Yeah, I’ve been down the blue tarp road too and it’s always a letdown in the end. I tried to cover my mower and some patio stuff last fall, thinking I’d just “make do” until I could afford something better. By spring, the tarp was brittle and flapping in pieces, and everything underneath was damp or starting to rust. It’s like you said—those things are just a stopgap, not a real solution.
I get tempted by cheap used panels on Marketplace too, but after seeing how banged up some of them are in person, I’m not convinced it’s worth the risk. One guy near me was selling a stack for next to nothing, but half were bent or had old screw holes everywhere. Seemed like more trouble than it was worth.
If you’re stuck with tarps for now, I’d say try to get those heavy-duty silver or green ones instead of the thin blue kind. And yeah, ratchet straps make a big difference—bungees just snap after a few storms. For me, lesson learned: spend a bit more upfront if you can swing it. It saves a lot of headaches (and ruined tools) later on.