Portable carports are usually those temporary carports with fabric covers. They are commonly put up in the warmer months to provide shade from the heat of the sun and then taken down in the cooler months. It’s often that I get asked, “Are your metal car shelters portable carports or temporary carports?” That question is probably better stated, “Can I move the carport to another location?” The carport can be moved to another location but there are things to consider before moving your carport to a different location.
Our carports are generally considered permanent carports but they can be moved to a different location. The components that make up the carport frame and the steel sheeting are usually pre-cut at the manufacturer and they are assembled on site with some minor fabrication. Our units are ‘permanently anchored’ to the installation surface with some type of anchor system. Our metal carports are anchored with:
- Rebar anchors for non-certified ground installations
- Mobile home anchors for certified ground and asphalt installations
- Concrete wedge anchors for non-certified and certified installations
With a good deal of effort, those anchors can be removed and the carport can be disassembled and moved to a different location, making it a portable carport. We can disassemble the metal carport for you and move it to a different location. What is the cost of moving the unit? It does depend on the distance moved and the type of carport. If the installation site is less than 20 miles from the new install location, the price is usually $50 plus 25% to 30% of the retail value of the carport. We will only move carports that we sell and will not move another company’s carport.
There’s good reason we don’t move other company’s carports. Their frame system may be different than ours. They may utilize rectangular tube or round tube for the frame or their roof frame system may utilize multiple pieces where ours is a single piece bow or truss. That would change the time allowed to disassemble and reassemble the unit. Their components may be welded together where ours disassemble with screw fasteners. For this reason, we only move our own units.
Another factor to consider when making the carport portable and moving it to another location is getting the panels to line up correctly after the unit is moved. The new installation site is rarely going to be exactly like the original installation site. Because of that, the existing screw holes in the panels will rarely line up exactly on the new installation. For this reason, if you want us to move your existing carport, you will have to pay for the move fees in advance. We will explain that your moved unit won’t look as nice as that original installation. We will do our level best to get it to look as good as we possibly can.
Can you move portable carports yourself? Certainly! You should factor in that you will need space to store a wide single-piece bow or truss, depending on the width of your unit, the base rails on the ground, and additional space to store the roof panels, trims, and other optional items that you might have in your unit. There are no disassembly or reassembly instructions. Your best bet is to mark and number all of your components from the base rails, to the legs, the roof panels and even the trim for the best results! Snap a few photos of the unit before and during the disassemble process because in two days or so, you won’t remember how the unit was assembled.
Hopefully, we have provided the information that you might need in order to move your carport. Generally speaking, our units are rarely called portable carports but they can be moved with a little effort. It is best to have experienced crews to move these carports but you can move them on your own. For the most basic unit, it costs almost as much to move the unit as it does to purchase a new unit. If your unit is in poor condition, our advice is that it simply isn’t worth moving like fabric-roof portable carports.
