# moving and raising a metal carport



## Porsche986S (Dec 10, 2017)

Hello this project is about moving and raising an existing metal carport to house my truck camper . The carport is 18 ' wide and 10 ' tall at the peak as it was originally installed . I built this 6x6 wood structure to assemble the carport onto . The vertical 6x6 posts are buried 52 " into the ground and have 160 lbs. of concrete in each hole . There are 4 posts on each side and one in the middle in the back . Then there are 10 ' long 6x6's sitting on top of the vertical posts held in place with 10 " long Timberloks . I then installed the first row of 2x12's on the exterior starting from the top , these are triangulated into the vertical and horizontal posts and held in place by 6 " long Timberloks . 

Yesterday I finished installing the metal framework , squared it up and screwed the metal bottom tubes to the wood with 8 " long 1/2 " galvanized lag screws . The next step will be to reinstall the metal roof panels , this carport only had roof panels but I will enclose the back and two sides . I also will complete the base with additional 2x12's on the outside of the posts basically making a wall . Not sure yet what I will " waterproof " the outside of the 2x12's with but will come up with something . Will throw in some drain pipe and backfill with gravel with just a little bit of dirt at the top of grade level . 

The floor will just be a gravel floor but I will put down plastic to help control moisture , with the front of the structure being totally open I can only control so much moisture :biggrin2: So here are two pics of what it looks like at the moment . The truck camper that will live in it is a 1968 Avion C11 that I am going to restore .


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

Looks pretty beefy and thorough undertaking.


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## Oso954 (Jun 23, 2012)

My question is on closing in the sides.
If the Mfg did not design that framing to be closed in with some sort of side panels, you are adding a lot of “sail” area that it wasn’t designed for. 
The wind loading on the sides could possibly collapse the structure.


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## Porsche986S (Dec 10, 2017)

This type of carport is pretty generic and can be purchased fully enclosed or " open " it just depends on how much you want to spend . This was already on site when we purchased the house , I am repurposing to use for my truck camper . To my knowledge the framework is the same for open or closed . I did the same thing at our last house , had a company come in and setup a basic structure with just a roof . I then added enclosed sides and back panel . Was still standing when we sold that house .


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## Porsche986S (Dec 10, 2017)

Looks like a building now , I hired a local crew to complete the skinning of the structure . Other than cleaning some red GA. clay off the ceiling metal :biggrin2: we are good to go . I do have to complete installing the 2x12's on the perimeter to enclose the bottom . With all the metal on the structure it is very solid .


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## Porsche986S (Dec 10, 2017)

And here is the reason for this project , moved my 1968 Avion C11 truck camper to her new home today :biggrin2: I still have to enclose the base and bring in gravel for my floor but wanted to get her under roof . I have the interior gutted for a restoration . Anyway here's a few pics .


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## HenryMac (Sep 12, 2018)

Yep... that's slick! Nicely done.

Love that old school camper too!

Do you have an old Longhorn Chevy truck to match the camper?


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## Porsche986S (Dec 10, 2017)

HenryMac said:


> Yep... that's slick! Nicely done.
> 
> Love that old school camper too!
> 
> Do you have an old Longhorn Chevy truck to match the camper?


My truck is older but not old school :biggrin2: I have a 2001 GMC 4x4 extended cab dually with a 6.6 L turbo diesel . It carries this 2500 lb. camper like it's not even there ! I swear the leaf springs only squat about 1/2 " the truck laughs at this load :wink2:


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## HenryMac (Sep 12, 2018)

Porsche986S said:


> My truck is older but not old school
> :wink2:


Imagine your camper... on this longhorn truck... :wink2:


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## Porsche986S (Dec 10, 2017)

Yeah I get the retro look but trucks of that era are gas pigs ! My dually driving solo with the cruise set at 55 mph gets 20 mpg and she weighs 7300 lbs . !!! Can't touch that with a gas hog and my dually has torque everywhere !


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## HenryMac (Sep 12, 2018)

Porsche986S said:


> Yeah I get the retro look but trucks of that era are gas pigs ! My dually driving solo with the cruise set at 55 mph gets 20 mpg and she weighs 7300 lbs . !!! Can't touch that with a gas hog and my dually has torque everywhere !


True... but you could probably make similar points about buying a new camper, vs restoring an old one.

Lots of folks resto-rodding the old trucks, basically putting them on a newer chassis. But that's like throwing money down a hole... been there, done that, see below. I buy high... and sell low. :vs_laugh:

Sorry for the diversion... I just figured a guy with a 1968 era camper would have a similar era matching truck.


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## Porsche986S (Dec 10, 2017)

No diversion it's all good ! Hey my dually is paid for and just turned 170K so just broken in .


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