| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| B112 |
Posted - 11/09/2020 : 16:03:39
So I'm going to start a post on how I am repairing my cover-it. I limped along for a number of years after a 33" of snow collapsed the roof (looked like 4' in some drifts). The rest of the unit held up, but 13 ribs failed. More pictures to come and the design to be documented.
https://www.geofffox.com/MT/archives/2013/02/09/2013-blizzard-snow-totals-for-connecticut.php
The original unit looked like this in 2003:
Tractors around the boat:
Then we had a snow which as you can see all the roads were covered and not plowed. There was no way to get to Cover-It to remove snow:
This is the unit after the snow was removed from the cover, the boat pulled out and the roof jacketed back up. From 2013 until 2018 (five years), I limped along with metal stressed roof ribs:
The unit was assembled in approximately 2003 to house my boat and it became the tractor cover-it also. I'd sneak those little buggers next to my 27' boat and behind it because I was planning to get a bigger boat (never happened.. got married and had kids).
So I purchased this pipe bender from Harbor Freight and bent one tube so far (Electrical EMT pipe - I am looking to replace with schedule 40 with the swedge 3" ends when I can get a fair price for purchase and shipping).
The cover-it bent all of the upper ribs, the all but one of the straight pipes were straight:
This is a picture of one of the ribs repaired. Generation one of the repair.
I am straightening the frame using 2x4 wood and EMT pipe clamps screwed to the boards. To fit my boat back into this unit, I will need to make trusses and I am still pondering that design. So far I plan to firm up the unit with select areas of wood and restore the ribs, but I am planning to add wooden rafters which will hold the walls up firmer and I may be able to mount ladders and other equipment on the walls.
(I'll edit the first post as I go... so far above is what I got.)
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| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Cvans |
Posted - 04/02/2025 : 13:52:51
You've had that for a long time and have probably gotten your monies worth out of it. That thing had to be pretty heavy. |
| B112 |
Posted - 03/03/2025 : 16:47:07
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| B112 |
Posted - 03/03/2025 : 16:39:45
Not the best photo, but this is what I saw on my security cameras the night the tarp ripped the grommets. Nope, not a good feeling to always wonder if it's gonna rip. This summer we'll look at improving the cover. I have the original cover which I intend to install once I know the pipes will not poke a hole in it. And I intend to install the shrink wrap under the original cover as the original sheds from the inside.
Don't get confused with the scaling of the photo as the security camera distorted it. It's 46' long by 14' wide. A fairly big unit. Which I have the original receipt of $1800 when I bought it 10 miles down the road (no shipping costs).
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| Cvans |
Posted - 03/01/2025 : 17:17:51
I've thought about those tarped sheds but was afraid the winds we have to deal with would destroy it in one summer. It would probably have to be one with a peaked roof so the snow would slide off of it. Your grommet kit looks to work better than the one I got. When I went to set the grommet part of it would always be kinked. Tried it on different materials and made sure I had a solid flat surface to work on but still no go. I hope you solved the problem with your cover. Must be disappointing to look outside and see your shed needs more work. |
| B112 |
Posted - 02/23/2025 : 20:04:07
I used the harbor freight grommet kit to install new gromets. The trick was to move that board 50% between each of the eyes on the ground. I am not sure this will hold up in a strong wind. I need to extend those skirts and get the tarp tight to the white shrink wrap skirts. Or when I put the original tarp back on, maybe the tarp will be tight to that. The trick to a cover-it is to always install a sacrificial tarp over the cover which takes the sun beating. If the tarp is tight to the cover, it does not pick up with the wind and will not rip out the gromets. Another technique would be to role a conduit and then cut a small hole in various places so the tension is along the conduit. For now we're testing the processes and if it holds up through the winter we'll do something else in the spring.
What you're looking at is the tarp being pulled over a 1' wide skirt which is stapled into a 4x4 on the ground and 2x4's attached to the frame. The tarp is 30x50 and which is really 29'8' x 49' so it does not make it to the ground.
The frame and the tarp seem to hold up in small snow loads and ice formation so far. Everything inside is dry so if I want to work on something, it's fairly warm and dry.
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| Cvans |
Posted - 02/19/2025 : 23:18:15
Were you able to replace the gromets without otherwise repairing the tarp? |
| B112 |
Posted - 02/18/2025 : 15:36:29
So far held up in all the light snows and ice storm. The wind storm which pulled out the gromets of the tarp is what did the unit in on Monday AM this week. I'll be rolling the tarp back on in a few days. It's too cold to think of it today. |
| Cvans |
Posted - 01/27/2025 : 13:56:45
I had never owned a lawn sweeper before as I'd heard that they weren't very effective. After spending a little time to get this one set up correctly it does a really nice job. I'm now wishing I had had one of these years ago.
Your shelter turned out nice. Unless you get a ton of wet snow it should hold up nicely. I suppose a tight tarp would help the snow to slide off. Did you get it to shrink or is that yet to be done?
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| B112 |
Posted - 01/26/2025 : 20:19:14
The 917 is actually matched to that Allis lawn sweeper which is pretty cool, I am not sure if you can see the Allis emblem on the sweeper. I push the leaves to a huge pile in the back and then sweep the tracks. The cover held up this storm. The tarp material is not as tight as the original cover. So this spring if all is well, we'll pull this tarp off and fix what needs fixing. More updates as a learn to maintain this. :) |
| Cvans |
Posted - 01/22/2025 : 21:51:47
I hope it held up to the snow. It will be interesting to hear if it shrinks as well from the back side. I don't know why it wouldn't. I look at your Allis with the yard broom and think of my Wheel Horse with an attachment like that. Mine works surprisingly well and I use the leaves to cover our strawberries.
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| B112 |
Posted - 01/18/2025 : 16:04:50
quote:
Originally posted by Cvans
If it's a single layer can you shrink it from the inside? Seems like it would be safer than working on a ladder from the outside.
That's an idea. I can test that theory before I try the big cover. So far the tarp has held up in two dustings of snow. We can get anywhere from 2" to 8" in the next two days... we'll see what happens next. |
| Cvans |
Posted - 01/17/2025 : 19:16:41
If it's a single layer can you shrink it from the inside? Seems like it would be safer than working on a ladder from the outside.
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| B112 |
Posted - 01/06/2025 : 00:47:38
You're welcome. I can see why I might just pay someone to do the final shrink-wrap layer. The gun was $659, and the 6' extension was another $439. Since I don't expect to do this more than once, purchasing such tools may be excessive. If I only need to make a bolt rope on the ground by folding the shrink wrap over it, I can use the weed burner from Harbor Freight. Otherwise, trying to shrink the material on the frame while standing 8' high on a ladder is likely not feasible. I have some used material that I’m going to test with before making any final decisions. For now, I'm set for the winter, minus the door.
Here's a picture to enjoy:
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| Cvans |
Posted - 01/05/2025 : 02:16:47
That's interesting. I've never watched anyone use that shrink before. I'm really surprised after watching the guy with the weed burner how much heat that that shrink wrap will tolerate. We use a much thinner version of that shrink to cover our larger RC airplanes.
Thanks for the links. |
| B112 |
Posted - 01/04/2025 : 19:53:10
Here’s the plan: Use shrink wrap skirts to close gaps in the cover for winter. This should work for now, with the larger shrink wrap solution as a future project. Next, reinforce the front door and frame to handle heavier snow loads.
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