There is no doubt that the sun has a terrible adverse effect on both the exterior and interior of a car, therefore, parking the car directly under the sun may not be a good idea. however, how safe is parking your car under the shade of a tree, especially trees such as oaks on a windy day?
So, do car covers protect from acorns? Yes, they do to a good extent. When cars are parked overnight under an oak tree, there is a high likelihood that acorns from the tree will fall on the car during this time and damage the car’s exterior. Aside from acorns, walnuts, chestnuts, as well as hickory, can do the same.
Car covers are one of the ways to protect the car from dents caused by falling acorns and other nuts when the car is parked under trees that produce these nuts.
For this reason, it is best not to park under an oak tree especially during windy days, for a long duration, or during the September or October periods when they ripen up.
Do acorns cause significant damage to cars?
Oak trees are not present in every location on earth, there are however places where these trees predominate, example of such is north America and Mexico.
Even though these trees are known for providing good shades that protect your car from the direct effect of the sun’s rays, whenever is the season for fruit production, they could pose a significant threat to cars parked under them.
Except for people with limited parking space, parking under an oak tree could cause significant dents in your car from the falling acorns. The degree of this dent depends on the size of the acorn.
A moving car is more likely to suffer greater damage than a parked car. If you are living in a neighbourhood where it is not allowed to cut down trees, and you do not have the option of parking your car in a garage, then look for ways of protecting the exterior of your cars such as covering the car up with a thick breathable and waterproof car cover.
Your car may not suffer significant damage such as a crack in the windshield when acorns fall on it, but may suffer multiple dents and lost some of its resale values as a result. To maintain your car’s resale value, you must keep it protect4ed from hazardous situations such as falling acorns.
Trending Searches
- Do Car Seat Covers Void Warranty?
- Are Car Seat Covers Necessary?
- Can I Put Car Cover On When Car Is Wet?
- Do Car Covers Cause Paint To Bubble?
How to protect the car from acorn damage
While there may be many ways to protect the car from acorn damage, not all the methods have the same safety guarantee.
Depending on the size of the acorn, car cover for instance may not be considered as an effective way of protecting the car from acorns.
The size of acorns on the other hand depends on the species of oak tree that produces them. Here are some of the ways to protect your car from acorn damage
Car cover
This is perhaps the easiest way to protect your car from acorns as well as other harsh environmental conditions. Unlike other methods such as garage and canopies, covers do not cost much, no additional space is required, and can be installed easily without requiring anyone’s help.
Car covers come in different colors and designs, however, rather than paying attention to those, the thickness and other qualities such as waterproof and being breathable are of much significance.
Car covers can protect your car to a good extent from acorns, hail, snow, saps, dust, debris, bird droppings, and other environmental and weather conditions.
As regard acorns, the protection offered by car covers is not absolute, that is, if the acorn is of significant size, the car’s exterior may still suffer from a dent irrespective of the cover.
One of the possible drawbacks with car covers is that some may scratch the car’s paint especially when the car has some dirt on it before being covered up. Ensure to buy covers that are thick enough to give significant protection and are also paint-friendly.
Car garage
The garage is one of the permanent ways to ensure the car is well protected from acorns and other environmental conditions.
Depending on how many cars you intend to keep in the garage and the available space to build a garage, a garage may be attached to the house or detached from it, that is, standing on its own.
While a garage can effectively protect the car from acorns, walnuts, snows, rain, and other weather and environmental conditions, it may not be able to protect the car from dust and minor scratches and dents.
Therefore, the car should still be covered with a breathable and paint-friendly car cover even while parked in the garage.
Prune the oak trees
Using car covers may be cost-effective, they are however not recommended as the method of choice to protect your car from acorns.
They may be insignificant against large size acorns. If one is unable to cut down the entire oak tree, then, some of its branches should be pruned to prevent them from hanging directly over the parked car.
Pruning branches of an oak tree may be simple and easy and therefore can be done simply with a ladder and a chainsaw. However, if these branches are thick and large, it is best to pay an expert to cut them down.
The challenge however with this method is that it does not provide a permanent solution to the acorn problem as these branches will grow back after some time.
Build a carport
A semi-permanent way of protecting cars from acorns is by building a carport for your cars. This is a much better option than pruning the branches of oak trees.
It makes use of two supports or can be built against the wall. Its panel protects the car from incoming acorns as well as nuts, snow, rain, and other harsh weather conditions.
Build a canopy
Similar to a carport, canopies are a great way to keep the cars and trucks protected from damage by acorns. Yes, carports may be more durable than canopies, however, canopies are adequate in protecting cars from acorns and harsh weather conditions. It makes use of about four supports and provides a roof that keeps the cars safe from incoming acorns.
Car umbrella
One of the major advantages of using a car umbrella to protect your car over other methods listed above is its mobility.
The umbrella can be moved to any location easily. Therefore, a car umbrella can be used to keep the car safe and protect from falling nuts and other environmental conditions while camping in the woods or on a vacation or picnic.
They are usually impervious to water, that is, water-resistant and come at a much more affordable price than a carport or building a new garage for your car.
So, their general principle in protecting your car from acorns starts with ensuring the car is not parked under an oak tree in the first place, if it is, ensures it is not parked for a long time duration. The longer it stays under the tree, the greater the chances of a wild or strong wind leading to oak nuts falling on the car.
When cars are parked under a tree, ensure the car is washed as regularly as possible, to prevent stains from getting worse with time. also, waxing the car minimum of once a month may help to keep the car or truck protected from harsh environmental conditions.
The most protective way to protect your car or truck is by building an attached or detached garage for the car, while the most cost-effective method is simply by pruning the branches of the oak trees. As mentioned before, this can only buy you some time as the branches will soon grow back after some time.
Carports are considered more durable than parking your car under a canopy and car covers are the least recommended of these options when it comes to protecting your car from acorns or other nuts. They however do a great job at keeping dust, minor scratches, and dents away from the car.
How to repair acorn damage
Let’s say, you woke up in the morning after parking your nice ride under an oak tree the previous night and discover multiple dents on it from the acorns which fell during the night as a result of a strong wind, what can you do to get your car quickly fixed?
There are two available options when it comes to working the body of a car, the conventional method and the recently modern style known as paintless dent repair.
Usage of the paintless dent repair depends on the depth of the dent as well as the whether there is a crack in the car’s paint or not, that is, if the metal underneath the paint is exposed. Wil flexible paints, not much damage can be done to the car by falling acorns or other types of nuts.
The paintless dent repair method is the recommended method for being quick, simple, and affordable. Most insurance companies cover the cost of paintless dent repair.
Conclusion
Yes, car covers can protect the car to a considerable extent from incoming acorns, parking in the garage however does a better job.
Damages should be repaired using the paintless repair method rather than the traditional method which may waken the car’s body, remove its follow come protective cover, and yet is pricier.