I got 6 connecting.. but 2 inch hollow.. 6 foot aluminum...

Free2B · Post by **Free2B** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 2:12 pm

poles... now what?

I'm trying to find the best way to connect them to the.. ground. Just put the atop an 18" stake.. seems it would wobble.. found this: http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=p ... lpage=none but donâ€™t know what it's made of... any suggestions... I'd love to find one of the crossed bottom things I can secure it atop of & stake down all cross sides.... but that could be a figment of my imagination... I can make the cross of wood, but something to shove the pole on..? Hmm... well, any know how very appreciated! again... thank you!

chiefdanfox · Post by **chiefdanfox** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 3:28 pm

If you mean a cross of wood like the street lights at BRC, then you could build the stands with a 2" i.d., drill the wooden stands and the aluminum poles and through bolt the stands to the poles, and stake the stands into the planet.
The stands are real easy to make with plywood. There is a thread about playa bar stools from a couple of years back that has the basic design you are looking for. Probably in "The Bar" thread. But basically if you have access to a power saw, a drill motor and a hardware store, you could build a few of these for peanuts.

phil · Post by **phil** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 3:34 pm

I have no clue what you're trying to tell me. 6 connecting? 2-inch hollow? Crossed bottom things? Cross of wood? Something to show a pole on?

I think I saw all this at the dominatrix camp, but I'm fairly confident not in the use you're considering. Or maybe it is? Who can tell?

Free2B · Post by **Free2B** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 3:59 pm

The street lamps have the strands vertically.. which part does one stake to the planet? Yeah, I need the plans, I pictured the strand flat to the ground.. Searching bar stools brought up a lOt in the bar thread.. fun read.. not very useful. I'll keep looking, thanks!

And yes, I should proof read! They are aluminum poles, 3 sections each, connect into one 6 foot pole. it's hollow inside. About 2 inches thick/wide. I'm making a shade structure with them. So I need them to stand up straight.... Originally I thought to just put one on top of a stake, but the hole is 2 inches... It wont stand up straight, unless the stake is 4 -5 feet high. I need to figure something else.

Boijoy · Post by **Boijoy** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 4:10 pm

Im thinkin you need an ez-up.

Free2B · Post by **Free2B** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 4:36 pm

I know! but I got these poles & I'm using em!

phil · Post by **phil** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 5:16 pm

> So I need them to stand up straight.... Originally I thought to just
> put one on top of a stake, but the hole is 2 inches

Drive the rebar in beside the legs and duct tape the legs and rebar together. Be sure you cover the ends of the rebar with tape so the jagged edges don't cut you.

Check this picture out:

http://civex.smugmug.com/gallery/589896 ... LJFG-X3-LB

You may have to scroll around a bit to find the legs. The one in front of the orange tent is most nearly obvious.

Free2B · Post by **Free2B** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 6:38 pm

THOSE ARE THE EXACT POLES I GOT!!! That works??? AAA

thank YOU! How'd you connect the top horizontal poles to the vertical there... Well, I only have 5 sets, but curious..?

Free2B · Post by **Free2B** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 7:00 pm

ooo, and.. am... how long was that rebar? I got 18" i think...

phil · Post by **phil** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 7:53 pm

How'd you connect the top horizontal poles to the vertical there...

Note the colored tape. Louise and I are way too precise on the playa but it keeps things from going into madness and mayhem. We have one color tape on the legs, another color on the cross bars, and a third on the "eaves." We line up these connectors with the colors so it all fits together without having to think about it.

The silver tape is duct tape - we tape the legs to the joints because the wind has lifted them out on occasion.

THIS PICTURE WON'T BE UP FOREVER. WHEN IT'S DELETED FROM ITS HOME, IT'S GONE FOREVER. Obligatory flickr link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/civex/3451854050/

> I got 18" i think...

That's the shortest length I'd recommend, and you should have thicker rebar rather than thinner. Two feet works fine. You need to be able to pound the rebar in until it's very firmly in the ground. The wind will shake your shade relentlessly, and you don't want it shaking the rebar loose.

Free2B · Post by **Free2B** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 8:15 pm

I wanna make thAT! So... myn came out of a basement in Main... I searched aluminum connecting poles & pipes & I don't see this.. what is this..? The poles & the corner joints... what's it normally used for... google used to be more helpful!

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:55 pm

You're supposed to put spreaders on top of the poles, and shove it up underneath camo netting or tarps you've already staked down.

phil · Post by **phil** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:17 pm

Free2B wrote:I wanna make thAT! So... myn came out of a basement in Main... I searched aluminum connecting poles & pipes & I don't see this.. what is this..? The poles & the corner joints... what's it normally used for... google used to be more helpful!

http://www.thetarpstore.com/servlet/the ... Categories

You need to know the outside diameter of your poles. The one I'm showing is 1 7/8 inches, so it may not fit. Search google for
tarps portable garage
and you'll find lots of places that sell the kits. Louise and I bought the tarp, side panels, bungees, and the joints, then got the legs from the local store and didn't pay for shipping on the legs.

The legs are the top rails on chain link fences cut to the size we needed.

Free2B · Post by **Free2B** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 8:58 am

I'm finding a lot by top rail chain link fence... so on your shade picture you only used the horizontal in in front & back, not the sides.. was that just to raise the roof in the triangle? What Bob's showing is meant to be used with free standing poles right..? Can I get away with that at burning man..

phil · Post by **phil** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 11:43 am

Free2B wrote:I'm finding a lot by top rail chain link fence... so on your shade picture you only used the horizontal in in front & back, not the sides.. was that just to raise the roof in the triangle?

My set up was made to have the peaked roof. The tarp has the peak sewn in, and I have a system of poles that create the skeleton the tarp is attached to. The directions of how many and how long the poles need to be came with the bungees, tarp, and joints. The tarp is a roof only, and I bought two separate side panels. This is to allow air flow under the roof and prevent it from becoming an oven under there because all the sides are enclosed. The 'back' panel faces southerly and stays there all day. The side panel goes on the easterly side in the morning, then we move it over to the west when the sun passes noon. Both panels go up at night. Your mileage will vary as your orientation to the sun will vary.

What Bob's showing is meant to be used with free standing poles right..? Can I get away with that at burning man..

Bob's poles _are_ free standing poles. You stake your tarp down first with enough slack to put the poles under it and raise the tarp. You have to stake the tarp down so that there's enough tension on the poles to keep them upright. I have a shade like this. You practice at home first. Put the thing up with skinny, crappy stakes so you can move them all around after you've hoisted the supporting poles. Fix it so that when the shade is staked, the internal pole is held tight, then measure out from the stake to know how far the stakes are from the pole. Then practice putting it up: pick a spot where the pole will be, measure out for the stakes, drive in the rebar, tie the tarp to the rebar, crawl under and hoist the internal pole. Not as complicated as it may sound.

Bob is an excellent resource. Drop by his page at
http://www.geocities.com/potatotrap/tech/bluetarp.htm
and peruse his information. Louise and I worked with him at an off-playa event re-roofing some shack, and Bob knows what he's talking about.

Drop by our page at
http://www.cieux.com/bm/bmtoc.html#perennialGuides
and scroll down to "Abodes on the Playa" for other ideas on shade.

Sail Man · Post by **Sail Man** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 1:22 pm

phil wrote:I have no clue what you're trying to tell me. 6 connecting? 2-inch hollow? Crossed bottom things? Cross of wood? Something to show a pole on?

I think I saw all this at the dominatrix camp, but I'm fairly confident not in the use you're considering. Or maybe it is? Who can tell?

Does Louise know that you were hanging out in the dom camp?

Free2b, when ur talking about securing pipes to the ground, if I'm picking up what ur laying down, r u referring to securing them vertically, i.e. as legs to support a shade structure?

Free2B · Post by **Free2B** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 2:33 pm

Yes! that way!

So, I was about to test this in the kitchen, except now I'm clearing out cabinets instead... O, I needed rope! so, I like the free standing with spreaders under staked tarp way, but my idea is a bit less stable! Or convertible.. I cant plan on always having staked tarp pressure holding up poles. So now I'm thinking for a box shape shade, I'll tape the poles to stakes plus guy wire... but what does the guy wiring look like for a box of 4 free standing poles..? Guy wire pole tops to each other in a square or crisscross, in either case also guy wire each pole outwards to the ground.. well, if I get it right, it should be good out there... ? I can get the joint connectors & give it a pole roof, but if I could do something stable with guy wire, I'd rather do that... does that sound stable?

phil · Post by **phil** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 3:07 pm

Here's a picture of our shade that was held up by tension on the poles by guy wires:

This is a Parawing by some company that's gone out of business. It stayed up in all winds; however, the wind did break one of the poles.

This was our homemade shade:

Roof, two side flaps. Four upright poles, and you can see the guying: one guy on each leg at a 45-degree angle to the square. It blew over, so we tried two guys at each corner another year, and that blew over, too. You can see the roof in this photo - it really ripples in the wind, and we could not get enough tension to hold it during the winds. The Parawing, which is more nearly what Bob is suggesting did not blow down, although one of the legs failed.

We always bring back up shade.

Free2B · Post by **Free2B** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 3:29 pm

hmm.. but were the poles also secured to the ground? on top of or taped to - a stake?

Sail Man · Post by **Sail Man** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 4:16 pm

It sounds like you are trying to hand-make your own version of a ez-up type of shelter, is this correct?

And if so, why?

If you are, consider using longer pieces of rebar to drop the legs over, say 4'. drive 12-18" into the playa, and drop the leg over the top. Guy from the top of each corner, also consider guying from down lower as well. When you cover it with a tarp or whatever (plz dont use the blue poly tarps, use at least the heavier dutier silver ones, some of which have brown on one side) Throw a guy or 2 over the whole thing to help keep it down as well.
This picture shows you what I'm talking about what with guying from 2 diff. hts, a tip other burners helped me with while putting up the shelter

This picture shows you more of what I'm talking about in terms of guying, including the ones over the shelters, the upwind side of which were secured to our truck

I rebared through the footpads, and alongside I used 4' rebar covered with emt that I duct taped to the shelter legs. It was solid. Nothing at all like the ez-up that went up and up 100' to the west of us

Hope this helps, pm me for more details if u want.

Free2B · Post by **Free2B** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 4:41 pm

thanks! I do wonder why from time to time, but it's because I already have a 30 x 30 tarp, tarp tape and 12 emergency blankets, along with some stakes & these poles... so I'm gonna stay excited & do what will come of it! I'll be using this everywhere, but for burning man the box will engulf my 10 x 10 tent, closed from all sides.. it will have emergency blankets on the whole top part of the tarp. Some of the tarp will also extend into a shade to sit under. I did the reflectix tent last year, slept till 5pm without a care.. hoping this has similar effect...

Free2B · Post by **Free2B** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 8:53 pm

http://www.tarps.com/econoretail.htm the kits..

Sail Man · Post by **Sail Man** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 10:48 am

Did you buy the canopy kit? The foot pads would be a good addition if u dont have them already, especially if their hollow all the way through for dropping onto rebar.
Did u use the reflectix to cover the top?
Did u use any sidewalls?

EspressoDude · Post by **EspressoDude** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 10:55 am

skip the rebar....use 4 or 5 foot fence "T" stakes. rent or borrow a fence post driver (2" pipe with handles) then duct tape the shelter poles to the fence posts. One of our camp mates had a full size garage-shelter(with sides) anchored this way. No guy wires/ropes to trip on. Held up in last years dust storms just fine. Same systen he used the year before when it was REALLY windy