Questions
What protects car windows from hail?
Four ways people protect a vehicle's windows from hail, what each one covers, and then every question buyers ask about WHIP.
The four usual answers
Covered parking
A garage or carport protects the whole vehicle, roof and windshield included. It is the best answer when you have one, and no help on the road, at work or away from home.
Padded hail covers and blankets
A padded cover goes over the whole vehicle, so it reaches the roof, hood and windshield. It takes time to put on and strap down, and a cover that is not tied down well can lift in strong wind.
Window film
Safety film can help hold glass together once it breaks. It is not a barrier, and large hail can still break the window behind it.
WHIP door window guard
A rigid, clear, double-pane polycarbonate panel you build yourself, that hangs over and into one door frame and takes the hit before the glass does. About fifteen minutes on and five off, it stays on the closed door when you drive, and nothing is modified on the vehicle. It protects the area beneath the panel, most of that door's window and a small part of the door, not the roof, hood or windshield, and the glass may still break.
WHIP is for the door windows, when the vehicle has to be out in the storm: a chaser on the road, a responder heading in, a family leaving ahead of a hurricane. See WHIP MK I, or see the hail size chart.
Buying, fitting and using WHIP
Buying and fitting
Does one license cover the whole vehicle?
No. One license covers one door: the area beneath the panel, which is most of that door's window and a small part of the door. Protecting more doors means one license per door, each with its own serial-numbered certificate. It does not cover the roof, hood, windshield, paint or body, and the glass beneath it may still break.
Does it fit my truck?
EVAC's documents set two limits: the door needs three straight edges large enough to hang the hooks and straps on, and the panel can be no larger than 36 by 36 inches. The document is drawn around a 2015 Ford F-150, and you make a pattern of your own door from it. If either limit is in doubt for your vehicle, ask before you buy.
What exactly do I receive?
A document: the procurement and assembly instructions and parts list, licensed to you, with your name and order reference on every page. You buy the parts and build the guard yourself. A serial-numbered certificate sticker arrives by certified mail.
What does it cost, all in?
The license is $99 per door. The document's parts list totals $633.28 for one panel, and its cleaning supplies and tools come to about $84 more if you own none of them. Several parts come in multi-packs, so later doors cost less in small parts.
How long does it take to put on?
About fifteen minutes on and five minutes off, one person, no tools. It hangs over and into the door frame with the doors latched, and nothing is modified on the vehicle.
Can I drive with it on?
Yes. WHIP is made to stay on the closed door, with the door latched, through high-wind weather: storm protection that rides with you. It has no certified wind rating and has not been tested by an engineering authority for wind speed, so use at higher speeds is at your own risk. If it ever blocks your view, take it off.
What does it protect against?
Hail and windborne debris thrown by destructive weather, from hailstorms to hurricanes. It protects the area beneath the panel. It is not bullet resistant and it is not wind rated.
Can I share the document?
No. It is licensed to you, one license per door, and every copy is stamped with the buyer's name. You may post photos of your finished panels and your storm stories in the forum, but never the document or its parts list.
Who builds it?
You do, from the WHIP MK I document, which EVAC, a Beaufort, South Carolina company, licenses one door at a time. It lists every part and tool you need.
Can I cover more than one door?
Yes. Each door is its own license, with its own stamped document and serial-numbered certificate.
What ships?
Only your certificate sticker, by certified mail. WHIP MK I is a document: you buy the parts and build the guard yourself.
Can a town department use it?
Not yet. WHIP MK I is licensed for personal use. Departments can tell Ken what they would need on the emergency services page.
Where you live
Can I put it on when a hurricane watch is issued?
That is what it is for: about fifteen minutes on, one person, no tools. It hangs over and into the door frame with the doors latched. It is not wind rated, and the agreement says so plainly.
Does salt air affect it?
The kit stores in its bag between storms. Keep it dry and out of direct sun and it stores the way any outdoor gear does.
What about the glass below the panel?
The panel covers most of the window and part of the door. The agreement is honest that it may not cover every inch of glass.
Can I keep it on for a whole storm season?
It is quick on and quick off on purpose. It is designed to go on for the watch and come off after, back in its bag.
Is it a tornado shelter for the vehicle?
No. It is built for what a storm throws at the doors and glass. It is not wind rated and the agreement says so.
Does it help with storm surge?
No. It is built for hail, debris and weather-driven projectiles at the doors and glass, not for water.
How fast does it come off?
About five minutes, and it slides into its own carrying bag.
Will it fit a full-size SUV?
If the door has three straight edges large enough for the hooks and straps, and the panel fits within 36 by 36 inches, yes. You pattern the panel to that door from the document.
Does the heat affect the kit?
Store it in its bag out of direct sun between storms, the way you would any outdoor gear.
Does it help in a dust storm?
It is built for hail, debris and weather-driven projectiles at the doors and glass. Blown grit is debris. It is not a seal and it is not wind rated.
How much warning does a monsoon storm give?
Often under an hour. Fifteen minutes on, one person, no tools.
Does it help in winter?
It is built for hail, debris and weather-driven projectiles. Ice and wind-blown debris are in that. It does not seal the vehicle and is not wind rated.
Can I keep it in the truck?
It stores in its own carrying bag. It is a rigid panel, so plan a flat place for it, out of direct sun.
How long does it take to put on in the cold?
About fifteen minutes, one person, no tools.
Is it for rain?
It is built for hail, debris and weather-driven projectiles. It does not seal the vehicle against water.
Can it stay on for a week of storms?
It is not built to stay on. EVAC's documents say it is not for permanent mounting and that time in the sun wears the polycarbonate, so put it on for the warning and take it off after.
How is it stored?
In its own bag, dry, out of direct sun.
Does it fit a work van?
If the van's door has three straight edges large enough for the hooks and straps, and the panel fits within 36 by 36 inches, it can. Ask EVAC before you buy if you are unsure.
Does it work in the snow?
It is built for hail, debris and weather-driven projectiles, including ice and wind-blown debris. It does not seal the vehicle.
Is street parking a problem?
No. It hangs over and into the door frame on the vehicle itself. Nothing is fixed to the ground or the curb.
Storm seasons
What size hail is it built for?
The agreement says hail, debris and weather-driven projectiles without a size rating. The proof page lists the sizes people recognize, from pea to baseball.
Can I put it on in the rain?
Yes. About fifteen minutes, one person, no tools.
Does it carry a wind-speed rating?
No. The agreement says there is no certified wind-speed rating. It is built for the debris a storm throws, not for the wind itself.
When should it go on?
When the watch is issued. It comes off in about five minutes when the storm has passed.
What about the windshield?
The kit covers most of the window glass and part of the door, and the agreement says the glass may still break. The windshield, hood and roof are outside what it covers.
Is it worth putting on for a watch that comes to nothing?
Fifteen minutes on and five off, and it goes back in the bag. It is designed to go on for the watch and come off after.
What counts as severe weather here?
Anything that throws hail, debris or weather-driven projectiles at a vehicle: squall lines, derechos, downslope wind, winter ice with wind.
Can it stay on overnight?
It is built to go on for a watch or a storm and come back off, not to live on the vehicle. EVAC's own build document says it is not for permanent mounting, and that time in the sun wears the polycarbonate. Put it on when the watch is issued, take it off once the weather clears.
Does it fit a car?
It can, within two limits in EVAC's documents: the door needs three straight edges large enough to hang the hooks and straps on, and the panel can be no larger than 36 by 36 inches. The document is drawn around a full-size pickup, and you pattern the panel to your own door.