Sungold
03-04-2009, 03:46 PM
Does anyone have experience with this type of portable garage shelter? Any learnings to share?
I need some additional storage space and I'm thinking of buying one. The brand that I'm looking at is Shelterlogic (through Northern Tool). I'm thinking that I'll go with the round top type (seems that they would be best in shedding snow loads so as to not collapse from the weight.
Any first hand experiences would be appreciated.
Sunshine
03-04-2009, 10:05 PM
We got a Shelter Logic "garage in a box" from Northern Tool and have been very happy - it comfortably houses a half dozen mama goats and their new babies during kidding season. We were able to talk to local people who had used them for several years and took advantage of their mistakes and warnings. It was not quite as quick and easy as the instructions imply, but assembly only took took three afternoons by one fifty-ish mom and a couple of sullen teens. First, make SURE you get extra anchor tie downs - the kit came with four, but you are much safer with one for each of the legs. I think sinking the tie downs into our red clay was the most difficult part of the whole assembly, but well worth the effort.
In addition, we used sturdy cord inside to secure the frame. Part of the frame is held together by bolts but many connections simply rely on friction. There was too much "flex" for my peace of mind - the frame moved enough that some connections kept coming loose as we were trying to pull the skin on. We ran cord from the top of the frame diagonally around the sides and secured with trucker hitches to the tie downs, which stiffened things nicely. We were also warned that wind can get inside and lift the skin, so we ran more of the same cord outside over the skin, again secured to the tie downs. After some sun and time the skin stretched out slightly, so we re-tightened as directed by the instructions. It has now survived a couple of storms with 30-50 mph wind gusts.
Snow isn't usually much of a problem in this part of South Carolina, but I suspect that you're right about the round tops being safer in your area.