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How To Choose the Right Carport Size for Your Needs


Blue steel carport with two garage entrances. Once car inside. 

So, you’ve decided to build or install a carport. Great idea! How do you select the right carport size? Before you get started, you need to put a lot of thought into the size of the carport that will best suit your needs.

Let’s take a quick look at a few tips you can follow to help you choose a carport size and make sure it meets your expectations.

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What Will You Use the Carport For?

A carport is generally used to park a vehicle underneath, but not all people use it for this. Some people use it as a patio area. Regardless of your reason for building or installing a carport, you’ll want to ensure the size complements its intended purpose.

What Carport Size Do I Need?

When choosing the best carport size, there are three basic types to choose from:

Single carports: Also known as the standard carport size, these are typically about 12 feet wide. A single carport is ideal for parking a single vehicle. If you want to store a single motorhome or some other type of RV, you’ll want a bigger size, such as an RV cover, as these vehicles are much larger than a standard vehicle like a sedan.

Double carports: Ranging from 18 to 24 feet wide, a double carport is ideal for storing two standard vehicles. A larger carport is recommended if you want to house two vehicles plus other items.

Triple carports: Generally 26 to 30 feet, a triple carport can store up to three standard vehicles and is ideal for housing large boats and tractors.

Consider Carport Width & Length

Not only is the width important when you buy a metal carport, but its length and height are essential too.

Do you want to park a truck that has been lifted three inches off its frame? If so, you may need a taller-than-standard carport. Recreational vehicles and farm equipment usually call for taller carports as well.

While it’s important to make sure the carport is tall enough to house what you need, you also need to make sure it’s not too tall. The taller the carport, the less resistant it will be to high winds, especially if its width and length aren’t close in comparison to its height.

Ready to choose the perfect carport for your home or office? Call (888)-551-2156 for a free quote today.

Carport Material: Wood or Metal?

As you consider the right carport size, you also need to think about the best building material for your needs. Some carports are built solely out of wood, and while they have a unique attractiveness, they’re not as durable as metal and steel carports.

Plus, wood carports can suffer from various issues, including warping, sagging, termite damage, and more. When you invest in a metal or steel carport, you get durability, longevity, and structural integrity.

Metal Carport Roof Styles

For metal carports, there are three roof choices:

Regular roof RV cover: The regular style unit’s primary feature is that it provides shelter, and the benefit is that it’s economically priced. Because of the bend transition on the legs or posts, there’s less labor in the unit, and there’s no eave side trim, ridge cap, or hat channel, making it the most economical unit we carry.

Boxed-eave roof RV cover: The boxed-eave unit has the appearance of a home roof-line or shape but has horizontal roof panels. It has no hat channel or ridge cap. The trim on the ends consists of a smaller L-Trim, and our units have eave side trim.

Some manufacturers don’t offer eave side trim on the A-frame with horizontal roof panels. The benefit is that you can own an A-frame carport for less than the price of the vertical roof.

Vertical roof RV cover: The benefit of the vertical roof is that water, snow, leaves, and other debris will more easily run off this type. Water, snow, and debris will tend to lay in the ridges of a carport with horizontal panels, like the boxed-eave and regular roof.

Consider the Weather Conditions

You’ll also want to consider the typical weather conditions where you want to install the carport. If you live in an area with lots of heavy snowfall, then a carport with a vertical-style roof will be best. Boxed-eave and regular-style roofs are beneficial for areas with lots of hail and rain.

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Design a Custom Carport

Do you already have a vision in mind for your carport? Maybe you need a custom-size building, roof style, or storage option with a trim color to match your style.

Design your own custom metal building with Bulldog Steel Structure’s 3D builder. Our 3D builder lets you choose your carport style, size, and sides. You can further customize it with colors, doors, windows, and frame outs.

Bring your vision to life and submit your design to our team. Once your design is submitted, we’ll send you a quote.

Prefer to discuss your vision with our specialists? Contact us today at (888)-551-2156.

What Our
Customers Are Saying

I would recommend bulldog steel highly. They are very professional and accommodating. Want to give special thanks to Randall Hall and also matt preslar. They were very accommodating and helping me fill out paperwork and handling things when a timel...

- Shirley M.

Bulldog has been great to work with. They explained everything from beginning to end. I live in the mountains of New Mexico and the staff made sure that my garage had the right support needed for this area of the country. I would highly recommend t...

- Bruce J.

Bryan Ordonez with Bulldog Buildings was great to work with. Every email or message I sent, he was quick to respond and I got what I wanted. I hate that we had to deal with material issues due to covid but he kept me up to date on issues and end da...

- Tony & Debbie S.

Good design tool on their website. Great customer service.

- John S.

Have had nothing but a positive experience with Bulldog! Bryan was super helpful and still is after our install! He still responds super prompt and helpful. No complaints about our structure, as it looks amazing! Installers did a great job and pick...

- Kristie S.

I have now had my building in place for 3 months and I want to say that the whole team at Bulldog was very helpful throughout the entire process. My salesperson, Matthew, was extremely responsive. He was very helpful with the design phase, where we...

- Mike W.

Frank Rangel was very helpful and respectful. Also very understanding. I was pouring a concrete driveway and trying to put my down payment down. I may of got a little frustrated in the middle of it all. I could see the smile on Frank's face the who...

- Jason M.

This is my second building from bulldog and I'm buying the same building , just different colors. They are great buildings that are strong and economical.

- Parke H.

Excellent customer service during my order process, answered all my questions and they were very patient.

- Jack D.

The website was very flexible and helped me customize my carport. The Bulldog staff was very prompt and helpful throughout the process.

- Dale & Karen W.

Put up a RV cover for me on a concrete pad. Turned out great and the guys cleaned up after the work. Very satisfied. Would recommend these people.

- Dan and Linda I.

I love my “She Shop.” It was amazingly easy. I sent an email, made 2 phones calls and it was done. The installation went even easier. Three guys showed up one day and finished the next. They were polite and cleaned up after themselves. My husband...

- Theressa J.

I visited their website and used the 3D estimator and was able to see my building with doors, window placements, colors,and overall look. When you add or change any feature, including size, you can immediately see the result and change in price (if a...

- David T.
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Bulldog’s metal barns, garages, and carports are available for delivery and installation in most of the U.S. Whether you’re a homeowner in Maine, a rancher in Texas, or a small business owner in California, you’ll get to-your-door delivery and professional installation, so your building will be sturdy and reliable for years to come.

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