Carport for Tractor Shed

Clemson · May 14, 2002

Around here (upstate South Carolina), double carport structures sell for $595 assembled on your lot. I am sorely tempted to buy one to use for a tractor and implement shed. Does anyone out there have any experience with these structures? How weather resistant are they? Are there accessories (e.g., sides, gables, doors, enclosed portions, etc.) that you would highly recommend?

Thanks,

Clemson

TonyC · May 14, 2002

I pretty much followed that route. I was going to buy the standard $595 model to park my tractor under but decided to go bigger to store my boats as well. If you check with the places that sell them they will hand you a sheet containing much larger sizes. As it turned out for me, the larger sizes they offered didn't suit...some too big, some too small. I ended up finding one of the companies that made them that happened to be relatively nearby. With them I had one custom made to suit my site. They come with sides, windows, doors and anything else you want. I opted to go "open air". It protects everything just fine and it is easier to move things around and get things in and out without the door jambs getting in the way. As it is in sight of the house, I like that it is almost invisible without sides. A picture is attached. I need to take a new one...in this one the installation was not quite done yet so you'll notice a slight lean on it. Anyway I am quite happy with it and I can always add walls and doors if I want to.

Good luck!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

grandad · May 14, 2002

I've been looking at the same thing for a while now. For a 2-car sized carport, the basic prices in my area (North Carolina) are also around $600, but if you want to fully enclose it with an overhead door, the price tag starts heading toward $3K. That seemed a bit steep to me... I could put up a pole building of equal size for less, but I would have to build it myself.

pajoube · May 14, 2002

What is the material on the top?
Do they make them large enough for a large RV? This sounds like something that could be enclosed as I do not need it heated.
PJ

TonyC · May 14, 2002

What is the material on the top? 

Heavy Gauge corrugated steel with a baked on finish. You can walk on it with no problem.

Do they make them large enough for a large RV?

They can easily be made large enough for an RV...several RV's for that matter! As long as you got the ca$h

cisco · May 16, 2002

Clemson, in your area (northwestern SC) such inexpensive shelters are just fine, as long as there is no long open field in the direction of prevailing weather (usually from the West) that can allow winds around thunderstorms to reach high levels. You would probably be wise to order a few extra tie-downs for the frame.
In my area, coastal SC (but my son is going to Clemson University), such shell shelters become flying objects during hurricanes (even the weak, 80 mph ones), and most folks don't store valuable stuff underneath them.

yooperdave · May 16, 2002

Well said Cisco!

These structures are prone to lateral stability problems.
Adding side walls adds to its wind sail, and even more prone to blowing away. Hold downs should be installed and the insurance paid up in full...

Yooper Dave