Where do you park?

aighead · Aug 7, 2019

Hey all, I've searched around a bit and haven't seen the thread I'm looking for, if this has been addressed already please forgive me...

Where do y'all park your machines? Living in the country it's not uncommon for me to see a variety of both big barns and outbuildings or machines just parked out in the driveway.

While I assume it would be better to store my backhoe indoors how much harm am I doing by not? A guy down the road has a couple big machines, a loader and a backhoe and I've seen them outside for years (and they move, though I assume he's a better mechanic than I).

When I'm able to afford a building or shelter of some sort I'll get one but that's not the case now... How much should I prioritize it? Would you trust a small DIY Kit? My neighbor just got a VersaTube kit that seems nice but a bit more spendy than I can be currently. I've seen some kits that are just the corners for inch and a half conduit where I buy all the straight pieces separately.

What do you guys think? Thanks!

Birken Vogt · Aug 7, 2019

I think for contractors they can leave them outside because they move from job to job and they aren't likely to keep them all that long in the grand scheme. For a machine that is likely to grow old with you it is nice to have some kind of shelter. I know I don't have any shelter and have to deal with quite a bit of deterioration I wish I didn't. Seals and hoses and paint and anything plastic gets ate up in the sun and rain as years go by.

Tinkerer · Aug 7, 2019

Outside in the same climate you have !

aighead · Aug 7, 2019

Oh yeah, to the point of any of the kits, most look like they come with a roof or walls that don't come all the way to the ground. A lot look like I could make them entirely enclosed but at some point I'm building a barn, right? Is somewhat enclosed close enough to entirely enclosed?

ianjoub · Aug 7, 2019

Mine is an MTL, I keep it in the garage

Galvalume roofing is CHEAP. Use it for roof and walls and you can make a pole barn for relatively little money.

Former Wrench · Aug 7, 2019

You might think about a simple pole barn. Even if funds are limited, set up the poles and roof. When you have the cash, close it in with fiberglass or tin roofing for the walls. Keep your eyes open for a small sawmill operation. You can get rough cut boards for a reasonable price, and maybe slabs for free. You can side the building with slabs. A heavy tarp will work as a door until you can buy some rails and build a door out of the rough cut. Just a thought.

aighead · Aug 8, 2019

Former Wrench said:
Keep your eyes open for a small sawmill operation.

I don't think it's what you meant but I've come very close to buying a sawmill myself... The backhoe ended up being a bit more expensive than I wanted and made it impossible for the time being... I was hoping to do just what you said though.

riggerjack · Aug 9, 2019

I've been looking for a old,cheap shipping container. My 580sk won't fit in one that is intact, but I'm on an island in the Pacific North Wet. I figure an old container would be rusted out, anyway. Place it on some eco blocks, anchor it, cut out the floor (light metal framing plus probably rotted out plywood) and the bottom crossbar for the doors, backfill the edges with dirt, and I will have a cheap, dark garage, with minimal work. I just haven't found it, or decided how to extend the doors to fully enclose the space. I'll post a pic, when/if I get it done.

ianjoub · Aug 9, 2019

riggerjack said:
or decided how to extend the doors to fully enclose the space. I'll post a pic, when/if I get it done.

Some thick rubber like an old conveyor belt?

Mother Deuce · Aug 9, 2019

Some of ours are 20 years old and sleep right where they finish the day. If they end up in a building we are either tearing it down or a frenzied guy with a handful of wrenches is trying to get it fixed so it can go back outside!

riggerjack · Aug 10, 2019

That would work, but where would I find big old conveyor belt?

I imagine old heavy truck mudflaps would work as well...

ianjoub said:
Some thick rubber like an old conveyor belt?

ianjoub · Aug 10, 2019

^^^^^

Probably easier to find.

CM1995 · Aug 10, 2019

I've got a 1 acre size lot in an industrial park. Fortunate enough to have bought the parcel, cleared and filled it. Now it has a 6' high fence, remote control sliding gate, power, sewer and water.

There are 2 conex boxes, one is wired up for lights and houses the internet router and wifi gear. The conexs are 14-15' apart and we built a cover that spans between them. Used 5x5 tube steel from demo jobs for the legs, built trusses out of 1.5" angle iron with 2x6 spruce purlins that the galvalume roofing panels attach to. Cheap covered space.

All that is parked on the yard is our 4700 service truck, 420D backhoe that needs about 12 dozen cylinders repacked, trailers, junk we've acquired and the latest project in the works a 1994 L9000 tandem dump.

The rest of the iron is on jobs making money!

Steve Best · Aug 11, 2019

I have 2 old machines at the moment. One spent most of its life sheltered and the other was always outside. Hoses, paint and rubber on the sheltered machine are still in fine shape. There was no water in the fluids. The outside machine is not so lucky.

I think you are over thinking how much building you need.
You only need protection from sun and water. A simple pole barn is plenty.
As a teen, I helped my father build several pole barns with spruce logs, roofing metal and strapping.
We headed into the woods with a chainsaw and by supper time the combine was parked in the new shed.
40 years later those buildings are all still standing.

Hobbytime · Aug 11, 2019

all my equipment is in a pole barn out of the weather and they are better off sheltered...water gets into lots of places and then freezes and the sun is incredibley destructive...

aighead · Aug 13, 2019

Good stories, y'all.

Like @Steve Best above, do you guys, that store machines outside, have similar issues of hoses wearing out more quickly or are you always fixing stuff that is likely weather related damage? Steve, did you sink the logs into the ground?

For what it's worth I'm considering using some of the trees in my yard to build something but I've also seen this, would you trust this sort of building assuming I anchor it to the ground properly? I haven't priced the pipes for it but it seems like a cheap way to go... If you all can't tell, I'm cheap and broke. Anything functional I can do for inexpensive is certainly the best option...

ianjoub · Aug 13, 2019

aighead said:
I've also seen this, would you trust this sort of building assuming I anchor it to the ground properly? I haven't priced the pipes for it but it seems like a cheap way to go... If you all can't tell, I'm cheap and broke. Anything functional I can do for inexpensive is certainly the best option...

Here in FL, we can't get a tarp to last. The UV rays kill them quickly. If one used galvalume as a roof instead. Heavy gauge pipe would be needed to bear that extra weight though.

Steve Best · Aug 13, 2019

aighead said:
Good stories, y'all.

Like @Steve Best above, do you guys, that store machines outside, have similar issues of hoses wearing out more quickly or are you always fixing stuff that is likely weather related damage? Steve, did you sink the logs into the ground?

For what it's worth I'm considering using some of the trees in my yard to build something but I've also seen this, would you trust this sort of building assuming I anchor it to the ground properly? I haven't priced the pipes for it but it seems like a cheap way to go... If you all can't tell, I'm cheap and broke. Anything functional I can do for inexpensive is certainly the best option...

Here we often do either. Spruce can last 50 years or more as a sill or driven into the ground. Larch is especially good if in contact with the ground. Planted posts driven in with the loader (often with a load of rock) make a quick and solid wall. Square up with the chainsaw and bind with 6" spikes. Strap it off and add metal roofing and siding. Often only sided on 2 or 3 sides.

Spruce above ground pole buildings require sills and headers, complicate construction slightly but still done with chainsaw. They can be crossbraced and moved if you change your mind about location. They last many years on ground but aired with rock supports will gain many years.

JBrady · Aug 14, 2019

If you are in chicken farming country (Arkansas, OK, etc) you can buy used chicken house trusses, metal, and purlins for pretty cheap. The most common size is 40'x40', which is what I put up. They go up fast and if you raise the sides a bit when installing, a backhoe can fit in there in almost any position. Just google "chicken house barn" and you'll get the idea. I enclosed the two length sides and left the gable ends open to drive through. Including buying new 6x6 treated posts and new sheet metal screws, my total cost was well under $5000. I can easily park my case 590, an equal sized ag tractor, and F-350 in there and still have room to work. I don't have snow loads to deal with, so if you do, it might not work for you. They are also not "aesthetically appealing" compared to some barns you see, but if it is not going in right next to your house, who cares.

aighead · Aug 14, 2019

You guys rock, thanks for the info. I have a ton of trees that I think could work and would be willing to figure out either how to keep them out of the ground while still supporting things or put them in the ground in smart ways. I'll also, likely, splurge on some metal roofing, maybe tarp for the short term but metal would be the real option. I'm not terribly concerned with how pretty it is, it'll likely be tucked away behind a decent sized shed.

Thanks again, y'all!

Where do you park?

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