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Many years ago (early 1980's) I had a weather proof cover for my equatorial mount in a removable permanent set up at Arthur Page's Mt Tamborine observatory. It didn't hold the OTA just the mount.
I was a uni student at the time and on a real shoestring budget. I made the rectangular cross braced frame out of oregon pine - it doesn't rot. Tamborine gets big winds all year round and lots of rain in the summer. I went to a sheet metal shop and ordered 4 side pieces and a cap for the top. Each side piece was the size of the side and had a 2 inch strip bent at right angles. Each of these wrapped around the corner as flashing to stop water ingress. One of the lower horizontal braces was hinged and had a sliding bolt. One side was removable. To remove the cover , I removed one side plate and the hinged lower brace hinged out of the way and I could drag it away from the mount. I had a shelf seat that slid into place and voila I had a wind proof chair. When not in use, two bolts went through a couple of angle brackets and threaded into loxons in the concrete base to lock the cover in place in big winds. Big difference with today's mounts is that my mount had no electronics - just a synchronous motor.
this could work on a tripod or pier. Just need to make the box bigger. If I were making it bigger, I'd probably put two wheels at the back corners opposite the opening side so it could be tilted over and wheeled away.
This was a very simple design.
Joe
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