Custom tent with no shade over it?

[Dork]

Ok.. I know regular tents with no shade over them become ovens early in the day. I'm looking at building a custom tent for next year and I wonder if a single layer of silver tarp or something along those lines would be sufficient or if it would need a shade over that as well.

Has anyone here slept under a dome or whatever with only one layer of material? How did it work out?

The last two years I slept in my truck with camper shell and shade a foot above that. It stayed nice and cool but I'm going for a more decadent living space..

[robotland]

A single layer "sun fly" should be fine, especially if it doesn't contact the tent too much. Last year we were in a conduit dome with a customized covering of silver tarps which kept things relatively cool, but even being silver the tarps still warmed up plenty...once that dust settles onto a silver tarp it may as well just be a "light colored" tarp.....The chief element of comfort in our arrangement was that the domeskins were lots of smaller pieces, which allowed hot air to escape through the overlaps. The top was wide open most of the time as we had a second dome and loft up there, and that helped too. (We pulled a tarp over the opening during dust storms and at night.)
You can buy el cheapo canopies for as little as twenty bucks at S-Mart, or "E-Z Up" structures for about a hundred....They'll provide shade just fine, as long as you anchor the crap outa them.

[Dork]

Hmm, that's what I was afraid of. I do cherish my long, lazy morning sleep which means I probably need two layers. I have some parachutes that could work well as a loose shade to keep most of the sun off the main "tent" portion.

No store bought stuff for me.. I'm determined to make this project as difficult as possible

Now I just need to find a cheap sewing machine..

[Chai Guy]

The two biggest problems with keeping the temperature down in a shade structure is Light and Ventilation.

If you have a tent (or any type of shade structure) that allows a lot of light in, and does not have good ventilation you are going to increase the temperature inside that structure.

[ronski]

The "el cheapo" canopies and screen houses are pretty flimsy-- poorly made plastic connections and such. I bought one and then discarded it as an option immediately. If I couldn't get it to stand up securely in the back yard I knew it wouldn't cut it during playa dust storms.

The EZ-Up and Quick Shade structures are much more secure. The frames are quite sturdy (with a few guy ropes); one person can erect them easily, and the whole thing folds up and fits into a standard car trunk. The canopy fabric on these could be better, though. It's better than parachute cloth but should be thicker for desert sunlight, too opaque. Same thing with tarps. I made sidewalls for mine out of 5 mil poly tarps (folded & duct taped to size & shape) but these also let in too much light. Again, better than parachute cloth, but not great. If you use poly tarps go with the 10 mil.

For my next projects I aim to go with 14-17 oz canvas, if I can get it. Poly flaps too loud.

Oh, Dork: you should be able to get a used sewing machine at a thrift store fairly easily, there's lots of them around that people bought, used once or twice, and then stuck in the closet for 20 years. Probably 10 bucks. If you get one make sure it has bobbins (the little spools to wrap thread on) with it, or at least that they're "standard" size bobbins like Singer or something. Some older/foreign machines use weird sizes that you'll never find again.

[robotland]

If you purchase an EZ-Up canopy that comes in a kit WITH sides, don't expect to be impressed with their quality.....I use two canopies bungeed together as the core of my booth when I do art fairs, and while the material of the sides is of good thickness and color (white is stock) they are hung by an obnoxious array of velcro straps that fail quickly with use. I continue to use them out of lazyness, but when they fail completely I'll at least replace the straps with grommets. They're also Just Barely big enough to cover, allowing no overlap whatsoever...The top-canopy sections are of higher quality, but translucent enough to require additional layers if you want it dark and cool....The great thing about them, though, is that they come off completely with two minutes' work and can be replaced with something homemade if you please...those EL Cheapo K-Mart canopies WILL suffice if you guy and anchor the crap outa them, but I'll concede that they're little more than a one-shot deal and if you break any of the plastic corner "knuckles" that the pipes fit into they are VERY difficult to repair.

[Bob]

I'd go with fake fur. It's the 'Merkin way.

[BlueBirdPoof]

I'd go with fake fur. It's the 'Merkin way.

[alienfry]

also, upholstery works AWESOMELY in keeping things dark and cool.

we sewed together a tent made out of upholstery to fit over the frame of a shade structure we bought at kmart. the frame blew and ahs since deteriorated.

BUT, you can use the measurements of a shade structure, go to home depot and make your own.

the best part about this is upholstery is soooo much prettier than blue, white, or gray tarp.

[toolbetty]

I'm currently looking for better shade options myself. Last year I made a 36' diameter dome and used a parachute to cover it. To make sure it didn't become a wind sail I used zip ties, which worked very well. Unfortunately, I also made an oven. Parachutes trap warm air in, keep the breeze out, let light in and rain too. We were lucky enough last year, but if it rains this year a parachute will be worthless. However, if you have a small tent and a large parachute, maybe you could double up the fabric, tape it at the edges and add grommets. You might want to consider a good tarp with a VERY steady structure underneath. Think triangulation for stability. Hope this helps. Now, I'm off to find other's shade advice.
-toolbetty