No garage for dry storage

[elclem1]

When I moved to France my wife’s TR6 sat in the garden on grass until I had restored the house to a livable level. Bedroom and a bathroom the kitchen then waited until I had started my garage and made it livable for the 6. It was outside in ALL weather to the point it had to be taken to the local garage to have a few dents sorted after a bad hailstone storm the size of cricket balls this sort of focused my wife on the need for a garage before the kitchen. Well at least a building with a roof on. 

There was no detrimental effects of it living outside from the normal weather and on grass. I must admit I had waxoiled it before moving and the hood fitted very well indeed. 

It’s nice to have a garage but the car will survive without one. If anything get a cover just to go over the hood there were a few at the bath and west show ground this year. This will stop any nasty hood leaks and is quick to whip off to go for a spin on a sunny winters day. Clem

[Paulfc]

Graham,

If you have some space have you considered the Machine Mart range of garage/workshop offerings?

I know a few folk with them and all seem pleased with value for money/size/functionality.

Paul

 

 

 

 

[Graham S]

Hi Paul,

Did consider them but the space is tight and the ground slopes, but not evenly. The unlevel gound ruled them out, a Carcoon will just flex  

[TRier]

I have been using an inflatable shelter from a a company called IntheGarage for the last year, store my TR3 in it, I'm in Ireland and so it gets plenty of wind and rain. I have been very very pleased with the product, so much so that I've ordered another two just now. I did quite a bit of research when I first bought it and would make the following observations,

1) Do some very careful research around Carcoon and the service in the sales and after sales process. 

2)The Inthegarage item and probably all of the inflatable types do have that very slight pain in the ass factor that you have to cover and uncover the car before you can use it. Its a very slight issue, it deflates in a minute or so and inflates in approx 2 mins. If you are very particular about your car and its paintwork there is a bit of a concern about pulling the inflatable cover over and back across the car as it is quite a hard plastic as it needs to be to be robust. My advice if you are very worried about any possible marks to your paintwork is to put a light cover over the car and then pull the inflatable material over the covered car, same in reverse, one person can then cover and uncover the car without any worries about scuffing. I dont actually do this tbh, I'm not that precious about the car and it is a driver rather than  a show car, that said I just cover and uncover it with a bit of finesse and I haven't had any marks or scuffs.

3) In high winds and locations with high winds I would put some heavy rubber matting on top of the base of the inflatable and then drive the car onto it and inflate. I have done this and find it makes it really really stable and I dont worry about storms, I also think it protects the base from possible punctures from small stones or debris pressed into it by the car tyres. Plywood could work as well perhaps if you are careful with the edges and keep them close to the car wheels, I think spreading the load over an area instead of just the areas of the wheel to ground contact helps with longevity on the bubble. Certainly it got a lot more stable in storms after I laid down the rubber matts over the base and then parked the car on them, that said I dont use tie downs at all, I could but found no need with the mats. I have storage in sheds but I'm going to use these units inside the sheds as I have found they do a great job, not just in terms of moisture but dust too.

So there you go, they work, preserve the car perfectly and no reason you couldnt put a small oil filled radiator in them if you really wanted to. Dont be without a car if you have room for one of these units.