I finished the skid barn topside. I also made a skirt for the gap between the skids. For this, I used 1/4 inch diameter fiberglass poles 13″ long pointing down at 12 inch intervals. Then between those, I have a hanging sheet of EDPM pond liner. I have not added electric wires but it does seem ok like that for now.
Once I added the top side, I couldn’t winch or skid it anymore. That was strange because I didn’t add that much weight, but I’m guessing that as the skids sat on the ground they also absorbed moisture and got heavier too. Anyhow, I got a larger winch (3500 lbs) and was able to move it with the same anchor system.
I then added a winch holder that attaches two pull ropes to the barn and then has a wheel to keep it at the right pull angle. The winch is then on the end of that, which can connect the long rope and anchor. This works ok, but I think I need something a bit more sturdy than a bike wheel.
My goal here is not to make a polished moving barn system, but just to get it to the point where I can use it every day. Then once I’m using it every day, (probably testing it with laying hens first because that’s easiest) I can see what improvements are most important for saving time. I think in general this is a good philosophy for design, make it work well enough for personal use, then go through iterations to improve on that. Trying to go for the final product all at once is likely wasteful, I thought for sure that I was going to have to make a much more complicated anchor system. In actuality, a pick axe mattock, 2 rebar lengths, and a 2×4 was enough.
I wired up everything for the growth chamber for the tomatoes and used phidgets to allow my computer to control it all. I still need to put on the PAR sensors, calibrate, and write the controls code but it’s all looking good. I hope to have the tomatoes planted by May 31.
Sun Aquasystems 