I cant afford a garage to overwinter my car but i can get my car in the garden on a concrete hard standing. Ive seen some of the heavy duty portable garages that could solve my problem, made of metal tubing and tapaulin, but concerned they are not wind proof. I could fix ground anchors to the concrete. Does anyone have expirience of these ?
Cheers. Chris.
If I was you I would just park the car on the concrete base and buy a good car cover. There not windproof and with that water ingress is more than likely. My mates dad had one for a while but sold it and used a cover instead.
I dont fancy a car cover due to condensation and the “wind whipping effect”. I should build car port i suppose !
Thanks for reply.
I have a had a 'portable garage’in my back garden for a couple of years now. Completely waterproof, except at ground level, and the better ones are pretty sturdy, but they will need anchoring well to the ground. - mine came with four plates for that purpose, and I had to add a further four as it blew over into the back lane the first night after I put it up - that caused some damage to the Tarp, which has meant that it has worn out quicker than I would have expected. I live in a very exposed place though, high up in the Pennines, and it has lasted pretty well until this winter - it is now shredded and I am debating whether to replace the canvas with poly tunnel covering or to buy a new cover from the original supplier.
Other issue I have had with mine is that the ‘doors’ are not great and have need to be rehung a few times and the ties replaced frequently.
They are of course not entirely windproof inside - however I would say that is an advantage as it means that the air will not get stale and any condensation is blown away fairly quickly.
mine is from here: http://www.dancovershop.com/uk/products/portable-garages-6.1.aspx and I think is the ‘pro PE’ version
If you look at Poly tunnels that gardeners use they are more sturdy especially if you buy extra hoops and put crop bars across the upper part of the hoops. All add a bit to the cost but my good ladies 35 ft long x 14ft wide tunnel has had 20 in of snow on it with no problems. It has withstood very high winds. The previous one failed due to snow and ice loading and the fact that I made a mistake and put the hops at 6ft centres rather than 5 ft. So my fault there
If you go that route get the polythene that has the internal anti drip coating. Our existing polytunnel is still good cover wise after 5 or 6 years.
Machine Mart are doing these and there is one on ebay used at a small discount
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/clarke-cig1216-heavy-duty-instant-garage
The thing that stopped me looking any further is this quote from the installation manual.
NOTE: Your shelter’s cover can be quickly removed and stored prior to severe weather conditions.
If strong winds or severe weather is forecast in your area, we recommend removal of cover.
Thanks, this has given me couple of things to consider. Roll on spring !
I built a car tent using an old gazebo frame cut down to size then made a new cover using material used in making rucksacks. Aside from a few initial teething problems it has proved very reliable. It’s weathered snow and all the storms of recent weeks. My only regret is not incorporating sufficient ventilation and it does tend to accumulate condensation under the roof. I’ll try and sort that out in the spring.