Portable shelter?

[winchman]

I'm going to buy a portable shelter to keep my tractor out of the weather. I'm considering the 12'+20'+8' heavy duty deluxe model from www.sheltersofamerica.com or one from "cover-it". Does anyone have any experience with one of these shelters or the two manufacturers? Does anyone see the advantages or disadvantages between the house or round style? I think I want to go with the one from Shelters of America. Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks,
winchman

 

[dmccarty]

winchman,

Have you thought about a shipping container? A guy at work
just rented a 12x8x20 footer for $50 a month. $75 to drop
it off and $75 to pick it up. $1,700 to purchase. New or
repaired floor, sand blasted and painted. I have seen
contractors using them as offices on worksites. Cut a couple
of holes for windows and doors...

FYI,
Dan McCarty

 

[winchman]

Dan,

I have never seen a shipping container in my area, but I guess it would work. I'm looking at a total of $600 with shipping for one of the shelters that I mentioned. Can't decide between the round or, house style?!? Which one would you get?

Thanks,
winchman

 

[gerard]

If you're in an area with any snow I'd go for the arch. Sheds snow a lot better and is more stable in high winds because there's no flat side to the wind. Downside is you get a little less headroom/volume but if you just want storage for yout tractor that's probably not an issue. BYTW - frined of mine bought a shipping contained as a storage shed. Forgot dimensions/price but it was pretty reasonable and is about as sturdy as you can get. Probably not quite as asthetically pleasing though........

 

[dmccarty]

winchman,

I would get a rectangular shelter. Round just would not seem
as efficent usable space wise... And my barn layout is
24'x32'. Course its going to be awhile before it gets built.....

Later,
Dan

 

[winchman]

gerard & Dan,

Snow and wind can be factors here in the north, but I also see Dan's point about the useable space. Hmmm...Decisions!
I wish I had the $$$$ right now to build the barn that I want.
Thanks for the replies guys.

winchman

 

[Argee]

For the money your talking ($600) you could probably build a pavillion like structure and add the walls later. Steel in a pole barn is one of the largest costs.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Buddy of mine bought one of the huge ones that look like a quonset 5 years ago. Last year it ripped to shreds in the wind. Naturally, the manufacturer had an excuse, seems the UV from the sun deteriorates the fabric, and that wasn't covered under warranty.

 

[gerard]

Coverall is a manufacturer that makes these structures as large as you want. Up to 70 feet wide and as long as you want to go. Used for horse arena's a lot. The fabric is treated with uv inhibitors but they DO have a lifespan, usually 15 years. 5 is too short and may have been inferior/unstabilized material. For a 60 x 120 arena the material itself is only about $4000, so in 15 years you remove the old material and put up the new. NO other maintenance involved so that's not a bad way to go. Also these are not considered "permanent" structures because they can be disassembled and moved so you can't be reassessed on your taxes. A BIG consideration when going large like an arena. Just make sure the material is UV stabilized. (Your normal blue tarps arene't which is why you only get a year or two out of them before they start disintegrating on you. Sun's a nasty enemy to some things...........)

 

[MikeH]

winchman,
I have a Cover-it shed that I put together about 3 weeks ago. So far I am very happy with it. Last winter I had requested a quote from the Cover-it people, and some time around February I received an e-mail "special" on the 12 x 20 peaked top shed - $299.00 plus shipping. This past fall at a local fair Cover-it had a display with a "fair special" $299.00.
It might be worth giving them a call and asking about any promotions going on or comming up. Here are the phone numbers I have: 1-800-524-9970 or 1-203-931-4777.
Good luck!!

 

[winchman]

MikeH,

I could sure go for the deal that you got. I'll have to check into that. How long did it take you to erect the cover-it and how difficult was the job? What kind of surface is it on?

Thanks,
winchman

 

[MikeH]

winchman,

Assembly is pretty easy, it took 2 to 3 hours total. The frame is OK for one person to handle, but the cover is a 2 person job. I put mine up over a 2 weekend span only because it gets very windy at my place (on top of a hill and not alot of trees) and I could see myself doing a Sally Field (you know-the Flying Nun /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif) impersonation. As far as the surface, mine is in the corner of an old pasture - sod. The anchors that came with the kit are (4) 18" auger style which seem to do a good job. I have since purchased "permanent" 32" augers to increase holding power.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Mike

 

[winchman]

MikeH,

Just ordered a 12'+20'+8' Farmtek/Clearspan brand cover. Basically the same thing as the "covert-it" brand that you have. Cover-it is no longer offering the deal that you got, so I went with the deluxe heavy duty model from Farmtek. $550 delivered to my door with 6 heavy duty auger style anchors. This should do the job until I can afford the barn that I want to build. Glad to hear that putting the thing up is not too bad of job.

Thanks,
winchman

 

[mikim]

I put my round 12X20 "cover-it" up by myself and it took all day - put the primary cover in the back of the pickup and backed under the frame - stood in the bed to spread out the cover over the top of the frame - worked pretty well.