Sunday, January 29, 2012

Tire Covers…Plan B

Zephyrhills, Florida   (high 75, low 44)

It was a beautiful sunny day yesterday, so our mood lifted and we started on some projects. 

I thought making some tire covers would be a quick little project, but it didn’t turn out that way at all.  Naturally.  Smile

I initially wanted the covers underneath the fenders, rather than on top.

The plan was to roll the fabric onto a pvc pipe, then clamp it on with a piece of plastic, like this.  That keeps the fabric attached to the pvc.

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I painted the pvc and the clamps black.  You roll the fabric onto bottom so that it hangs nicely.

I also used this method on the top of the fabric, thinking the pvc would just sit on top of the inside of the fender.  I thought it might even sit there without velcro.  It was worth a try.

Here is what it looked like.  It would have looked better once the fabric smoothed out because it got a little wrinkled during the project.

tire cover with pvc

The lug-nut covers stick out a bit and they didn’t allow the fabric to hang nicely.  It was okay, but not how I had envisioned it looking.  It would not sit smooth due to the lug nuts.  I had trouble getting the hem to hang nicely too.

Plan B.

I always knew we could attach the covers to the outside with suction cups, but I really wanted the covers behind the fenders.  It looked like that was going to be better option, so we decided to give it a try and see how it looked.  We could always go back to plan A if we needed to.

The place we got the fabric sells these special little suction cups that allow you to attach the suction cup to the fabric.

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The little white dot on the top comes off.  You pierce the fabric then place the suction cup behind the fabric and use the white top to attach it to the suction cup.

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It’s quite a clever system.  We made a shade for the rear window in the other coach using the same method.  It gave us privacy during the day and still allowed you to see outside, and it looked nice.

For the tire project, I sewed a hem around all four sides of the piece of fabric.  I had no trouble sewing the fabric…other than the fact that Baxter wanted to help.  "Smile

The seams helped it to lay nicer.   We placed 3 suction cups on the top and one small one on both sides. 

Here is how it looks.

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The little white dots you see are where the suction cups are attached.  We will paint them black to match a little better. 

We like this look better than the other method and we ended up using the same piece of fabric, so there was no waste.  The wrinkles will come out as they hang in the sun.

We’re happy with them.  The fabric was $1.00 a running foot, so it didn’t cost too much.

I never liked the vinyl tire covers they sell at Camping World.  I wondered if they would be hard on the tires since they are vinyl and wouldn’t allow the tire any air.  Yesterday, during this project, I have to admit, I wished we had gone with those kind of tire covers!

Another project we did yesterday, was to get out, and reassemble the pvc clothes line Al made for me last year.

Of course the lines got all tangled up in the move, and we had to figure out where all the  5 separate pieces of pvc went.

Al  got it re-assembled and I was able to dry some towels.  This is what it looks like.  It breaks down for storage.  I find it handy to speed up the drying process.  My little washer/dryer is wonderful, but it does take a while to dry some things.

pvc clothesline

While we’re on the subject of “improvements"  here is what our front window sunscreen looks like.

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We got it from a company called Magne Shade.  I had done some research online, but never actually saw one in person.  We are happy with it.  It’s attached by very strong magnets that are glued to the windshield on the inside. 

One person can put the sunshade up by themselves.  I know, because this installation was done by me!  We normally put it up together, but Al was gone last week and it was getting pretty hot inside.  I decided to give it a shot and I was able to install the shade in about 2-3 minutes. 

The mirror covers were purchased at the rv show.  I could have made them easily if I had only known about the fabric store at the time.  The window wiper covers came from Magne Shade also.  We also purchased side window shades from them, but have never even put them on.  I guess we shouldn’t have gotten them.

Here is another type of tire cover.  They are on a coach belonging to a neighbor.  We had never gotten a chance to talk to the owner, so I zoomed in with my camera.  It appears they are made by MCD.  I believe they much attach with some sort of fastener.  I didn’t want any holes drilled into our coach.  I’m sure they were not cheap.

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They fit nice and tight and look nice though, don’t they?

We’re not sure what we’re going to do today.  Projects?  Visit Mom?  Go Kayaking?  I guess we’ll see how the day progresses.

14 comments:

  1. Your upgrades look very nice and will definitely extend the life of your tires. Nice job!
    We had the MCDs put throughout our Dutch Star when we were in Texas a couple years ago. They are expensive and yours look just as nice. I wish I had known about the fabric being available. I would have gone that route myself.
    Again....very nice job!!

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  2. Thanks for the detailed info about your mods. It's funny how we have such similar ideas. I think we may have a project to tackle before the Summer sun gets too hot!
    Syl

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  3. Great details for all these summer sun protectors. Thanks! You sure did some production there.

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  4. I like that clothes line. On our few trips, I was disturbed by not having a place to hang wet swim suit or towels other than over the shower. One day I did hang them on the back ladder. Your design might work for me, I'll have to take a closer look at it. I'm quite handy with PVC!

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  5. nice job on the tire covers!!..the other ones you showed I have seen before on 'two can travel'..Erin did a video on how they are installed..expensive but easy..

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  6. The tire covers look great, that's something on my list. I think I'll just go to Camping World, though. I don't want to mess with trying to make them.

    I like the way your big window cover looks too, very smooth. I haven't thought about getting one of those. Hummmm. :)

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  7. Good job on your wheel covers; once you paint the little pins, they won't be noticeable at all. Like the idea of the wiper covers ... maybe we'll get some of the fabric and make them. The laundry rack is on hubby's "Honey-Do List" ... hopefully before we get on the road fulltime. The only problem is that our ladder is so high, I may not be able to reach it to hang the clothes :-)))

    We have the MCD covers in that last picture; we're very happy with them. The glide-trac is attached along the rim of the fender. The covers are very easy to put on and take off ... just minutes. If you'd like to see how they work ... http://2totravelphaeton.blogspot.com/2011/08/phae-is-so-modest.html.

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  8. excellent job on the tire covers...we went the camping world route...never did think of making them..what a great idea...thanks for sharing...love the clothes line...

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  9. I'm thinking you need to use your talent and go into the tire cover business. They came out great!

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  10. I agree, I think you second tire cover turned out quite well.

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  11. Good job! I think you will be glad you bought the side shades - we didn't get them and I know we would have used them a lot, especially when it was 108 in the desert. I still don't understand why RV's need tire covers - I've never seen 18 wheelers or cars using them. But we've got them now too. The suction cup idea and PVC pipe seems to have become very popular.

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  12. Pleasant Post! For cost viability and enduring qualities RV rooftop toughness can be more upgraded with RV Roof Repair to avoid mishap pens during travelling.

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  13. Where did you find these suction cups?!

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