Carport for a Motorhome

Does anybody have any tips re the purchase/construction of a free standing (not attached to house) carport to accommodate a Bourton?

I am looking for one with dimensions of about
8m long
3m wide
3m high

I have been quoted £4-6000 with legs that bolt to the  concrete base of the hardstanding area.. not sure if bolted legs would survive in the windy Wirral!

All advice/comments gratefully received.. including any suppliers if you have any recommendations

thanks

Gerry

My son has his van under a tent like construction at the side of his house and he can work on the van in the dry.I know he didnt pay anything like 4k for it I think a google search might throw up ideas for you.

I went down this road a few years ago and found a couple of suppliers, one fairly local and one in Ireland, if memory serves me correctly.  Both were in the same ball-park as the price you have given. I then started looking at large tent-like hangar structures but wasn't happy at the prospect of the appearance of one on the front drive.  So in the end I gave up and went back to resigning myself to having to give the roof a good clean with Meguiars pioducts a couple of times a year.

PS I no longer feel happy getting up on the roof of the van and have found it difficult working just with ladders.  I have recently purchased a lightweight scaffolding platform which is adjustable to achieve an ideal, safe working height to reach all parts of the roof from around the the sides.  I've only had a chance to use it for an hour or so because of the weather but once I get a chance to test it fully I will post a review and photos.

Meanwhile, here is the link if you're interested:

https://www.aluminium-scaffoldtowers.co.uk/scaffold-tower/loyal-diy-tower/super-diy-4-2-in-one-aluminium-scaffold-tower.html

I actually bought the 3-in-1 version which was £25 more but will also prove very useful for work around the exterior of the house and cost little more than hiring a couple of times:

https://www.aluminium-scaffoldtowers.co.uk/scaffold-tower/loyal-diy-tower/5m-sdiy-250-3-in-1-aluminium-scaffold-tower.html

Sorry if I've gone Off Topic but I thought this might be relevant.

Don't buy gazebo type structures. I learnt the hard way as I purchased one for my hot tub ( I know its not a MH but same principal - a shelter) I paid almost £500 for my gazebo "all weather" it has a metal frame that you once up you leave up. The small print on the instructions said "Advice - remove roof cover & curtains in windy weather" I didn't heed the advice to my cost and the first autumn wind ripped my roof costing £90.  to replace. If another one rips in future I'll replace with a lightweight exterior wood.
I'm sure you can get car porches cheaper than £4,500 I think Argos used sell or you could try google for prices and size

The problem is that car porches are not high enough for motorhomes.  If you have a space adjacent to a suitable house exterior then wall mounted car porches can simply be installed higher up the wall.  However when it comes to a completely free standing structure the extra height and hence larger wind-bearing surface needs a much stronger form of construction.  That, plus the fact the potential market is considerably smaller, is reflected in the price.

I spent a great deal of time and effort researching this - I'd love someone to prove me wrong by pointing me to a competitive suitable source ....

rogerblack wrote:

I actually bought the 3-in-1 version which was £25 more but will also prove very useful for work around the exterior of the house and cost little more than hiring a couple of times:

https://www.aluminium-scaffoldtowers.co.uk/scaffold-tower/loyal-diy-tower/5m-sdiy-250-3-in-1-aluminium-scaffold-tower.html

Hi Roger,

Do you have any photos of your scaffolding tower, folded up, please? I'm interested in buying one of these but I don't have much storage space. I suppose, being aluminium, they could be stored outside without rusting.

Cheers,

If it's like mine, which looks very similar, it doesn't fold - all parts are flat and bolt or clip into place.

They aren't tooo bulky when dismantled, but if you're going to store it outside, make sure you lock it up! Last time I left a section of aluminium ladder out in my garden while working, I glanced out of the window half an hour later to see a "gentleman of the travelling persuasion" carrying it to his van. "Oh sorry mate, I thought it was scrap". Hmmmm...

BVMC wrote:

rogerblack wrote:

I actually bought the 3-in-1 version which was £25 more but will also prove very useful for work around the exterior of the house and cost little more than hiring a couple of times:

https://www.aluminium-scaffoldtowers.co.uk/scaffold-tower/loyal-diy-tower/5m-sdiy-250-3-in-1-aluminium-scaffold-tower.html

Hi Roger,

Do you have any photos of your scaffolding tower, folded up, please? I'm interested in buying one of these but I don't have much storage space. I suppose, being aluminium, they could be stored outside without rusting.

Cheers,

I bought one similar to this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/FoxHunter-Quality-Aluminium-Function-Scaffold/dp/B004KLMT04

I use it for my roof but I just use it as a normal step ladder. The feet are wide and it is very stable.

PB

Brian, as Mojo posted it dismantles rather than folding.  I'll take a picture in daylight and post it, I was surprised how easy it was to put together even singlehanded* and how lightweight it all is, yet very sturdy.  I have a heavier duty trade ladder and platform at our holiday home but it doesn't have the trapdoor so is much more awkward and less safe to climb up on, also needs two to assemble it and doesn't go as high as this one; and it cost much more several years back.   The lightweight one has wheels on the side of one of the bottom bars so you can tilt it to move it about easily, but it can't move when in use.

I also have one of those multi-position folding ladders similar to the one PB linked to, however in platform mode although ideal for the sides it isn't high enough for me to reach right to the centre of the motorhome roof and it also doesn't have any safety rail around you, so I struggle to use it safely as I get older;  in stepladder mode it also isn't as safe when leaning over the van as it can tilt away, also has to be moved more frequently.  Using the scaffold platform, from only four/five positions I can easily and safely reach the whole of the van roof, including the large rooflight in centre of the large bulkhead bulge, which of course you can't even do when standing on the roof of the van as that part is not loadbearing.  

The scaffold tower is the only method I've used where I have been able to reach the ideal height and feel completely safe, so can concentrate on applying some elbow grease to the van.

* this link shows a speeded up video with timebase showing one man erecting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq50Bp44Bbc

Try this they may have something you could use Dan Cover.com tel.0870-820-0008 I hope they are of some use.

Thanks to Roger, Mojo and PB. Sorry for hijacking the thread somewhat, but I would still be interested in seeing how much space it takes up when fully dismantled.

Cheers,

Hi Gerry

We have a Bourton and we bought a Rhino shelter, Barn style. Absolutely the perfect thing.... should withstand
winds on the side of a mountain apparently. Not sure if I can send a photo to you ? have you an email address?
We can let you know all the details if this is of any interest at all?   £3k  just about.

regards Lesley

Hi there,

Paying someone to build something as simple as a carport is anathema to me so I would definitely build it myself; just like I did with the lean-to and the conservatory.

The first decision would be "Is the current base strong enough to anchor a carport?"  If it is then there is no need to sink the corner posts and intermediate supports into the ground.  If it isn't then the length of the corner -posts and intermediate supports should be sized long enough to have at least 1 metre sunk into the ground.

The second decision would be to construct the carport to the standard dimensions available.  For boards these are usually 2440mm x 1220mm so the length and width of the carport should be designed accordingly to minimise on costs.  A 3.5 long by 1.5 wide will give dimensions of 8.54m x 3.66m and can easily be covered with 6 full-sized boards.

For the corner posts I would use 3 x 125mm x 50mm lengths of planed and treated wood bolted and glued together to form 125mm x 150mm pillars; which would be anchored (or cemented in) to form the four corners.  With an 8m long structure I would put in two intermediate supports at spaced intervals.

The long edges would be overlapped double thicknesses of 125mm x 50mm planed and treated soft wood and the cross-joist roof supports would be single thickness 125mm x 50mm planed and treated soft wood at 305mm centres.

The roof would be 24mm thick Stirling Board covered with a Wickes "double thickness self-adhesive felt system" or similar.

It will be necessary to provide a suitable "tilt" to the roof to allow rain-water to drain away.  As a general rule a 1-in-20 tilt will be sufficient to drain a properly constructed felt covered roof so the whole structure would be tilted accordingly along its length; guttering and down-pipes to a water barrel or soaraway will deal with any rainwater.

Two points to consider are:

1.  Planning permission MAY be required as it will very much be a permanent structure.

2.  I am out of date with regard to the cost of raw materials but I would still expect change out of £2,000 for such a structure.

Hope this helps. 

Best regards,

I think there is a ruling for a car port over a certain height requiring planning permission, some neighbours of ours wanted one for their motorhome and had to apply for permission because of the height. They were granted it without any problems.