Yahoo Finance The Best Tire Covers to Protect Your Rims and Rubber From the Elements
- 1/11
The Best Tire Covers to Protect Your Rims and Rubber From the Elements
Tire covers can increase the longevity of your rubber, and are an essential item if you’re storing a vehicle in the sun, enjoying your local RV park for an extended period of time, or keeping your spare out of the elements. Protecting your tires from the elements and especially harmful UV rays is crucial. After all, tires are the only interface between you and the road.
What to Consider
While tire covers may seem elementary in their function, there are many different models that can be used for different purposes. With so many to choose from, we focused on the most common: covers for spare tires—mounted to the rear of your vehicle—and slipcovers for use during vehicle storage or at the RV park.
First and foremost, it’s paramount to look for sturdy materials. Cheaper covers will use weaker fabrics like nylon, which are cost-effective but won’t last as long as superior materials. If you want your covers to survive more than a single season, look for more robust fabrics like polyester and vinyl. If you’re able to spend more, hard-plastic covers can offer better protection.
Should you opt for a softcover, you’ll want to take a look at the denier value of the fabric, which is a complex unit of measure for the thickness of the individual threads. For example: if a 9,000-meter long strand of fabric weighs in at 600 grams, it’s classified as 600D—most backpacks use 600D polyester. Higher numbers mean heavier and thicker threads, leading to a more robust fabric. Think of this like thread count for bedsheets, the higher the better.
However, the denier value isn’t the be-all-end-all of your decision. Manufacturers often apply coatings that add water resistance, durability, and protection from UV light and corrosion. The most common advantage is weather sealing, which will favor motorists who live in extreme climates with relentless wet/ winter conditions. However, should you be lucky enough to live in an area that remains hospitable throughout the year, coatings won't be as important.
Two other important things to look for are sizing and how the cover straps to your tire. This is paramount for spare tire covers that sit on the back of a moving vehicle, and it still pays to have your covers safely secured while stationary. At a minimum, you want an elastic band that hugs the tire. This will be acceptable for stationary vehicles, but won't withstand the airspeed of a moving vehicle. The most secure designs that I’ve seen use an elastic band at the top and an adjustable cinch at the bottom, which allows for easy fitment and a secure connection.
How We Selected
I used my experience as reviewer of automotive accessories and a lifelong car enthusiast, one who's rarely had the luxury to store my vehicle in a garage, to inform the selections below. In addition to relying on my personal experience, I researched the market, and included top picks from other trusted experts, including reviews from automotive sites such as the The Drive, and Car Bibles. I also looked at consumer reviews posted on brand sites and online retailers like Amazon. I based the recommendations below on each model's material, coating, quality, and price. Below are the five best covers to shield your wheels and tires while parked for extended periods of time, and five of the best spare tire covers.
Staff, Courtesy of EcoNour - 2/11
Kohree Tire Covers
Kohree
amazon.com
$29.99
Key Specs
- Material: Oxford
- Coating: PVC coating
- Compatibility: 26.75- to 29-inch tires
These covers from Kohree will be excellent for
winter-vehicle storage and RV camping. Sporting 600D oxford fabric, all four covers have a robust PVC coating for improved water resistance and durability. The real party piece of these protectors is how easy they are to install. An elasticized band around the top hem of the cover allows for an easy and secure fit every time. After you attach the cover to the top of the tire, the bottom can be taught using a removable bungee cord that fits through a pair of reinforced grommets.amazon.com - 3/11
Explore Land
Explore Land
amazon.com
$32.99
Key Specs
- Material: Vinyl
- Coating: UV resistant coating
- Compatibility: 23- to 42-inch tires
The clever technology that goes into a set of covers becomes null if
they don’t properly fit over your tires. That’s why I chose to include
this set from Explore Land, which comes in a vast range of sizes,
fitting tires that are as small as 23 inches in diameter, all the way up
to 42 inches—offering compatibility for cars, trucks, and even some
RVs. Despite its vinyl construction, the exterior has been treated with a water-resistant coating that adds durability and UV protection. Meanwhile, the inside features a soft backing to avoid scratching your wheels during installation.amazon.com - 4/11
AOOTF XE-XGJ-52
AOOTF
amazon.com
$36.99
Key Specs
- Material: Aluminum-linedVinyl
- Coating: UV-resistant coating
- Compatibility: 26- to 29-inch tires
Along with the reflective exterior, the interior of these covers from AAOTF is designed to keep your tires toasty warm and out of the elements. Along with being so visible, these units feature extra cold-weather protection underneath. Built using aluminum-lined vinyl, each bag features a thick layer of fleece underneath to keep your rubber protected from winter's bite. This cold weather protection is aided by a simple and secure fitting mechanism with an elastic band at the top and a series of hooks to wrap around the bottom. AOOTF also includes a drawstring bag to neatly store the covers when they’re not in use. As an added bonus, the kit comes with four aluminum valve caps, four valve cores, and a four-way valve tool—used to remove/install valve cores, re-tap threads, ream the inside valve stem, and deflate your tires.
amazon.com - 5/11
EcoNour Eco Tire Cover
EcoNour
amazon.com
$37.99
Key Specs
- Material: Vinyl
- Coating: UV and water resistant
- Compatibility: 31 to 33-inch tires
Built using vinyl with a treated barrier underneath, these will provide some level of water resistance. The closing mechanism is similar as well, featuring a simple system with an elastic top section with a series of hooks at the bottom that fit into steel grommets. These may not be the best for extreme conditions but could prove to be perfect for storing vehicles outdoors for an extended period of time.
amazon.com - 6/11
Kurgo K00036
$56.95
Key Specs
- Material: Not Listed
- Coating: N/A
- Compatibility: 22- to 31-inch tires
These tire totes from Kurgo are designed for drivers who have a spare set of winter tires. Whether you’re swapping from summer to winter rubber or vice versa, these bags will keep your tires protected during the off season. While the covers can accommodate tires after they’ve been stripped from your rims, Kurgo also sells optional felt pads to protect your wheels if they’re still fitted onto a dedicated set of wheels and tires. This protection allows you to store the tires, even when mounted on wheels, on top of one another to save space.
- 7/11
Moonet STC123
MOONET
amazon.com
$20.99
Key Specs
- Material: Synthetic Leather
- Coating: Waterproof
- Compatibility: 27-30 inch tires
While most OEMs make high-quality covers for their vehicles, those can be expensive and sometimes difficult to find. To offer some perspective, a factory replacement for a Jeep tire cover can cost $65 or more. That’s why this cover from Moonet is a great option if you’ve bought a used vehicle with a missing cover, but you don’t want to shell out the cash for an original replacement. Sure, its untreated synthetic-leather construction may not hold up as well to extreme conditions, but for $20, it’s hard to compete with the value.
amazon.com - 8/11
Offroading Gear TNCVR-FD65F2
Offroading Gear
amazon.com
$42.99
Key Specs
- Material: Polyester
- Coating: UV resistant
- Compatibility: Up to 37-inch tires
Tire covers were probably the last place you’d expect to add serious levels of utility right? Wrong. While this unit doesn't shroud the entire spare, it does add functionality. Aimed at hardcore overlanders that go through tires well before their sell-by date, this gear bag adds 15 gallons of storage space. Built using UV-treated 900D polyester—also sporting double-stitched seams—this bag feels hefty enough to outlast your vehicle. While it offers the ability to be mounted inside, it’s clear that this behemoth was designed to be strapped to the back of your spare tire using the included buckles and straps. Offroad Gear also includes a D-ring to allow the bag to be strapped to other areas of your overland runabout. In the rare case that something does go wrong, the bag is backed by a 1-year warranty.
amazon.com - 9/11
Boomerang RG-JK30
Boomerang
amazon.com
$109.95
Key Specs
- Material: Plastic/Vinyl
- Coating: N/A
- Compatibility: 29- or 32-inch tires
With limited compatibility for specific Jeep Wrangler JK models, this cover brings the impact protection of a hardcover with the adjustability of a softcover. Featuring a mix of high-quality materials, it’s no surprise that this product is the most expensive on the list. Available in 29 and 32-inch diameters, the Boomerang is limited in terms of the size of tires that it can accommodate. The former will fit standard 225/75R16 tires that come with the Base/Sport models, while the latter will fit just about any 255 to 265-section tire up to 265/70R17.
amazon.com - 10/11
MOONET QB254
MOONET
amazon.com
$39.99
Key Specs
- Material: Vinyl
- Coating: Waterproof
- Compatibility: 32-inch tires
While you might think it was a silly idea for an automaker to position a backup camera right where someone might mount a tire cover, there aren’t many alternatives. That’s why this cover from Moonet sports a small letterbox to allow for continued use of the backup cam. A simple addition, but you’d be surprised how many third-party manufacturers leave the area covered up. Even with the camera mod, this unit appears surprisingly easy to install; all that’s required is to remove the factory backup cam cover, which is replaced by the one that’s connected to the cover itself—for select JL models from 2018 to 2020. I hear you DIY people laughing in the background, but for many, this will be another easy replacement for a missing/damaged OEM cover.
amazon.com - 11/11
ADCO 9752
ADCO
amazon.com
$29.50
Key Specs
- Material: Vinyl
- Coating: UV and cold-weather
- Compatibility: 29-inch tires
This tire cover is rugged in every sense of the word. Featuring UV and cold-crack-treated vinyl in its construction, it can hold up to the worst that nature can throw at it. The ADCO also features a drain hole to eliminate moisture build up, which can lead to mold growth and other nastiness. This specific unit is sized for 34-inch tires, but there are other options to choose from that range from as small as 21.5 inches. The diamond-plated steel pattern is a nice touch that adds some style to this cover's functionality.
amazon.com
