Need help coming up with a solution...

4u2nvinmtl

New member
Hey Guys and Gals,

I`m officially at my wits end with the trees dropping stuff onto my paint (daily parking outdoors in general). So I`m looking for any new creative solutions fellow Autopia`s may have come up with in similar circumstances (more brains are better than one).

I moved into a house without a garage about 1 year ago now and the battle to keep my car clean has progressively gotten more challenging. Whether it`s the trees dripping stuff, the birds coping a squat, or the next door neighbors using rattle cans to paint stuff, my car is always filthy in a few days.

Now that I`ve coated the entire car I figured my worries would be over but actually it`s the contrary. I find my coating gets clogged up (if you will) every other week with organic contaminants from the trees above that requires an aggressive wash (APC or IAP) to get the coating back to like-new.

I`m not looking for a special LSP I`m looking for a permanent solution.

So far I`ve tried:
· Asking around for a garage space (none available)
· Posted a Kijiji ad up for the entire year (one person got back to be about a garage space 3 miles from my house)
· Contacted the city about installing a Carport (not allowed unless it`s in my backyard - crazy)
· Put up a winter car tent called a "Tempo" during the winter (not allowed to keep it up between March-November unless it`s the back yard - crazy)
· Building a garage is also out of the question as I don`t own the home (owner said he`s going to put one in when they move back in)

Considering:
· Car cover (I really don`t want put one on and take it off every day, not to mention the damage it will cause to the paint)
· Build a ramada/arbor with a removable top (four posts with supports, and some kind of waterproof cloth on top)
· Get a huge tent and just say it`s urban camping for my car (really running out of ideas)
· Install some kind of canopy hanging from the trees to redirect rain and anything dripping from the trees (really crazy but technically it`s within the silly bi-laws)
· Cut down the trees (already have been told it`s against the law but strongly considering take the fine at this point. Owner may disagree)
· Build a driveway to the back yard and just put something up in the back yard (wife will likely Veto this one as we have a pool in the back yard that requires a fence around the yard)
· Garage the car at a friends house and buy another daily driver that I can leave outside (considering this but even my mom`s new Ford Fusion is disappointing to drive at best)
· Move to a place with a garage (kind of out of the question considering we moved in just 1 year ago)

Problems:
· I don`t own the house
· The trees shouldn`t be cut down
· Backyard is kind of out of the question
· I can`t build any permanent structures
· Temporary structures only permitted in the back yard (except during winter)

I thought I could live with parking outdoors but I just can`t anymore. I`m currently parked, on the street far away from the trees but it`s kind of crazy not to park in my the driveway.

Photos...


Google street view of the front of the house (yeah it`s small house but it`s got 3 floors):


Daily scene when I arrive home from work:





The trees:


Example on my friend’s paint of the tree drippings (much more obvious on this color):
 
that sucks man

I don`t have a solution for you

Me personally, I cut down the tree that was pissing me off in front of my house and never looked back- but its MY house.

hell, I also uprooted a bush in my APT complex one night way back in the day because the drift was killing me on my black SRT- lol

I hate to see a fellow SRT owner having those issues

how much is the fine?
 
It sounds like you`ve exhausted all options really. I`d say tough it out and start looking for a new place.
 
I would install a CR Spotless system and just hose it off and go inside every night. A good coating will rinse more or less clean.
 
how much is the fine?

I`m not sure, but I`m sure it`s something reasonable like 57$ (it`s Canada and we got no shortage of trees).

Going to check with my in-laws/landlord to get their approval first.

We`ll only be here another year or two so worse case scenario I just live with it.
 
I was leaning towards poisoning the trees and getting the city to cut them down but it just doesn`t feel right. The last thing I`d want to do is start Ford McMurrary fire part 2.

Sustainable source of energy :D

And unless you`re in CA, it doesn`t pollute too bad........
 
Amigo --

You have a coating, you need to be washing it with CarPro Reset only, to keep it really clean and working at its best.. You are probably already doing this...

Having lived in California pretty much all my adult life minus a decade in the Pacific Northwest - and even there - I have had at least 6 different car covers on as many vehicles, and from decades of experiences with them, there is nothing better for protecting paint if its going to be outside all the time...

Car covers have evolved long ago from big thick cotton or cotton blend things to really light almost parachute type fabric that is easy to put on, take off, and store when not in use..

The good ones have great elastic that helps hold it on the vehicle tighter and can have a place on the sides of them where you can run a plastic covered cable through under the vehicle to the other side to lock in on the vehicle...

The good ones have great mirror pockets sewn in and some have a hole for external antennas to stick out of...

Yes, it would take a little time to install one on a Grand Cherokee - I know because I have an `09 GC too...
But it can be done and I am absolutely the SME to talk to about how to install it, take it off, wash it, and all the new words you will need to use when its windy..:)

What I can promise you, is that when you see your beautiful SRT8 every day, the cover will have all that gaga on it and the vehicle will be pristine underneath...

Let me know if you decide to go there, and I will help you further...

Good Luck !
Dan F
 
1978 for those that remember, his car was a Tbird if I remember right.

attachment.php


Dan Tanna is a private investigator in the gambling town of Las Vegas, Nevada. Las Vegas can be seedy or glamorous, depending upon the point of view. This show is also notable for perhaps the only known portrayal of a house with a "drive-in" living room.

Dave
 

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1978 for those that remember, his car was a Tbird if I remember right.

attachment.php


Dan Tanna is a private investigator in the gambling town of Las Vegas, Nevada. Las Vegas can be seedy or glamorous, depending upon the point of view. This show is also notable for perhaps the only known portrayal of a house with a "drive-in" living room.

Dave


Loved that show
 
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