Portable Garage, Anyone Have One?Thoughts?

[joshmodelskidoo]

I had one with just the roof and i put some blue tarps around the side and some pallets for a floor. It blew away while i was trying to put it together. And it lasted 1 Michigan winter I believe. I got it to store a car project I picked up but I didn’t have a garage. Eventually I cleaned out the leanto on my shed and it just fit.

 

[Jazz1]

Can you still buy the original and just use the cover on the frame that is already up? That was what I was planning to do until I found someone willing to ship just the cover.

I can still buy the unit but greenhouse plastic arrived. Ordered on the 8th from Illinois and here in Ontario today

 

[kap]

I had a Shelter Logic that lasted at least 6 - 8 years (it was still in OK shape when I sold the house). You've got to get the better fabric and the frame shaped like a Quonset hut - don't get the one with the peaked roof if you live in the snowbelt. Snow falls right off the Quonset hut style roof. I built a platform from 4x4 and covered it with 3/4" plywood. Lag bolted the frame to the floor - stood up well through many windstorms.

 

[Renegade1LI]

I had a Shelter Logic that lasted at least 6 - 8 years (it was still in OK shape when I sold the house). You've got to get the better fabric and the frame shaped like a Quonset hut - don't get the one with the peaked roof if you live in the snowbelt. Snow falls right off the Quonset hut style roof. I built a platform from 4x4 and covered it with 3/4" plywood. Lag bolted the frame to the floor - stood up well through many windstorms.[/QUOTE

I agree, definitely need to pony up for the better fabric, the bottom line fabric feels like a HF tarp.

 

[Renegade1LI]

Well I cheaped out and bought a HF 10 x 17 , just need some covered work space outside for working on the house, so hopefully it's only temporary. For 180$ you can't go wrong and it keeps stuff dry, I had an issue with a seam, called CS and they sent a new cover and side panels, so I have a spare cover. It is ugly, couldn't have picked an uglier color, lol.

 

[eastbaysubaru]

I bought two of the same HF carports for a couple of cars that have to live outside temporarily. Like you said, you can't go wrong for $180. The checkout guy even gave me 20% off one of them (and a year long membership) because I asked about the disappearing 20% off coupons.

-Brian

 

[Mainiac Mat]

I've had two of the tents.... both were 12' x 20'

The first was by Cover-It and was a round top. I installed this over top soil and would get significant condensation inside. It started sagging during an ice storm and two days later we got a 2' snow dump and it collapsed. Because it closed at both ends it was considered a garage (vs. a car port) and the insurance company payed to replace it and repair the damage to my boat inside.

Lesson learned... tighten the cover every year to keep it taunt. Once it sags, the next snow storm will take it down.

The second was by Shelter Logic, and this time I prepped the sight by digging out the topsoil and filling it in with a load of sand. I also dug a shallow drainage trough along each long side to get the run off away from the tent. So it stayed much dryer inside. This one came with ratchet straps to tighten up the ends. Every fall I would just give these a couple clicks and the cover stayed very taunt. Last week we had a wind storm and yesterday I saw that a pine tree on my neighbors lot came down on top of my tent and wiped out the back 1/3.

So I've gotten about 8 years out of each one.... both were standard duty.

Now that I have a 26'x30' garage and a 20'x30' pole barn, I'm not sure if I'm going to replace it. My home owners now has a $1,000 deductible, so it' wouldn't really be worth filing a claim.

 

[BruceMc]

You've got to get the better fabric and the frame shaped like a Quonset hut - don't get the one with the peaked roof if you live in the snowbelt.

If you do have one, you can strengthen those considerably for not much $. I tied together the roof frame with some 1/2" EMT cut to length and bolted in the joint using longer bolts. Makes a big difference in keeping the roof from spreading and collapsing, and I don't know why Shelter Logic doesn't do this. Also, the ratchet straps on the end wall help with wind racking. I keep a pair on each end. Quick and easy to disconnect for access, and then put back up again.

 

[PoorUB]

I don't know what brand it was, but a guy I used to work for had me help put one up. We fastened the legs down to old wooden shipping pallets, (used pallets for a floor) and stacked heavy parts on the pallets. Two months later we had a good old North Dakota blizzard. We never did find the canvas. We followed a trail of mangled tubing for 1/8 mile and lost the trail after that.

 

[Renegade1LI]

One good thing about Long Island, we rarely get severe weather, so a fabric building has a pretty good chance here.

 

[unslow1]

I screwed mine down to 2x6 boards and put sections of old parking blocks on top of those. Then I also did the tie downs in the yard where the ropes would reach grass.

 

[Gunfixr]

I have a 12'x20' shelter logic, it's been up about a year now. I just put it up, no ground prep or anything. I did put in about 16" deep screw anchors inside all 4 corners, and strap lock it down to those.
It's seen enough wind to tear out the straps that hold the sides and end at one corner, I installed eyelets every 6", and lashed it back together. I've had to re-tighten the strap locks a few times.
Grass does grow inside it, a bit of a pita.....
We've got a couple others, a different brand, that a friend bought. They are a bit smaller. Were cheaper. The straps tie the cover to the frame, and small, dog retention type screws, with a section of wire rope and clamps holds it down. Seems to work ok, they been up maybe 9 mos. There's two, one fully closed, the other with no ends attached.
We don't get a lot of snow, but they took what we got. The shelter logic is snow rated, which was why I bought it.

 

[metalmagpie]

I have had a 10x20' Costco canopy in continuous use for over 15 years. For most of that time I'd just buy new tarps every other year. Recently I noticed that heavy 3-part truck tarps middle piece is about the right size so I bought one. They are much stronger built and heavier. Mine has been up for 3 years now and still appears sound.

I also stiffened the frame substantially. I got a bunch of scrap steel strapping from the dumpster of a local electrical supply. I cut it into X braces and pop riveted them to the pole tops and bottoms. This made the whole canopy frame 100X stiffer so it doesn't work nearly as much in the wind.

metalmagpie

 

[ambenz]

I have a ShelterLogic 20x12 I put up in 2010.
I use as a carport as our town allows temporary structure on developed easements.
My driveway acts as the 5 foot easement between my property line and the house, it's 12 feet wide.
If I put anything but a fabric type cover, on the roof, it is seen as permanent and voids the 5 foot easement rule, go figure.
View media item 111498So I beefed it up with more poles from another kit I found while junking, added pool noodles and felt to slow the deterioration of the fabric and leave it up all year round. The added top poles hold a good 6" of wet snow and a roof will last 2.5 years.
View media item 111497
I added a LED shoplite on a chamberlain switch I can control with my garage door opener I keep in the truck (I park it in the garage for the winter.) It's nice to keep the truck parked under the carport during the 3 warmer seasons and keep my 3rd bay open for shop projects. Between the houses, tied to the fence and house protects it from high winds and keeps the sun and rain off the truck.
It works for my needs.

 

[swamplife]

I have one of the HF ones going on 3 years now. I was hoping to be able to take it down this summer but looks like I won't be able to just yet. I have left it up this far mainly for privacy. It has had some pretty good snow loads on it, but I did tie ropes between each of the roof "trusses" to help keep the snow load off. Then put on another heavy duty tarp.

We had a big gust of wind and the back door ripped open. Otherwise it's fine. I'll probably tear it down and replace it with another one.

 

[Renegade1LI]

I put a bench, old miter saw with stand & 10" table saw, perfect for working around the house & easy to clean. I set up my brake & bend up trim & not worry about the weather, might be the best 180$ I spent all year.

 

[Jazz1]

I’d posted my wigwam transformed into greenhouse yesterday. All night i wondered if it would stand up to high winds, figured the snow be no issue.. Worked out well

 

[Renegade1LI]

I’d posted my wigwam transformed into greenhouse yesterday. All night i wondered if it would stand up to high winds, figured the snow be no issue.. Worked out well

I like the entrance, has the old west feel to it.

 

[xjfish]

I think my 10'x10' tarp shed is going on 5 years old now (MN). Have cleared snow load off usually and added a sacrificial tarp roof. IIRC I bought it at Menards for $100 on sale. Kind of an eyesore but still looks better than the pile of junk and old snowmobiles hiding inside... I would buy another for that price again in a heartbeat.

 

[Jazz1]

I like the entrance, has the old west feel to it.[/QUOTE

The doors are to protect wigwam from prevailing North wind and I have 8 3’ stakes anchoring the unit down.
Coworker neighbor used the supplied stakes and parked his new mustang inside. Next morning the whole portable was in his neighbors yard.

 

[driz]

This is a snowmobile trailer with a galv steel roof, not sure why they used galv steel but it is corroding & starting to leak. Only used in the snow & ice so it has seen a lot of road salt. I'm not looking to store it, just work on it while I replace everything, probably should've had an aluminum roof, which is what I plan to use.

Make sure your roof is the same metal as what it’s attaching to. If you attach aluminum to steel sides the galvanic corrosion on the steel is going to be your big problem and there will be no realistic solution. Just try to keep them the same when they are metals . There’s nothing wrong with galvanized steel roofs either as long as they aren’t bolted to aluminum bodies.



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[Renegade1LI]

I have to say having some bonus outdoor space is nice, I just stripped a table, didn't have to worry about ventilation, dropping mess on ground & just left it on the bench when done & didn't have to think about the weather. So far 200$ well spent.

 

[Renegade1LI]

I was really hoping to not buy a portable shelter, as my needs changed. However I needed a place to store our boat that I could also work on it out off the weather. Ended up with a shelter logic, but I did get the 21.5oz fabric. The boat fits and I have enough room to work on it and around it. Removed grass and topsoil, added 6 - 8" of crusher run, buried some 6 x 6s to mount it to and leveled the top work 6" of 3/4 stone. Installed tie downs at every support and after one snowfall the snow skid of nicely. I figured even if the covers shreds in a few years can always convert the frame to a metal building.