Shelters and Sheds

[SilverToy]

Having seen several posts to this thread....

I have the following thoughts...

A) If the spots are true "Pull-throughs" then they will allow the drop of the trailer with real 'pull through' accessability.... Unlikely.

B) The spots are NOT true "pull-through storage" spots, well, then there is a whole different cost structure and attitude needed regarding costs related....

I got a 'whole idea' concept when my folks aquired a 'pull through' garage designed for 'horse carriages' with actual front and rear doors that allowed the 'access and egress' of horses and any other sort of vehicle including AS's....!

Back to your regularly scheduled thread!

Axel
SilverToy

[empresley]

another day older and deeper in questions

Originally Posted by 47WeeWind

Is 18 feet going to be wide enough with two trailers indoors side-by-side? Will you be able to open to doors on both trailers indoors? How wide is your garage door going to be? Are you putting garage doors on both ends or only on one end? Curious minds would like to know. Thanks!

Wide enough? The building was ordered before I found the Argosy. And, the 34 will reside at the farm while the Argosy lives in town.
Open both doors? I thought about this and if we needed to have both under the roof at one time we could line up off set and the shorter Argosy could be parked short of interfering with the International's side door. They could also be pulled in from opposite directions. I don't think we will ever have both in there at the same time.
Width of garage doors? No doors. Open walls on all 4 sides. Additional porch roofs will extend on one or both sides in the future. The vertical metal poles will be laminated with lumber to give the appearance of wood columns supporting the roof. Being fully enclosed could happen by adding siding material.
In a few weeks, Phase 2 photos make things clear as mud.

I am off to play in the dirt and Airstream thru the 4th.
Have a nice holiday!
em.

[jkcru]

Check Cabella's, purchased a 17x27 tent canopy, found it excellent for my 22' Land Yacht

[empresley]

Complete enough to provide plenty of protection from the elements.
Underground service with 100 amp panel and septic hookup all completed.
Porch extension, partial enclosure and other trim will be future additions.

Today was Gravel Day. 57.4 tons of dressing that will make the camp area
safe from muddy conditions should it ever rain again in Georgia.
A satisfying but exhausting day.

Photos:
The new shelter & plenty of gravel.
My sister’s ’54 Spartan waiting patiently in the pasture while stone is being spread.
Fall reflections.

[sfixx]

Wow, very nice Em! What's the Manor waiting patiently for...to sit on the gravel while the AS rests under cover? I love those Spartan trailers

I see that it's been a year since I last posted to this thread. We are settled into our new house and the Airstream Barn is almost ready to move into. I just had the dirt floor replaced with concrete and it's almost fully cured. The Argosy will be so happy to get in out of the weather before the snow flies. I could even work on her this winter since the storage area will be adjacent to my heated shop. I am embarrassed to say that because of our move it's been more than a year since I did any work on it and work on my blog has gone stale as well. We only camped twice this summer and the boys are still sleeping on the floor

Steve

[malconium]

I will eventually build some type of garage/shop that may be big enough to park my 31'r. In the meantime I keep looking around at what is available from various types of sources. I favor a pre-fab solution of some sort if I can find one that meets my needs. There is a very large variety of pre-fab steel buildings available in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Most of them are not particulary suitable (visually) for a typical residential setting. One company that makes a product that does seem more suitable and that is especially suited to DIY construction is the following.

Garage Building Kits Carport Kits Steel Garages

One thing I found especially interesting was that some of their products are available in a frame only version that is compatible with various types of sheathing other than the standard metal products that they sell. You could, for example, opt for plywood and shingles on the roof and Hardi-Board lap siding on the walls.

This company also has a variety of carport types of structures too if you don't need something fully enclosed.

Shipping costs seem to be pretty nominal too. They would be even lower if you opt to supply your own external sheathing locally.

Check it out and see what you think.

Malcolm

[TBRich]

We built a "Bambi Port" at the side of our house tp protect it from the elements...and then had wrought iron gates installed to secure it from the street...the tarps in the pics (see link below) is for the summer months when we have potential for hail & violent weather...in the winter we will take down the west facing side tarp and leave up the south-facing tarp to block the southern sun. Check it out at: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f39/...n-35036-3.html ... post #33... (There's a link there to the actual port construction pics, too.) Since these pictures were taken we have "redesigned" the front tarp so that it not only hangs down from the roof of the port, but also has a section that hangs down from under the house overhang, so you really can't tell whether the Bambi is in there or not from the street... That way, it's not so obvious when we are on the road in the Bambi...

We positioned the gates out from the port space far enough so that we can also put our garbage & recycling dumpsters behind them so they are out of curb sight...and so that there is plenty of room should we ever decide to get a larger AS! Planning ahead, you know!

TB

[wagnerda]

When looking for Airstream storage, don't rule out "year-around" campgrounds. Here in the Wash DC metro area many residential subdivisions (mine included) have restrictions on "eye-sores" such as trailers, boats etc, and we are limited to having an "eye-sore" in our street / drive-way for no more than 48 hours in a five day period.

So, off-site parking/storage is needed but hard to find. I first had my AS at a storage bin lot about 2 miles from my house, which was convenient but I always worried about it because it was too public and too many people with easy access to the AS. Plus it also cost ~$150 per month so $1,800 per year. (this is DC so things can be pricey..)

Then I found a year-around campground about 60 miles away that for a little over $2,500 per year, so not much more than I was paying, I now have a beautiful campsite, about 100 x 100 ft, with picnic table, full hookup, cable TV, there is also a pool, mini golf, baseball, hiking trails, etc etc etc. Since I am a year-around site they also put a meter on the electric so I do get a separate bill for that (18 dollars per kwh).

So, anytime I want I can go up for a weekend and I am all set and instantly camping. It makes the AS much more useable because I don't have to "plan" a trip, I am already set up. Then anytime I want to leave for a road trip I just hook-up and go and whenever I get back I know I have my site all set and ready to pull into.

A couple years ago I would have thought it was crazy to lease a campsite for an entire year, but in reality it has turned out to be one of the best things I have done (besides getting the AS..)

ps - my neighbor directly across the street just brought home his brand new 37' 5th wheel sob yesterday afternoon and spent about 2 hours getting it backed into his driveway - now there's an "eye-sore"... :-)

regards, Dave

[malconium]

For anyone that wants to build their own garage or barn (or even have a local contractor build it) there are a number of places on the Internet where you can buy nice plans for all sorts of garages and barns. Here are some sites that I have run across:

Garage Plans From HSH

All Garage Plan List - house, home, floor plans, houseplans, design

Garden Sheds, Gazebos, Storage Sheds, Pool Houses, Cabins, Garages, Home Studios and More

Barns, Barns, Barns, Barn Plans, Blueprints

See what you think...

Malcolm

[TBRich]

Originally Posted by wagnerda

...snip...

ps - my neighbor directly across the street just brought home his brand new 37' 5th wheel sob yesterday afternoon and spent about 2 hours getting it backed into his driveway - now there's an "eye-sore"... :-)

regards, Dave

I like the idea of a permanent campsite...that would make for easy get-aways! Great idea, Dave.

Re your neighbor...poor guy. I can empmathize with the poor schmuck...the first time we brought the Bambi home I entertained the neighborhood for a good 45 minutes getting it into our driveway...thank gawd it was mid-afternoon and the lots of neighbors were at work...so I wasn't totally humilitated. But was totally frustrated. One woman down the block was literally out in the middle of the street taking it all in. You get the picture. That was 8 months ago. I am happy to say that now I can back the Bambi into its port in a matter of minutes. At least it wasn't a big ol' 5th wheel thing. I know they were watching because one neighbor recently came out and congratualted me on my newly acquired backing-up skills!

TB

[wagnerda]

Once my neighbor got it all backed in and set up we got the full tour etc. I don't think he could get a garage or shed big enough for that thing. With the 3 power-slide outs etc, plus the 37 feet it is like being inside a "horizontal townhouse".

Our entire little Bambi would fit inside 1/2 of his dining room... :-)

But when we got back to our side of the street my wife and I both agreed the Bambi is much, much cuter...

regards, Dave

[ScottW]

Started construction on a 32' x 14' shed with 11' clearance. Phase one in progress below. I already have a dedicated 30 amp RV plug on the adjacent shop wall. Sewer hookup is next. Will (soon for phase two) add siding later.

[ScottW]

Weather has been ok. Wahooo! Making some progress. Hope to get sheathing, felt and shingles on first of next week...if the weather holds.

[sfixx]

Wow, nice progress! It looks like your TT will be well pampered, though it may be a tight fit like stuffing sausage
But I guess it's not intended to have doors.

I am intrigued by the design. Is it yours or your local contactor's? Or did you buy a plan?

Good luck with the rest of the construction,

Steve

[DoorMan]

Looks good Scott.

Herb

[tkendall]

Great little ideas to protect your investment. Here is a supplier that I have used for years for just this type of thing. You can have them design the structure for you and I have seen them hold up to hail, wind (over 120mph) and anything else you can throw at it. You can do just a cover or a fully enclosed structure. If your not in there delivery area, I am sure they can get you to someone close to you. Great choice of color and extras. You can get up to a 30 year warranty and it can give you a break on your insurance too!

Mueller, Inc. - Home Page

Hope this helps someone!

[ScottW]

Thnx Herb, Steve. It is my contractor's design ( a good friend). It'll have a 4/12 pitch roof (to match the workshop). I may add a few braces on the outsides until I get around to putting some type of siding on. Pretty solid, though. 6x6 posts, top band is doubled 2x8's with 2x4 cap. The 'pig trough' down the middle really helps stabilize the unit. It'll be nice to get the 'stream out of the worse weather. more to follow.

[empresley]

Argosy's new home is under way.
16 x 30 with scissor trusses & metal roof.
We decided to build this one from scratch and make it a DIY.

Despite 95 deg. heat all weekend this was a good start with all the support posts installed.

Updates as weekends progress.

[Ike T]

Originally Posted by empresley

Argosy's new home is under way.
16 x 30 with scissor trusses & metal roof.
We decided to build this one from scratch and make it a DIY.

Despite 95 deg. heat all weekend this was a good start with all the support posts installed.

Updates as weekends progress.

16x30? Seems like you could fit 2 Argosys in there.

It's a real benefit to live where building codes aren't as restrictive.

[SusanC]

Related to outdoor shed. This is not an option for me. Poor Bambi has already faded in the Canadian climate. After I repolish/finish polishing, what's the best protective sealant to use? In the meantime, should I wax it or something?
Thank you!