I had used a tarp. I'll concur with the pain-in-the-neck statements. A real hassle, especially after you've been on the tractor all day and are tired/dirty and wanting to get home, only to have to put a monster tarp on in the dark. /w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif
For a short term solution (which may be a several year "short" term), I got a car cover from Harbor Freight for $130. (<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=projects&Number=159128&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1>Here's the link</A> to my earlier post on it.) I have plans to enclose the sides at some point, but at least in it's current state it blocks most of the direct sunlight and rain/hail, which was my main goal anyway. It has survived some pretty big storms so far, so I'm confident in its strength/ability. Sure, I'd prefer a big nice barn, but for cost & ease of setup, I like it a a lot better than the tarp solution. The link below takes you to some pictures I snapped of it. (click on the smaller pictures to blow them up.)
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.pbase.com/traxer128/tractor_cover>Tractor Cover</A>