New or pre-owned, your motorhome is a major investment, so it makes sense to protect it from the elements, says John Sootheran
advice
Motorhome covers are available in a wide variety of shapes and styles, but all have one thing in common: when fitted and used properly, they should help protect your ’van for years to come.
Choosing your cover wisely is very important – the best can add years of life (and looks) to your vehicle, while others have the potential to damage it.
Selecting a suitable material is vital, as any cover that traps moisture on the surfaces of your motorhome for long periods may do more harm than good.
Why buy a motorhome cover?
Most motorhomes spend at least half of the year standing dormant – on your drive, in a farmyard or at a specialist storage facility.
Wherever you keep it, your ’van will deteriorate most rapidly when it is not in use. Moving parts can seize up, seals and sealant perish, finishes discolour and metal components corrode.
This degeneration is partly down to the weather, but it’s also a result of the effects of the UV radiation in sunlight. UV light can be highly damaging to motorhomes, causing cracking, flaking and chalking in plastic, rubber, glass fibre and paint finishes.
UV affects paintwork in two ways. UV-A dries out resins in the paint, causing it to shrink and crack, while UV-B attacks the pigments, resulting in fading and discoloration.
As well as protecting your vehicle from these adverse effects, a cover will safeguard your cherished ’van from the negative consequences of airborne contaminants, tree sap and bird droppings (which are damaging and can be tough to remove).
Regarding the vehicle interior, a cover shields furnishings and finishes from the fading effects of sunlight.
Motorhome covers can also provide a welcome additional layer of protection against physical attack by thieves. With a cover, opportunists can’t see inside, and if they do break in, they can’t see out either, which must be unnerving, even to the most brazen crook. This might just encourage them to move on and try elsewhere.
So not only will a cover save you days of elbow-grease and cleaning time over the lifetime of the ’van, it should also result in a higher residual value when you come to sell it on.
This is because by buying and using a good-quality cover, you are clearly demonstrating to any potential buyers that you’re the sort of person who really looks after their possessions.
The cover should ha
