Are you living in Oklahoma or some other state that has a lot of trouble with hail storms during the year? If this is the case, I understand your trouble completely because I’m in the same situation. That’s why I decided to write this article on the best car cover for hail.
Every year, tens of thousands of cars end up totaled because of hail damage. Hail damage is something that you don’t want because it will ruin your car’s appearance and will make your car terrible in person. So much that you will say “I’m done and I’m selling this car right away”. But you shouldn’t worry anymore because car covers were invented for this specific purpose to aid you with your troubles.
Car cover for hail is essential if you want to protect your car in the long run. That’s why you need to learn what is the best car cover for hail. But you shouldn’t worry because we are going to explain everything in detail. Knowing every detail is going to help you out immensely if you are on the market for a hail cover for your car. You need a hail cover that will do its job and not a regular cover that isn’t going to help much if you get hail in your area.
In this article, we are going to learn everything you need to know when it comes to protecting your car from hail. First, we will learn what is hail and how it can damage your car. Then we are going to learn the types of covers. Then, we will go through our top 7 hail covers. So, let’s get into it.
What Is Hail? – Car Cover For Hail
Hail or hailstones are frozen rocks that fall when the weather conditions are met. Which are great humidity in the air and extremely hot weather.
Hail usually rains almost all over the planet. But there are some places where hail is a regular cause of damage. Especially if you live in Oklahoma, Texas, or the surrounding states where these natural disasters often take place.
There are thousands and thousands of cars each year that end up totaled because of hail. The sad thing is that the hail is very unpredictable and when you least expect it’s going to start raining heavily and cause damage to your car.
Imagine you go to the store and while you are in their hail starts to rain and the parking lot is covered in hail while it finishes raining. Some of these balls of ice are going to end up on your car and will create dings and scratches.
Most of the hits will be tackled by the car but some of them will create hail damage and unevenness on the paint.
You will notice these types of damages like someone hit your car with a sharp object and created an indentation in the metal.
If hail gets to your car, you will probably have tens of these on your hood, roof, and trunk. Even the sides of the car will not get away from some of these ice rocks.
But the most important is that you are not hurt, the downside is that the car can be obliterated but everything is fixable. And if you don’t want to fix it, you should prevent it by investing in a car cover for hail. And we are going to cover that in great detail in the next chapter.
Types Of Car Covers
Before you jump into buying there are some key things that we need to clear out. You need to learn what type of cover do you need for your application because on the market there are plenty of covers that offer protection against hail. And you need to know which is the best when it comes to protecting the car against these natural disasters. So, which are the types of hail covers? Let’s find out.
Portable Car Cover
These types of car covers do not offer the right level of protection when it comes to hail storms or other natural disasters. These covers are extremely lightweight and can be fitted into a small bag.
Their small form factor makes them perfect when it comes to dust or rain. But when it comes to extreme heat and hail, they don’t do much. That’s why they are not good for this application because at the end of the day you need a car cover for hail.
Generic Fit Covers
These covers are similar to the portable car cover. They do not offer a lot of protection when it comes to hail storms. They are good to protect the car from the sun or other elements. But when it comes to hail they don’t do much.
As their name implies, they are a generic fit which means that they will not fit on any car and you need to search for the length of your car and see if the length of the cover matches.
Custom-fit Cover
These covers are similar to the generic ones. The difference is that they are a good fit for your vehicle. They are designed with your car in mind and will cover every bit of it.
The downside is that they do not offer big protection when it comes to hail. That’s why you should not consider them as a good option.
Inflatable Car Covers
The inflatable car covers are the ones that you need to look after when you are looking for a car cover for hail.
They are inflatable which means that they inflate with air and offer a layer of protection between the cover and the vehicle and work as a cushion. Offering excellent protection in the process and protecting your car from more than 99% of the damage.
The downside is that they have to be connected to a power outlet and they are not practical if you park your car in a distant place far away from a power source.
Umbrella Type Of Car Covers
The umbrella type of cover is the last type of cover that we are going to cover in this chapter. The umbrella covers resemble a tent that you mount over your car. They are made out of highly durable materials that offer great protection when it comes to hail and hail damage.
The downside is that they take a lot of time to install and are not practical in the long run.
Car Cover For Hail – Our Top 7 Picks
Now we came to the important bit and that is our top 7 picks when it comes to hail protecting covers. After reading our reviews you will be able to draw your conclusion and get the best hail cover for your budget.
We are going to list every detail that is important for you in order to have a good perspective of what you should invest your hard-earned money into. So, let’s dive into the reviews.
1. Hail Protector Covers
Remember that we previously discussed the inflatable hail covers? This is the thing that we were talking about. The Hail Protector is a company that makes these smart and well-designed covers.
They are so designed that offer 100% of protection from hail. It doesn’t matter if you like in Oklahoma or Nebraska, these hail covers are going to fully protect your vehicle.
How it works is pretty straightforward. You place the hail protector on your vehicle and the cover starts to inflate and make your car look like a giant balloon. This will result in perfect coverage of every bit of it.
The cover is made out of extremely durable materials that can withstand a beating from the hail and not get damaged. The cover comes in 6 different sizes for the vehicle that you intend to install on.
The prices vary depending on the vehicle. For regular cars, the cover is understandably cheaper. As we go slowly in the SUV territory the prices get higher.
The upside of this protector is that it comes with an Android and IOS app that is going to inform you if a hail storm is coming in your area. So, you have a better chance of protecting your car.
The Hail Protector needs less than 5 minutes to inflate and your vehicle will be fully protected. There are also three power sources that you can use to inflate your cover. It doesn’t matter if you are on the road or at home. You just plug it into a 12V output and you are good to go.
Overall, it’s one of the best products out there. The only con can be considered the high price point. But you get an excellent product for your money.
2. ALTINDAL Hail Protector For SUVs
This is another product specifically designed with hail protection in mind. This product is perfect if you are running a big SUV that is very large in size. Also, usage in sedans is possible as well.
The overall length is 6 meters or 20 ft which makes it perfect for any large vehicle.
This protector is made out of special material caller ethylene-vinyl acetate. These are three layers laminated together, improving the durability of the cover by a big margin. The cover is 6 mm thick and can tackle medium to large hail pretty easily. As the manufacturer claims. The ALTINDAL hail protector will protect about 70% of the damage. This is not great but also not bad considering that the average hail storms are small to medium-sized.
It also doesn’t require a lot of maintenance and is extremely easy to mount on any vehicle in just a few minutes. Then you can secure it with straps and you will be good to go.
The downside as well as the previous product can be the price which is rather expensive compared to the cheaper covers that offer minimal protection against hail. But when you consider that it protects for 70%, the price is quite reasonable, to be honest.
Also, it is six feet long, which means that it will not manage to cover some of the extra-large full-size trucks and SUVs that are 23 ft long. So, if you have one of these trucks, you should take note.
3. Cover Master Gold Shield Car Cover
This car cover is produced by the CoverMaster brand. It is extremely well suited if you are running a Corvette and they offer a perfect fit for all of the Corvette models starting from the C1 and up to the C7 model.
This cover is a three-layered cover made out of Polypropylene PLUS and as the manufacturer claims. It is 100% waterproof and will not allow a drop of water to touch your car.
The material is also soft to touch and will not damage the paint or cause any other oxidation and water buildup on the vehicle.
As the manufacturer claims, this cover will protect against snow, rain, ice, UV rays, and hail. But the level of protection of this car cover for hail is questionable since it is quite thin and will not absorb the hits from the hail balls.
But it is better than leaving the car without protection from the weather and leaving the elements to damage your vehicle. The cover is going to protect against small to medium-sized hail. But if there is large size hail, the protection will be questionable. That’s why if you live in a place where it rains large hail it is a better idea to consider the previous products that we have reviewed in this article.
4. KAKIT 6 Layer Truck Cover
The KAKIT 6-layer truck cover is another cover intended for truck and full-size cars or SUVs. It is designed with these vehicles in mind and if you plan to install it on a smaller vehicle you might have a problem since the cover is extremely large.
As its name implies, it is built out of 6 layers of different materials. The manufacturer claims that this cover is extremely soft to touch and will not scratch or damage the paint (as is the case when you don’t know how to remove Plasti Dip). It is environmentally safe and will protect your car from harmful UV lights. The cover is also waterproof as well and will not allow any water to enter your car and create damage to it.
It has anti-theft locks and a storage bag where you can keep it safe until you need it. The cover can be easily mounted in just a few minutes and can be secured with straps.
The good side of this cover is that is theft-proof as we mentioned and it also has a 1-year warranty that you can use if something goes bad.
The only con is that this cover has the ability to prevent hail damage. It is fairly thin and the hail can cause damage to the metal. The car cover can prevent small and medium-sized hail to cause damage. But when it comes to large pieces it could not do any good and will allow the hits to pass through. That’s why if you look for car cover for hail of larger sizes, you should consider other options.
5. iCarCover 30 Layer Custom Fit Cover
The iCarCover is one of the brands that have great feedback on Amazon and nearly impeccable rating. This cover made by iCarCover is a custom fit and will perfectly match your vehicle in every aspect. Your car will be covered from top to bottom without a problem.
Their cover comes as a perfect fit for all cars that are between 206’’ to 215’’. This means that this cover will be perfect for regular hatchbacks, coupes, and sedans.
The car cover is made out of Polyester which makes it extremely flexible and durable. It is 100% waterproof and weatherproof as they claim. The cover is a custom fit which means that it will cover 99% of your vehicle from the elements. It has UV protection and the material is soft to touch which means that will not going to scratch the surface of your vehicle.
It also has antitheft protection and also comes with a nifty bag in which you can store the car cover when you don’t need it. The cover has 7 years warranty which is a record for a car cover.
But this car cover also has some downsides. The downsides are concerned with our topic and that is hail protection. This car cover is made out of polyester and is fairly thin. It is not specifically designed as a car cover for hail should be and it might not protect your car if there is medium to large size hail.
That’s why you should consider other options if hail protection is the top priority. If you don’t mind the weak protection for hail, this car cover is the perfect option for you.
6. Leader Accessories Platinum Guard Gray 7 Layer Universal Cover
This cover by Leader Accessories is the perfect cover for lightweight use. By lightweight, we mean using it in the garage or outside to protect your car from rain or UV light. As the manufacturer claims it is perfect for indoor and outdoor use.
The cover incorporates 7 different layers of material that help to protect the car. The base material is soft to touch which means that it will protect the paint from scratches while you install and remove the cover from your vehicle. It has great UV protection and will also protect the car from dirt and other debris that is found in the air.
It is windproof and will not fly away if there are any heavy winds in the area. A storage bag is also included along. This car cover is perfect for sedans and hatchbacks. If you try to mount it on a full-size car you will not be able to do so.
Another con is the protection from hail. This cover is not a car cover for hail. This cover is fairly thin and will not protect the vehicle from medium or large hail. But if you need a cover that will keep the car from the sun and dust this is the perfect buy.
7. OxGord Executive Storm Proof Car Cover
Another cover that offers fairly decent protection when it comes to storms and other natural occurrences that could damage the vehicle. The cover is also dustproof and will not let any dust get into the vehicle. It is perfect for cars that you want to keep in long-term storage well protected and hidden from the elements.
As they claim their cover is a 7 layered cover that is water-resistant. The bottom layer is made out of soft-touch material that will guarantee the safety of your paint. The cover also allows the car to breathe and doesn’t form wet spots that could develop rust.
The package includes a storage bag and antenna patch. It also offers security grommets that help when it comes to preventing thefts.
It is a universal cover which means that it will fit most of the sedans and coupes on the market. If you have a full-size car or truck, it is less likely that you will be able to fit your car into this cover.
The downside of this cover is the relatively poor hail protection. This isn’t a car cover for hail and will not prevent the impact from medium and large size chunks of hail.
Car Covers Facts: Protecting Your Vehicle from the Elements
- Car covers act as a barrier of protection against harsh environmental elements that can diminish the appearance of a vehicle over time.
- Investing in a high-quality car cover can help maintain the value of a car, especially during extreme weather conditions such as hailstorms.
- The Platinum Shield Car Cover is a recommended option due to its waterproof and breathable fabric, resistance to UV rays, and ultra-soft fleece liner.
- The Budget Lite Car Cover is a lightweight and affordable option that provides heavy-duty protection from elements such as dust, paint, and dirt for a car stored in a garage.
- The Hail Protector CAR2 cover inflates within minutes to protect a car from any size of hail and comes with a remote control button and storm alert app.
- The Ezyshade 10-layer Weatherproof Car Cover is made up of 10 layers of materials and features security straps, a storage bag, and a zipper for accessing car doors, making it ideal for winter weather.
- The Kayme 6 Layers Car Cover is made with six layers, including highly reflective aluminum that keeps a car looking and feeling cool in the summer, and has a zipper panel for easy access.
- The Bell+Howell Weatherforce 360 windshield cover is machine-washable, double-sided, and has strong magnets to keep the cover down, protecting the windshield from elements such as ice and snow.
- The Favoto Car Cover is made with PE&Peva material that’s 100-percent waterproof, lined with super-soft cotton, and features windproof straps and a reflective strip.
- It’s important to consider access to the car, environmental concerns, and a tight fit when choosing a car cover, and to opt for a tight-fitting cover with a soft interior lining to prevent paint scratches.
Conclusion – Car Cover For Hail
In this article, we have covered a lot when it comes to protecting your vehicle from hail and other natural disasters. We have covered the basics and learned what hail is and the extent of damage that it can make. Then we have covered the type of car covers that are on the market and which of them you should consider as a car cover for hail.
Then we made a list out of 7 best selling car covers that you might consider when looking online to purchase a car cover for hail. Some of them will fully protect your car against hail. While some of them will only slightly protect your car from hail.
It’s up to you and your budget when it comes to purchasing the right car cover for hail and protect your car. Just to note that buying a cover is a long-term investment that will pay off in the future. Especially the inflatable car covers.
