Date:         Wed, 15 Mar 2006 13:15:24 +1100
Reply-To:     Stephen Overmyer <S.OVERMYER@UWS.EDU.AU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Stephen Overmyer <S.OVERMYER@UWS.EDU.AU>
Subject:      Re: Sources needed - Vanagon Cover
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

 

Date:    Tue, 14 Mar 2006 14:08:19 -0800
From:    Keith Ovregaard <kovregaard@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: Sources needed - Vanagon Cover

Hi all,

Yesterday I bought one of those Costco portable garages. Got the OK from
the landlord to set it up in her driveway and as soon as I was half way
done erecting the thing she comes out and says it's too big and refuses
to let me keep the thing. Needless to say, I was a bit peeved and once
again questioning the sanity of menopausal women. But that's another
story. My next idea is to offer to put some really nice planters along
the side and see if she softens up enough to allow it to stay. Otherwise
I will have to return it to Costco (a phone call confirmed it would be
OK even though original packaging was removed) or offer it to local
Vanagon folks. Too big & heavy to ship!

I found that the quality of parts is pretty darn good for the price and
it was well thought out. Instructions took me a while to find, but it
was easy to follow. Parts are well labeled and organized. The frame fit
together well, but I did not get a chance to evaluate the cover fit.



Keith et al,

Firstly, never make the mistake of assuming any sanity with menopausal
women....I know cos I live with one...;-)

Now, regarding the portable garages...they are certainly preferable to
vehicle covers for the obvious reasons of vehicle access and not lightly
sandpapering the vehicle's finish however they are not a reliable long
or even medium term solution really.

I have a 3.0m x 6.0m one that I use for my old Land Rover that I keep on
a property we have and while we have comfortable accommodation there, I
have not yet built the "really effing big shed" that I plan to that I
will keep all the toys in.
In the meantime, I bought one of those portable garages (made in China
like everything else) for the Landy since it has a canvas roof that
leaks if the sky even looks like raining.

They are cheap and look reasonably good and go together quite well
however....

The instructions say they should not be left up in high winds (so
what...are you supposed to pull them down every time it looks like
getting windy?...yea like that's gonna happen) But they are correct. The
garage will become a spinnaker in high winds and mine only stays in
place because I physically lash it to the Land Rover (which sure won't
blow away...the lump of a thing that it is...)

After a few months in the sunlight exposed to UV rays, the cheap fabric
begins to break down and tear and a good breeze is enough to start the
thing ripping. The cheap eyelets let go and the zipper on the front door
is f%$#ed in no time flat. The elastic tie down thingies to connect
cover to frame last like a few weeks before they start breaking and it
wasn't long before I replaced nearly all of them with cable ties. The
fact that the cows like standing around it didn't help either...;-)

I bought mine in March 05 and by Xmas, I had repaired nearly every
eyelet and had cable ties everywhere as well as gaffa tape over so many
tears and rips it just wasn't funny.

The frame however is good and the thing is still standing but it now has
a whole other big silver tarp over the top to keep it waterproof, the
door is gone and over the big tarp is an old shade cloth that protects
the tarp and adds weight to keep the thing in place. This is all fixed
down by old timber floorboards attached to the sides of the frame that
the tarp and shade cloth can be tightly attached to. The door is long
gone but now the thing actually works, is waterproof and stays in
place...but that's mainly cos I still lash it to the Landy when I am not
there or the wind looks like getting up....which happens regularly as
the property is on the south coast of New South Wales where gale force
winds are common place when a robust change comes through after hot
weather.

So...the portable garages can be a good thing...but they aren't "set and
forget" and you will be doing regular maintenance just to keep the
bloody thing from destroying itself at any opportunity the weather
provides....

When I finally don't need it anymore, I plan to use the frame over a
vege patch or fruit trees and replace what is left of the cover with
bird wire. Then it will work really well and even the winds shouldn't
bother it.

So be warned...They are as volatile under certain conditions as
menopausal women...;-)

Cheers,
Steve O
NSW Australia
'92 Transporter WBX Kombi
'00 Transporter Double Cab
'03 Transporter Double Cab (work truck)
'78 Land Rover 109 Series 3 soft top ute (ex-Aust.Army)