I've got one too but I'm lucky enough to have a wood platform that it screws down to. Solid. Works well. Anyone who owns a decent poly tunnel will understand the need for secure fastening down!
Hello Gary. I bought one of these a few years ago. I extended it to fit our motor home in ( turning down tubes in the lathe etc and bolting it together with heavier duty scaffold sized tubing). Shortly after and luckily whilst there was nothing in it or close to it, we had a similar storm to what you experienced, which ended up folding it over the wall that it was anchored to. Could have been worse. If you need any spare sheet, I’ve still got them, but the tubes were flimsy and mostly bent up and useless 😀. So don’t be tempted to extend it 😂
I have had two of these for more than 10 years. I absolutely agree with all your comments. I got some second hand plywood from a building site to make a floor, fixed the shelter to it with battens and this does three things. Makes a nice flat floor you can lie on, the weight of the vehicle holds the plywood down and also keeps the rabbits out!!
I have had one of these for around 6 years, after a while the sun turned the roof to paper. At that point I cut the top out, gaffer taped the sides to the eye level horizontal poles and covered the roof with the clear plastic sheet with the white string squares that they use on the scaffolding on building sites, it lasts much longer than any tarps I have used. I have never regretted buying it.
That clear tarp stuff is great. Replaced a poly tunnel cover with one (it actually needed THREE to cover it properly, top and 2 ends) but total cost was £70 in tarps compared to the SEVEN HUNDRED the OEM wanted.
I know you haven’t got this option but when I used one a few years ago, I drilled and secured the feet into my driveway. The frame itself was rock solid but in high winds the cover did cause me a degree of anxiety!
Ive had one up for a bit over 3 and a half years. The canvas on the roof is now starting to get a bit thin. Overall I'm very pleased with it but the biggest gripe is very bad condensation during the winter months, almost like rain at times. In very strong wind I ratchet the top side bars to the vehicle that I'm working on wheels and so far its survived. Will put it to the test again tomorrow as 60mph winds are forecast.
Just as update, the front door and zip failed in the latest storm, still this is after being outside since May 2021 and opened up nearly everyday. Going to have to see how much a spare one is in the morning.
Last year I had one of the older models of these Clarke pop up garages. It was fine for my car and van diy tasks and it was up in all weathers for 4 years. I found the best way of securing the frame to the ground was to use concrete blocks under the poles secured by steel strapping which is then secured to the blocks with concrete screws. This provided enough weight to avoid it being lifted off the ground in massive winds. Overall I had good use of it and ended up selling it for £70 earlier this year :-)
Try a diesel heater 8 kw around £100 a lot warmer cheap to run but use heating oil instead of diesel they are great put heater outside in a waterproof box
You should get a Chinese diesel heater and get rid of the oil heater and electric fan. It will give you more heat, will heat much faster than the oil radiator and cheaper to run.
💯 get a Chinese diesel heater in there. I’ve got the Bluetooth one so you can switch it on with your phone from in the house before you go out there 😂 If you do run it with used engine oil I’d advise premixing it in a separate tank with red diesel & switching over to it when the heater’s burning hot & switching back to straight red a while before you turn it off otherwise you just end up filling the burn chamber with carbon deposits 👊
To try and improve condensation you would be better off with a desiccant dehumidifier like I have for my for garage. A Meaco DD8L. It is amazing for reducing condensation in cold temperatures and gives off heat too. I run mine in my garage during a 6 hour cheap electricity window and when it's raining heavily I can extract nearly 5 litres of water in that 6 hour period. I am in the process of replacing my garage door for a fully sealed insulated door to improve this situation! 🤣
@@Alexander_l322 desiccant dehumidifier do use more electricity than compressor based ones as they use heat to dry the desiccant material. Mine has 3 heat settings. At full heat fan speed it uses around 800W.
Given that you're in the UK it doesn't seem like the ideal solution. In Australia we'd have simply built a shed out of galvanised steel. You can buy them in kit form - say a 3.75m x 7.5m shed would cost you around $AU2800 or about £1400. Maybe allow £500 for a concrete floor if you want to keep the water out completely. I'm sure there's reasons to go for such a flimsy solution - maybe council approval's difficult, but it looks like you're fairly rural. Maybe sheds are a lot more expensive in the UK?
I've got one too but I'm lucky enough to have a wood platform that it screws down to. Solid. Works well. Anyone who owns a decent poly tunnel will understand the need for secure fastening down!
Hello Gary. I bought one of these a few years ago. I extended it to fit our motor home in ( turning down tubes in the lathe etc and bolting it together with heavier duty scaffold sized tubing). Shortly after and luckily whilst there was nothing in it or close to it, we had a similar storm to what you experienced, which ended up folding it over the wall that it was anchored to. Could have been worse. If you need any spare sheet, I’ve still got them, but the tubes were flimsy and mostly bent up and useless 😀. So don’t be tempted to extend it 😂
😁👍🏼
I have had two of these for more than 10 years. I absolutely agree with all your comments. I got some second hand plywood from a building site to make a floor, fixed the shelter to it with battens and this does three things. Makes a nice flat floor you can lie on, the weight of the vehicle holds the plywood down and also keeps the rabbits out!!
Thanks for sharing
I have had one of these for around 6 years, after a while the sun turned the roof to paper. At that point I cut the top out, gaffer taped the sides to the eye level horizontal poles and covered the roof with the clear plastic sheet with the white string squares that they use on the scaffolding on building sites, it lasts much longer than any tarps I have used. I have never regretted buying it.
Nice one !
That clear tarp stuff is great. Replaced a poly tunnel cover with one (it actually needed THREE to cover it properly, top and 2 ends) but total cost was £70 in tarps compared to the SEVEN HUNDRED the OEM wanted.
I know you haven’t got this option but when I used one a few years ago, I drilled and secured the feet into my driveway. The frame itself was rock solid but in high winds the cover did cause me a degree of anxiety!
A good review. I had thought about one of these .... and now thinking harder about it after your feedback. Thanks.
Ive had one up for a bit over 3 and a half years. The canvas on the roof is now starting to get a bit thin. Overall I'm very pleased with it but the biggest gripe is very bad condensation during the winter months, almost like rain at times. In very strong wind I ratchet the top side bars to the vehicle that I'm working on wheels and so far its survived. Will put it to the test again tomorrow as 60mph winds are forecast.
Just as update, the front door and zip failed in the latest storm, still this is after being outside since May 2021 and opened up nearly everyday. Going to have to see how much a spare one is in the morning.
Excellent info. Thanks for sharing.
Electric cars leading to electric chair ! 😂 love it. Thanks for sharing your feedback
😆 I really dislike the phrase “game changer” but everyone should have their own electric chair 😁
Last year I had one of the older models of these Clarke pop up garages. It was fine for my car and van diy tasks and it was up in all weathers for 4 years. I found the best way of securing the frame to the ground was to use concrete blocks under the poles secured by steel strapping which is then secured to the blocks with concrete screws. This provided enough weight to avoid it being lifted off the ground in massive winds. Overall I had good use of it and ended up selling it for £70 earlier this year :-)
Nice info, thanks!
Put diesel outside in waterproof box run 100 pipe into workshop as the 25 mm exhaust gets VERY HOT
Try a diesel heater 8 kw around £100
a lot warmer cheap to run but use heating oil instead of diesel they are great put heater outside in a waterproof box
You should get a Chinese diesel heater and get rid of the oil heater and electric fan. It will give you more heat, will heat much faster than the oil radiator and cheaper to run.
Hi good idea. Thanks
💯 get a Chinese diesel heater in there. I’ve got the Bluetooth one so you can switch it on with your phone from in the house before you go out there 😂
If you do run it with used engine oil I’d advise premixing it in a separate tank with red diesel & switching over to it when the heater’s burning hot & switching back to straight red a while before you turn it off otherwise you just end up filling the burn chamber with carbon deposits 👊
I’ve got oil heating so I can use oil from that. Does the diesel heater cause much moisture? Cheers
@@garycevrepairsyou can run them on kerosene - much cheaper than diesel. Not that I'm advocating for fossil fuel heating in an EV workshop 😂
Yep its a case of manage with what you got.....if it does the job its worth the money....
How do you evacuate the AC lines?
Is there a affordable mobile tool for that?
Hi you do need a proper ac machine to remove the gas. I have a garage with a suitable machine nearby. Thanks.
To try and improve condensation you would be better off with a desiccant dehumidifier like I have for my for garage. A Meaco DD8L. It is amazing for reducing condensation in cold temperatures and gives off heat too. I run mine in my garage during a 6 hour cheap electricity window and when it's raining heavily I can extract nearly 5 litres of water in that 6 hour period.
I am in the process of replacing my garage door for a fully sealed insulated door to improve this situation! 🤣
Ah nice, thanks for the tip!
They don’t use a lot of electricity anyways
@@Alexander_l322 desiccant dehumidifier do use more electricity than compressor based ones as they use heat to dry the desiccant material.
Mine has 3 heat settings. At full heat fan speed it uses around 800W.
Compressor dehumidifiers are better and not expensive.
Given that you're in the UK it doesn't seem like the ideal solution. In Australia we'd have simply built a shed out of galvanised steel. You can buy them in kit form - say a 3.75m x 7.5m shed would cost you around $AU2800 or about £1400. Maybe allow £500 for a concrete floor if you want to keep the water out completely. I'm sure there's reasons to go for such a flimsy solution - maybe council approval's difficult, but it looks like you're fairly rural. Maybe sheds are a lot more expensive in the UK?
We will be building a proper double garage at some point soon so just wanted a quick temporary solution. Cheers
We will be building a proper double garage at some point soon so just wanted a quick temporary solution. Cheers