Portable Garage

[hdttm]

Hi All

Just wondering what experience you might have (good, bad or otherwise) with portable garages. In my area Shelter logic seems to be a popular brand.

I'm going to have to evict a things from my garage for the winter so the Scambler and bikes can stay toasty warm. Size-wise I'm going to need about 10X20 for my tractor and a few other things. I'm kind of limited by width in the area I want to put it, so 12' wide may not even be doable.

I'm a little behind the 8 ball right now as the ground is probably frozen, and working out of town all year hasn't left a lot of time to get things organized, but finally going home tomorrow!!!

Thanks for any input

 

[craveman85]

I've never had one personally but up here in the snowy Adirondacks of ny they don't last very long. If you don't keep snow off them they'll bend the frame and collapse. I spent about 1000 on a used 12x20 carport with a much heavier frame and corrugated steel roofing. I put exterior plywood on it for walls. If you do keep the portable ones cleaned off the canvas seems to go about 3 years tops.

 

[Kim Dawson]

Not too easy to move around, but a cargo box or storage container like trucks haul around would be solid and the short ones are about 20 feet long. The snow won't crush it and you can lock it up securely.

 

[hdttm]

Thanks for the replies

We get a good amount of snow too, and I'm thinking one of the higher pitched roofs or rounded style would shed snow (especially with the wind), and I'm thinking this will be temporary - maybe for 2 winters and by then I'll have something more permanent. Good thought on the storage/conex type box Kim, but I don't think my tractor would fit unfortunately.

 

[craveman85]

I forgot about those. 53' semi trailers are popular in my area. But so is dating cousins and using broken down cars as dog houses.

 

[jammer1]

You probably would be able to get the tractor in one of the boxes. When My old boss shut down and went to Ireland we sent 3 or 4 of the 40 ft. containers back. We ended up putting a 22 ft excavator, a chevy 3500 dump truck, a mercedes, and a ton of scaffold equipment along with new doors, and appliances (price to purchase these items over there is outrageous). You would be surprised what you can get in them. Just get the measurement of the inside of the door frame (narrowest part of inside the box).

 

[Moabite]

I've been using them for years and have never had any problems...but I sweep the snow off after almost every storm on 2 of the 3 shelters. I have a round-topped one (12x20) that is 20 years old. I replaced the cover once and it still looks new. The only reason I replaced the cover was because a white coating was flaking off the interior...that's not happening with the replacement. I have another smaller (10x20) round-topped Shelterlogic that I bought for a John Deere tractor about 8 years ago. It's holding up just fine. I took a different route with yet another vehicle shelter...the one that now protects the Scrambler. I purchased fittings from a company called Try-Tech Industries. With their system, they sell the joints and you buy galvanized pipe for the structural supports. You can make it whatever size you want. I made it 7.5' x 17'. It's covered on 3 sides with a vinyl coated polyester material (very tight, strong, and long-lasting) purchased from MyTarp.com. I put that shelter together over 13 years ago...no problems. The Scrambler is kept under a Budge Protector V car cover (size U-1 is a perfect fit) inside its shelter. By the way, I average about 5' of snow a year...sometimes with well over a foot of heavy snow in a single storm. The structures and covers have always held up to the snow and to the wind.

 

[hdttm]

Thanks, Moabite.... I will check them out. Great info