Temporary shelters for tractors

[newbury]

I want to put my ride under a temp shelter (portable garage? canopy) for maybe a year or so.
Northern Tools and others have many choices starting around $300.
Any recommendations?
Wind is only an occasional problem, as is snow load.
/edit
I'm looking for something that has the mix of portability, ease of puttin' up, structural soundness, and cost in order of importance.
The picture shows the ideal, except the cost is prohibitive

 

[Lil_FarmerJim]

I've had an Instant Garage (Now Shelter Logic) for years. Its worked out great for me. Especially in the harsh winters we used to have in NE PA back in the mid to late 90's. I got mine in the rounded roof style with 5 year fabric. The steel frame has held up very well and so has the fabric, it only just started really leaking. Currently its housing my ride down in SE PA. It's easy to assemble and easy to maintain. I would buy direct from them rather then through a 3rd party as you can get more options. But of course with more options the price goes up.

The only caution I would give you, as it's been given to me several times, you will need to put some kind of vapor barrier under it and your ride to help cut down on moisture. Else it can cause rust and pre-mature rot.

HTH,

 

[jimmyj]

I have used shelter logic units for years and have been happy with them. The only caveats I have are:

- I knock the snow off regularly on the "gable end" shape units
- I have one "dome style" unit that the snow falls off of on its own
- Anchor anchor anchor. These will blow away in a bad storm unless very well secured.

 

[Farmerford]

I have two of the cheap ($225) Shelter Logic 10' x 20' models and think they are a good buy. On the second one, I put 4"x4" treated posts in the ground that stuck up about 2' to mount the legs on. Then I pushed up a mound of dirt inside the posts about 1' high. That accomplished two things: one, it kept the water that runs down the sides from running under the shelter; two, it lets air blow in through the 1' gap around the bottom, so that moisture does not accumulate inside. It also gives you another foot of headroom. That works a lot better the a mount directly on the ground, and it keeps the sidewalls from becoming a muddy mess.

You have a choice (on the 20' model, anyway) between three frames and four frames. Get four frames, which divide the roof and sides into three panels of about 7' each. Even at 7' if the roof membrane is not stretched tight it will sag enough to form a dip that catches and holds rainwater. On one of mine I ran a 2x4 longitudinally down the middle of each side of the roof to stop that from happening. I think a three frame model with 10' panels would be even more prone to sagging and catching water.

 

[radioman]

I had a shelter logic shelter and it worked for a while. unfornuately for me, I live in a very high wind area and even though I had it anchored, it pulled it out( ground was very soft from rain) and blew away. It was a mangled mess and in pieces. I ended up taking it apart and put it back in the box. The poles are ok, but there seems to be half of the connecters in twisted mess. for 300 bucks, I didnt think I got my money worth as it wasn't even one year old.

 

[Carykong]

my luck with temp shelters has been mixed. I would save your dollars and just tarp your tractor until you can afford a permanent shed. I know handling your tarp a lot can be a nuisanse. Really depends how often you use your tractor. Daily? Weeklly? Seasonally?

 

[JoelD]

I've got two of the portable garages up and a third in a box. I buy them at pepboys for under $200 a piece, the last was $179 at thanksgiving time. I've gotten over 4 years at least from them and they are just starting to leak, not much though. I clear the snow off each heavy snow. The metal frames are very strong, the covering is very durrable in my opinion as I live in a very harsh environment. For $200 I can replace every 5 years say and I am way ahead.

Ultimately I'd like to build a small barn, but just too much money. I'm thinking ultimately a steel building may be my answer.

Joel

 

[boatyard]

I put up a 12 x 20 Shelter Logic Garage for the tractor last month. It's nice to have it out of the weather. Because of the rocky soil up around the barn I was unable to get any 30" anchors in the ground. I had a pile of pressure treated 2x6 that I was able to create two 20' long 6"x6" beams out of. The garage has six 24" anchors in the ground [they recommend eight 30" anchors] and the beams well attached at the bottom to hold it down in the wind. Is this enough? My gut is concerned that this will not work if we get a good blow. Any ideas?

 

[carpenter383]

I put up a 12 x 20 Shelter Logic Garage for the tractor last month. It's nice to have it out of the weather. Because of the rocky soil up around the barn I was unable to get any 30" anchors in the ground. I had a pile of pressure treated 2x6 that I was able to create two 20' long 6"x6" beams out of. The garage has six 24" anchors in the ground [they recommend eight 30" anchors] and the beams well attached at the bottom to hold it down in the wind. Is this enough? My gut is concerned that this will not work if we get a good blow. Any ideas?

Yes! cut something like a 4x4 long enough to lay on top of your 6x6's, then rest the fel bucket on top of it when you park your tractor

 

[newbury]

After looking over all the offerings from shelter logic and rhino I decided to wing it and build my own.
I've got trade offs between size (I don't really need one as wide as what is offered for the length I need) portability and zoning.
So I'm planning on building a "skeleton" of 1" plastic pipe held together with X or cross pieces and T's. I've spent about $50 on the connectors, will need about $30 of 1" pipe, about $20 of flexible 1" pipe, and a 30x20 HD tarp (which I already have). That with judicious application of duct tape and nylon rope and a bunch of grommets shouuld do for the upper structure.
I plan on basing it on a bunch of PT 2x6 deck boards which I'm "recycling" from a deck I built 24 yrs ago.
This will also let me easily modify it for size in the future, and move to "job sites".
If I get 'er done pictures will follow.

 

[JoelD]

Good luck, I hope it works out for you, I tried the same thing and I could not get the 1 inch pipe to go together in such a way to hold up the tarp. In the end the $199 shelter logic shelter was a bunch easier, probably cheaper in the end and in my opinion, much stronger.

Sincerely,
joel

 

[newbury]

Good luck, I hope it works out for you, I tried the same thing and I could not get the 1 inch pipe to go together in such a way to hold up the tarp. In the end the $199 shelter logic shelter was a bunch easier, probably cheaper in the end and in my opinion, much stronger.

Sincerely,
joel

Well where did it not work for you?
As I wrote one of the problems is that the standard size is to big for my zoning.
I figure at the worst I'll end of with a bunch of plastic pipe I can use for the next 10 years.

 

[jimmyj]

Hey newbury, your post reminded me that I have a home built one too.

It's 24 feet long and 8 feet wide at the bottom edges. The sides slope in about 8 inches or so and the top is gable style with a total height of just over 7 feet in the middle.

I put thin plywood on the roof and then covered the whole thing with a heavy tarp, tightly fastened by stapling in place and then screwing 1 inch wide strapping over each rib and purlin. The structure itself is made of 2x2's if you can beleive it. At the corners where each rib (on 2 foot centers) meets the purlin I have made plywood triangles and screwed them on both sides for strength.

Other than replacing the tarp this year, this thing is probably 8 years old and has worked fine. I knock the snow off the roof but that's it (the snow slowly piles up the outside and often gets right to the roofline). It's fastened to the ground by screwing all the vertical ribs to 2x4's and then wiring them to rows of blocks down each side. The blocks add some height too.

Almost all the wood I got as seconds or scraps so it was peanuts to make.

 

[westbrooklawn]

I put up a metal carport... 18x21 with all the bells and whistles for $900. Like it so much I became a dealer. I can sell a Nice 18x21 installed for $695, and it will last a lot longer than a tarp type shelter. They are available in most states... let me know if I can provide you additional info.

 

[jas67]

After looking over all the offerings from shelter logic and rhino I decided to wing it and build my own.
I've got trade offs between size (I don't really need one as wide as what is offered for the length I need) portability and zoning.
So I'm planning on building a "skeleton" of 1" plastic pipe held together with X or cross pieces and T's. I've spent about $50 on the connectors, will need about $30 of 1" pipe, about $20 of flexible 1" pipe, and a 30x20 HD tarp (which I already have). That with judicious application of duct tape and nylon rope and a bunch of grommets shouuld do for the upper structure.
I plan on basing it on a bunch of PT 2x6 deck boards which I'm "recycling" from a deck I built 24 yrs ago.
This will also let me easily modify it for size in the future, and move to "job sites".
If I get 'er done pictures will follow.

I would think the 1" plastic pipe would be too flexible. I built a frame "dome" a tarp over my pop-up camper when it lived outside. It collapsed under the first 6" snow. The frame was tied down on the top of the camper, and was in a fairly wind-protected area up against the side of my garage.

 

[FxdGrMind]

Westbrooklawn....

Unfortunately it appears that in WA state.... they want me to get a building permit for any structure over 200Sq'..... The building permit would be just shy of $500.....

Does your structure get arround the building permit laws?

Thanks in advance.

 

[newbury]

Westbrooklawn....

Unfortunately it appears that in WA state.... they want me to get a building permit for any structure over 200Sq'..... The building permit would be just shy of $500.....

Does your structure get arround the building permit laws?

Thanks in advance.

That is one reason I'm BMO, my restrictions are 150 sq ft.
20x7.45 MAKES IT

 

[newbury]

pics
Started with base frame for size
Determined I needed more strengthening for uprights, Put in small T posts and fastened uprights to them.
More details later.

 

[newbury]

More details:
The first picture shows basically the pipes hooked together by X's on the top and pipe to pipe across (4') as seen in the second picture.

I pounded in a Tpost for each vertical member (vm).

On top of each (6') vm I put - in order a 3" section, a 45 degree bend a 3" section, a female smooth to female threaded adapter and a male threaded to male "barb" this was then hooked to a 6' section of the 1" black flexible drainage (bfd) pipe with a branch shoved up it for stiffening.
I took a maple branch about 3/4" in diameter and 3' to 4' long and shoved it up the bfd leaving about a foot to come down thru the adapters into the vm. This made the connection from the vm thru the arch much more rigid.

I did not want to us all rigid plastic pipe for the roof because I was trying to keep down the number of joints, yet hopefully withstand an inch or two of snow.

I plan on adding some more cross members to keep the pipes from pulling apart, some netting over the top to prevent sag, and some upgrades I don't know yet.

Cost so far is
10' pipes - 11@$2.20@= $25
connectors - about $30
Tarp - about $80 on sale at TSC (on hand)
10 old rusty Tposts ?? $3@ $30 (on hand)
So - the cost is about $200, comparable to the mfg units, but I'm only out about $50 from what I had on hand.
AND
It fit's all zoning regs!
Hopefully more pics to follow. but my batteries dying.

Added another 4' extension.

 

[newbury]

More details:

Add to costs about 30' of flexible pipe about $25.
Pics of pipe assemblies: