Need advice on building carport
 

I want to build a simple carport, (or two), out at my friend's ranch in the SoCal desert. One will be tall to park my Airstream 26' trailer under and I'd like to build another one as a gift to him for parking 2-3 cars under.

I'm thinking simple, (and hopefully not too expensive), maybe 4x4s sunken into cement footings and corrugated sheet metal roofs. The elements are a bear on materials out there, mostly heat and UVs but also heavy rain and extreme winds. He told me that whatever I use for roofing has to withstand gale force winds. This is in the high desert, MMarsh knows where.

Any advice appreciated!

Google pole barns and do the same on YouTube. Same basic idea as what you are looking for.

I made this one myself using electrical conduit after my factory built shelters collapse under 2 feet of snow. Hand bent and then welded together. Hay tarp for the top. You have to wire brush off the galvanize and then welds well and you don't get sick breathing in the fumes. The 45 degree pitch really opens it up. I welded silk screen frames together for the doors/fascia.

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That's a really nice enclosure but I don't think it would stand up to the wind where I am. Nice work, though.

I made a free standing carport at one side of my house. It is only 9 feet wide by 16 feet deep to accommodate a smaller car, but I could have made it bigger if needed. I can take a few photos later if you want. Here is the link to the site that has the basic plans: How to build a lean to carport | HowToSpecialist - How to Build, Step by Step DIY Plans

Might need a permit depending how big you plan to build. Look up county regs and build slightly under it. IMHO in rural it's just a tax stamp.

Might look into the guys that build metal buildings. They're usually reasonable for what's involved. I have seen locals here in NorAZ put shipping containers in the bottom of the foundation for extra storage.

Which begs the question. Try stacking a few high cubes?!

Just be careful with the low budget building guys.... I've seen more than a few that saved money by rigging together mickey mouse trusses with angle iron and rebar.... Guess what that does with a little snow load on the roof?

I just did the same, but used red metal roofing. 6x's in the ground and homebuilt trusses with 2x6. Maybe overbuilt. The roofing cost for a large 2 car was under $500.

That thing would be gone in about 30 seconds, if you are talking about where I think you are.

You are going to want over built, with well secured roofing. Pop rivets are no good, you want metal straps holding it down that can't pull through. Is it going to have a concrete slab under it?

A few Simpson ties would take care of the wind issue.
Put HHDQ tiedowns on the corner posts bolted to concrete footing.
Stud plate ties and girder tiedowns along the side walls top and bottom.
If the roof doesn't have snow load, your trusses can be minimal dimension and widely spaced with the corrugated steel. No live load up there, right? No one is walking on that roof.

Thanks Denis. A small carport 20 foot long, using 1.5" diameter electrical conduit as the skeleton, would need cement footings or be tied down in some way or welded to old, large construction/industrial shelving I-beams. Then it would never fly away. Mine faces the natural wind and that helps, I just welded in a few diagonals for bracing.

The pics above are only 80% done. It's 60 feet long and covered by 2 48x33 hay tarps that go under the verticals and back up inside. It's survived a few hurricanes with 100+ mph winds and last winter we have 9 feet of snow, it withstood 6 feet of snow on it on the building side. I had to get up there and shovel it off. You won't have that issue of course.

I'm changing the bombay mahogany front now to cement board and stainless steel hardware used on modern homes. 2 years of direct sun from noon to sundown isn't kind to the wood.

Lot of good ideas here. Good luck!

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Denis. If you are intending to build two, car port like structures - one for your camping trailer and another for two or three cars, both are going to be pretty good sized and not super cheap if done right. You're a smart guy, so I'm sure you will figure things out as you go along. If it were me, I'd do a few things on both. First because of size, weather, and wind conditions, anchoring will be super important. I would dig round holes - couple of feet at least, put the hard, round card board tubes in them as forms and pour concrete with Simpson column anchors embedded for the vertical posts. I would use 4x6 (maybe pressure treated) on the corners and 4x4 for the ones in between. 4x6 for all would be better. I'd use 4x4 for the overheads w/ 4x4, 45 degree bracing on the upper parts of the vertical columns anchored to the overheads w/ lag bolts and steel braces where they butt together. You can buy ready made trusses for not too much. I bought 9 - 16 ft. w/ about 2 1/2 ft. rise from Dixieline 5 years ago for $450 for a storage shed. I'd go with 5/16 roofing sheets & rolled or tab roofing. An Important thing to defeat the wind is to cover the fronts & backs of the end trusses w/ plywood. This adds strength and keeps the wind from getting under the roof panels & lifting them. Unless you want to pour concrete slabs, I'd consider nothing or 3/4 in. aggregate, although that will fill up with blown dirt over time. Hope this isn't too long, but I'm sure you get the picture.

Google shade structures - Burning Man. This will give you some really good ideas for cheap and effective temporary structures that will hold up to wind speeds much higher than the Mojave.