again.

However, these things happen so I hope you may find the cause, but again, thank you for your post.