White Monolith of Hawkins Street

Now that our chariot has been returned to us, we needed to protect it from the elements in some way.  We had to come up with a far less expensive carport solution than the design we had in Adelaide, and something that was portable.  Our main issue is water damage or ingress when the wet season hits.  If a shelter can go some way towards decreasing the amount of water that directly contacts the van, it will help to keep the mould down (but obviously not out).  Also, if the block floods, we would want something that doesn't need to be dismantled but can remain standing so we can tow the van to higher ground without worrying about the carport.
We looked at several different designs for temporary carports on the internet but nearly all were made for commercial or military applications and so were extremely expensive.  One manufacturer had specifically designed an igloo style of cover for an RV but at $2900, it was quite a bit more than we wanted to pay and that was one of the cheaper ones.  Enter the good old Supercheap Auto temporary carport.  There are examples of their use all over Ingham and we wonder whether the cyclone nearly two years ago encouraged people to go the less expensive way or whether people are still waiting for insurance payouts.  Whatever the reason, there are many houses in Ingham with these temporary carports assembled in their driveways.  Some have had shadecloth added for extra privacy and protection and others have replaced the original plastic canvas material with more robust materials. 
Our only issue with going in this direction was the height of the carport.  At only 2.4 metres maximum height at the peak, it fell well short of what we required which was 3.2 metres.  The length was also only 6 metres where we needed 10 metres so we needed to buy two carports.  Luckily Supercheap Auto had a sale recently and we saved $100 on two carports which we put towards improvement materials.  Forever thinking of the solution, Steve decided to put angle iron extensions onto the posts to increase their height.  He then used tex screws to hold the posts in place at the appropriate height to get the van under.  Rather than putting two carports together, we joined them during the building process by removing the end pieces and so ended up with one long carport.   Due to the extra height, the potential for the structure to become unstable and sway, possibly hitting the van, was a concern.  Of course, the canvas roof would hold the top structure together but there was nothing at the bottom to stop the legs moving around.  Steve therefore, used the angle between the legs and again secured them with tex screws.  This made a rigid base to stop movement and he then hammered the leg spikes into the angle to secure them to the ground.  These spikes were supplied with the carport.
Once the skeleton was complete, we then had to get the canvas cover over the top.  Steve had ropes, cat leads and whatever he could find to help pull the roof over the top of the structure.  I'm quite sure the whole neighbourhood was having a good laugh at our expense as we tried to pull the roof on.  It was a particularly hot Sunday when we undertook this project and most Inghamites were tucked up indoors with their airconditioning on.  I swear they must have been at their windows watching us stupid South Australians working hard.  At one stage it was tools down and into the pool for a cool off.  In fact Steve downed tools several times during the afternoon to take a dip which gave him instant relief for his hard work and sweat.  We were quite happy to be the neighbourhood entertainment as we usually are due to our lack of fencing and general privacy screening around our house.
Eventually Steve managed to meld the two canvasses together and create a relatively seamless roof for the carport.  Then came the moment of truth.  He very carefully backed the van with no mirror extensions and guidance from me into position.  There was only one minor problem when the van door happened to open into one of the poles so we just manouveured the van forward and back until it wasn't a problem anymore.  Luckily we had plenty of carport length to play with.
Now during the day the van is shaded from the sun and hopefully the bulk of the rain will keep off as well. Steve also said that when we move on, the two carports will work well as carports for the cars should we live somewhere else.