Looking for tent and shade feedback

[highwing]

Just did a test setup of my tent and shade setup.. Was wondering if anyone had some thoughts that would help make it as playa-tough as possible.

It's a 12x20 aluminet sheet over one of the smaller canvas tents. The shade poles are pushed over the top of some 14" lag bolts to help keep the bottom in place and guy'd to some more lag bolts. It feels really secure (on this no-wind day!), curious if there's anything else that I should do to make sure it lasts the week.

I used 18" 1/2" lag bolts for the corners of the tent and 14" lag bolts for the intermediate tent points as well as the shade cloth.

Thank you!

Overall Layout

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Lag bolts for poles (w/rubber washer to dampen vibration effect)

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[Jackass]

That thing won't be going anywhere, the wind force on aluminet is pretty weak.

[FIGJAM]

Set it up with the slopey sides to the east and west and you're all good.

[highwing]

Great, thanks for the info!

[Token]

You is the awesomest person on Eplaya today!

Simple tensile design, few parts, clean, elegant, no drama.

Thumbs Up!

[Jackass]

What if you took the two poles on the door side of the tent and go all the way out to the corners, so that you have an open flat top porch with the overall clam-shell shape? You would have a lot more useful area under cover and a bigger aperture by which to watch the burning world go by, but that's just me thinking aloud again...

[highwing]

That's a great suggestion.. I was thinking that it might be too much of a sail if they weren't angled...

[Jackass]

Just keep it tight, it's nice and low, aluminet is light and you're more than likely going to be surrounded by windbreaks everywhere unless you're going out to walk-in camping. It'll work, and if it doesn't you just make some mods or adjustments on the fly. Happens all of the time, there will be no death...

[Token]

If you try the “porch” option, make sure you have spare poles.

Pulling one side up will change the dynamics of the load on the stretched Aluminet and the poles. There will be more lateral forces on them.

Having one full dimension anchored to terra firma goes a long way towards happiness.

Worth trying but be prepared for it.

You will likely need to re-tension mid week when everything stretches and bakes into shape.

Love this simple design.

[highwing]

Tested out porch idea.. Definitely opens up a lot of space (I left the original stakes in to show where they were), but I think I'd need some kind of middle pole at least on the outside and also maybe even in the middle. I threw a folding chair into the pic to give it scale. Will probably try both during the week, but gut says (with current materials and that I'm going solo), anchoring to the ground will be most stable and will gather more poles for next year! Also, had one of the grommets in the shade cloth rip with all of the tension. Wondering if that's a normal thing...

Thanks again for all the insight!

Scale w/Chair

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"Porch"

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Broken grommet

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[Jackass]

Have you tried two guy lines on each of the outer poles? Continue the guy lines in-line with the edges of your cloth, 90 degrees to one another, that should stabilize it all you'll ever need.

Dual direction guy lining is always better than single direction, especially with freestanding poles...

[highwing]

Good point. That would also help tighten along the edges.

[Jackass]

You could also reduce the strain on the aluminet by weaving the guy line through the front edge grommets, around the poles and down to the ground in line with that edge. Then just add one more line on each pole pulling straight forward, perpendicular to the first ones.

Don't forget some sort of guy line flags, and or minor lighting to keep yourself and others from getting wrapped up...

[highwing]

Ah! Like the idea of weaving through the grommets.. Will try that in the morning. I have some of those cool LEDs strings to put along the guy lines, but didn't think about flags for the day...

[Popeye]

If the grommets are ripping out at home you might want to add some shark bites or tarp clips with you.

[Ratty]

The dollar store has pool noodles. Slice them crookedly down the length and slip them over the rope. If you slice them in a straight line sometimes they fall off. The dollar store also has solar light stakes.

[Token]

Pool noodles are the new duct tape of Playa shelter building.

So many uses.

[spacetime]

That looks like you are on the right track and that is a very nice little setup.

What kind of poles are those, exactly?

[highwing]

If you search for Odoland Adjustable Tarp Poles, that should get you to them. Great set of poles. I really like how the last segment of the pole is completely adjustable. Just ordered another set to test out adding a third pole in the front of the "porch". Will post a pic once that's in place. I also followed Popeye's advice and picked up some tarp clips. Worked like a charm, was able to place the clip right over the area that had pulled out the grommet and didn't have to re-rig poles or anything. Great suggestion!

[Jackass]

That's right, don't settle for good enough when with just a bit more effort you can set things up to be just right!

And yes, I would love several cold random beers...

[spacetime]

Ok I was wondering because they look a lot like the Kelty poles. It looks like a few different competitive aluminum alloy poles exist now. I’ve used kelty exclusively in the past. Please post a follow up on how they held up.

[highwing]

Just wanted to post final layout.. Really appreciate all of the feedback and notes. Feeling good about this setup.. I ended up adding a third post in the front for more support and also picked up some guy lines with the easy tension adjuster. Will be trying both the "porch" and securing that side to the ground once there. Looking forward to it!

Three poles in front

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Guy line tension adjuster

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Tarp clip fixing a ripped out grommet

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[Jackass]

Nice job, here's the DIY adjustable guy line knot in case you're feeling adventurous, great knot to know...

[lucky420]

Nice job, here's the DIY adjustable guy line knot in case you're feeling adventurous, great knot to know...

K, gonna go practice this on the dog. I just always tight lots of knots because I don’t know any better. When ya can’t tie knots, just tie lots

[Token]

Just so you’re prepared, in case this statistical model of probability plays out as expected with hot but not brutal hot ...




Disclaimer - this is a dynamic image for 8 - 14 days in the future and will become useless by end of month.

See if you can quick do a shade where you double-up your existing Aluminet, just in case.

This is so you have the “training” of that configuration pre-burn.

Maybe you need it, maybe not. Knowing it can be done however can go a long way.

[spacetime]

I would recommend planning to have two lines per pole. You may be okay if the wind really passes through, but if it gets strong, it can really blow stuff over. It can get frustrating fast if one goes over and getting them all upright again is challenging.

This is maybe way too late to mention, but while this is way better for wind, it will not protect you for rain. Rain doesn't happen every year but it does happen.

The other thing is even if one line per pole holds up, you should also plan to be adjusting it quite a bit. Like, a lot.

Finally, I recommend you bring some kind of streamers or markers for your lines during the day and something that can glow if they go into a foot traffic area.

You should expect to walk into your own lines, which happens when you're faffing a lot. I have used those rubber blinky rings in the past and they work well so long as you remember to turn them off during the day.

If you really want to do it up, you can put solar garden lights at the stake points of your shade lines.

This shows the use of two lines per pole but the lines are not marked, which is not good.

[Drizzt321]

If you want to get some more adventurous as well, you could run some lines through the grommets from the ground up to the tip of the pole, put in a half hitch knot, keep going to the next tip, half hitch knot, and down to the other ground anchor. The aluminet and edging should be OK, but you never know. It'll help if the wind is gusty and providing force right along the line. Since the aluminet is stretchy, it could stretch far enough that the foot of the pole might come up and collapse. With solid, less stretch rope across both that can be alleviated.

[coronan]

Hello,
Does anyone have experience with this tent on the playa???
Goals are 1 person setup, dust shelter, sleeping, spend less than a shift pod.




Its shaped like a hex yurt but i worry about the wind. It will need some kind of shade over the top.

Thanks in advance.

[Canoe]

Hello,
Does anyone have experience with this tent on the playa???
Goals are 1 person setup, dust shelter, sleeping, spend less than a shift pod.
www.amazon.com/Hanging-Excellent-Camping-Outings-Festivals/dp/B07BKZVV8K
Its shaped like a hex yurt but i worry about the wind. It will need some kind of shade over the top.
Thanks in advance.

• I haven't seen that exact one, but that shape has done well on the playa, as it tends to provide a path for wind pressure to escape around it.
• The guyline points can be better secured by using two guylines per attachment point. It holds the point better in 3D space so it can't whip around in the wind as much. See the post two above yours.
• The mesh door panels zip closed, but you'd want to know if the orange door covers also zip closed, or just hang there. They need to close/seal against dust blowing in. As in, 35 mph, 50 mph, sometimes more.
• The three bottom side panels that open to reveal mesh are interesting. They appear to zip closed on the inside.
  They might collect some dust on the outside.
  You might find you need to put some Stucco Tape (low residue) over the seams on the inside to keep dust out. Same for the door.
• With such a wide door, or with the mesh side panels, you should be able to rig up having a DIY swamp-cooler push some chilled dust-free air into the tent. The vents out the top would provide the required exhaust, and it would be exhausting the hottest air.
  Harder to build (needs to be well sealed), you could make a swamp-cooler that sits on the inside, and tape it's opening to the mesh opening while covering the mesh not used by the swamp-cooler.
• You need to know if the peak vents have mesh that is closable, so dust can't blow in the top and fill the tent with dust.

I found a review at www.onsales44.com/ozark-trail-8-person-yurt-tent/ that complained the centre pole broke through the top of the tent. But perhaps you could reinforce that. Also complained about the seams being a point for leaking, but it's fairly common practice for tent owners to get some seam sealer to seal seam stitching. Complained the fabric was light, and many small holes formed where gear fell against it. Needs better tent stakes (as do many on the playa, soil can be loose some years). Mentioned this tent attracted some interest by scouts on FB. Search?

This video shows that the side mesh panel covers do not zip across the top. This is a problem for use on the playa and would have to be addressed. Best addressed by adding a zipper, which can be sealed by tape.
Looks like the orange doors have their own zippers, but I can't be sure.

There should be more robust implementations of this shape/design.
Have you done a google search of eplaya for yurt tent?

[Jackass]

Hey highwing, are you there? Are you going to share with the rest of the class how your experience and your shade worked out for you this year?