carcapsule

chiefwiggum

anyone use these for their car...especially the outdoor ones...any opinions on them...half considering one for my car but not sure yet how practical they are
thanks

johnxxx

it sounds good

antodeco

I think practicallity will be an issue. If its the big ones that need to be plugged in, I wonder what the running costs are. Plus, you will have every scrote trying to burst it, if its in a publicly accessible place.

I was looking at them before. Would a breathable cover not suffice?

chiefwiggum

im way out in the country in the middle of nowhere and car parked behind the house so not visiable so scumbags aint an issue...running costs they claim is 2 cent a day and he just sent me a price of 414 delivered for the outside capsule...car covers drive me nuts

kasper

never used them vandalism would have been my main concern also

ianobrien

I've an indoor Carcoon one at home. It's in the garage as well. (so the car is in the garage in a carcoon)

They are two piece items (floor and top) joined by a zip approx 6 inches from the ground. The air is moved by what looks like two computer fans. Also included is a trickle charge for the car batery that powers the fans if the mains is lost, ie it keeps in inflated in a power cut. Yes, it's plugged in all the time.

As for practically, we've hung the top cover from the rafters as there are six hooks on the top cover. All we do then is unzip, lift the cover up a bit and push it out. (We originally did it to take the weight off a bent aerial but it makes life much easier)

The main advantages are that it dries the car if wet and there is no dampness "smell" in the car if not used for two weeks or so. Also, the dreaded rust doesn't advance as fast as normal.....

As for running costs, we didn't do any calculations but we never noticed any increase in the ESB bill. The filters in it are to be replaced every 2 years and cost GB£40ish for the lot. I changed mine last night for the first time and changing the 8 filters took 10 minutes.

Oh, another problem we "discovered" was that cats like sleeping on it when inflated. Well, our cat does anyway. Don't ask how he gets on it (we reckon he jumps from the top shelf or the rafters....

carchaeologist

The cat would get a slap of the brush..:D

chiefwiggum

so thats a positive recommendation then ian??

alastair

I've an outdoor carcoon that's been doing it's thing for a couple of years. It is away from public view, and under a carport, and there is a bit of inconvenience in getting the car in and out, but it does provide far more protection than a regular cover. Next best thing to a garage imo. The cat prefers other lounging options.

COB MGV8

I just got my hands on a Permabag, which is like a giant waterproof bag that you drive into and zip over. There are cans of dessicant supplied that you put under the car to absorb the moisture and then there's a cover that goes over the whole thing. They even supply a Hygrometer so you can see the humidity inside the bag. Its very low profile and hopefully wont come to the attention of the less gifted of our society. You can see it in the attached pic on the right beside an car with an ordinary cover....Bit pricey new, but got it 2nd hand - so far so good.

This is the site for it :

http://permabag.com/

chiefwiggum

yeah they look a bit pricey alright!

gn3dr

I have a Carcoon outdoor one. Very good. It has been running constantly for about3 years here now.

Only problems were - the power supply gave up - I think it may have got wet though so I just replaced it with a generic "wall wart". One fan gave up due to corrosion - freed it out.

Finally it died this week - the heavy snow and ice lodged on top of it - one fan gave up so the snow pushed it down. Because the outside cover was frozen solid it tore and the heavy wind yesterday tore the whole top silver cover off.

That all sounds bad but it did get a bit of abuse. I would recommend one to anyone who doesn't have a garage.

ianobrien

chiefwiggum wrote: »

so thats a positive recommendation then ian??

Yep.

I reckon they're well worth it, even though we think we're the cat problem solved (he found the couch instead:D)

alfarocks

I've had both a carcoon (carcapsule) and the permabag. Carcoon is excellent so long as its sheltered from strong winds as chafing can/will occur if the cover is blowing around. Little inconvenient but worth the hassle.

I no longer use the permabag as I found it useless. Very inconvenient if the car is used on a semi regular basis and not much use at keep the car dry either.
Maybe I wasn't using it correctly but after finding the engine bay soaking and the interior damp after a 2 week layup it heavy rain I decided not to use it again. (other car stored in carcoon over same period was fine)

COB MGV8

alfarocks wrote: »

I've had both a carcoon (carcapsule) and the permabag. Carcoon is excellent so long as its sheltered from strong winds as chafing can/will occur if the cover is blowing around. Little inconvenient but worth the hassle.

I no longer use the permabag as I found it useless. Very inconvenient if the car is used on a semi regular basis and not much use at keep the car dry either.
Maybe I wasn't using it correctly but after finding the engine bay soaking and the interior damp after a 2 week layup it heavy rain I decided not to use it again. (other car stored in carcoon over same period was fine)

You have me worried about my permabag now! I'll be keeping it in the bag for the winter and so wouldn't have the problem with regular use - it would be a pain to open and close every day....I've been monitoring the humidity in the bag and its been dropping since I put it in there. I'll open it over the weekend and see if its dry in there or not...I would have gone for the carcoon other than the fact that it would attract too much attention...

bookerboy

A company in Meath also do them.
"Royal classic cars" They have a website but i don't have their number.

alfarocks

COB MGV8 wrote: »

You have me worried about my permabag now! I'll be keeping it in the bag for the winter and so wouldn't have the problem with regular use - it would be a pain to open and close every day....I've been monitoring the humidity in the bag and its been dropping since I put it in there. I'll open it over the weekend and see if its dry in there or not...I would have gone for the carcoon other than the fact that it would attract too much attention...

Maybe I'd a leak in mine or the canisters weren't fully dried out..hope yours works out better !!

The soft & external car covers provided are excellent though.

chiefwiggum

goodcall bookerboy...royalclassiccarsales do a rigid one which has a internal rigid frame that means you can drive in and out easily which is a huge advantage...drive in close door and switch on...gets my vote

nightster1

I have an outdoor bubble by carcoon, for my motorbike, I bought it in 1998 and use it every winter, it reflects uv light, keeps air circulating around the bike and keeps the battery charged. It's as good as new. Keep the bubble sheltered from the wind and the power unit away from water, my power unit is off the ground on a small crate inside the bubble.

chiefwiggum

all sounds pretty positive

3ps

is the rigid frame actually rigid, or like a tent, as that wouldn't last too long unless very sheltered.

chiefwiggum

it says it has a internal rigid frame so.... sure check it out...looks good anyway