Volvo 480 Club Europe

I cannot bear to put £4K into my current home for the garage I want. It’s on shared ground and I feel like there will then be issues over the space left after putting my car in it....

So, I’m looking at moving to somewhere with all my own outside space (preferably with a garage but unlikely given my present budget).

Has anyone used or experienced these types of ‘garage’. I know they’ll need some hardcore pinning down. Also, dependant on manoeuvring allowance at the property I’m currently interested in, I may need to go for a folding one.

Thoughts....?

https://ibb.co/LRsZ4Mh

what material is this made from

UV light tends to trash the 'canvas'. . . .

I'd say it's this:

Says the cover is UV resistant; Doesn't say for how long though....

Still - I've seen car covers costing more!

This is the one I'm leaning towards:

Specs in details...

https://www.dancovershop.com/uk/product ... -grey.aspx

or these?

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/machine-m ... sPCNov2019

maybe a bit too big for a drive, but room to move around the car?

'looks' robust?

might well be EXACTLY the same but in a different colour(s) ?

lots of Tool Station/machine mart/Screwfix/hilka /aldi/lidl is same stuff in a different warpper

How about an outdoor Carcoon (aka TwatBubble)?

Circa 600 quid - probably great for rust protection.

Thanks guys.

First thought was the standard, angled 'garage' but, I thought, with limited space (if we move to this house) I don't think I'll be able to maneuver into it at the only angle it could stand in space wise. The folding ones seemed like a good idea to get around it and perhaps not as 'in your face' large with the nice curves. Although, of course, standard ones are the much cheaper than the folding one!

I've never seen those Carcoons, John! They do look like they'd help keep it in a mighty fine environment. Looking probably £650 for the curved folding one. Looking at this, to fit the 480 in (bloody, 'Johnny Long Beak'!) I'm looking at more but....saying that, it's a not a £4k garage is it so, worth considering. There are some on eBay claiming to be Carcoons but not sure if they are a just-as-expensive copy....?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-Ben ... SwKXdaVyOV

Also, to use all year round.....I'm guessing the electricity/fans need to be on 24/7,365. Might be a bit spenny!

Anyway, in all this rain (I've avoided covering at the moment...mostly due to it never being dry!) it doesn't seem to have any leaks in any of the usual places (come back in January when I'm crying and posting about wet footwells ). If I do get the cover on, I was planning on putting some (neutral coloured) microfiber cloths under it at points (like little columns) to lift it off the roof/windows/bonnet. It would get uncovered every two weeks minimum but indoors of some sort is, of course, going to be a better option and my plan was always to preserve.....

JohnTurbo wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 13, 2019 10:10 pm

How about an outdoor Carcoon (aka TwatBubble)?

Circa 600 quid - probably great for rust protection.

Carcoons are superb.....

As long as you live in a cat free neighbourhood.

Q: How much does the Carcoon Airflow System cost to run?
A: The Carcoon uses two, 12 Volt, 220 mA ventilators, and each ventilator costs a minute 1 penny per day to run. This amounts to less than £10 to run continuously for a whole year. The Bike bubble uses only one ventilator; therefore the running costs are halved.


Never had one to comment directly on them!

FYI if you look in the grain store at Blyton, Ginetta have a row of race cars in these things.

JohnTurbo wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 14, 2019 4:07 pm

This amounts to less than £10 to run continuously for a whole year.

Oh, well, that's insanely nothing! I was expecting kind of 'having a fan on all day, every day' prices!

Thanks for the info

Just ordered the size 4 Carcoon from Demon Tweeks (as Carcoon were hilarious. Someone's great-great grandma answering the phone, eating and dismissing my questions, asking if she can call me back when she's not so busy then slamming the phone down as soon as I finished giving my number )

I did manage to find out that they use £30 electric per year. I think they have a three year guarantee for all of the parts, then after that you can buy replacement parts. Watched a few videos and all feedback seems very positive so, fingers crossed I've made a good decision. Not cheap but hopefully well worth the investment in terms of prolonging the 480's life....and I can move it around when needs be and take it with me if I ever moved. And about £3.5k cheaper than a garage!

Thanks for mentioning them, John. I'd never heard of them

You did see what their nickname is right..?

I hope you can live with that!!

Haha. It’s not visible from the road. Nobody will ever know!

These look really interesting, we don't have enough garages for our fleet so a carcoon could be a good solution. I'm a bit confused about the power supply, does it have a transformer or are the 12 volt ventilators battery powered - is that the car's battery ? There was mention in one of the videos I watched of the carcoon keeping the car battery charged, so does that mean it needs a mains charger connected ? That would rather limit where we could put it - we have an outdoor socket under our carport but the ground there is covered in sharp gravel which probably wouldn't do the base of the cover any good. Added to which, we are away 2-3 months at a time in winter so not in a position to turn a charger on and off. No info on the power source either on the carcoon website or demontweaks. Anyone know ?

I've got carpet the tarp to put the base on but, yes, going away and gravel probably wouldn't be the best unless you can rely on a neighbour to take charge!
It is mains, so just going to be some sort of extension from outbuilding for me. You can then put that inside the Carcoon, I believe. It has a maintenance charger included I think. I do have one anyway but probably not something I'd use....Not sure yet.

I'll link to a video I watched.....he's a very quiet fellow but most info is there....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpdJnSi8s8E

Thanks Edie, much better than the ones I watched !

So, Christmas came just in time for a few of our 480s who are now nicely nestled in a Carcoon.

I ordered mine on Nov 18th and it arrived on Tuesday so around a month but looking tonight, it says at least a 46 day wait for that size. Anyway, if you want one, just don't be in a rush! I ordered from Demon Tweeks, maybe direct from Carcoon would be faster? Maybe they all make to order? Who knows.

Here's my terrible video! Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9y0Mpk ... e=youtu.be