Temporary/Portable Garages

Hi Kathleen
I don't have a Costco card anymore so I don't know what brand they are selling this week.
Most of the stores are selling either a King Canopy or a Shelter Logic , if You know the brand name ? or can pick out the style ? , I will try to help You find the replacement parts You need , they are out there , it just takes a while to find them , as a lot of them do private labeling , plus the knock off junk from China at HF etc. .
Bob
http://www.kingcanopy.com/
http://www.shelterlogic.com/

I am not sure that we are all talking about the same thing here....not at all clever with this stuff. But, I have been using a tarp covered kit(12 X 20 ft.) for a car port for about 10 years. I couldn't do without it! I did replace the cover just once and simply ordered the replacement tarp to do so. It was not very expensive(maybe 70 bucks?). Mine came from either Walmart or our local Bi-mart, forgot which.

The only thing that I found that goes ka-put very quickly(only lasts a summer) are the du-hickies that come with the kit to tie it on. They are useless(they have those little "balls" on them?)so I replaced those with cable ties and on the four corners I used wire.

We rarely have snow here but have had some good winds. This outfit is in a protected area between the "real" careport and a metal shed so it stayed in place nicely.

Hope you get yours all back together soon.

LQ

__________________
" Live in the Sunshine,
Swim the Sea,
Drink the Wild Air"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"There is no such thing as bad weather, only inadequate clothing." D. Duck

Those little Du Hickies are called Bungee Balls and like everything else , they come in a variety of Thickness of the cord . I have to agree some original equipment supplied ones are junk . For winter use I just double them up and change them out if they do stretch . after a heavy snow , But then again , I have over 2,500 of the little suckers .
Bob

I bought two of them, both Shelterlogic. Now, both at the dump, having survived less than 6 months. If you have a very wind-sheltered area, maybe it would last a few years...but for the same price, you could build something more solid from wood. The only reason I can think to get one would be a permit issue.

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1 Tim 3:2-3 "Preach the Word. Be ready in season and out. Convince, Rebuke, Exhort with all long-suffering and teaching."

If I ever build a chicken house I would want one of these with a KFC advertisement on the front. lols.

I like that idea with the used billboard covers! The only issue is to how to bend pipe to make the ^ shape. Around here, ^ shapes work the best to shed snow and rain and also the wind.
I've seen those bungie things, they are OK for weekend shelters, like picnic canopies, but not for semi-permanent buildings.
I'm now thinking 1 shelter, long enough to park my horse trailer and truck in (as if hitched) located on the back of my property where the wind is less due to it being below grade from the garage/house.

My two shelters from Costco are 10' X 20', but I don't know the brand (bought them six years ago). As long as they are sideways to the prevailing winds, they actually do hold up to the wind pretty well -- if they are staked down well. My shelters are staked with rebar stakes that my mother and step-father used to use when they were using the same kind of shelters for rock and gem shows. And the big ag shelter is bolted to rows of RR ties that I used as a foundation, so that thing isn't going anywhere!

How would you find the used billboard covers? Now that you mention that, I think my mother and step-father have some of that stuff -- they used it to cover a 40' shipping container that they have, that has a leaky roof.

The bungee balls are fun for the goats to play with, too! I'm always finding one laying on the ground in or near their pen! Thanks for the idea to replace those with the wire ties.

Kathleen

If You have a store bought shelter and have bent a few pipes , most are made of 1 3/8 20 ga. steel , Home depot sells 1 3/8 17 ga. fence pipe @ $6.99 for 10 ft. .
If You need a replacement for a hoop , take a good one out and bring it to a local garage with a tube bender , or a muffler shop .
As for the covers used , they range from mil. specs rip-stop poly material to some very thin poly tarps .

Just a question....Couldn't you put two pipes up together, ends up to form your ^, and use some kind of elbow or whatever to bolt them together in your inverted V shape? I see a lot of different kinds of "couplers" at Home Depot for pipe...some on an angle.

Don't know how such steep walls would work though...seems to me this shape would really limit the shapes and the height of any thing you might want to park in them?

LQ

__________________
" Live in the Sunshine,
Swim the Sea,
Drink the Wild Air"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"There is no such thing as bad weather, only inadequate clothing." D. Duck

Yes, "^" limits the storage, but its easier to cover using a standard tarp. I stopped by a local farm that runs horses and uses open ended shelters and he is using the billboard covers - his are an ad for Jaquar. They are very durable material. He has no problem with them blowing away as they are open ended and staked firmly to the ground with something that looks like those stakes that they put swingsets or dog tie-outs on.

......and thank goodness its wasn't an ad for Elmer's Glue.

Kathleen, Look up Farmtek they have everything you can think of. Get them to mail you a catalog & dream & dream. On price, well, it's worth a look.