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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

 

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.  "

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.

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.

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

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.

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.