from the ones ive seen in nurseries.. i doubt you need any protection at all ... and thats up here were we have REAL WINTERS ...

grease up the axle... if you want.. wax the paint like you used to wax cars.. and go find something else to worry about it ...

my version of such is now pink ... lol ... im not waxing it.. lol ..

the savings of the cost of a cover.. is more plants you can buy ...

way overthinking this ... ken

ps: do you already own this?? . fantastic if you did.. i have input if not ...

There is always the Tarp and Bungee Cord cover; just make sure you get a waterproof tarp.

Tarps can hold moisture and humidity inside around whatever you're covering, causing things to rust as bad or worse than if it was outside.

It's the ultraviolet rays from the sun that does the most damage, generally on plastic wiring and rubber tires. Shade will provide the most protection for those.

If you're not interested in putting in a low cost garden shed, I'd just park things on the shady side of a building or hedge. That way things dry out after a rain instead of staying wet.

I had a neighbor that kept his snow blower outside like that with a 5 gal plastic pail over the engine and he did fine for many years.

I wouldn't even bother covering. It's not like the Bay area gets inundated with rainfall every winter!! We get approximately double that in winter up here in the PNW and other my barbeque, I don't cover anything but my tools. Wheelbarrow, handtruck (when I still had one) and patio furniture (both metal and wood) are all exposed to the elements all winter long. I've had some of these item for more than 20 years and with no obvious deterioration from weather.

Like Bill noted, covering or tarping just increases the humidity underneath and does not allow sufficient air circulation or the opportunity to dry off during non-rainy periods and that would increase the potential for rusting, etc.

If you feel you must, I sure wouldn't pay money for it but just use a plastic garbage bag.

agree.. its the sun that degrades paint and rubber .... store in shade ...

and you surely arent the soggy PNW ....

so it might not be an issue at all ...

i do recall when o bought my weber grill in 1990 or so ... i paid the extra money for the custom cover ... and it wore out and disappeared in a few years .. and the weber is still out on the porch.. and i use it all winter long in my MI ... maybe i should wish i had the money back from investing in that cover ....

ken

Yes, and if you have nice wide eaves overhanging the side of your garage on the north side, your things might not get very wet at all.

otoh: if your eves are very short, every little shower will be amplified to the tune of a tenth of an inch or two of rain if stored under there.

Best then to use the gable end of the building instead. Much drier there.

If you have a side of a building not noticeable to the neighborhood, a piece of steel sheeting 8-10 ft long and a few treated 2x4's makes for shallow lean to, along that side. :-)

eta: I don't know how experienced you are at construction but here's the general idea. Without having to worry about 'snow load' it's a piece of cake (note: This would be for a north side of the building that has a short overhang).

If you don't want to spend $80 to cover one piece of equipment have you thought of buying a garden shed from Lowes. Even the cheap ones would provide better protection that a cover over the equipment left out side. It looks like that for $300 you could buy a small shed that would hold a hand truck, a wheel barrow, plus alot shovels, rakes, etc

@ken_adrian Yes, I own that landscape dolly. It has been one of the best investments I have made, allowing me to move 150 pound planters around the garden easily. I moved the 200+ pound cactus shown in this photo using that cart and would never have felt safe moving it prior to owning the cart.