The Ark finally has a lair...

[Cape Cod Fleetwood]

Yes I wish I had a fancy garage but I don't.
This is COSMIC to me - tonight its raining and I didn't have to futz with tarps and bungees in a futile
effort to keep the roof dry.

Shelter Logic MAX AP 10x20, hey it was 'free'. So many grateful clients gave me Home Cheapo gift cards
for Christmas, like I'd actually buy anything significant for myself at Home Cheapo but its the thought that
counts, right? Ended up with $300 in gift cards ergo free Shelter Logic.

Spent another $350 on upgrades (at Home Cheapo, with my 10% off veterans discount) for 6 sheets of 4x8 ground contact plywood and associated hardware for the floor, and all the electrical parts. Got the ratchet straps for the roof (now I have a snow load) and the nylon line (yellow is better than blue) at Harbor Freight when they were on sale + a 20% off coupon. 18" tent spikes came from Lowe's.

Had my foreman work with me all day, we had a blast. The biggest problem was we were building this like skilled carpenters when its designed for idiots. Ergo making sure support poles were plumb and the frame was square before really sending it home, plus the mods on the roof and building a floor. Not to mention the day I spent digging a trench for power, the covering it back up, leveling the area that I had plot planned perfectly and using orange spray paint on the ground to illuminate where the corners would be, spot on.

Fun video on my FB page when we finished...
https://www.facebook.com/laurie.kraynick/videos/1683879808393828/

Otherwise here's pics, before, during and after. The Ark fits perfectly in its lair. Its raining now, and for the 1st time since I've owned the car I wasn't feverishly putting tarps over the roof and holding them down with bricks and bungee cords. This is a quality of life issue for me. And life is gooder now.

I have 1 piece of GC plywood to attach tomorrow then do the electrical. And that's after I see a new body shop about getting the script put on in time for Gillette next Thursday. And I have yet to give the body, chrome and roof the attention and work it needs prior to that event, it will get done. It might kill me, but it will all get done.

Quality of this Shelter Logic, I give it a "C". Corners don't come together tightly, no way to secure the base from water or critters, side and roof material is cheesy. We'll see how long it lasts. Its why I did the roof work and added all the extra supports, fingers crossed.

\m/
Laurie

[cadillacmike68]

Nice.

BTW it's the homeless despot around here...

[Cape Cod Fleetwood]

I have a,shelter logic for one of my cars. 5 years now. I can only offer that my top is skin tight. On yours, the top is not. I think your success with this garage will depend how tight you can get the top to shed water. If it pools even slighty, the water evaps, the organic material stays and starts working on that top over time.

Art I'll take another swing at that roof ASAP, thanks for that.
We had the hardest time getting the front and rear edges of the roof 'down' over
the frame and tight. Sounds like there's more to do. The straps I added for a snow load
aren't very tight, just snug. Doubt that's enough to warp to the roof so the skin won't
sit correctly. Thanks again.

\m/
Laurie

[Jeff Rosansky CLC #28373]

Looks good. Even tho its white, you mite want to let the sun beat down on the tarp for a bit before you try to get the rinkles out. They may mostly cure themselves.
Jeff

[Lexi]

My buddies and I used to do massive Halloween shows, including some big budget ones, (yes, lots of Heavy Metal entertained scared guests Laurie \m/). Numerous outdoor tents like yours were regularly used for a variety of reasons. In a climate comparable to N/E U.S. we found that 5 years or so was about the life expectancy for most of these roofs, (and these were only used seasonally). Leaving them up all year round count on 3 - 5 years. That has been our experience with them. The roofs with the best UV coatings should last the longest. They can still look "good" after several years then one windy day without warning, poof! Your roof is ripped apart and flapping in the breeze-with all the inclement weather coming in on your treasures. Normally you got to wait for a break in the weather to clean the mess up and effect repairs. Been there and done that a few times.

You also have snow removal duty in the winter which is a pain. If you permit snow to accumulate and 'sag' the roof, or even just water as pointed out by 49er, (as it is also heavy as well as being a solvent of sorts), the material will stretch and eventually weaken, thus compromising its integrity and longevity. Sometimes the weight of the snow is incredible, and tough to remove. Best not to push up with sticks from the inside but to sweep off from outside, though this is not always practical. With a big car parked in there, it will be tough to remove the snow working from the inside due to lack of space and 'reach' problems. Clearing away of snow from the sides where it may accumulate from sliding off of the roof is also a good idea as when you get a 4 or 5 foot wall of snow build up there, it pushes in the structure with a lot of force. Seen that a lot. Where you place your tent and what direction the bad weather normally blows in from as well as the tent's proximity to other structures effects how well it will weather, etc.

We also found that we could never keep the rodents out.

Lastly, proper anchoring is a must. Some jurisdictions have laws that prescribe the means of anchoring; length of steel spikes etc.). Have seen pros use 3 and 4 foot steel spikes set in at angles for the large commercial tents. Thankfully, our experience was that the anchoring systems with tents like yours worked with the better ones coming with those 'corkscrew' like footings in which to attach your straps to. Good idea to check periodically to ensure that all remain tight, as well as to remove any sags that may develop in the roof.

We also used some of them for year round outdoor storage but for the above reasons we gave up on that. Unless you can control the moisture levels you will also wind up with a big 'humidity' cabinet which is rotten for your car and anything stored inside. They are great for short term parking protection until you find a better storage solution for your vehicle, in my opinion. Clay/Lexi

[Cape Cod Fleetwood]

\m/ Lexi

You brought up a good point, snow load from the side... it just 1 3/8" poles with those faux canvas walls bungee balled to them. Fortunately I put in a solid 3/4" ground contact plywood floor, all the panels are married, gives me a base. With interior space already at a premium I need to think up something to support against side snow. I'm a brilliant contractor so they say, I'll think of something. Got the final piece of plywood floor in today and did the wiring for electric. Just have to tie it in to the junction box in the shed, then get the LED shop lights up. I'll be flying those from the pole roof 'joists', the lights are very very light weight.

\m/
Laurie

[Lexi]

Very good idea to install the floor as you described. That should avoid interior flooding. We installed our plywood floors with vapour barrier plastic on a slightly raised brick foundation. The worst I saw with respect to side wall-snow issues was with a tent that was 3 feet away from a wooden fence (where there was a property line). That 3 foot wide 'alley way' filled up with snow one year until it was about 5 feet high. The tent wall bulged inward incredibly, and needless to say it was a very tough job to dig the offending snow out. There was also a lot of snow on the unprotected side as well, but not as much. If you have a hard winter, then snow removal is a pain. Clay/Lexi  \m/

[conv69]

I have the same shelter. I just put it up this week too and this will be my 3rd summer with it. I take it down for the winter and I rent a garage for the winters. I have never put up the sides or ends up because I have been doing work/ body work on it and need the room to move around it. I can leave he convertible top down and the car stays dry which helps a lot. I filled 5 gallon buckets with cement an put an anchor bolt in them which I ratchet strap to each corner. I also use 3 tube sand bags to hold down the sides and ratchet straps down both sides to keep it together. I'm guessing the side panels would probably handle this though. As you know we had some pretty strong storms last summer and fall with 50 -70 mph winds. it held together pretty well with the exception of having to go out one night at 2am to gorilla tape a couple of poles together. I thought it was a little cheesy when I got it but all in all it has held together pretty good. It sounds like you have a pretty good setup going so I'm sure you will be just as happy with keeping it out of the elements. Planning on going to Gillette as a spectator can't want to see the Ark.

[Bobby B]

I had one of those collapse at the WORST possible time, due to a short lived heavy downpour. Put it back in the box and shipped it directly back for a refund. NEVER again. I can't imagine the outcome that 2" of snow would bring ......
                                                                                              Bobby

[Lexi]

Bobby's experience is a common one. When they go it is usually under extreme weather conditions. We had a Shelter Logic loose its' roof suddenly during a violent wind and rain storm. No one felt like battling the elements to protect the contents. Like, what could have been done anyhow with a storm raging? I did go out and strap a tarp over the stuff to keep additional water from further contaminating everything, and even that was a struggle-but the lightning flashes at least made it easier to see in the dark. Think that was the 10 x 10 x 9 unit designed for parking riding lawn mowers, etc. Doing Hershey was just 3 days away, and we went crazy throwing up an Arrow shed in 2 days to move everything-also in the rain... Got to bed mega-late then had a long drive to Hershey early the next morning. Yeah, these tents go at the worst of times!

Note to self for future reference: Always buy the floor kit and pressure treated plywood for these metal sheds.

We also used some of the Costco "car ports" with about the same success. They are 20 x 10 x 9. They started making them out of smaller diameter poles about 12 - 15 years ago. While they do not have the same 'draft' as the Shelter Logics we used, (straight side panels as opposed to sloping panels), they also held up well. In some cases we lashed 2 together thus making an even heavier more stable unit. They all seemed to last about the same length of time though. Those elastic-rope and ball ties actually worked quite well, but we quickly learned for those tents that were regularly cycled and NOT left up yearly, we quickly tossed those lousy connecting pins that they are routinely supplied with. We replaced them with high quality, heavier pipe linch pins which saved soooo much time in the tear down and re-assembly processes. They were life savers.

While the Costco car tents eventually proved to be our favorites, they are still plagued by the same problems. One of my buddies used one that was neatly tucked in between his 3 car garage plus a wooden fence at the back as well as on the other side. Not much room in-between all. Hydro wires and a large tree hung over it. One would think that it was fairly 'safe' , i.e. immune from wind damage as it was largely sheltered. Well during one wind storm he looked out his window and saw that it had suddenly disappeared! GONE! Investigation revealed that the wind had picked it up and somehow navigated it through the tree branches and hydro lines, then tossed it upside down in his neighbour's backyard! No noise was even heard. How that exactly happened is still a mystery.

Only Rod Serling and Big "G" know what really happened.

On the plus side it caused us to double our efforts at staking these things down. On another day while setting up a Costco tent at an outdoor antique show for a buddy, the entire unit levitated about 2 or 3 feet in the air, neat as you please, then gently was lowered to the earth as if by large unseen hands. We were in the process of assembling it and had the roof supports and the top tarp only assembled, (no legs or side panels). While this initially 'creeped' me out, the unit must have acted like a large sail and made the most efficient use of what little wind there was. One would have thought that there was not enough air movement to do this BUT there was! In the final analysis I am not the biggest fan of these things either, due to the work and risks involved, though in a pinch they are great while you search for a better storage solution.

Clay/Lexi
\m/

[savemy67]

Hello Laurie,

Thanks for posting your Shelter Logic escapade.  I was thinking about getting one myself.  From what I have read, about half the people are satisfied with the product, and the half that are not satisfied usually have issues related to the weather.

Last Fall, I poured a 10' x 33' concrete driveway for my '67 and my other car.  This Spring I plan to construct a temporary carport using strut, siding, and a sheet roofing product which I have yet to finally determine.  My budget is about $1000.  Good luck with your "garage", and watch those snow loads.

Christopher Winter

[Cape Cod Fleetwood]

Several Shelter Logic's survived Irma, a friend of mine works for FEMA, he was surprised. The ones that survived were all "long anchored" like mine. Snow load - my friend Charlie with the 33 cars has a bunch of Shelter Logic's and lesser Harbor Freight tents, all survive New England winters including heavy snow: with those orange straps in the roof. My ground stakes are 18" heavy plastic (just like Charlie's) from Lowe's. Same rope, 3/8" from Harbor Freight (2 square knots and 1 slip know on each end, ropes are snug, not tight enough to bend the frame) and the 1" roof ratchet straps (snug, not tight enough to warp the roof) are from Harbor Freight, just like Charlie's. What's different about mine vs Charlie's is his tents have a support rail along the bottom, mine don't. I'm a builder - they'll have them before the snow flies if not before.

Pics from today, electrical connections made, tested, perfect. Lights are up, fan is ready to go on a timer. Why a black fan when everything is white? SO I'LL SEE IT BACKING IN! LOL! And I've marked a spot on the floor that lines up with my "Body by Fisher" badging when I open the door, telling me I'm spotted perfectly.

When the lair was FINISHED I got to work on The Ark a bit, working on the roof using black caulk and touching up a paint that I matched perfectly. I do a lot of painting as a contractor, this was easy.

The Ark gets a nice hand wash on Monday, chrome gets done on Tuesday and some light body buffing, that's it, that's all I can do. THE END IS IN SIGHT. Now to get the script on before Gillette!

Cool pic of the lair at night, dang those LED lights are bright. Used 2 double LED shop lights from Job Lot, $15 each.

\m/
Laurie

[Cape Cod Fleetwood]

Planning on going to Gillette as a spectator can't want to see the Ark.

We shouldn't be too hard to find Rick, prolly not many TURQUOISE 'woods there... LOL!
Rain will keep me home BTW, make yourself known when you see me. Female, 6' tall, red 80's hair....
\m/
Laurie