I wanted to cover my BX and this was the cheapest solution I could think of, short of just throwing a tarp over it. I'll report back if it fails or deteriorates too quickly to be a good solution. Canopy
Canopy cheap canopy project
- Thread starter apease
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Elite Member
The sun will eat it over time but it should last awhile. I also hope you don't get snow in your area, or high winds???? 
beenthere
Super Star Member
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apease
Where are you located?
And what can you tell us about the construction details?
The pic was very small, so couldn't see much detail there. tks
Where are you located?
And what can you tell us about the construction details?
The pic was very small, so couldn't see much detail there. tks
woodchuckie
Platinum Member
I'm in the northern central valley of California. There's virtually no snow. Moderate rain in winter, totally dry in summer. There can be some strong winds during rain storms. That and the baking summer sun will be the big challenges for this lightweight structure.
beenthere
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woodchuckie
Duh! on me. Missed that link, and appreciate you pointing it out and adding it.
apease
Nice design, and gave me some ideas (been trying to develop something along this line, but nothing as good as this).
I'm thinking one could, without too much more expense, add bents in between the ones you have, and likely add long "purlins" parallel to the ridgepole (maybe 2 on each side) that would make it strong enough to handle some snow load.
Will contemplate it further and try to locate the "crosses" that join the four pvc tubes. Likely they are online.
thanks
Duh! on me. Missed that link, and appreciate you pointing it out and adding it.
apease
Nice design, and gave me some ideas (been trying to develop something along this line, but nothing as good as this).
I'm thinking one could, without too much more expense, add bents in between the ones you have, and likely add long "purlins" parallel to the ridgepole (maybe 2 on each side) that would make it strong enough to handle some snow load.
Will contemplate it further and try to locate the "crosses" that join the four pvc tubes. Likely they are online.
thanks
Travelover
Elite Member
Evil the Weasel
Platinum Member
I'm sorry but this fails on functionality, engineering and appearance. I doubt anyone here is going to follow your approach.
SARG
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Perhaps the next tarp that's of the silver variety will last a little longer than the blue.
beenthere
Super Star Member
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??????????????????
psvines
Silver Member
I hope it works out for you, and I'll be pleasantly surprised if it does. But I would guess you'll be lucky to get a full season out of it.
Travelover
Elite Member
The OP states that he has $125 in it. That's not a lot of money and he has had fun building and documenting it. And if it fails, he'll have even more fun finding an improvement and reporting out on that, too. I think he has been creative in choosing his materials, but time will tell if the design is practical.
Indeed, more bracing would be better, metal pipe would be better, 8" sleeves would be better than PVC crosses, 11-mil silver tarp would be better than 5 mil blue etc. But, the keys here for me were cost, doing it myself rather than buying a $200 carport from Costco (have one already), and not doing something permanent that would have required a permit. Harbor Freight has a silver tarp for the same price as the blue I bought at Home Depot. But it was convenient to get all the supplies at the same place, including the PVC crosses and not have to pay for shipping. I'd like to think the hoop design is fairly strong, modulo the materials used. I tried to shape it into a catenary, in which most of the forces should be in compression, with little flexion. But the proof is in how long it lasts. I'll be happy to report when and if it fails, and folks can decide for themselves whether it's worth it.
Trafficman
Silver Member
Apease,
I got one of these when it went on sale. - Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices Been up of 4 Yrs & it has just started to need new bungees for the front door.
T-Man.
I got one of these when it went on sale. - Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices Been up of 4 Yrs & it has just started to need new bungees for the front door.
T-Man.
radair
Gold Member
That's kind of a Richard Cranium statement, don't you think? I think you're wrong on all 3 counts but have some reservations on the durability of the PVC hoops.
smilykubota
New member
In my case, my wife's new car stays outside the garage
She hasn't said anything about the Kubota sitting in a nice dry garage
She hasn't said anything about the Kubota sitting in a nice dry garage
Evil the Weasel
Platinum Member
No, I don't think so. Apparently if someone posts pictures of a half-baked, embarassingly bad structure, we're supposed to heap praise on it? I'd argue that anybody that can afford a tractor can do better than that to protect the investment. And I'm right on all 3 counts. It's poorly built, poorly thought out (not tall enough, whoopsie), and an eyesore.
