Install CarCover on a DayZ server and check saved vehicles
Use CarCover to wrap a supported vehicle in a camo net or tarp. Install its server and client files and register the cover types, then leave a disposable covered vehicle through a restart. Compare cargo, fluids and key access after uncovering it before introducing the feature to community vehicles.
Hunterz’s CarCover, Workshop item 2303483532, is the original package. We checked a listing whose latest visible update was 20 July 2024. The author describes restoration of saved vehicles; compatibility with your DayZ build and other mods requires its own test. Use this procedure for Steam PC.
Keep a recovery set and select the test vehicle
Section titled “Keep a recovery set and select the test vehicle”Stop the service and preserve a recovery set through the backup procedure. Include the mission, world storage, profiles, packages, signing keys and launch settings. Write down the test vehicle’s class and position, damage, fluids, attachments, nested cargo and assigned key. Begin with a disposable vanilla vehicle before checking each modded model.
List the systems handling vehicle keys, trader purchases, garages and territories. The cover object must carry the state those systems need when the vehicle returns. Keep its assigned key system loaded during the test. Review MuchCarKey’s ownership rules or Expansion’s vehicle rules for the installed integration.
Install CarCover on the server and clients
Section titled “Install CarCover on the server and clients”Select item 2303483532 in VXPanel Mods and give it a client-required binding using the documented dependency and binding controls. Players need the object definitions added by CarCover on their clients as well as on the server.
For a manual installation, save the package in the launch argument’s target folder. Copy the supplied .bikey to the server’s keys directory, then add its folder to the current argument:
"-mod=@CarCover"Use your deployed folder name in that argument. Preserve signature verification and the other loaded mods, and join with the matching client release. Keep the startup log and package revision with the test record before editing the configuration.
Find the generated vehicle-to-cover configuration
Section titled “Find the generated vehicle-to-cover configuration”Inspect the active profiles directory after loading CarCover. Its author describes a generated vehicle-to-cover mapping with model offsets. The author-linked RFFS cover addon names CarCover/CarCover.json in profiles. Compare that documented location with the file generated by your release and the configured -profiles directory.
Save the generated file as the baseline. Check that both the selected vehicle class and its mapped cover class exist in the loaded packages, then inspect the model offsets on level ground. A JSON mapping needs those game classes and their cover geometry to support the vehicle.
The author’s route for an unsupported vehicle is an addon containing its cover model and a class derived from CarCoverBase. Choose an addon for your exact vehicle and load its stated dependencies. Keep CarCover in its original package, as the author prohibits repacking.
Register the cover economy and check lifetimes
Section titled “Register the cover economy and check lifetimes”Take the example types.xml from the CarCover release you installed. Its definitions cover persistence and the winter camo-net/tarp items. Save the complete selected file as carcover_ce/carcover_types.xml in the active test mission, and compare earlier imports to give each cover class one intended definition.
Keep the existing registrations in cfgeconomycore.xml and insert this block within its <economycore> root:
<ce folder="carcover_ce"> <file name="carcover_types.xml" type="types" /></ce>Check that the registration’s folder and filename identify the saved mission file. Parse both complete XML documents before transferring them. Use the modded-loot checks to review imported definitions; check natural cover spawning separately.
Inspect the cover type and the selected vehicle’s active type definition. CarCover’s author recommends 3888000 seconds, 45 days for vehicles, which you can compare with your community’s retention policy. Verify the installed definitions rather than applying the listing’s older three-second vanilla statement to the current fleet.
If that is your chosen retention duration, change the vehicle’s existing lifetime field and keep its other type settings:
<lifetime>3888000</lifetime>Leave the configured duration in the test record and observe retention for the required period. A successful restart checks restoration for that session; you still need to observe the vehicle over the configured period to check a 45-day expiry rule. For a missing cover, inspect its registered type, lifetime and saved world before adjusting vehicle spawn targets.
Review keys, territory permissions and cover addons
Section titled “Review keys, territory permissions and cover addons”Exercise the vehicle’s assigned key system through a cover/uncover cycle. The original listing names Trader keys, MuchCarKey and TraderPlus CarLock; it directs Expansion users to a compatibility addon. This review could not inspect that Expansion-addon link. Establish the current addon and its instructions before opening that combination to players.
The RFFS Heli CarCover Addon, item 2741527521, adds covers for listed RedFalcon Heliz models. It requires CarCover and names DeathZoneUK.bikey for signing. Check the types and configuration examples in EXTRAS against your fleet and CarCover release: the visible addon update is 21 June 2023.
Retain your current generated configuration before comparing the addon’s replacement for profiles/CarCover/CarCover.json. Merge the required mappings only after resolving schema differences, since a 2023 full replacement can lose newer models or settings. Check the referenced vehicle and cover classes. Install the underlying helicopters through the Heliz package and spawn procedure.
For a server running Basic Territories, identify its active cover/uncover permission setting using that release’s instructions. The CarCover author requires this setup. Compare an owner’s actions with an unapproved player’s actions before enabling the feature. Use normal accounts; an administrator’s access won’t check their permissions.
Test covering, restart recovery and population
Section titled “Test covering, restart recovery and population”Prepare the disposable vehicle with recorded damage and fluid levels, known attachments and a marked item inside a cargo container. Apply the mapping’s camo net or tarp and compare the vehicle after uncovering. Repeat the comparison after leaving it covered through a normal stop/start of the same world.
| Check | Result to record |
|---|---|
| Cover and uncover | Inspect the returned model’s position and usable geometry |
| Cargo and nested inventory | Recheck each marked item, its container and the fitted attachments and condition |
| Fluids and vehicle damage | Measure the returned state against the saved before/after record |
| Matching key and wrong key | Attempt locking, cargo use and engine start with each player’s key |
| Territory owner and unapproved player | Exercise the selected cover and uncover permission for each actor |
| Restart while covered | Inspect the same vehicle and saved contents after uncovering it following startup |
| Restored recovery copy | Recover the test with a matching world, profiles and package set |
Observe the selected event while counting both covered objects and uncovered vehicles. Use that record and the vehicle-population procedure before changing a target. The author recommends reviewing spawn rates; choose a change from the fleet you measure, one event setting per test. This guide does not test whether CarCover improves performance.
Diagnose a failed cover or recover an update
Section titled “Diagnose a failed cover or recover an update”| Symptom | Inspect first |
|---|---|
| Cover action is absent | Check the mapping and required material on a supported vanilla vehicle with matching client files |
| Cover disappears after restart | Trace the cover’s type and lifetime through the loaded mission registration and saved world |
| Cargo, damage or keys change on uncover | Use the before/after record to isolate the test world’s vehicle, key system and addon |
| New models are absent after updating | Retain the old settings, then compare regenerated mappings with the update’s types |
| Vehicle fleet increases beyond its target | Measure event-owned vehicles and covered objects before adjusting the event |
The older change notes call for updated types and regenerated settings when certain models are added. Preserve the current configuration, obtain a fresh baseline in the test world and diff the supported custom mappings you reapply. Keep the populated world’s original configuration available for recovery.
Uncover the affected vehicles with the working packages and verify their saved state before following the removal procedure. Retain the recovery copy from before removal. If an update fails, stop the service and recover its matching packages, profiles, economy and world as one set, saving the failed state and session logs.
Sources and verification
Section titled “Sources and verification”This guide used AI-assisted research and drafting. On 3 October 2026 we reviewed the original CarCover listing and change notes and the visible author-linked RFFS addon instructions, then parsed the printed XML fragments. The current package, generated JSON, cover interactions, keys and saved recovery remain untested. Rehearse those acceptance steps in a separate world using your actual game and mod releases before changing community vehicles.