I'm considering adding a front electric hub to my cruiser. I wonder how well that works on the playa. I could see traction being a problem. Has anyone gone this route? Any advice? I'd love a fully electric bike, but the prices are crazy and I'd love to not buy yet another bike. For a few hundred dol...

So it's been forever since this thread started, but I thought I'd update folks on the attic foil. I used attic foil to make a 24x25 tarp for my monkey hut. It was amazing the first year, but each year more of the reflective coating wore off. Then on the third or forth year the tape gave out and I ha...

The ideas about using larger pvc as connectors are all good. One other option is to use two pieces of larger (1.25 inch) pvc as "uprights" and connect those two with a section of smaller ( 1 inch) pvc. This won't make a nice arc, but will make a more upright hut. And it's simple. So lets say you wan...

To make my arched ribs I use two 1.25 inch pvc pipes and run a 1 inch pvc pipe between them. The smaller pipe fits inside the two larger pipes. So no connectors needed. Just wrap some tape around the smaller pipe at the right spot to keep it from going in too far. I don't run a straight rib along th...

SilverGirl, Just a couple of notes. I've built a bunch of monkey huts over the years. Those are my photos of the 24 and 25 foot ribs with my Kodiak tent under it. I've found that using a central ribs to connect the arched ribs is unnecessary. Just use a 50 foot rope and connect each rib to it's neig...

I built a monkey hut using mylar, and it worked really well. It's a pain to make a tarp out of it, since it comes in 4 ft rolls, but it works really well and it's held up for 4 years now. I bought some online, but you can get it from home depot. I will say that the reflective aluminum has worn off i...

I'm looking to replace my playa bike's wheel bearings. I've had the bike a few years and replaced the bottom bracket with a sealed bracket when the old one died a horrible death. The sealed bearings have been great. I rebuild my wheels every year, but would really like to get sealed bearings. Has an...

Strata and Zigzag, The tape seemed to hold on just fine when I folded up the attic foil "tarp" that I made. I used filament tape from my old yurt on the inside, for extra strength, and foil tape on the outside. It all seemed to hold up well. I did have one eyelet in a corner pull through. I'll fix t...

I'm going to second what ZigZag said. I've built monkey huts for a few years using tarps. This past year I wanted something big enough for a Kodiak tent and I wanted it to be cool. I built a monkey hut with 24 foot ribs and used attic foil to make a covering. Worked fantastically. I set up a day or ...

It seems that very few people do this anymore, but I think adding bleach and then sprinkling your grey water is the way to go. It means you have to collect it, treat it with bleach, and then use a garden watering bucket to sprinkle it. But it seems like the easiest way to deal with a few gallons of ...

Where did you get your steel pipe structure? I might have to give up on the PVC monkey hut and build one of those myself. They look pretty bullet proof. Is that pipe used for fencing?
JR

I would avoid the 4 way pvc connectors. Just use a 1.25 inch sleeve to connect 2 10 foot, 1 inch pipes to form each rib. I have always run one spine along the top. It's just another section of 1 inch pvc. Two ten foot lengths with a 1 foot section of 1.25 connecting them, just like the ribs. I've us...

Huge Manatee, 12 feet is a pretty high wind profile. I've brought a monkey hut a few times, but it was a 20x20 tarp and the height was about 6.5 feet at the peak. It was always rock solid. Why is your trailer so tall ( 11 ft. )? Can you put your tent on the ground? I just think you're tempting fate ...

I had an idea that might help keep the end cones rigid. If you ran miltiple ropes from rib to rib and then out to the edge of the cones, these would help hold up the cone. Your design currently has two ropes running the length of the hut. Add another 2 or 4 and I think the cones would have plenty of...

Capinator, Do you have any drawings for how you pieced together the cones? I'm having a hell of a time figuring out how to cut 4 foot sections into triangles that I can tape together to form a cone. I really want to try this out. I think the cones will be key in keeping things shady in the early mor...

The magic number is 24. That's how long your ribs should be on your monkey hut to enclose a 10x10 Kodiak tent. I'm attaching a group of photos to show the tent under a 26 ft rib, a 25 ft rib and a 24 foot rib. I've set the stakes for the ribs 4 feet from the tent door and one foot from the rear of t...

ZigZag, I'm thrilled that you are doing this now. I hope to copy your work in a month or two. I also have a Kodiak tent that I want to enclose in shade. I'm also hoping to use a monkey hut. Are you going to use attic foil as a cover? Are you planning to build the cones on the end to close it up? I t...

Trilobite, What sort of shade do you like better than a monkey hut? I'm all ears. I really like the monkey hut because I find it pretty easy to set up, and it's been robust for me. But It was only 20 feet over the arch, not 25 as I'm now considering. The added height could be a problem as far as win...

OK, well I don't need a 50 foot hut. I'm hoping to build something 15 feet long and 25 feet along the arch. 16 feet across. I'll set up the tent and see if the arch will clear it. I just hoped that someone else had already tried this out.

Soooo, did someone set up a monkey hut over a 10x10 kodiak? Did you come up with good dimensions for the ribs? I just bought the tent and have a monkey hut I am going to grow to fit over it. I think a 25 foot rib will work. I'm also going to make a new covering out of attic foil which reflects heat ...

Captivator,
Do you remember what zipper you used and where you got it? Seems like the right zipper would be key. Also, how did you design the cones on the ends? Seems a bit tricky. I think I'm going to try to copy your design and put a Kodiak tent under it.

So I've had the classic six sided, 4 foot high hexayurt (H12) for 4 years. It works, but I REALLY hate squatting down every time I go in. I think the H13 (like the H12, but with one high peak on one side) would let me have a full height door. Does anyone have experience on playa with an H13? I worry...

Burn_Shady, thanks for the thorough write up. I really like your design. I need to get some 1.25 inch pipe and try out alternating with 1 inch pipe. I"m hoping to sleep in a Kodiak tent which is 6 feet 6 inches tall. I'll have to set it up and see if it will fit under these ribs.

Capinator, I'm thinking of using this new stuff on a modified monkey hut. My current monkey hut uses 1 inch PVC in 20 foot lengths. I have it spaced every five feet. I hope to expand these PVC supports to a 30 foot length. Do you think I'll need to move them closer together, as you have ( 3 feet bet...

How did you seam the bottom edges? Tape? I assume you also added gromets by hand. Do you think this stuff is much better than a heavy silver tarp? I'm looking for a new covering for my monkey hut next year. I hope to make it taller so I can fit a taller tent inside ( 10 x 10 Kodiak). I was going to ...

I've had great success with my monkey hut over the last few years. It's tarp is 20 x 20 and it uses the usual 5 ribs made of 2 10 foot 1 inch PVC pipes each. I'd like to use a taller tent next year ( 6 ft. 6 inch Kodiak) and wonder if anyone else has built a taller monkey hut and had success. I'm ho...