How To stop car park dents

[willwander]

Park next to skinny posh people who don’t have baby seats in the back.

 

[CaliforniaBen]

Get out and enjoy yours vans instead of all this worrying, I have a fair few dents and scratches on mine already, yes it was annoying but they can all be repaired one day if I wanted too, I prefer to have a few bits of damage anyway as it gives the van some uniqueness

It's a campervan at the end of the day and not a Ferrari

 

[Borris]

Leave yr Cali on the drive then you will never get a door dink.
has a secondary benefit, you will never be involved in any RTA if you don’t take it out on the road.
Put a cover over it so you don’t get any bird poop either.
Another benefit, very low mileage.
Or stop fretting over the small stuff get out and enjoy what you drive

A somewhat sarcastic response to the OP's question. He/she is asking for ways to protect their Cali from unnecessary expensive damage. They have clearly indicated that they want to avoid the "small stuff" whilst presumably using their vehicle to the full.

 

[CaliforniaBen]

A somewhat sarcastic response to the OP's question. He/she is asking for ways to protect their Cali from unnecessary expensive damage. They have clearly indicated that they want to avoid the "small stuff" whilst presumably using their vehicle to the full.

Maybe carry some temporary fencing like they use at roadworks and some bollards to put around the van each time you park

 

[pjm-84]

This helps

 

[Borris]

Maybe carry some temporary fencing like they use at roadworks and some bollards to put around the van each time you park

And just how exactly is this response supposed to help the OP?

 

[Californication69]

It gets used, don’t worry about that, had it two weeks and drive to and from Paris for a job last week. 85mph there and back. Lovely drive.
I think I’ll get some plastic door number things colour coded and stuck on.
The brain dead zombies can bash their door against the plastic bits.
Thanks all.

 

[Californication69]

This helps

View attachment 68310

The plastic door bits I think are the best bet.

 

[Californication69]

Maybe carry some temporary fencing like they use at roadworks and some bollards to put around the van each time you park

 

[westfalia]

I always put my fenders on seems to work.

 

[Stu@rt]

I always put my fenders on seems to work.

View attachment 68320

Love it !

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

I always put my fenders on seems to work.

View attachment 68320

Haha

 

[2into1]

You could get a T5 Cali where these came as standard. Not everything improves as Cali's develop....
They were just stuck on with 3m foam tape. Might be a better match than the 3rd party ones??

 

[Californication69]

Yep, that’s exactly what I’m after.
love the boatbouys

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

 

[tedgina]

What’s the best way to stop the side of the Cali being dented by other car doors that are used by Zombie heads / normal people accidentally losing grip on other car door handles whilst opening / drug users / people / kids / animals / A.N. Other in car parks ?
Need a vote type chat thingy.
Side plastic rubbing strips. Colour coded.
Large round chrome bar running boards
Running boards
Foot steps
Chrome strips. (VW or eBay ?)
Any other suggestions ?

this is what we put on ours

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

this is what we put on ours

View attachment 68325

View attachment 68326

They don’t look bad. Where did you get them?
Billy Ocean on Tour

 

[tedgina]

They don’t look bad. Where did you get them?
Billy Ocean on Tour

bought from here

View larger
Previous

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Volkswagen Transporter T5 (SWB) Door Side Protection Mouldings
Condition: New product
Volkswagen Transporter Caravelle Multivan T-5 (2003-Onwards, incl. facelift)
Short Wheel Base (SWB)
Side Protection Mouldings (Complete Set)

 

[Elly Swanson]

Don’t park near the trolley bays.

 

[Trebor]

These are the my Cali parking tips:
1. Never use a parking bay between two other vehicles even if it's the last space. That exposes your vehicle to maximum risk.
2. Always park at the far end of the car park away from the entrance. Most people will park as close to the entrance to the supermarket or attraction as they can.
3. Never park next to any vehicle that's parked higher up the slope. If someone lets go of a door it's likely to hit your Cali.
4. Never park at the bottom of a sloping carpark. Any run away trolleys are likely to head straight for your van.
5. If parking at night always try and park under a street light and not in some dark unlit place.
6. Try to avoid school runs in your Cali. A significant number of the mums either don't care about cars, yours, theirs or anyone elses, can't or won't park carefully and are usually in a hurry with their minds elsewhere. Also they are dropping off offspring that are either unaware, careless or too small to control the weight of a car door. Having suffered expensive damage to our Cali I now use a cheap battered fifteen year old banger for school runs.
7. Never park near to any vehicle that has a comprehensive collection of minor bodywork damage. Either the driver can't drive properly or just doesn't care.
8. Try to limit risk by picking a corner spot at the far end of the carpark or single parallel parking bay.
9. Park it as if you've abandoned it, semi diagonally so that it takes up one and a half bays. Only in a carpark where there's plenty of free space.
10. Don't park near the recycling area where there will be plenty of traffic.
11. Once youv'e picked your corner spot you will have protected at least two sides. Limit the cost of repairs by leaving the o/s exposed as that should be the cheaper side to have minor damage repaired.
12. If poss leave someone in the vehicle to glare at drivers tempted to park near your van. If they have the features of a rabid Rottweiler then that could be an advantage. Or stay in the Cali whilst they shop.
13. If someone starts to park very close to you, turn on the ignition to activate to the dash cam and horn just in case. They should then also be aware that there will be a witness.
14. If you have to park next to other vehicles look for something shiny new and expensive. The chances are they won't want to bang their doors either.

Alternatively ignore all of the above and carry on regardless. Expect the odd dings, dents and scrapes. Don't bother checking the windscreen for a note admitting guilt and given a name and contact details as that rarely, if ever happens.

I thought I was the only one Boris ! Yacht Club car parks are just as bad . Oh and I have an older Smart car which is win win .

 

[Wogga]

Don't shop at ASDA and if you do go early.

 

[ArunAlec]

I do agree BUT is it really worth the stress on your health every time you go out to somewhere that requires parking ? It is something we have no control over, I have parked in what I thought was best position in a car park yet I still come back to a £100 rust bucket parked next to me .

My daily runarounds have tended to be older ”past their prime” cars that I don’t worry about and it’s quite liberating to be able to park anywhere and not worry.... When I did collect a fairly bad car park crunch it was almost uplifting to phone the driver (they left a note under my wiper) and tell them not to worry. Having said that, I do spend ages looking for “safe” parking spaces when driving the Cali or my ”toy”. SWMBO doesn’t always appreciate the extended walk across the car park.

 

[ArunAlec]

I thought I was the only one Boris ! Yacht Club car parks are just as bad . Oh and I have an older Smart car which is win win .

Digressing ... watching people mooring (once you are safely alongside) is quite entertaining

 

[Borris]

It gets used, don’t worry about that, had it two weeks and drive to and from Paris for a job last week. 85mph there and back. Lovely drive.
I think I’ll get some plastic door number things colour coded and stuck on.
The brain dead zombies can bash their door against the plastic bits.
Thanks all.

Oh and avoid parking in Paris. The Parisian "touch parking" technique involves owning a small car and using it as a low speed battering ram to get into a parking space that's clearly too small. The average Parisian seems to treat their car with utter contempt and it's almost a fashion statement to drive a small car with every panel bashed or scraped. My sister in law lives just outside Paris and I used to think she was a useless driver as her car looks like that one from Father Ted. However, it seems to be an accepted practice in that city.

 

[ArunAlec]

Oh and avoid parking in Paris. The Parisian "touch parking" technique involves owning a small car and using it as a low speed battering ram to get into a parking space that's clearly too small. The average Parisian seems to treat their car with utter contempt and it's almost a fashion statement to drive a small car with every panel bashed or scraped. My sister in law lives just outside Paris and I used to think she was a useless driver as her car looks like that one from Father Ted. However, it seems to be an accepted practice in that city.

Best not to leave car in gear or handbrake on too hard!