Fabric shelters...

[Sandhill Crane]

Has anyone used these for a work area, or storage of equipment, where snow loads are a factor?
Menards carries ShelterLogic, and several choices of style and fabric. Sold some small equipment this fall but acquired a pickup and used rv trailer with an older roof. I'm finding with the round top shelters, the door width at the top is considerable narrower, which in order to accommodate an rv trailer really pushes the foot print, and the cost up. Of course then why not go one step (or two) bigger still, and make room for the other firewood equipment (that was in the garage last year while the vehicles sat out). Now we're talking small pole barn size.
I'm sure I'm not the only one turning this stuff over...

One beginning question is, are the less expensive ones any good, say 9 oz. fabric verses 14 oz. and 21 oz.? Or should those be rules out from the get go?

 

[CaseyForrest]

Having done a DIY version.... On the cheap I would opt for one of the prefabbed carports with a metal roof.

 

[cantoo]

Sandhill, I have one sitting here in the crate still. It's 20x 30', "engineered" for Canadian winters but I assume that means nothing. I drive all over Ontario and I've seen many many of the shelter logic type buildings as well as Coverall etc torn to shreds or collapsed. The torn ones are usually in open wind swept areas and the collapsed ones are usually in sheltered areas but got dumped on with wet snow. I think this is a case of you get what you pay for. The one I bought comes in a 7' long crate so the pipes are a max of 7' long. I can also lift one corner so I assume they are pretty thin wall too. Mine if I ever get around to putting it up will be reinforced with 2x4 post's in the middle in the winter, should be fine with nothing in the summer. I'm thinking that I might dig in some cedar posts and have mine 6' off the ground to give me lots of height. I would put cedar boards on the side of it ( cut on my sawmill if I ever find the time, do you see a pattern here?) Your location is pretty sheltered and if you are using part of it for RV storage then it would be pretty easy to install some temporary 2x4 posts for snow load. It could be free span all summer for your firewood use.
I also have one that is 16x 22' with windows on it, we use it for weddings and family gatherings. Takes 2 people about 1/2 hour to setup. I would think it's comparable to the Shelter Logic type ones. (Can$ 250)
If you are considering long term storage then there are manufacturers of some good ones. My wife ( she cuts their grass) and a buddy works for Brite Span, they are the best but more dollars of course. Built about 20 miles from me. http://www.britespanbuildings.com/

 

[Nick Kent]

I had a shelterlogic 10x20 up for a few years. You have to anchor the legs really well. Snow will blow in. Expect 1 year out of the roof and maybe a bit more out of the sides. You have to push the snow off all the time. Although, the roof can hold an incredible amount of weight without breaking. [emoji849]. All in all they are ok. But I'm so glad it's down

 

[Mustang71]

I see a lot of people with those shelters that they sell at harbor freight that hold a car. One of our customers has had it up for 3 winters now. There's a guy down the road from me with a large steal building carport thing with his tractors and rv under it and it looks legit. I had looked into one of those steal car ports, a lot of people have them around here, but ended up with a metal shed and building a lean to on the side of my barn to keep the rain and snow off stuff. We get a good amount of snow and wind in WNY.

 

[chucker]

there ok going on the third year with mine 12x20... what I should have done was to fasten the base onto a treated lumber frame keeping it square to the corners!!!!! fabric was good till this spring! april made the end of the 2nd year and the back end ripped out at the center.. not to bad as it works as a back door. cracks/rips at each rib going the length and 2 feet at each rib. plan on pole barn steel to go on the length and a few clear sheets to top the hoops as sky lights! never had any problems with snow load as mine is in the open!! if I had to buy another a steel framed shed will replace it!

 

[cantoo]

I've heard that the best way to make the cover last a long time is to keep it tight. Put 4x6 around the bottom and screwnail it down so the fabric is as tight as you can get it. Rubbing on the corners wears it thin.

 

[Jhenderson]

I have a round top and a peak roof type. Both Shelter Logic. The round top is 10 years old with the same fabric. It was heavy duty to begin with. The top has stayed tight all these years and is only just beginning to show thin spots. It does real well shedding snow. The peak roof is not heavy duty and sags under a snow load. It needs to be cleared after every storm. I'm sure it won't go six years.

 

[dave_dj1]

I live in NY near the VT border (southern end of VT) and have had 3 of them, never again! You may, and I say may reluctantly get 3 years out of the fabric. The other problem is they will condensate from the temperature changes, I put a tarp on the ground to help fend it off but it didn't work very well. There was a very large round top one along the snowmobile trail and the guy had it spray foam insulated on the inside, it ended up collapsing about 6 years ago, between the very snowy winter and the ultraviolet breaking down the fabric. It was a MESS!
I would never buy another one for anything other than a temporary storage structure on a job site.
I have actually been thinking about finding a frame and using metal roofing like the carport guys use. I threw all of mine away, now I wish I had kept the frame.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

They don't last well around here. I've actually see one flying 30ft in the air. Granted that was also a wind storm that ripped off the roofs of a few houses and buildings too though.

We typically see 90-100 mph gusts most winters. Couple winters ago I ended up with a snowmobile trailer upside down in my yard from 2 houses over. The thing had been chained to a shed (he was worried about theft). It drug the ~10x12ft shed full of junk 20 feet across his yard before the chain broke.

I've lost firewood off my stacks to the wind, would just whip it right off the stack and who the hell knows where it ends up. I found a few pieces one spring a few hundred feet into the woods behind the stacks. I have to put weighs like I beams, tires, etc on my empty racks (which weight quite a bit even) or they end up getting blown away.

 

[Nick Kent]

If you're getting that kind of wind forget about those things

 

[sb47]

I would opt for the prefab metal carports over a fabric one any day.
Down here the UV will destroy ant fabric shelter in just a year or two.
I use the fabric popups during racing season and they never last more then a year. Even just limited use on the weekends they wont last very long.
One of my next projects is to put up 2 metal carports for wood storage.
If you want it to last, go with a metal one.

 

[svk]

I had one of those Quonset hut type and it was a disaster between the wind and snow. If you are home to rake snow off it during heavy storms and have the thing anchored to the ground VERY securely you might get 2-3 years out of it

 

[Jhenderson]

I had one of those Quonset hut type and it was a disaster between the wind and snow. If you are home to rake snow off it during heavy storms and have the thing anchored to the ground VERY securely you might get 2-3 years out of it

I'm not sure what the difference between the one you're talking about and mine but as I said, I've gotten 10 years out of mine. That includes hurricane Sandy. We get 4-5 feet of snow, most times its heavy and wet. My shelter sheds quite well. I've never re tightened the fabric. It is however the heavy duty cover, not the low buck one. None of this can be said about my peak roof unit.

 

[svk]

Not sure but glad you had better results.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

From what each of you has contributed, and the cost factor of the heavy duty units for something big enough for an rv trailer pretty much rules it out. I tried to justify going longer in length to get other stuff covered but not happening. Something for the trailer alone would be 5K plus in the heavy duty. Over ten years not to bad however.

 

[philoshop]

My garage-in-a-box came from Tractor Supply. 12 x 20 Shelter Logic. It keeps the rain, sun, and snow off my tractor and a few ladders. That's all I ask of it. It cost me $300 six years ago and I spent another $250 to replace the cover just a few months ago. It was sun damage/UV more than anything else.
If I lived in an area prone to high winds or heavy snowfall I would have made a different choice, but I'm pretty happy with the purchase considering it was advertised as a 'temporary' shelter.

 

[dave_dj1]

Has me thinking, would it be possible to put some sort of coating on to help ward off the ultraviolet light?
https://www.pcimag.com/articles/83632-uv-inhibitors-in-polyester-gelcoats

 

[Nick Kent]

For 5k, I'd think you could build some type of pole barn that would last quite a while and have a real roof. Not taking into account labor of course

 

[cantoo]

Buy a sawmill they said, cut your own wood they said, build whatever you want they said, it'll pay for itself they said. Okay I bought the dang sawmill now where do I buy the time to use it to mill the lumber to build the pole shed?
$5000 won't get you too far on a building big enough to cover an RV. Unless you could do a lean too on an existing building. Around here the darn permits, drawings, engineering costs are getting crazy. Someday the Building Inspector is going to drive in my laneway and I'm gonna have a red face. I may have built and changed a few things with no permits. ( shhhh 24x 56' shop)