A cover for the Lazy Daze January 19, 2019, 08:15:50 pm As we prepare to get a new Lazy Daze one of the things I'm considering is a cover.I live in the coast in northern San Diego County and we get lots of dew here.I was also considering putting together a shade structure like those kits that are advertised.A structure coupled with a cover would protect it well those few months we aren't using it.Any suggestions on either?Where to buy?Brands?Thanks
Re: A cover for the Lazy Daze Reply #1 – January 19, 2019, 08:46:48 pm Amazon.com: ADCO 34815 Designer Series Gray/White 29' 1" - 32' DuPont Tyvek...I am using this one which I bought at CW on line (best price), and am so far satisfied with it. This is the first year. Very easy to put on.Chris 1 Likes As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Re: A cover for the Lazy Daze Reply #2 – January 19, 2019, 08:57:06 pm Regarding fabric covers, I am a fan of Calmark covers. They are a local company and of the highest quality available, albeit pricey:Custom RV covers, truck covers, trailer and camper covers | Calmark Cover Co. 1 Likes
Re: A cover for the Lazy Daze Reply #3 – January 19, 2019, 10:28:24 pm After years of dragging camper covers and fifth wheel covers over our RV's, I finally decided that wrestling a heavy cover onto the rig and pulling it back and forth to get it all positioned and situated correctly was a great way to eventually fall off and ruin my health. I built this pipe barn and absolutely love it. I should have done it years ago. It keeps the sun and rain off my favorite toys and gives me somewhere to do projects at night. Working on top of the Lazy Daze is easy since the top of the barn is about 5 feet above the top of the Lazy Daze and I can hang onto the roof framing to stay secure and balanced.I live in Poway (San Diego County) and you are welcome to come by and see if it is something you might want to invest in. I had a local contractor purchase and construct it. He and his crew had the entire thing up and finished in a day. I had already poured the slab, so that shortened the process.If I had to do it again, I would make it bigger.Harold 7 Likes
Re: A cover for the Lazy Daze Reply #4 – January 19, 2019, 11:23:44 pm Quote from: Blueox25 - January 19, 2019, 10:28:24 pmAfter years of dragging camper covers and fifth wheel covers over our RV's, I finally decided that wrestling a heavy cover onto the rig and pulling it back and forth to get it all positioned and situated correctly was a great way to eventually fall off and ruin my health. I built this pipe barn and absolutely love it. I should have done it years ago. It keeps the sun and rain off my favorite toys and gives me somewhere to do projects at night. Working on top of the Lazy Daze is easy since the top of the barn is about 5 feet above the top of the Lazy Daze and I can hang onto the roof framing to stay secure and balanced.I live in Poway (San Diego County) and you are welcome to come by and see if it is something you might want to invest in. I had a local contractor purchase and construct it. He and his crew had the entire thing up and finished in a day. I had already poured the slab, so that shortened the process.If I had to do it again, I would make it bigger.HaroldThank you Harold.I grew up in Poway.Moved there in 1962.Graduated 1974 PHS.Great place to grow up back then.I'm in Leucadia now.
Re: A cover for the Lazy Daze Reply #5 – January 19, 2019, 11:35:07 pm I'm a newcomer. I taught at PHS in 1983 and moved here in 1988. We have friends in Leucadia and it is a beautiful spot, but we love it in Poway. 1 Likes
Re: A cover for the Lazy Daze Reply #6 – January 19, 2019, 11:37:54 pm Quote from: Blueox25 - January 19, 2019, 11:35:07 pmI'm a newcomer. I taught at PHS in 1983 and moved here in 1988. We have friends in Leucadia and it is a beautiful spot, but we love it in Poway. What was the cost for your cover?It looks awesome!Thanks.
Re: A cover for the Lazy Daze Reply #7 – January 20, 2019, 12:46:33 am PM me and I'll fill you in with the details. 1 Likes
Re: A cover for the Lazy Daze Reply #8 – January 20, 2019, 12:37:41 pm When our LD was new, I tried using a cover for a while. While putting it on one afternoon, a gust of wind caught it, almost pulling me off the roof. That was enough to convince me my life wasn't worth keeping the paint pristine..16 years later, the paint still looks OK, like me, just a little bit worse from wear.If you do use a cover, make sure the rig is spotless before covering. Any dirt under the cover will act as a grinding compound and can damage the paint, when the wind blows the cover around.Larry 1 Likes
Re: A cover for the Lazy Daze Reply #9 – January 20, 2019, 02:25:42 pm Quote from: Larry W - January 20, 2019, 12:37:41 pmIf you do use a cover, make sure the rig is spotless before covering. Any dirt under the cover will act as a grinding compound and can damage the paint, when the wind blows the cover around.LarryAnd remember the solar panels have square edges that love to eat holes in covers..... Just saying.
Re: A cover for the Lazy Daze Reply #10 – January 20, 2019, 07:09:00 pm Another consideration in cover vs shelter is how often you exercise your rig when not out on a trip. I try to give it a run-around (I have a 16 mile loop that gives me freeway and surface mix) every two weeks or so. If I had to wrestle a heavy cover off and on twice a month, it would greatly deter the exercise. If you have the space to construct a shelter, that would be my choice. Unfortunately, I store in a commercial open-lot situation, and cannot erect a shelter. Result after 12 years? A nicely running unit with no problems, but badly faded paint on the driver’s front side that gets the most of our SoCal sun. — Jon
Re: A cover for the Lazy Daze Reply #11 – January 21, 2019, 03:31:06 pm Here's a link to a discussion some of us had here a few years ago. Our cover is still holding up...Cover discussion threadPete 1 Likes
Re: A cover for the Lazy Daze Reply #12 – January 22, 2019, 12:26:00 pm I built a 30x40 poll barn years ago to keep my tractor and rarely used vehicles in but after close to two thousand dollars in damage over ten years to wiring and vacuum and fuel lines from rats and mice I don't keep anything with a motor down there any more. A complete failure on my part and my LD lives under a pull over cover in town. Tractor is under a tarp in my driveway and I whittled down the fleet to one pickup and one car. Nice poll barn though.
Re: A cover for the Lazy Daze Reply #13 – January 22, 2019, 01:07:07 pm Quote from: Sawyer - January 22, 2019, 12:26:00 pmI built a 30x40 poll barn years ago to keep my tractor and rarely used vehicles in but after close to two thousand dollars in damage over ten years to wiring and fuel lines from rats and mice I don't keep anything with a motor down there any more. A complete failure on my part and my LD lives under a pull over cover in town. Tractor is under a tarp in my driveway and I whittled down the fleet to one pickup and one car. Nice poll barn though. I assume you tried all sorts of rodent repellents on things stored in the pole barn?Chris
Re: A cover for the Lazy Daze Reply #14 – January 22, 2019, 01:26:50 pm After about a year of fighting the rodent war, I won numerous little battles, but eventually decided I was losing the war. They really like the protection of the barn and enjoy eating anything they can gnaw on, like wires, vacuum lines, etc.About a year ago, I placed LED rope lights (120v) on the lower storage shelves and around the underside of the Lazy Daze and inside the engine compartment. A photocell turns on the lights at dusk and turns them off at dawn. After a year, I haven't seen one poop or bit of mechanical or electrical damage. With the rope lights on the lower two shelves, the rats won't climb to the upper shelves. The concrete floor under the Lazy Daze is clean and no fecal evidence of visitors. The cost of the electricity for the rope lights is negligible. I did have to make some light barriers to keep the light from irritating my bride and neighbors, but overall this has been a complete success. No more rats or mice, damage or fecal mess.The boat, Lazy Daze, and dirt bike have been living in the barn and absolutely no evidence rodents.YMMVHarold 3 Likes
Re: A cover for the Lazy Daze Reply #15 – January 22, 2019, 01:47:06 pm Good to have evidence of the effectiveness of the rope light rodent deterrent based on actual experience. I always figured that the lights would just allow the buggers to more easily see what they were chewing on! Good to know that the lights have worked for you! Thanks for the report! 1 Likes
Re: A cover for the Lazy Daze Reply #16 – January 22, 2019, 01:48:10 pm Quote from: Blueox25 - January 22, 2019, 01:26:50 pmAbout a year ago, I placed LED rope lights (120v) on the lower storage shelves and around the underside of the Lazy Daze and inside the engine compartment. A photocell turns on the lights at dusk and turns them off at dawn. After a year, I haven't seen one poop or bit of mechanical or electrical damage. Drive through an Escapee park at night and you will see lots of rope lights, under many of the rigs.You have got to keep the rodents out, it's amazing how much damage they can cause. Beside eating the wiring and vacuum lines, they love to rip the doghouse insulation off to build and pad nests in the 'valley' between the V10's heads.Having done a few of these repairs, you don't want it to happened, it can get very expensive.One of my late uncles own a dairy farm and had few rodent problems, his twenty or so cats took care of the problem. His contribution was a gallon of very fresh milk every afternoon, the cats always showed up.Get a couple outdoor cats.Larry
Re: A cover for the Lazy Daze Reply #17 – January 22, 2019, 03:36:29 pm Quote from: Chris Horst - January 22, 2019, 01:07:07 pmI assume you tried all sorts of rodent repellents on things stored in the pole barn?ChrisPoison is out of the question for me because I have dogs. The rats get wise to traps after they see their buddies get caught so I have minimal luck with that.
Re: A cover for the Lazy Daze Reply #18 – January 22, 2019, 03:39:54 pm Quote from: Larry W - January 22, 2019, 01:48:10 pmOne of my late uncles own a dairy farm and had few rodent problems, his twenty or so cats took care of the problem. His contribution was a gallon of very fresh milk every afternoon, the cats always showed up.Get a couple outdoor cats.LarryMy issue with barn cats is they are just as tough on birds as rodents and I'm a soft hearted bird lover. Another issue is barn cats end up being house cats because my wife's a soft hearted cat lover.
Re: A cover for the Lazy Daze Reply #19 – January 22, 2019, 04:02:17 pm This is interesting about the lighting. I recall some time ago that Andy Baird had installed some 12V rope lights under the hood of his LD only to find evidence of gnawing on the rope lights. I don't recall if they might have been off when that happened or not. For that matter maybe I'm off on that recollection altogether and Andy will chime in.At Jojoba Hills SKP park I have seen several people with hoods up and in some cases lights although most of the problems appear to be on perimeter sites. Of late there have been some issues in the interior. A friend couldn't start his 2016 Honda CRV one morning to find that the power steering didn't work. I loaned him our car and went over and opened his hood to find a bunny in the engine compartment who then raced away. That repair cost him $400.At the county park we are at now near Fountain Hills, AZ the camp hosts have issues with bunnies going at their wiring. One created a small electrical barrier that he pulls the car over and hasn't had an issue since. Attached are photos of what he built.Sorry for taking this further off topic.Jim 1 Likes
Re: A cover for the Lazy Daze Reply #20 – January 22, 2019, 04:04:45 pm My old man, Frankie, will stir himself to bring in a lizard or two (usually minus tails and with a couple of holes in them ) during warm weather, but he's useless against rodents; the most action he can generate is to stretch out and watch a gopher for a while, then go piddle on the dirt mound and come back into the house. I'm ordering some rope lights.YM(and your cat's hunting acumen!) MV!
Re: A cover for the Lazy Daze Reply #21 – January 22, 2019, 04:25:11 pm I have had a pack rat or two in the garage by our house that I've successfully trapped. We have a cat but those rats are so big the cats afraid of them. I've been threatening to get a rat terrier for a pet since we recently lost our old German Shorthair. Problem is it's hard to find a rat terrier that points and retrieves grouse.
Re: A cover for the Lazy Daze Reply #22 – January 22, 2019, 04:43:48 pm Quote from: Jim & Gayle - January 22, 2019, 04:02:17 pmThis is interesting about the lighting. I recall some time ago that Andy Baird had installed some 12V rope lights under the hood of his LD only to find evidence of gnawing on the rope lights. I don't recall if they might have been off when that happened or not. For that matter maybe I'm off on that recollection altogether and Andy will chime in.At Jojoba Hills SKP park I have seen several people with hoods up and in some cases lights although most of the problems appear to be on perimeter sites. Of late there have been some issues in the interior. A friend couldn't start his 2016 Honda CRV one morning to find that the power steering didn't work. I loaned him our car and went over and opened his hood to find a bunny in the engine compartment who then raced away. That repair cost him $400.At the county park we are at now near Fountain Hills, AZ the camp hosts have issues with bunnies going at their wiring. One created a small electrical barrier that he pulls the car over and hasn't had an issue since. Attached are photos of what he built.Sorry for taking this further off topic.JimMakes me wonder about a tiny version of an electric fence around a motorhome for rats and mice. Shark Tank here I come.
Re: A cover for the Lazy Daze Reply #23 – January 22, 2019, 05:57:24 pm Completely off-topic, but I had problems with racoons getting into my garbage can. As a result, I wired an electric fence transformer to a wire that ran out of the garage and attached to the galvanized steel garbage can with a big battery charger clamp. The other lead was grounded to a water pipe. The garbage can was placed on expanded foam plastic pads.We never had a problem with racoon or coyotes in our garbage again.Alas, after both my wife and I had shocking experiences while taking the garbage out at night in our stocking feet, I removed the entire setup. My neighbors did hear some colorful language. The racoons never touched my garbage cans again. 2 Likes
Re: A cover for the Lazy Daze Reply #24 – January 22, 2019, 10:25:49 pm "... I wired an electric fence transformer to..."That brought back an old memory! While working as a lineman with Ma Bell in upstate NY in the mid-50s my crew was out stringing overhead cable. The Line Boss, having need to relieve himself took a leak on a barbed wire fence. Unknown to him prior to this misfortune the farmer had connected his fence to 110vAC. Yikes! You could hear him a half mile away. 3 Likes