15 replies to this topic

[rubdub]

Hey folks,

 

So am just looking for some advice/feedback on this..

 

So I currently have a Minispare Stormforce cover and while it's great for keeping the car dry as most of us know unless the car is spotlessly clean it will cause issues with scratching the paint when windy etc. I've even tried used a soft cover under it but still not super happy in doing so. 

 

As I don't have a garage storing the mini on my driveway is my only option at present and with winter approaching I want to build a custom framed cover that will not only keep the car dry, but hopefully scratch free.

 

So my idea is to use 25mm pvc piping to build a skeleton around the car, keeping it no larger the half a foot around the car and by using 90 and 45 degree bended joints follow the shape of the windscreen and bonnet as well. I have a trimmer who will then hopefully make a cover that will fit over this frame. I plan to have him put in 4 vents on each of the top corners of the cover similar to that on a traditional tent, but also to have the bottoms of the cover have zips on them so I can partially open them to allow air to flow freely around the inside of the cover too. To anchor it I'll have him stitch D rings on each corner too which I can then anchor to my driveway. The plan would only be to use this cover when I know there will be large amounts of rain coming, and when it's dry to remove the cover and bring it for weekly/fortnightly drives when the weather allows.

 

So I'm just looking for any thoughts or advise on building such a thing, and for any possible pitfalls I should look out for?

 

Cheers folks! 

[panky]

Take a look at the Trike home. It does just about what you are going to build and a Mini fits inside.

 

https://www.feelgood...RE9nSVRHRdcuyra

[Quinlan minor]

I don't know how you'd stand in Dublin but, round here (London), Council Planning issues may come into play.

Probably best to check first. Mate of mine had to remove his, after spending a fair chunk of money.

[rubdub]

Take a look at the Trike home. It does just about what you are going to build and a Mini fits inside.

 

https://www.feelgood...RE9nSVRHRdcuyra

 

Thanks for that Panky! Yeah I had been looking at those trike covers in the past, but as they are like 6ft+ in height I know there would be some nosey neighbours around me that would complain to the local council. Someone in an area near me had something similar for bikes, garden mowers etc and they had to remove it. So my thinking is that if I can build it myself and keep it a similar height and shape to the mini it might be easier for me to get away without any issues...

[rubdub]

I don't know how you'd stand in Dublin but, round here (London), Council Planning issues may come into play.

Probably best to check first. Mate of mine had to remove his, after spending a fair chunk of money.

Yeah it's a bit of a grey area at the moment.. I was just reading an article there from earlier in the year that the council was working on new plans that would allow bin sheds and bike garages for up to four bikes in front gardens so I'm hoping that would grant me a bit of leeway when it came to doing something for the mini too. My neighbours would be used to seeing a cover on the mini during the winter months.. so that's why my thinking is something that would not be too much bigger then the mini and follow the general shape of it as well.. worth a shot anyway I think.. especially if I'll only have it up during the worst weather.

[Ethel]

Galvanized steel pipe might not be much more expensive. The stuff with socketed corner joints you see used for handrails & trendy, brutalist, interior design. You could use a combination of both. Parking your wheels on part of the frame could be a good way of keeping it secure. 

[mm man]

Have you looked at outside carcoon ? 

[rubdub]

Galvanized steel pipe might not be much more expensive. The stuff with socketed corner joints you see used for handrails & trendy, brutalist, interior design. You could use a combination of both. Parking your wheels on part of the frame could be a good way of keeping it secure. 

Yeah I am thinking of using sandbags or anchoring the frame into the ground as well

 

Have you looked at outside carcoon ? 

I have but unfortunately my driveway is quite open, so aside from wanting to keep it fairly lowkey so the neighbours don't complain, I also don't want to entice some little scummers to put a knife through it... not that my area is unsafe or anything... lol  

Edited by rubdub, 07 August 2026 - 08:04 AM.

[stuart bowes]

PVC pipe will be really bendy, galv conduit would be more expensive and time consuing (you'd need a bender and threading tools unless you grind off the galv and weld it) or there's conlock bends but that's even more money and floor-fixing would need a bit of thought

 

unistrut might be worth considering for easier connectivity and cutting to length, you just use angled or straight connectors and a load of nuts and bolts, plus they supply specific brakets for floor or wall fixing. 

 

but then either way you still need some sort of fabric covering which is quite a large bit of fabric and a whole other set of skills to cut and shape and stitch together.,

 

In terms of price and ease of installation, I would consider a gazebo, in fact that's what we did put up: not necessarily this one.. but like this https://www.therange...shelter#1952488 ours was a lot pricier to be honest but it's lasted really well

 

then again that is at the back end of a long drive that goes down the side of the house, with a big lockable double + pedestrian gate in front of it 

 

that can be anchor bolted or chemset and studded to the floor, guy ropes can be added if you like (or if it's extra windy) and another plus point being you can have a nice space around the car to just unzip one side, walk in, do some work, leave and zip up again.  it's not garage-secure so I don't leave tools in there for any length of time, but it does protect the car from the elements, give working space around it, and easy to zip/unzip, and it's visibly obscured enough to leave a job half done for a few hours, walk away for a bit of lunch and not have to keep looking out the window all the time to make sure some scrote isn't mucking about with anything 

Edited by stuart bowes, 07 August 2026 - 10:19 AM.

[rubdub]

PVC pipe will be really bendy, galv conduit would be more expensive and time consuing (you'd need a bender and threading tools unless you grind off the galv and weld it) or there's conlock bends but that's even more money and floor-fixing would need a bit of thought

 

unistrut might be worth considering for easier connectivity and cutting to length, you just use angled or straight connectors and a load of nuts and bolts, plus they supply specific brakets for floor or wall fixing. 

 

but then either way you still need some sort of fabric covering which is quite a large bit of fabric and a whole other set of skills to cut and shape and stitch together.,

 

In terms of price and ease of installation, I would consider a gazebo, in fact that's what we did put up: not necessarily this one.. but like this https://www.therange...shelter#1952488 ours was a lot pricier to be honest but it's lasted really well

 

then again that is at the back end of a long drive that goes down the side of the house, with a big lockable double + pedestrian gate in front of it 

 

that can be anchor bolted or chemset and studded to the floor, guy ropes can be added if you like (or if it's extra windy) and another plus point being you can have a nice space around the car to just unzip one side, walk in, do some work, leave and zip up again.  it's not garage-secure so I don't leave tools in there for any length of time, but it does protect the car from the elements, give working space around it, and easy to zip/unzip, and it's visibly obscured enough to leave a job half done for a few hours, walk away for a bit of lunch and not have to keep looking out the window all the time to make sure some scrote isn't mucking about with anything 

Cheers for all that Stuart.. definitely a lot of food for thought! 

Yeah I'd love to have something that could work at a temporary workshop space as well, but unfortunately something like that just wouldn't work for the front garden I have. I'd like to start as stealthy as possible as if any of the neighbours complain to the council.. there's no coming back from it really..

Defo putting the PVC pipe idea in the bin now though and look for something more stable. Considering one of the Clarkes tents now, but just alter it to something more that I have in mind. Will require a fair bit of cutting of the frame and tent though... lol.. 

 

Thanks all! 

[Ethel]

There are joints for galv pipe just as there are for copper & plastic, only a greater range patterns.

 

Have to say I was impressed with Panky's trike shelter, it would be hard to beat on value even putting together your own. 

[panky]

It's about a snug as you can get

 

 Trike home.jpg   40.51K   0 downloads

 

 Trikehome3.jpg   23.4K   0 downloads

 

 Trikehome4.jpg   51.95K   0 downloads

[stuart bowes]

There are joints for galv pipe just as there are for copper & plastic, only a greater range patterns.

 

Have to say I was impressed with Panky's trike shelter, it would be hard to beat on value even putting together your own. 

 

ah you mean the handrail stuff, that's a bit bigger and definitely has more angles / adj. bends / footplates etc

 

I was thinking more of the 20 / 25mm galv conduit for wiring, which is probably cheaper to buy lengths of but less in the way of available attachments (because that's not what it's for, obviously) 

 

I'd still lean more towards unistrut if I was knocking something together just because it has that 'mechano' kind of design which would be easier to work with (inc. wall and floor fixing) , maybe 41x41 for the uprights and 41x21 for the lesser bracing and roof support, etc ?  

Edited by stuart bowes, 11 August 2026 - 08:40 AM.

[Ethel]

They do the structural stuff in 25mm too.

 

Conduit didn't occur to me, but it'd be even cheaper & could work if you got the kit to thread it. Though somewhere you won't be able to screw one joint in without unscrewing another 

[Landie]

They do the structural stuff in 25mm too.

 

Conduit didn't occur to me, but it'd be even cheaper & could work if you got the kit to thread it. Though somewhere you won't be able to screw one joint in without unscrewing another 

To join conduit together that cannot be turned to thread it on you use what is known as a running coupler or runner for short. The thread on the end of the conduit is 1/2 a coupler length, to join another piece without being able to turn it, you thread the end so it is 1 coupler length plus a lock ring width length. You screw on the lock ring followed by the coupler, butt the ends together and screw the coupler over the second piece so the the join is in the middle of the coupler and tighten the lock ring to stop it all coming apart. It's a bit of work but it does the job.