Learn me temporary garages

I have 2 vehicles that need covered storage for 4 seasons in Massachusetts. They are both 4x4s with decent ground clearance but I don't want either to rust. It can't be unsightly or it will piss off the neighbors. Less $ is definitely better but both rigs are special and need to be safe. Ive been renting a storage unit ($200 a month )

What does the hive mind say?

Been there, done that. IMO, wasn't worth it. We ended up buying seacans (cheap seacans can be had for under $2500). I don't think they would be tall enough for an offroad rig to fit. As an added bonus, a seacan is like a trailer, it has an extremely low depreciation, and people always want them as a new one offers very little benefit over a used one and the used ones cost a little less.

The problem is the whole "temporary" part. If you have snow, high winds, or lots of rain, they WILL get destroyed. Mainly snow and high winds being the issues.

We've had two now out back at the acreage. They served their purpose, and for the ~$450cdn each it overall was cheaper than renting. But they required a lot of work to take care of, and you will use up all of the "life" of them over a year or two.

HiTempguy wrote: The problem is the whole "temporary" part. If you have snow, high winds, or lots of rain, they WILL get destroyed. Mainly snow and high winds being the issues.

As in a shipping container? How do you destroy those with wind? Aren't they designed to sit on the deck of a cargo ship and get drenched in salt water?

Haha, my brain got a little ahead of itself.

All the bad stuff was about temp garages. Seacans are the E36 M3!

Wind is a huge problem.

Mine was tied down and sheltered between two buildings.

I came home one day after work and found that the wind storm had deposited it through a perfectly good windshield in another one of my cars.

I have a big one that serves as a shop. It's 48 by 30. If you do a really good job of anchoring them and sealing them tight they are fine. Mine has been up for almost 10 years. It has seen almost three feet of wet snow and very high winds. But it is anchored to 1000 pound rocks and has a ratchet strap every 4 feet so it is tight as a drum. I never let wind get inside it and make sure that snow slides off as it melts.

FYI building departments hate them. Prepare for legal hassles.

I have one of these housing a couple of LBC's:

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200411388_200411388

The "alpine style" roof sheds snow extremely well. The 2" tubing has stood up to more than a few severe wind-storms passing through the area, although my back yard is somewhat protected by trees and fences. Despite some comments, it is absolutely 13' wide.

Over the past 5+ years I've had it, I've replaced the main canopy once (ordered directly from Shelter Logic) and I need to replace the roll-up door ropes again, but otherwise it has exceeded expectations. If it has one down-side, it's fairly tall, so stealthy it is not, and figure on needing a second person and a stable ladder to assemble it.

Don't buy cheap, stake well, pull tight, remove snow.

I've used Shelterlogic units. They've worked well for me. Generally about 12x20. They tend to last about 10 years if taken care of. There are cheaper, the results were abysmal in my experience.

Stake them down with cross-driven rebar, 2-3 feet long. Do that and the unit can ride a hurricane. Mine have. One rode a hurricane as a kite on the top of the hill. Those anchors held. Those cheap screw in anchors, good for a breeze, nothing more.

Pull the cloth tight. If it's loose it flaps and that quickly tears it up. Loose it can sag under rain, which stretches and pulls it, making it pool more water, which eventually bursts it.

Anchored well, pulled tight, my Shelterlogic units have handled up to 2 feet of snow. That was when storms happened when I wasn't home. Otherwise, I brush them off when they get about 6 inches on top.

Mine is from Shelter Logic. I see a trend there.

I had issues in that condensation would form on the inside of the tent. When the wind blew, the condensation would drip off of the ceiling. Not enough to make stuff rot, but anything metal rusted.

I would think the sheet metal sheds would be a better idea than anything soft sided.

I have a 12x 20 that was originally a big box store cheapo unit ($299) and that cover lasted me 5 years. I replaced it with a Shelter Logic cover and that is now 2 years old. The frame is starting to shows signs of rust but with any luck will last another few years. As others have said they do require careful planning and good anchoring when building. I built a 6" x 6" pressure treated retaining wall to keep the posts out of the dirt and have a good anchor system. Snow is a pain, I go out and bang off the roof if we get more than few inces of snow. I find the condensation issue more in the winter than when it is warm out. It is not as nice as a garage but way better than leaving the car outdoors and it is out of sight. Also is not as secure as a garage but again way cheaper than paying storage fees. If you have a show car you will not be happy, if it is a driver and you just want to keep it out of the weather this may be the answer.

I put a greenhouse poly sheet under my cover and pulled it tight. It gives me a dead air space for insulation and stops the condensation problem

Petrolburner wrote: I would think the sheet metal sheds would be a better idea than anything soft sided.

But one big enough to fit a truck/SUV inside is going to be substantial. And not really "temporary". And pricey.

One thing I did to help a bit with condensation is to put down a floor consisting of 3/4" plywood with 2x12s around the perimeter and under the wheels.

I will say one thing you'll just have to live with is critter infiltration. For better or worse, the two cars inside ended this past winter covered in muddy cat prints. The paint on neither is exactly show quality, so it doesn't bother me much. Plus, I figure the cat(s) have kept the risk of mice low. In previous years, I have put dryer sheets inside the cars and in various spots under the hoods as well as plugging the tail pipes with steel wool.

Birds constantly sneak in too, and poop on everything while they sit on the wires.

Though the sheet across the top on the wires might solve both that problem and the condensation problem.

I've used plastic layed on the ground as a floor. Think it creates more problems than it solves with regards to water. Water pools on it, and no matter what I've tried with raising the edges, lots of water gets onto it during rain storms. Bare dirt seems to go dead and dry fairly quickly.

The latest Shelterlogic unit I got a year or two ago is brown and seems to have tighter woven fabric. The others are grey fabric. The grey ones let in a good bit of light, the brown one is quite dark inside.

I helped a friend put one up about a decade ago. It was a cheap Costco or BJ's one. Cost about $200 at the time and lasted 8 years. We put it up in between a couple of trees and anchored it with 3 foot screw in anchors. It had a fairly good windbreak from the surrounding trees. Some small branches put holes in it but those were patched with tarp tape. It met it's end from the cover breaking down. Definitely worth the cash. Biggest problem he had was with condensation. They sell a vent kit that should solve that problem if you can find one.

I actually just bought a Shelterlogic 1020 2 days ago and plan to put it up in the next couple of weeks. It was on sale for $260 at Tractor Supply, they seem to be at ~$320 now.

I put up a Costco one last summer when I had the GTO. It did great, but was only up for about 4 months. I didn't trust it in winter. It's stored away for the next time I find myself with one too many cars.

The sheet metal ones do cost more, but it's still about the cost of a year renting a storage shed. With the amount of work and weight necesary to keep the cloth sheds safely tied down in the wind, I don't think there is much difference in setup and take down effort between the two. Based on zero experience with either.

I have a friend that had some of those big cloth garages, he attached the feet of the posts to railroad ties, they weren't going to blow away. The covers died from UV and he took them down and hasn't replaced them yet.

In reply to Petrolburner:

But again - the idea is "temporary" - and this is mainly from a legal/code stand point. Start putting up metal buildings and people notice, even in my rather lax area.

Oddly enough, I was talking to my neighbor today. He has one of these in his driveway in front of the garage. Originally put up to cover a boat, but now used to store cars and parts. His is larger than mine. He has about as many cars on his property as I do (although lucky for him - a larger yard and a 7' fence surrounding most of it). He's had it up for about 12 years.

I never had luck with the Shelter Logic I bought. It came with some tears in the canvas so I got another one and it lasted only a year. I decided to look for something higher quality and I got a portable garage from WeatherPort. It's lasted me two years now and it handles snow loads fantastically.

Whatever you do, don't keep renting out a storage unit. That is a waste of money.

In reply to IdiotTinMan:

Interesting... I filled out the online query form to replace my current Shelter Logic garage, but my first impression is, "looks expensive..."

Voting up ShelterLogic, my dad has had one for almost 15 years I think, maybe 12 x 20' . We helped him replace the fabric last summer. He lives in central MA, and it didn't collapse last winter with all the snow .