Where to Find a Canopy/Carport with 9' Clearance? - Fiberglass RV
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Old 10-20-2021, 09:11 AM   #1
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Where to Find a Canopy/Carport with 9' Clearance?

I was looking for an inexpensive canopy to serve as a carport for our Casita. 10x20 ones are widely available from companies like Shelter Logic, but their peak height is 9', which doesn't leave room inside for the AC unit on the Casita, which reaches 9' and is at least 2' wide.

Found a 12x20 carport from Amazon and eBay called Peaktop, but a user says it's a couple inches short of 9'.

Of course you can spend thousands on fancy carports, but I'm not looking to spend more than $400 or so.

Suggestions? —LEJ
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Old 10-20-2021, 09:15 AM   #2
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Originally Posted by Mr Lynn View Post
I was looking for an inexpensive canopy to serve as a carport for our Casita. 10x20 ones are widely available from companies like Shelter Logic, but their peak height is 9', which doesn't leave room inside for the AC unit on the Casita, which reaches 9' and is at least 2' wide.

Found a 12x20 carport from Amazon and eBay called Peaktop, but a user says it's a couple inches short of 9'.

Of course you can spend thousands on fancy carports, but I'm not looking to spend more than $400 or so.

Suggestions? —LEJ
Put lifts under the legs? How about in a 5 gallon bucket of cement?
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Old 10-20-2021, 10:39 AM   #3
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Put lifts under the legs? How about in a 5 gallon bucket of cement?
That would work. I put 4"x4" posts in the ground, but my neighbor has a Case skid steer loader, (like a Bobcat) with a post hole auger.

I then hung tarps from the carport to keep the snow out.
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Old 10-20-2021, 02:26 PM   #4
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Carport

Check with Carolina Carports or Carolina Metal Carports. I know they make them to about any height you need. I've got one that is 12 ft. You will have a hard time finding anything for <$400.00.
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Old 10-20-2021, 03:21 PM   #5
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Is the Casita with A/C actually higher than a Scamp 16 with high profile A/C? My Scamp and A/C fits under the cheap carport with 9 foot roof peak. Way less that $400 but you must do some mods to weather at least a few storms before it gets damaged.
https://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/...amp-96250.html
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Old 10-20-2021, 03:33 PM   #6
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Check with Carolina Carports or Carolina Metal Carports. I know they make them to about any height you need. I've got one that is 12 ft. You will have a hard time finding anything for <$400.00.
Their quote form doesn't list MA. What's with that?

Anyway, I figured a metal one would be too expensive.
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Old 10-20-2021, 03:36 PM   #7
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Put lifts under the legs? How about in a 5 gallon bucket of cement?
Eight five-gallon buckets of concrete would be a lot of concrete!
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Old 10-20-2021, 03:37 PM   #8
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Check with Carolina Carports or Carolina Metal Carports. I know they make them to about any height you need. I've got one that is 12 ft. You will have a hard time finding anything for <$400.00.
We are in the Northeast like Mr Lynn. A couple years ago, at this time, about October 1, we visited a Carolina Carport dealer to order one to store our Casita in for the winter. We were told there wasn't much chance of getting one or having it installed before winter. So we built a shelter, total cost at that time was $1700 which included a load of stone to park the trailer on. What I'm seeing on a lot of those metal carports around our area is people won't spend the extra money for the roof that has the vertical ridges so snow will slide off. Most everyone gets the cheaper horizontal ridges roof. I had to keep our carport short to avoid needing a building permit.
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Old 10-20-2021, 07:22 PM   #9
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[Eight five-gallon buckets of concrete would be a lot of concrete!]

Those five gallon pails could be filled with gravel. That is how we hold down our gazebo. I built wooden pillar type boxes, screwed the corner legs of the gazebo to the boxes and filled each with gravel. That way if I want to move them I can dump out some or all of the gravel, move the box and replace the gravel. Saved putting bolts through the patio slabs. Saw a video on YouTube.
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Old 10-20-2021, 07:58 PM   #10
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We have 10'x20' canopy withopen sides but a peaked roof so clearance is not an issue. It's made by a company called Weatherfast. They have similar ones listed on Wayfair.ca and the delivery info asks for zip codes so I imagine they ship in the U.S. They had one listed on sale for $344.99 probably Canadian dollars. Just put outdoor car canopy in the search. Good luck.
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Old 10-20-2021, 08:41 PM   #11
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I have had no problem with using two (the first rusted out after about 6 years) standard 10 x 20 canopies. What I did to get the little bit of extra height needed was to buy and install steel fence posts at each leg. Then I used 4" x 4 " blocks (with 1" deep holes) as a foot (you also could make them with a little bit of concrete molded in a gallon plastic container (like bleach container) for each of the legs of the canopy. I then used two U-bolts to fasten the canopy legs to the fence posts that were driven deeply into the ground. The result was a very stable structure. I am sure that doing this will be much less expensive than buying a taller canopy.
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Old 10-21-2021, 05:59 AM   #12
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We have 10'x20' canopy withopen sides but a peaked roof so clearance is not an issue. It's made by a company called Weatherfast. They have similar ones listed on Wayfair.ca and the delivery info asks for zip codes so I imagine they ship in the U.S. They had one listed on sale for $344.99 probably Canadian dollars. Just put outdoor car canopy in the search. Good luck.
How high is your Surfside? The Weatherfast (J&J mfg) canopies and 'portable garages' are only 8' at the peak. My Casita is 9' atop the AC unit.
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Old 10-21-2021, 09:27 AM   #13
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Well, I just found a $250 canopy with adjustable legs, taking the peak to 11' if necessary. That should be plenty for the Casita. Reviews are mixed (as with all of them), but looks worth a try:

https://www.amazon.com/ADVANCE-OUTDO...01M5H1DY9?th=1

I like Gator's idea of driving metal fenceposts into the ground and U-bolting them to the canopy legs. With the adjustable height, might not need concrete blocks, though patio blocks might be a good idea. The Advance legs have flat plate feet welded on, so probably have to cut the feet to snug the legs up to fenceposts.

Of course, I really should follow Bob's example and build my own carport (Bob's looks great!). But I'd almost certainly have to get a building permit in this town/city, and they probably would make me put it in a different spot. So there, that's my excuse, and I'm stickin' to it!

UPDATE: Walmart has the Advance updated 8-leg model that also goes to 11':

https://www.walmart.com/ip/ADVANCE-O...3?athbdg=L1700

I ordered it (it's $300).
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Old 10-21-2021, 01:18 PM   #14
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Fence posts driven into the ground are almost surely more stable than sand bags. You may not have to cut the feet off, depending on how big they are. You can add a piece of 2 x4 between the fence post and the leg, and put a larger U-bolt around everything.
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Old 10-21-2021, 02:38 PM   #15
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Fence posts driven into the ground are almost surely more stable than sand bags. You may not have to cut the feet off, depending on how big they are. You can add a piece of 2 x4 between the fence post and the leg, and put a larger U-bolt around everything.
Thanks; good idea! Got plenty of scrap 2x4s around.
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Old 10-22-2021, 06:55 AM   #16
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Based on my experience, you’ll need to do something to keep the poles from separating in the wind. Quick and dirty way is duck tape. Nicer way is a small screw in every joint. As others have said, it will need to be very well anchored to the ground. It can damage your fiberglass if it shifts or comes apart. I wouldn’t expect more than a year or two from the fabric.

We used something similar at our church for outdoor services during COVID. The wind did a number on it. Once we finally took it down after about four months, some of the pieces were bent, and quite a few joints were impossible to separate. The fabric survived, but there were pinholes in the top, abrasion holes where it rubbed against the frame, and a few seams starting to separate.

I personally think a high quality Calmark cover would be a better long-term investment (at about twice the cost). They last 5-6 years or more, and there are no hard pieces to damage the trailer when the wind howls.
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Old 10-22-2021, 08:26 AM   #17
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Based on my experience, you’ll need to do something to keep the poles from separating in the wind. Quick and dirty way is duck tape. Nicer way is a small screw in every joint. As others have said, it will need to be very well anchored to the ground. It can damage your fiberglass if it shifts or comes apart. I wouldn’t expect more than a year or two from the fabric.

We used something similar at our church for outdoor services during COVID. The wind did a number on it. Once we finally took it down after about four months, some of the pieces were bent, and quite a few joints were impossible to separate. The fabric survived, but there were pinholes in the top, abrasion holes where it rubbed against the frame, and a few seams starting to separate.

I personally think a high quality Calmark cover would be a better long-term investment (at about twice the cost). They last 5-6 years or more, and there are no hard pieces to damage the trailer when the wind howls.
Good point about poles separating. Those little spring pop-buttons can't be very strong. A couple of sheet-metal screws in each joint, or maybe a long machine screw, would help.

I think the fenceposts U-bolted to the legs should keep the thing on the ground.

I do have a Calmark cover, bought used a few years ago from a gentleman in Texas. But a canopy would allow me more freedom to fiddle with the trailer (and run the AC heat strip in the winter if I wanted), and still keep the tree junk off.
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Old 10-22-2021, 08:49 AM   #18
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Gotcha. Let us know how it works out. Make sure to remove snow promptly. Had to do that a couple of times on the church canopy.
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Old 10-22-2021, 09:07 AM   #19
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//. I wouldn’t expect more than a year or two from the fabric.
...
Or maybe six years like mine
But, a year or less if you don't remove the cover when you get more than maybe an inch or more of snow, or if the wind gusts over 20-25 MPH... so its not for all climates no matter how much you beef it up. I am lucky and have not needed to remove my cover very often. Or maybe I am unlucky because global warming has made the temperatures higher in winter?

Recently the roof started leaking a little water at the peak, and the curtain portion started to come off. But it still serves the function of keeping most of the sun off, and the curtain off actually makes it less of a sail and less able to trap water or snow. I talked about the frame reinforcement in my thread... one self taping screw where the poles go together. Mine were only nested friction fit.
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Old 10-22-2021, 02:34 PM   #20
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Their quote form doesn't list MA. What's with that?
Maybe they are afraid of the crazy building code and zoning code
laws Massachusetts has!
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