Rant - fabric garage prices

[Dana]

So I have two fabric hoop sheds ("garage in a box") from Shelter Logic (formerly Cover-it). The first one was originally put up to store an ultralight but eventually got used for other things; the second was put up to house my Starduster project but also got used for other things once I sold the Starduster. Now I have a pretty dismal view of Shelter Logic and their quality, but when rain's coming through the roof and you don't have anyplace else to store the stuff inside, you buy another replacement cover (though I did cover one with metal roofing for a permanent fix). The other one is in the shade so it lasts a little longer, but it's time to replace it, don't want to go metal because it's a lot of work and I expect to be selling the house in a couple of years so I figured I'll just grimace and buy one more crappy replacement cover.

Last time I bought one, two years ago, it was $259. OK, I can deal with that... but no, the current price on their website is now $599!!! Tarrifs? I look at their Canadian website (just change .com to .ca). There the price is only $337.99, and that's Canadian dollars, or $239.70, even less than I paid two years ago. But, on the Canadian website you can only select Canadian shipping addresses. I complained to SelterLogic and they offered my a 20% discount, gee, that's big of you.

At this point I think I'm going to buy a heavy duty tarp from Tractor Supply, 3X the thickness of the standard ShelterLogic cover, and 1/4 the price.

 

[Gary Ward]

So I have two fabric hoop sheds ("garage in a box") from Shelter Logic (formerly Cover-it). The first one was originally put up to store an ultralight but eventually got used for other things; the second was put up to house my Starduster project but also got used for other things once I sold the Starduster. Now I have a pretty dismal view of Shelter Logic and their quality, but when rain's coming through the roof and you don't have anyplace else to store the stuff inside, you buy another replacement cover (though I did cover one with metal roofing for a permanent fix). The other one is in the shade so it lasts a little longer, but it's time to replace it, don't want to go metal because it's a lot of work and I expect to be selling the house in a couple of years so I figured I'll just grimace and buy one more crappy replacement cover.

Last time I bought one, two years ago, it was $259. OK, I can deal with that... but no, the current price on their website is now $599!!! Tarrifs? I look at their Canadian website (just change .com to .ca). There the price is only $337.99, and that's Canadian dollars, or $239.70, even less than I paid two years ago. But, on the Canadian website you can only select Canadian shipping addresses. I complained to SelterLogic and they offered my a 20% discount, gee, that's big of you.

At this point I think I'm going to buy a heavy duty tarp from Tractor Supply, 3X the thickness of the standard ShelterLogic cover, and 1/4 the price.

WE at work have had 2 of them over the years.
One of them I bolted to the concrete.
It didn't last much more then 6 months until the plastic bases cracked from the wind. This was after I replaced all the quick pins with bolts so it would stay together.

I see them go up around the neighborhood but they all seem to disappear after a short time.
Today is one of those days when they get damaged as the wind is gusting to 35 kts around here today.

 

[brcase]

My $100 Harbor Freight one is at least 8 years old. I am going replacing the cover this year, I actually bought a second one as it was almost the same price to buy a whole new one as it was to order a couple fittings that got damaged when a tree branch fell on it. So I already have a spare cover to put on it.

The trick(s) I have for for these-- a box of self tapping metal screws for all the joints so the don't slip apart.
I haven't entirely figured out the plastic bases, my solution was to put a eyebolt in the ground/concrete next to it and tie it with a short length of rope so it could move a bit but not break the plastic base.
I have replaced the elastic straps a couple times, it does have the issue that Snow will weigh down the cover enough that it won't slide off and then melts leaving a pool of water trapped in the cover that needs to be pushed off or put a small drain hole in the cover.

As long is it is properly secured and the joints are locked with a screw it seems to hold together pretty well.

 

[172andyou]

I complained to SelterLogic and they offered my a 20% discount, gee, that's big of you.

It is though, right? They didn't create the tariff situation, yet they are trying to keep a customer happy. 20% is nothing to sneeze at!

 

[MauleSkinner]

It is though, right? They didn't create the tariff situation, yet they are trying to keep a customer happy. 20% is nothing to sneeze at!

3x the thickness at 1/4 the price isn’t anything to sneeze at, either.

 

[GeorgeC]

maybe look upmarket?

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[Lindberg]

At this point I think I'm going to buy a heavy duty tarp from Tractor Supply, 3X the thickness of the standard ShelterLogic cover, and 1/4 the price.

So you're winning.

 

[AvNavCom]

maybe look upmarket?

We have one of the hangar versions on my home drome. Apparently the lack of ventilation and drainage in the summer humidity caused mold all over the walls and the floor to become super slick, to the point they needed to put down some rubber mats on the asphalt. I kind of like the shade-hangar version though.

 

[GeorgeC]

There used to be one at Suburban (W18); I'm not sure what brand, but it was on a slab and remarkably nice. I also saw a similar structure at a farm, but the missus there did not seem to share my interest in discussing shade structures.

 

[Dana]

It is though, right? They didn't create the tariff situation, yet they are trying to keep a customer happy. 20% is nothing to sneeze at!

Thanks, I needed that reality check. Though I have had problems with ShelterLogic's customer service before when I had a clearly defective cover and I had a lot of trouble getting a replacement, which left a bad taste in my mouth.

We have one of the hangar versions on my home drome. Apparently the lack of ventilation and drainage in the summer humidity caused mold all over the walls and the floor to become super slick, to the point they needed to put down some rubber mats on the asphalt. I kind of like the shade-hangar version though.

What I did is lay heavy black plastic on the ground inside and cover the entire floor area with wooden pallets (on top of the plastic). Then a cheap OSB board floor screwed to the pallets locking them together provided a solid and 100% dry floor (until the roof starts leaking, of course).

 

[172andyou]

Thanks, I needed that reality check. Though I have had problems with ShelterLogic's customer service before when I had a clearly defective cover and I had a lot of trouble getting a replacement, which left a bad taste in my mouth.

Sure. And that is 100% on them in that case.

 

[MIFlyer]

So I have two fabric hoop sheds ("garage in a box") from Shelter Logic (formerly Cover-it). The first one was originally put up to store an ultralight but eventually got used for other things; the second was put up to house my Starduster project but also got used for other things once I sold the Starduster. Now I have a pretty dismal view of Shelter Logic and their quality, but when rain's coming through the roof and you don't have anyplace else to store the stuff inside, you buy another replacement cover (though I did cover one with metal roofing for a permanent fix). The other one is in the shade so it lasts a little longer, but it's time to replace it, don't want to go metal because it's a lot of work and I expect to be selling the house in a couple of years so I figured I'll just grimace and buy one more crappy replacement cover.

Last time I bought one, two years ago, it was $259. OK, I can deal with that... but no, the current price on their website is now $599!!! Tarrifs? I look at their Canadian website (just change .com to .ca). There the price is only $337.99, and that's Canadian dollars, or $239.70, even less than I paid two years ago. But, on the Canadian website you can only select Canadian shipping addresses. I complained to SelterLogic and they offered my a 20% discount, gee, that's big of you.

At this point I think I'm going to buy a heavy duty tarp from Tractor Supply, 3X the thickness of the standard ShelterLogic cover, and 1/4 the price.

You know your market, but I would encourage you to consider one of the basic metal ones. If it's put in a thoughtful place, you might get more than that back on resale and have a better place to store stuff in the meantime. Most people appreciate having some extra garage/carport space, expecially if you're on property.