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Garage is full and mowers are multiplying. I have no more room, but I found a storage area that has a gate and 24 hour surveillance (cameras, lights, always some one there). I was thinking about letting my trailer there with my mowers on it. I would cover the whole trailer with a nice big tarp every time I am done working. This way all equipment could be protected from the sun and rain. Would this be all right? I don't feel like paying storage for a trailer and then my mowers.

Sure you can, but I've seen over the years when a man has more equipment than he can use and maintain the condition of that equipment goes down hill at a high rate of speed and the end result is very little value. Surveillance cameras persons present won't deter mice nesting and wire insulation chewing, nor varnished fuel systems and flat tires.

SeniorCitizen said:

Sure you can, but I've seen over the years when a man has more equipment than he can use and maintain the condition of that equipment goes down hill at a high rate of speed and the end result is very little value. Surveillance cameras persons present won't deter mice nesting and wire insulation chewing, nor varnished fuel systems and flat tires.

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Very true.

Well said SeniorCitizen. I didn't think about the mice. But, there are probably mice in closed storage centers also.

I will give it a shot, I have no other choice. I can also dump my yard waste there, so that is a big plus for me.

SeniorCitizen said:

Sure you can, but I've seen over the years when a man has more equipment than he can use and maintain the condition of that equipment goes down hill at a high rate of speed and the end result is very little value. Surveillance cameras persons present won't deter mice nesting and wire insulation chewing, nor varnished fuel systems and flat tires.

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Lawnboy18 said:

Garage is full and mowers are multiplying. I have no more room, but I found a storage area that has a gate and 24 hour surveillance (cameras, lights, always some one there). I was thinking about letting my trailer there with my mowers on it. I would cover the whole trailer with a nice big tarp every time I am done working. This way all equipment could be protected from the sun and rain. Would this be all right? I don't feel like paying storage for a trailer and then my mowers.

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I think I'd start cleaning out the garage. Leaving a trailer outside is bad enough but with your equipment is asking for trouble. Mice and nesting is a minor problem compared to thief. My son-in-law did the same thing, he even had the trailer locked to another structure and the tongue locked and someone drove through a padlocked/gated area with lights the whole works with there trailer and unloaded his trailer on to theirs and away they went with every piece of equipment he owned including gas cans.
I also found out the tarp thing doesn't really work well either because your equipment will rust, plastic will warp, seats will rot and ware from the heat and humidity. It wound be like you sleeping in a tent in the middle of the day when it's 100 degree heat.

Ric said:

I think I'd start cleaning out the garage. Leaving a trailer outside is bad enough but with your equipment is asking for trouble. Mice and nesting is a minor problem compared to thief. My son-in-law did the same thing, he even had the trailer locked to another structure and the tongue locked and someone drove through a padlocked/gated area with lights the whole works with there trailer and unloaded his trailer on to theirs and away they went with every piece of equipment he owned including gas cans.
I also found out the tarp thing doesn't really work well either because your equipment will rust, plastic will warp, seats will rot and ware from the heat and humidity. It wound be like you sleeping in a tent in the middle of the day when it's 100 degree heat.

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Ya my budys trailer just got stolen, inside a 6 foot wooden fence padlocked. Tounge lock broke, and chain cut he had the chain through the wheels and frame they got off with two Honda commercial mowers an echo weedeater ledger hand blower and back pack plus all the little misc stuff needed insurance won't pay either. I had to loan him some cash to buy some stuff

Personally I hate it when my equipment gets rained on, so I would never want to leave my stuff outside. My trailer gets priority over a vehicle for space in the garage.
I feel covering it with a tarp wouldn't be good either, though, just because of the heat and moisture.

lawn mower fanatic said:

Personally I hate it when my equipment gets rained on, so I would never want to leave my stuff outside. My trailer gets priority over a vehicle for space in the garage.
I feel covering it with a tarp wouldn't be good either, though, just because of the heat and moisture.

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Ya if your equipment is wet it's a bad start to your day especially if the mower bags are wet, might as well give up now. My truck doesn't fit in the garage so the trailer gets the space

If I couldn't do any better I'd find a Central heat and air conditioned storage unit and use it for my equipment. Cutting a couple of lawns extra a day to pay the storage fees would be well worth it or you could buy a storage shed and move all the stuff out of the garage to the shed and use the garage for your equipment.

Some good points there!

I talked with the owner. I can do a small housing with a roof wit wood lying around in the scrap yard to protect my mowers. Right now, I have both mowers in the garage along with trimmers and blowers. Only the exmark is outside. I have no room in the garage. Allready 2 cars and all my sutff.

I could also rent out more space like an old cube van in the scrap yard and leave my equipment in there. That is an extra 100$/months.

Lawnboy18 said:

Some good points there!

I talked with the owner. I can do a small housing with a roof wit wood lying around in the scrap yard to protect my mowers. Right now, I have both mowers in the garage along with trimmers and blowers. Only the exmark is outside. I have no room in the garage. Already 2 cars and all my stuff.

I could also rent out more space like an old cube van in the scrap yard and leave my equipment in there. That is an extra 100$/months.

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Leave the cars outside they will be fine and there insured.

Ric said:

Leave the cars outside they will be fine and there insured.

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That was my thinking behind why I do it. I may have to warm the car up every morning in the winter, but it's worth it.

Drive past your local civic authority's plant yard.
You will most likely see a row of equipment that sits out in the weather, on a hard stand.
Small equipment needs to go under cover, big does not , heck most are designed to be used in the rain and there are lot on this list that do mow, rain hail or sunshine.
I have very limited undercover space in the workshop so I use motorcycle covers to protect ( and hide ) customers mowers that can not get inside.
I sell motorcycle covers to customers who have no where to store their mowers under cover.
Why motorcycle covers, well they are waterproof and all have air vents to allow hot moist air to escape and not initate rust.

So don't feel like a criminal if the truck can not get in the garage.
But do try & park it so water will drain off the floor and not pool behind the cab.
If you tarp it, leave a space for moist damp air to escape and make sure you clean off all the mower decks before they get put on the truck

lawn mower fanatic said:

That was my thinking behind why I do it. I may have to warm the car up every morning in the winter, but it's worth it.

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Seems like the sense-able thing to do. It's not going to hurt the cars or truck to be parked in the driveway and I'm sure not going to pay to store my equipment if I have a garage.

Ric said:

Seems like the sense-able thing to do. It's not going to hurt the cars or truck to be parked in the driveway and I'm sure not going to pay to store my equipment if I have a garage.

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I just need a bigger garage lol

exotion said:

I just need a bigger garage lol

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I've got an extra big three car garage and its still not big enough for everything. :laughing:

bertsmobile1 said:

Drive past your local civic authority's plant yard.
You will most likely see a row of equipment that sits out in the weather, on a hard stand.
Small equipment needs to go under cover, big does not , heck most are designed to be used in the rain and there are lot on this list that do mow, rain hail or sunshine.
I have very limited undercover space in the workshop so I use motorcycle covers to protect ( and hide ) customers mowers that can not get inside.
I sell motorcycle covers to customers who have no where to store their mowers under cover.
Why motorcycle covers, well they are waterproof and all have air vents to allow hot moist air to escape and not initate rust.

So don't feel like a criminal if the truck can not get in the garage.
But do try & park it so water will drain off the floor and not pool behind the cab.
If you tarp it, leave a space for moist damp air to escape and make sure you clean off all the mower decks before they get put on the truck

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Thanks for that good idea! A motorcycle cover would be a good idea.

The trailer doesn't fit in the garage, it is too long.

Ric said:

I've got an extra big three car garage and its still not big enough for everything. :laughing:

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I remember when I could fit 2 cars in the garage and put my mower and snowblower along the one wall. Now there is barely room for 1 car with all my equipment.

lawn mower fanatic said:

I remember when I could fit 2 cars in the garage and put my mower and snowblower along the one wall. Now there is barely room for 1 car with all my equipment.

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It's surprising how fast you can fill up a garage with junk. I've had the car and truck plus the trailer in the garage at one time but now just the car and trailer. I turned the third stall into my work area.

Ric said:

Seems like the sense-able thing to do. It's not going to hurt the cars or truck to be parked in the driveway and I'm sure not going to pay to store my equipment if I have a garage.

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Except UV will deteriorate the paint, rubber & interior.
If left in the same place day in day out UV will also cause a hard patch on the side walls of the tyres which is why they make wheel covers for caravans.
The trailer & gear would go out to work every day ( one would hope ) but at least one car will not as your bum will be in the truck.
The gear on the truck are depreciation . Tax write off items, chances are the cars are not and the work gear most likely gets turned over a bit faster than the cars and is a lot cheaper to replace.

Pallet racking can be installed in the garage so that the nose of the cars is under the lowest shelf and you can fit a lot of gear on pallet width shelves thus you are getting double use of the floor area.
Old pallet racking is very cheap and is self supporting so if you have a work bench at one end it can be installed a foot or so back from the bench you just have to be able to get in & out of the cars without banging your head.
I have done a lot of similar "bridge" style installations in restaurants store rooms & work rooms and in one case we moved the wine storage from the wall to overhead, stored all of the dry good over the top of the managers desk and basically turned a disaster of a storeage space into a working space & I get free lunches whenever I go there they are so happy with the results and it cost peanuts when comparred to expensive wall shelving.

bertsmobile1 said:

Except UV will deteriorate the paint, rubber & interior.
If left in the same place day in day out UV will also cause a hard patch on the side walls of the tyres which is why they make wheel covers for caravans.
The trailer & gear would go out to work every day ( one would hope ) but at least one car will not as your bum will be in the truck.
The gear on the truck are depreciation . Tax write off items, chances are the cars are not and the work gear most likely gets turned over a bit faster than the cars and is a lot cheaper to replace.

Pallet racking can be installed in the garage so that the nose of the cars is under the lowest shelf and you can fit a lot of gear on pallet width shelves thus you are getting double use of the floor area.
Old pallet racking is very cheap and is self supporting so if you have a work bench at one end it can be installed a foot or so back from the bench you just have to be able to get in & out of the cars without banging your head.
I have done a lot of similar "bridge" style installations in restaurants store rooms & work rooms and in one case we moved the wine storage from the wall to overhead, stored all of the dry good over the top of the managers desk and basically turned a disaster of a storeage space into a working space & I get free lunches whenever I go there they are so happy with the results and it cost peanuts when comparred to expensive wall shelving.

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I really don't worry about UV deteriorating the paint, rubber & interior. Vehicles set on car lots waiting to be sold for months on end and it doesn't bother them. My truck gets used every day and the car that gets put in the garage. What your suggesting about UV light doesn't really effect vehicles today like it use to because before they sell cars you can have treatments and coatings done that prevent paint, rubber & interior from deteriorating and there guaranteed like five years . Besides that the greatest percentage of people who own and drive cars very seldom pay the loan on car off car before trading the thing in on another.

I don't leave my equipment outside overnight, but I don't mind if it gets rained on during the day. Since I pressure wash all my equipment, rain isn't a big deal.

Lawnboy18 said:

Garage is full and mowers are multiplying. I have no more room, but I found a storage area that has a gate and 24 hour surveillance (cameras, lights, always some one there). I was thinking about letting my trailer there with my mowers on it. I would cover the whole trailer with a nice big tarp every time I am done working. This way all equipment could be protected from the sun and rain. Would this be all right? I don't feel like paying storage for a trailer and then my mowers.

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My anecdotal may not relate to your location Law so I offer it only as reference.
Check the fine print in the contract.

Quite some time ago I stored a vehicle in similar circumstance, difference being
the vehicle shared an open type 'shed' with others. Around 30 other vehicles.
I skipped off overseas, uncontactable.
On returning there was a new shed and my vehicle was gone.
Short version is a vehicle caught fire in the lot, spread to other vehicles
and did a lot of damage. Mine reportedly burnt to the rims. No photos.
In the ensuing sh*tfight the other side relied on a statement in the storage
reciept which stated long term storage relied on battery disconnect and fuel
emptied out. The tribunal listened to the argument to award only partial
compensation to my loss.
To this day I maintain the 'fire' was a way of covering a crime as during my
investigation I learnt the principle was well known aa a supplier of
"midnight motors" spares, had done time for such frolics.
I have since repeated the exercise changing to individual storage and removing
batteries alltogether.
Some fodder to chew on?

KK

I am fine if I get stuck in a rain shower while mowing, but if it starts to downpour I like to bring it in. Once last year I left my trailer outside and went in for dinner, and while I was eating a severe thunderstorm rolled in. It rained the hardest I have ever seen it rain, and the lightning was crazy. I didn't want to get struck by lightning bringing in my trailer, so I left it out through the storm. After it was done I brought it in. The next morning (roughly 12 hours later) I went to mow my first lawn. I mowed it, and when I put my mower back on the trailer and went to turn it off, it would not turn off. I pulled the lever to the STOP position, but it didn't turn off. I think what happened was that my mower got so wet that the cable to turn the mower off was slipping, so the lever moved but the cable didn't move. After it dried off it was fine. So that's my thinking behind why it happened.
Also there was a day this year where I had no choice but to mow, because I was going away and had to have all my lawns done. It rained the night before, and drizzled all morning, but I mowed through it. Every time I wanted to start my mower, I would pull the cord, and it sounded like a metal-on-metal scraping noise, because everything was soaking wet. Luckily I was using my 3 year old HRX (which has been through heck), and not my 2 month old one. And again, after it dried it was fine.
So my thinking behind it is that the super commercial mowers are more capable of dealing with the rain, not that it's gonna stop me from using mine in the rain occasionally. Just my 2 cents.

Interesting stuff guys.

That car story sucks. I guess they could not be trusted while you were away.

Leaving equipment elsewhere is always a risk. But, when one has no choice, it has to be done.

Ric said:

[...]
Besides that the greatest percentage of people who own and drive cars very seldom pay the loan on car off car before trading the thing in on another.

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My DIL would sure as heck give you an admonishing look...I get plenty
for making similar assumptions on Y-Gen folk.
On her second dashboard in her 2yr old Mazda 3, she aint one
happy "chickee babe" with contemporay vehicle finishes.
The melted surface ruined her uniform cap for which she was then put
on a charge.
This in a car she struggled to buy and wanted to keep for 10yrs.
It's for sale while the dashboard still looks good.

... yer outta step, bloke, outa step :2cents::2cents::2cents:

KK

KrashnKraka said:

My DIL would sure as heck give you an admonishing look...I get plenty
for making similar assumptions on Y-Gen folk.
On her second dashboard in her 2yr old Mazda 3, she aint one
happy "chickee babe" with contemporay vehicle finishes.
The melted surface ruined her uniform cap for which she was then put
on a charge.
This in a car she struggled to buy and wanted to keep for 10yrs.
It's for sale while the dashboard still looks good.

... yer outta step, bloke, outa step :2cents::2cents::2cents:

KK

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No I'm not out of step, I just live in the here and now.

Ric said:

No I'm not out of step, I just live in the here and now

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Sorry friend, link broken
"Invalid Attachment specified. If you followed a valid link, please notify theadministrator"

KK