Hello Blaine,
One thing Uncle Sam taught me, in exchange for some Navy time, is that terms
like "watertight," "weatherproof," and "airtight" are figments of some
designer's imagination. It's like me wishfully thinking my Stovebolt 216
doesn't drip
any oil.
A few gray hairs as an architect, since then, have me asking, when I look at
a brick wall, or anything else with a seam or a joint, is "How will the water
that gets in find it's way out?"
If I were putting my truck in a shipping container, I'd plan on water sharing
the space.
I'd do what you suggest: get the thing up off the ground. When I walk
outdoors my feet get wetter then my hips, whether the wet comes from dew, rain,
or
snow. Off the ground a little is good. Off the ground a lot is better.
Then I'd do something to keep some rain and snow away. I'd build a simple
gable roof of used corrugated galvanized steel or whatever comes cheap. I'd
spend
a few bucks to add a lapped layer of roofing felt under it. I'd make it so
the eaves overhang the container enough that wind driven rain mostly blows
clear.
Then I'd vent the container. I'd figure the "attic" under the roof has lots
of warm, dry air. I'd install a "pretty much watertight" roof fitting on the
container roof toward the north end--similar to a plumbing waste stack vent.
I'd
probably duct it to the container floor. This would typically be the supply.
At the south wall--that's probably where I'd have the door--I'd put in a
through-wall vent high in the door. This would typically be the exhaust, if
your
big winds are from the northwest through northeast like they usually are in
Minnesota. (We figured this out when we got so busy landing lunker walleyes
that
we didn't notice the storm until it washed us onto the south shore. This
technique doesn't work so well when ice fishing, though.) I'd invest in about 2
feet
of a downward pointing duct on each of these openings, so any wind driven
snow or rain had to fight gravity for a bit. Gravity means nothing to wind, so
there is some wishful thinking going on here, but the water that comes in will
go out with the next dry wind. If I still had energy, I'd bug proof the
openings because I like honey but not hornets.
Then I'd have a cold brew and try not to think about how many projects on my
AD I could have finished if I hadn't spent so much time making my container
"pretty much weatherproof."
Thanks for the chance to think about snow and wind and share my humble
opinion.
Culver Adams
1931 Chevy coupe
1951 Chevy AD
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