Storing compact TLB on trailer

[AxleHub]

I've considered this. No question they are affordable. The issue is my very steep and curvy access road, which would make delivering and positioning a 4-5000 lb 20' container a serious challenge. One of my projects is to fabricate a vermin-proof shed on-site for my smaller equipment items. Believe me, if I was confident that I could get a container where I need it, I would opt for that instead as it would save me both money and time.

A track drive skid steer or cat should be able to pull a trailer up any hill you drive your car or truck up. A tandem axle 20 or 24 foot trailer or car hauler should be able to handle it. If they can pre build lityle log cabins and move them to remote sights . . A steel container should a piece of cake as they are rigid. Or you could make skids for the container to ride on and stay on to keep moisture out of the container sitting in snow orbrain puddles.

Just a thought. Be alot easier to secure too. Maybe create just a little venting as well to reduce heat buildup or excess moisture/dampness.

 

[iam2sam]

A track drive skid steer or cat should be able to pull a trailer up any hill you drive your car or truck up. A tandem axle 20 or 24 foot trailer or car hauler should be able to handle it. If they can pre build lityle log cabins and move them to remote sights . . A steel container should a piece of cake as they are rigid. Or you could make skids for the container to ride on and stay on to keep moisture out of the container sitting in snow orbrain puddles.

Just a thought. Be alot easier to secure too. Maybe create just a little venting as well to reduce heat buildup or excess moisture/dampness.

Thanks, I'll consider it further. I've seen 20-foot containers as low as $1000 - my best quote for a shed "kit" of similar capacity (which I could bring up the road in pieces) to assemble on site is more than twice that, and would not handle anything with the ground pressure of my tractor. My tow vehicle is an F250 long bed crew cab with a 6-speed V10 and high-low 4WD, so in theory I have enough power and traction there. Unfortunately, the configuration of my access road makes the vehicle length a liability that somewhat takes away from that. I've had two experiences so far pulling a similar load up my road with that truck: one a qualified success; the other a complete failure. Several years ago, I did manage to get a 20-foot travel trailer up, but it took me about 2 hours to go less than 1/4 mile, and I burned so much clutch it smelled like there was a coffee roaster nearby... More recently, I got stuck on the steepest part trying to get a Terramite T7 up using that truck and my Eager Beaver A10 skid steer trailer. The difference might have been trailer ground clearance - I had water bars put in the road in between those events.

 

[redman135]

A long bed crew cab is a similar wheelbase as a 6x4 hiab truck (cab over) so it should get up your track. I am getting a container(9'6") to store my gear on farm and beat thieves. Be aware that a cheap container often has rust, and won't last and will let the vermin in through the rust holes.

 

[N80]

I have found direct sunlight to be far more damaging than rain. I have also found that there is no such thing as a rodent proof container. I store my tractor in an open sided shed with a metal roof. Sun still gets in. Rodents have free access and have done considerable damage (once). I now have several old socks full of mothballs that I leave in the engine bay and near the dash console (where they chewed all my dash wires in two). I leave the hood open, which provides them less shelter and reminds me to remove the socks. So far (nearly a year) this has worked. I also sprinkle mothballs on the ground around the tractor. I need to put a "wall" of some sort on the east end of the shed to block the sunlight. I now also leave my trailer in the shed too. I lock the hitch latch with a pad lock and may consider chaining wheels.

 

[newbury]

Have you looked into "Shelter Logic" type shelters?
And do you need a full enclosure?

I wanted to cover my B7610 w backhoe early on. But zoning was initially a problem. In this thread I covered building my own.

Zoning regs changed later and I bought a Shelter Logic from Costco on steep sale.

The advantage over a simple tarp tied over the equipment is just drive in, drive out, ability to grease while raining. And it could easily be assembled on a trailer if you DIY.

As already addressed the trailer drive on-off should be simple.

The 20 foot shipping container may be ideal, but as so often on TBN someone asks a question on an inexpensive solution and it escalates. I'm surprised no one has recommended building a 20x30 pole building so you could store the trailer inside

 

[Gary Fowler]

I've considered this. No question they are affordable. The issue is my very steep and curvy access road, which would make delivering and positioning a 4-5000 lb 20' container a serious challenge. One of my projects is to fabricate a vermin-proof shed on-site for my smaller equipment items. Believe me, if I was confident that I could get a container where I need it, I would opt for that instead as it would save me both money and time.

You will be surprised how easily a trucker can get into tight spaces. If you can pull an 18-20 foot trailer up the hill with your truck, then a container delivery vehicle should be able to negotiate the hill also. I have seen mobile homes in spaces I would never consider travelling with my 20 foot trailer and truck and they are much longer than a semi with flatbed. As long as the road isn't muddy, you wont have a problem.

 

[N80]

Lots of options have been presented. And while I'm happy that I built my 32x18 3 bay open shed, the truth of the matter is that covering my tractor with a tarp, which I did the first 5 or 6 years I owned it, kept it looking better than the shed does and I hade no more rodent problems than in the shed. Birds (phoebes) roost in the shed and poop on the tractor. Carpenter bees drop saw dust all over it. Sometimes water condenses on underside of roof and rains down. (This can be remedied with insulation but it is pricey, a huge pain and always sees to fall apart).

I built the shed myself. Lumber was about $1000 (I used 4x6 posts) and the metal roofing was about $800.

A good tarp costs a lot less. I wrapped it all around the tractor and held it in place with bungee straps. It never blew off. Two downsides: pain putting it on and taking it off. Water would often collect in a pocket of the tarp and weigh it down. Other than that I still see a tarp as one of the cheapest and most effective storage options.

 

[iam2sam]

I've built a number of tarp over galvanized tube frame canopies and shelters on my own. They are very inexpensive and work well (I've got a 12 x 18' example here at home as a zoning and permit exempt adjunct to my hard shed) but my experience is that they need more attention than I would be able to provide at my remote site. Tarps need monitoring for rain sag and occasional changing, snow needs to be knocked off, bungies sometimes come loose, etc. My site gets a lot of rain and wind, so I'd be concerned about a failure while I'm away.

Have you looked into "Shelter Logic" type shelters?
And do you need a full enclosure?

I wanted to cover my B7610 w backhoe early on. But zoning was initially a problem. In this thread I covered building my own.

Zoning regs changed later and I bought a Shelter Logic from Costco on steep sale.

The advantage over a simple tarp tied over the equipment is just drive in, drive out, ability to grease while raining. And it could easily be assembled on a trailer if you DIY.

As already addressed the trailer drive on-off should be simple.

The 20 foot shipping container may be ideal, but as so often on TBN someone asks a question on an inexpensive solution and it escalates. I'm surprised no one has recommended building a 20x30 pole building so you could store the trailer inside

 

[iam2sam]

Yes, I've been given some very good information, thanks to all! I am going to look into a shipping container provider in SW Virginia (Roanoke-Christiansburg-Blacksburg-Pearisburg) who can provide delivery. I might even go for 2 of those if a provider can give me an attractive "2-fer" price. Anyone have a recomendation? However, that would be for my general shed and smaller equipment (mower, Gravely walk-behind, etc.) storage needs, not for the tractor. My current shed is a largish Stromberg geodesic (Starplate Dome Kit, Geodesic Dome Kit, Dome Building Plans and Kit), built from their kit. OSB wall cladding is about shot (moisture and critters - mice and a suspected bobcat), but the roof is salvagable. I could remove the walls and straighten the "legs" to repurpose it into an open canopy. Since one of the containers would go right next to the current shed location, I could keep the tractor on the trailer under the canopy, and chain it to the storage container. I may find some drawbacks to that plan as I proceed, but right now it seems reasonable to me.

Lots of options have been presented. And while I'm happy that I built my 32x18 3 bay open shed, the truth of the matter is that covering my tractor with a tarp, which I did the first 5 or 6 years I owned it, kept it looking better than the shed does and I hade no more rodent problems than in the shed. Birds (phoebes) roost in the shed and poop on the tractor. Carpenter bees drop saw dust all over it. Sometimes water condenses on underside of roof and rains down. (This can be remedied with insulation but it is pricey, a huge pain and always sees to fall apart).

I built the shed myself. Lumber was about $1000 (I used 4x6 posts) and the metal roofing was about $800.

A good tarp costs a lot less. I wrapped it all around the tractor and held it in place with bungee straps. It never blew off. Two downsides: pain putting it on and taking it off. Water would often collect in a pocket of the tarp and weigh it down. Other than that I still see a tarp as one of the cheapest and most effective storage options.

 

[AxleHub]

Yes, I've been given some very good information, thanks to all! I am going to look into a shipping container provider in SW Virginia (Roanoke-Christiansburg-Blacksburg-Pearisburg) who can provide delivery. I might even go for 2 of those if a provider can give me an attractive "2-fer" price. Anyone have a recomendation? However, that would be for my general shed and smaller equipment (mower, Gravely walk-behind, etc.) storage needs, not for the tractor. My current shed is a largish Stromberg geodesic (Starplate Dome Kit, Geodesic Dome Kit, Dome Building Plans and Kit), built from their kit. OSB wall cladding is about shot (moisture and critters - mice and a suspected bobcat), but the roof is salvagable. I could remove the walls and straighten the "legs" to repurpose it into an open canopy. Since one of the containers would go right next to the current shed location, I could keep the tractor on the trailer under the canopy, and chain it to the storage container. I may find some drawbacks to that plan as I proceed, but right now it seems reasonable to me.

Remote storage really benefits from something heavy that can't get wind tipped or blown away. Also tarps can wear on paint surfaces pretty easily.

If I were getting a container ir two . . I'd check about sizes available as there are at least 2 orv3 sizes I've seen. Also a concretevskab or solid gravel landing area would be good for drainage and not sinking over time. I know someone who made an area that was raised off ground level 8 or 10 inches and he used a heavy "hard wire around it to kerp critters out butvalliw air to blow underneath to keep moisture away and the he built a very modest compacted ramp to drive in easy like.