RV carports: how to choose, size, and buy one
An RV carport is a small number of decisions made in the right order. Get the order right — structure, then material, then the clear opening, then how it is built — and the rest follows. This is the map, with each decision handed to the guide that covers it in full.
"RV carport", "camper carport", "motorhome cover" and "RV port" all name the same thing: an open-sided (or partly enclosed) roofed structure that shelters a recreational vehicle. The words vary; the decisions do not. Below is the order those decisions are best made in, and where each is answered in full.
1. What kind of structure
The first fork is permanent versus portable. A permanent steel carport is the default for a full-size RV in real weather; a portable or fabric shelter is lighter, cheaper, and consumable, and suits smaller rigs, milder exposure, or a temporary need. From there the choices are open-sided versus enclosed or partly enclosed, and which roof style sheds water and debris the way your site needs.
2. What it is made of
For most owners the answer is steel, and the question that actually matters is how it is specified — gauge, leg height, and the frame geometry that sets the opening. Our guide to metal RV carports covers where steel, aluminium, and fabric each belong and why the advertised width is never the width you can use.
3. The clear opening it has to deliver
This is the decision that goes wrong most often, because a carport is advertised at its outer frame while your RV needs a usable opening inside it. Work the numbers in the Size Finder, which turns your measurements into a minimum and a comfortable target and itemises every allowance. The dimensional guides go deeper on each axis: how tall it needs to be — the one dimension where being wrong causes damage — how wide for access and slide-outs, and how long for the parked footprint. Measuring the rig itself is covered in how to measure your RV.
4. How it gets built
A structure can be professionally installed, bought as a kit and self-assembled, or built from scratch. A kit removes the labour line but not the site work, the foundation, or the permit; an RV-scale build is not a one-person weekend. What each route saves — and what it does not — is set out in the kits and DIY guide.
5. What it costs, and what it sits on
We publish no invented prices. What we can do is rank the choices that move a quote in what drives the cost, so you know which of your decisions are expensive before a single quote arrives. Below the structure sits the ground: anchoring and foundations are dictated by your surface, and the climate and drainage around it decide where a season of runoff goes.
6. Permits and verification, before you pay
We will not tell you whether you need a permit — but how to research it identifies the right authority and the questions that get a reliable answer. Finally, the specification checklist inside the Size Finder result — the printable buyer sheet — is the list of clear-opening, drawing, and responsibility questions to put to any supplier before you commit.