Best Car Covers For Outdoors

Finding the best car cover for when you leave your car outside, is important. Why? We all know that UV rays can damage the paint job on your vehicle, as well as rain, snow or other elements can end up causing other long term wear issues such as rust or even scratches.

That’s why we decided to write this guide about the best car covers for outdoors situations, such as leaving your other vehicle parked in your driveway under the Arizona sun, or outside during the harsh Michigan winter. Whatever the situation is, you want a reliable car tarp.

 

Differences Between Indoors Car Covers And Outdoors 

It’s different to get an outdoors car cover to an indoors car cover which is mostly for dust, dirt and such. 

Essentially indoor car covers work to just literally cover your vehicle from dust, wind, particles, or mildew that can affect it when parked inside a garage and not in use for a long time. We all know how much dust there is everywhere, so it makes sense to cover your vehicle with one.

Nonetheless, they are not built to withstand the UV rays from the sun, water, snow, even worse: ice. Therefore, they should be treated as what they are: indoors car covers. The materials are usually a fleece interior to avoid scratches, but the exterior can have some polyester in a blend with nylon or lighter materials that can’t withstand the elements. 

As to outdoors car covers or tarps, they are on a whole different level. We are looking at very high-quality materials made purposely to protect, literally protect your vehicle from the elements of this planet. 

The outdoor of the cover is mostly made of polyester or similar materials, with a fleece interior that won’t scratch your vehicle. The exterior, besides of being UV ray protective, or even waterproof, tends to have an additional reflective material on some brands to avoid the sun or heat from damaging your vehicle. As you can see, the purpose of both covers is different, and materials are too.

 

Best Waterproof Car Covers

The best waterproof car covers are made by a brand called Car Covers. Why? Materials, design, and fit. Their car tarps have a few things that separate them from the rest, for example the fact that they come with a Lifetime Warranty, that’s something you don’t get with almost any other brand. 

On top of that, they have the best possible fit in the industry. You might be asking yourself why, and that’s because not only have they been in business for nearly 20 years, and so they have crafted thousands of car covers to pretty much any vehicle you can imagine from any year. But, they also manufacture their covers with reinforced seams that ensure a longer lasting protection, and an elastic front and rear hem that fits better.

Add to that the platinum shield in the exterior, a scratch resistant fleece interior, and what you get is a fantastic waterproof car cover that essentially is the best car cover you can get, and worth every penny. 

You can find out more about Car Covers here.

Pros:

• Lifetime Warranty
• Platinum Shield Exterior that’s even more waterproof than other covers
• Anti-scratch fleece interior
• Snuggest fit out of all brands 

Cons:

• Slightly more expensive than other brands

 

Best Car Cover For Sun Protection

One of the best car covers for sun protection, besides the already mentioned Car Cover brand, which is by far the best brand, would be the EzyShade car cover. It’s a fantastic alternative for Car Cover, since it’s more affordable, yet it works in a very similar way.

This car tarp comes with a 100% ultra violet light ray protection, as well as reflecting heat quite well thanks to a reflective grey exterior made out of aluminum film. That same aluminum film makes this cover scratch resistant, which is great.

The inner side of the tarp is made of cotton, preventing scratches and it’s very soft. The stitching is of great quality, and it even includes a bag to carry it around or store it. There are zippers for the door, as well as an antenna hole to protect the antenna. Last but not least, be advised the sizing can either be vehicle specific or universal, so the fit isn’t as good.

Pros:

• Affordable price
• Scratch resistant on the outside
• Great against the sun thanks to a reflective aluminum film

Cons:

• Sizing and fit aren’t the best.

 

Best Car Cover For Snow And Ice

The best cover for both snow and ice and even hailstorms is the OxGord Executive Storm-Proof cover. Why? The outer material is polypropylene, which is perhaps the thickest out of all the materials, completely waterproof, and excellent against ice or snow since they stick less to this material than say cotton or even polyester.

The inner side isn’t fleece, but cotton, scratch resistant, yet we prefer fleece. It’s also UV resistant, comes with a one-year warranty, and the price is not only affordable but honestly quite cheap.

The only real draw back we see of these covers is the fact that they aren’t vehicle specific, but a universal fit. At times, you will find that depending on your rig, the cover might drag or just not fit as well as it could and should for a tarp that will be protecting your vehicle for months if not years.

Pros:

• Excellent material against snow and ice
• Cheap price

Cons:

• Universal fit, not vehicle specific.

 

Custom Fit Car Covers

Custom fit car covers are not that hard to find. You want to look for the bigger brands, such as Car Covers, Seal Skin, Empire Covers, and so on. They have hundreds of options in sizing to fit pretty much any vehicle you can imagine from any year. These are also the most expensive brands.

Alternatively, you might want to buy a cheaper cover such as OxGord and play around with it yourself by customizing it at a local tailor. However, this can be a bit of a headache, so that honestly depends on you!

 

Car Cover Material Comparison

Finding out which is the best material for a car cover or tarp isn’t that simple, so we narrowed it down to the best type of material for each scenario.

Best Inner Side Material	Fleece: softer and anti-scratch
Best Material For UV-Ray Protection	Reflective aluminum film or reflective polyester
Best Waterproof Material	Micro-porous polyester film
Best Ice And Snow Proof Material	PolyPropylene
Best Snug Fit Material	Polyester With Elastic Hem

 

Best Car Cover

All in all we think there are two really great brands of car covers for outdoors, which are Car Covers and Seal Skin. However, in our experience, Car Covers is the best brand out there. The tarps are made in USA, they come with a lifetime warranty which is honestly worth every single penny, and they top it all off with the micro-porous polyester film exterior, which works as a layer that isn’t just waterproof, but also breathable, in such a way that even out in the rain the cover won’t get mold.

At the end of the day, you want to select a cover that makes sense with your needs and budget. If it won’t be out in the rain as much, a good UV-ray protecting cover at a good price makes sense. If you want something more robust, go with the top tier brands.