Portable shelters

[K man]

Hi everyone, would like to get some feed back on pros and cons of portable shelters. I have seen them being erected all over the place as garages. What I want to know is are they worth investing etc. Thanks for any input.
Gilles

 

[mowin]

Hi everyone, would like to get some feed back on pros and cons of portable shelters. I have seen them being erected all over the place as garages. What I want to know is are they worth investing etc. Thanks for any input.
Gilles

Assuming you are talking about the metal carports that can be configured in many ways? Very common around here. I have a 18x28x8 coming soon, I hope. Its ordered, just waiting for delivery from HBO carports.

 

[K man]

The ones with the canvas tops.

 

[mowin]

Oh, ok. I've had two of them. Notice I said "had". There snow load is terrible. I was constantly removing snow durring heavy snow storms. I see many collapse every winter. Covers last 6-8 yrs or so depending on how much sun hits it. Some put a "sacrificial" tarp over the original to make them last longer.

 

[jix]

Hi TBN
Portable shelters, if you buy the Best kind and do a good job putting them up, are worth the cost and do last for ten years.
I have a 35 x14 foot Shelter Tech structure made in Canada (Woodstock NB) with the CANADIAN heavy duty specs. It cost me three thousand dollars and has supplemental diagonal braces made from steel conduit rods with tripled tie down anchors on a fine-sized crush base two feet thick. It has withstood two hurricanesd and three bad winters of heavy snow, without a problem. THERE ARE pros and cons. No security from theft is the biggest con. No property tax increment is the biggest pro. It is very robust and very effective. It has curtain doors, not roll up nor zipper doors, closed with bungee cords. I like it. It took three men two days to erect it.

 

[wedge40]

Had one. cost about $400. I had to travel and it snowed wet heavy snow. About 8", came in late in the evening, checked on it the next day it was nothing but a pile canvas and bent metal. If you can keep the snow off, I'd say ok.

Wedge

 

[K man]

Hey jix how are they for condensation inside the roof. Does the equipment get wet etc. I am in Canada so will go visit their website thanks.
Gilles

 

[haroldy]

I have had one for three winters fo r my boat,, tne marine railway takes my boat in during the summer and in the winter i put the ends in to keep the weather off
It is made by shelter logic,, available at crappy tire

I keep the snow off it as they are not the strongest structure but easy to erect and works for me no permits or taxes

havent seen any condensation in it as air gets under the ends

 

[Dave M7040]

I have two. One cheap for summer use and one expensive for winter use.
In many Canadian communities, there are by laws requiring you to take down the fabric in warm weather to please neighbors.
No complaints equals no municipal action.
I always leave one end open for convenience
Removing snow is a must. People have been killed by being inside when it collapsed.
Dont rely on tie downs provided by manufacturer or the wind will take it away.
Duckbill anchors are one effective solution to wind.
About Duckbill Earth Anchors | Foresight Products
The sun is very hard on all of them. The more expensive ones have some UV resistance.
To make my expensive one last I take it down every spring before the sun gets strong.
No problem with condensation.
Dave M7040

 

[IXLR8]

I have a 14' x 22' x 10' round top shelter from MDM in Connecticut, it has zip up doors front and back. I bought it 8 years ago for about $600 and anchored it with the cable anchors they provide with the kit. After about 5 years the cables started to rust and snap in winds over 60 mph. MDM said to take pictures of the rusted cables forward to them and they would send me new cable anchors. Instead, I undid the remaining cables, picked the entire unit up and moved it to a spot on my property that is more shielded from the wind. I then bought some 36" screw in anchors and it has been fine since. The most snow I have seen on it was about 1.5 ft of snow, no issues. The fabric is starting to show signs of fading on the sun. I do have a few holes in the door where the wind blew the door up against the firewood that was inside. I also caught the door one time with the level indicator on my new tractor. The fabric had a 10 warranty when I bought it, but today the warranties appear to be more like 2-3 years. I have been happy with the value of mine and I am considering getting one a little taller and longer so I can put the tractor away with the ROPS up and store more of the tractor attachments inside out of the weather.