I know car covers are not a big hit, but does anyone use one or have recommendations

If you only drive it once a week. You would probably drive it less if you have to pull the cover off every time you drive it.

I'd invest in some quality wax and window tint, or sell the truck.

 

yeah, Im on the fence about the car cover... the uv protection sounds nice though for the plastics and whatnot. but within hours after a wash it has a coat of dust on it... yeah maybe some ocd but I love the show room finish to last more then a day. I think im just gonna buy a California duster and just keep up on that with a spray detailer or waterless wash every few days. I drive it everyday but not to work as I have a work truck to drive... got keep this $50k investment as fresh as possible for as long as possible. smh lol

 

I was thinking the same. But really don't want to sell it.

 

I was thinking of selling it and just getting a wagon to pull around with my mountain bike lol

 

I drive my truck once a week, or less than that, but my DD certainly isn't going to make it when I go wheeling or many of the places we go camping.

On topic, I've had success with California Car Covers before.

 

Been curious myself about a cover. But having a rack and canopy seems to be what’s keeping me from getting one. I also use my truck as a weekend warrior so it would be nice to have a clean truck from time to time. Has anyone fitted a truck with a snugtop and rack?

 

I use a cover on my truck pretty religiously. In fact, we use covers on all 4 of our cars pretty much full time. Covers aren't used as much in the winter since they don't work well when it's rainy or even really damp mornings from the marine layer we get. But, during the summer they stay on full time - yes, even my daily driver. It's a small car so it's quite easy to put on/off. Once you get used to taking them off / putting them on it's really not that bad. Less than a minute for my truck and probably less than 30 seconds for my CR-Z.

For my truck, I'm currently using a fitted cover that I bought for my '99 F-150. It doesn't fit snugly or "fitted" on my Tacoma DCLB but it fits quite well, the mirror pockets even line up. It also fits fine with my roof rack and will work with or without my softtopper installed. The only issues with installing/removing a cover on the truck is that I have to unscrew & remove the antenna and since it's so damn tall I have to hop up on the sliders/bumper to be able to reach the cover in order to fold it up on the top of the vehicle before rolling it up to put away.

My cover is getting a little long in the tooth so I imagine it'll need replacement within the next 1-3yrs. When that time comes I'm not sure if I'll get a fitted cover for the Tacoma (some companies specifically make ones which accommodate a shell and they should accommodate the stock roof rack which should probably work with aftermarket too) or if I'll just buy another F-150 cover since it works quite well and wouldn't require the extra cost of the camper shell add-on option.

 

I have several California Car Covers on my cars. I get their Superweave model and I've had good performance from them (but not perfect).

The prices look like they've increased almost 50% since I got mine 7+ years ago. Not a surprise.

The first cover on my Lexus RX350 lost its elastic around the bottom skirt so the cover caught the breeze like a spinnaker. It was replaced under warranty and has been used outside or inside regularly for 5-6 years now -- it's lasting fine. The cover on my 1962 Triumph TR3 is inside the garage, so more a dust cover than anything, and it's been perfect for years. it'll last forever in the garage if my outdoor results are any indication.

I had CCC make a Superweave cover for my first Gen 1 Tacoma and they were able to make some customized changes to the standard patterns to accommodate the ARB bullbar and Thule bike racks on my tonneau. Those changes were helpful -- the pattern never would have fit without that customization -- but it wasn't perfect. The problem wasn't the cover (it was fine). It was the "odd" shape the cover was trying to fit. The gap from the bullbar top tube and the truck's hood panel left an unsupported area that would fill with water after a good rain. Easy to lift the fabric to drain it, and the exposure never seemed to hurt a thing, including the Superweave cover's waterproofness, but it was kind of a nuisance. The area between the roof bike rack on the Lexus and the tonneau bike rack on the Tacoma do the same thing.

IIRC, I had the cover for my Gen 1 replaced under warranty, too. The plastic grommet supplied to allow the antenna mast to poke through led to the cover tearing from wind forces. For the second cover I went with no attenna sleeve and no grommet. I take the antenna out when the truck goes under cover. It's more work, but it's lasted doing it that way.

A few pix:





it's sometimes tricky to tell front from back when the cover's been put away. (I paid not to have the CCC logo on mine). For the Triumph TR3 I got a nameplate that looks sorta like a UK number plate from when the car was built, and had the car's commission number put on it. By coincidence the car's commission number looks just about like a UK registration number from when it was built. It's fun and I can easily tell front from back on that cover.

 

Ill go along with California Car Covers..have one for my Camaro, and theyre great! Spendy, yes, but I bought "cheaper" ones that were utter trash...

 

Does anyone have a recommendation for fitting a Tacoma with a GFC (or similar) type pop-up camper?

 

Someone posted this recently. I'm seriously considering buying one although it might be too big/baggy on my truck.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/wellvisors-all-weather-overland-cover.835014/

 

Thank you – I did see that and thought the same thing. Was hoping there was an alternative out there by now.

 

There are definitely options out there but you have to be a bit creative as I'm not seeing custom fitted ones specifically for additions like a GFC. But, you could look for SUV covers that would be the right size. And some companies offer truck covers made to fit trucks that have camper shells on them. There are also options to do custom covers - typically you start with a base vehicle and then tell them where you need additional material.

I keep almost buying a cover and then backing out because it's too expensive (nice, custom fitted ones) or I'm worried about quality on the cheaper ones. But thinking I just need to pull the trigger here pretty soon as it's starting to worry me with the truck just sitting in the sun all day.

 

I have a cheap Amazon cover on my winter beater to keep water out and it destroys the paint. If you are trying to keep your paint nice, definitely look into other options.

 

How is it destroying the paint? In my experience, as long as you're using good quality covers and using them correctly they will do less damage than sitting uncovered. But that's just my experience in my area and different environmental conditions may lead to different results.

 

Definitely, sun is a killer. I just about scrape my garage as it is but have a pop-up camper coming next month, which means parking outside. Still have time but I will contact one of the companies and see about custom fits for shells.

I did find a good indoor cover a while back and it fits my truck with a shell and full Prinsu rack perfectly. Comes to about $110 with their coupon. Link here:

$130 WinPower Indoor Car Cover Velvet Stretch Cloth Dust-Proof Underground Garage Car Show for Pickup Truck, Large SUV, Black, 232 x 82 x 77"es

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085TDQGNR

 

I've been lagging too much but finally just bought a cheapie. I checked out options from all the big car cover manufacturers as well as some of the lesser known ones but just couldn't find something that ticked all the boxes. I wasn't willing to spend $500+ and even then a lot of those would have needed additional customization (and cost) to accommodate my topper (and maybe roof rack too). And the ones which were designed for a topper had bad reviews or had other downsides.

So, I bought a $77 cover off of Amazon (specifically the C8 size for a large SUV):

$77 Kayme Large SUV Car Cover Waterproof All Weather, Outdoor Full Size SUV Cover Rain Sun UV Protection, Universal Fit Chevrolet Chevy Suburban, GMC Yukon XL, Ford Expedition Max (215-230")

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHVNZR5L?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

• Fit is pretty darn good considering isn't not custom.
• It does not have mirror pockets, which is annoying but was a compromise I had to make.
• I really like that there are straps to hold it in place as I've had issues with other covers (even snug fitting ones) blow off in the wind).
• The outer material is highly reflective, which is what I was looking for because my primary concern is protection from the sun. Around here, UV rays KILL paint.
• The inner material is somewhat "soft touch". My last cover didn't have this and it seemed to be fine. I'm not sure if this soft touch material will end up being better or if it'll collect dust and possibly scratch the paint a little. But willing to risk that a little, especially since this truck will continue to get trail pinstripes so a little scratching from a car cover isn't the end of the world. And, preferable to the sun destroying the clear coat.

I figure if I can get at least 2-3yrs out of it then it'll be money well spent. I've had mutliple covers on different cars over the years and with the intense sun we get nothing has really lasted over 3-5yrs, even the mid-priced ones (I've yet to be able to convince myself to spend $500-1000 on a top of the line one).

For reference, my truck is a DCLB with Softopper, Prinsu rack and some snowboard racks (~4" high) mounted to the Prinsu. It'd be a bit looser if you didn't have a rack or if you've got a bunch of overland stuff on top then this might be perfect for you.