Monkey Love Hut PVC...to cut or not to cut?

[Bounce530]

I haven't got the real tarp yet, but heres the quick mock up-



and my weekend ride.

[jlaux42]

Here it is mid-November and I'm already thinking about shade structures again. Anyway, I just wanted to report in that the sleeved segments held up fine again this year, Tuesday morning through Monday morning -- although of course there really wasn't that much wind during that period this year. Added two extra ribs and a second tarp to double the size of the structure. Switched to potentially reusable bungee balls from moopy cable ties. Thought about running a line through the grommets and staking things down to rebar at common ends, but ended up just going with the 10" tent stakes through the tarp grommets directly into the playa again (and I did add a couple more grommets to spread the tension a bit). Good times.

[Bounce530]

To prevent any joint slipage, I ran a sheet metal screw through the joints into the ribs. With the tarp I zig-zagged a rope through the tarp eyelets to rebar at the four corners. I also ran a rope from one end to the other and tied it to the roof rack of my van, then another rope from one end back to the other, and down to the ground. The thing never moved, all week long. I didn't pound the rebar very square so the tarp wasn't quite right, but...fuck it...it worked, and worked very well for what it was.

[moonrise]

To prevent any joint slipage, I ran a sheet metal screw through the joints into the ribs. With the tarp I zig-zagged a rope through the tarp eyelets to rebar at the four corners. I also ran a rope from one end to the other and tied it to the roof rack of my van, then another rope from one end back to the other, and down to the ground. The thing never moved, all week long. I didn't pound the rebar very square so the tarp wasn't quite right, but...fuck it...it worked, and worked very well for what it was.

I may be camping with friends who don't like to run any generators.

Looks like you put together a good disco ball & lighting set up...what did those cost?

Are the light LED powered by batteries?
Easy to find online?


(nice rocker btw)

[Snow]

battery powered LED sting lights can be found in just about any big box stores x-mas sections right now. They run about $6

[moonrise]

I'll look for some, thanks Snow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am curious about the lights in this monkey hut and the disco ball...like cost and what do the lighs do?

[Bounce530]

the LED string lights were bought online, (Dealextreme) for around $8 a string. They're really bright, and lasted all week they run on 3 AA batteries. I had a string running down the guy wire, another across the front arc of the hut, and another running across from front to back of the hut. It was plenty of light. The disco ball is battery operated also. Got that at Spencers gifts for $20.

[moonrise]

Thanks...it looks like there's some sort of lighting fixture next to or just above the disco ball. Maybe they are binoculars or somethin'

Thanks again....I may some string led lights and maybe a disco ball....looks like a pretty cool set up and nice rocker btw

[Snow]

I've wanted to try ome of the solar yard spot lights on a disco ball but haven't got around to it yet

[Snow]

I also gotta say it seems MUCH easier to just buy PVC localy than to truck it half way across the country on top of a car. Seems like the MPG savings would pay for new PVC every trip.

[theCryptofishist]

I also gotta say it seems MUCH easier to just buy PVC localy than to truck it half way across the country on top of a car. Seems like the MPG savings would pay for new PVC every trip.

I wonder if Burners without Borders could use the PVC.

[Snow]

I also gotta say it seems MUCH easier to just buy PVC localy than to truck it half way across the country on top of a car. Seems like the MPG savings would pay for new PVC every trip.

I wonder if Burners without Borders could use the PVC.

F THAT!Just throw it in the trash like any other red blooded american. You aren't some kind of commie hippie nazi are you?

[Miles]

Used this design for the second year in a row, It worked great.

We have a 10x20 layout covered with 2 (10x20) tarps.

I bought shade cloth that i planed to use for the sides of the hut, but ended up not feeling the need.

A couple god tips i learned:
-Set the outside most ribs about 4-6" further out than the length of the tarp (ie If my tarp is 20' long, i set up the outside ribs to be 21' apart.)

-run rope through the bottom row of grommets and anchor the rope at 4 places per side

if you do both these the tarp should be taught in both directions. The frame will move less and the tarp wont make as much noise in the wind

[MyDearFriend]

Has anybody put Aluminet on a Monkey Hut? Seems like that would be cooler than a tarp, and might catch less wind, but I have zero experience with any of this.

Also, Ranger Dogboy recommends in his shelter suggestions here that you not stake the tarp to the ground but instead leave a 6 to 8 inch gap between tarp & playa, as better air flow = cooler shelter. Has anybody tried this with a Monkey Hut?

Yikes yikes yikes I am trying to figure a camp that a 5'4" person can set up by herself... ...and have it STAY up.

[Miles]

instead leave a 6 to 8 inch gap between tarp & playa, as better air flow = cooler shelter. Has anybody tried this with a Monkey Hut?

lateral airflow through the hut = sailboat

[SilverOrange]

instead leave a 6 to 8 inch gap between tarp & playa, as better air flow = cooler shelter. Has anybody tried this with a Monkey Hut?

lateral airflow through the hut = sailboat

So...no.

[Bounce530]

You can see in my last pic that since I didn't have the ribs exactly square it created a space between the edge of the tarp, and the playa. IDK, if that helped keep it cooler or not, but it did not act as a sail.

[SilverOrange]

Yeah, this year didn't seem near as windy some others. I've just always been of the mindset that it's better to have the wind moving up and over your shelter, pushing it down towards the ground, than under where it can push up from below and really put your system to the test.

[Bob]

Ah, wilderness. What would Bear Grylls do?

[jlaux42]

A gap between the tarp and the ground is probably fine, as long as you're somehow still securing the tarp to the ground (not just to the ribs) using rebar and rope or some kind of bungees. That said, if you're cutting the rib pieces to nonstandard sizes (and not compensating by introducing some kind of additional gap in your sleeves/joints), a 20' long tarp is probably not going to have much of a gap anyway and will practically beg to be staked directly into the playa. The ribs and spine are shaping the tarp and keeping it off the ground, but the tension of the tarp is holding the ribs and spine down and in place when the wind comes. (Last summer in preparation before the burn, I put up the shade structure and staked it down pretty lazily, securing the tarp to just the PVC, plus maybe a tent stake or two into the ground, and I found it humbling that even relatively modest wind gusts in upstate New York would turn the tarp into a sail, pop the PVC ribs up off their rebar foundation, and even cracked one of the X connectors, essentially leaving the whole structure as a deflated mess on the ground. My takeaway lessons: More grommets, more stakes, more tension, more spare parts!)

[eureka]

We're thinking about building a Monkey Hut for this years (our first burn). It's only purpose will be as a communal chill out shade area. No tents / sleeping underneath it.

Has anyone used shade cloth instead of a tarp? Does the extra ventilation affect how heavily the cover needs to be staked down?

What about something like this? http://www.shindigz.com/party/Forest-Green-Netting.cfm Good idea? Bad idea? Terrible idea?

Thanks!

[ConnieH]

We're thinking about building a Monkey Hut for this years (our first burn). It's only purpose will be as a communal chill out shade area. No tents / sleeping underneath it.

Has anyone used shade cloth instead of a tarp? Does the extra ventilation affect how heavily the cover needs to be staked down?

What about something like this? http://www.shindigz.com/party/Forest-Green-Netting.cfm Good idea? Bad idea? Terrible idea?

Thanks!

I wouldn't use netting, it's pretty fragile and if it gets torn or burned by a cigarrette ember, it'll shred easily

[Bluemandrew]

We're thinking about building a Monkey Hut for this years (our first burn). It's only purpose will be as a communal chill out shade area. No tents / sleeping underneath it.

Has anyone used shade cloth instead of a tarp? Does the extra ventilation affect how heavily the cover needs to be staked down?

What about something like this? http://www.shindigz.com/party/Forest-Green-Netting.cfm Good idea? Bad idea? Terrible idea?

Thanks!

We used a custom piece of cloth from here https://www.thenaturalhome.com/shadecloth.htm

It worked great, we didn't do any extra stakes or anything. It kept the shelter very cool during the day. Much cooler than some of the blue tarp structures I was in.

We always park a car on one side as a wind break too.

[Bluemandrew]

Also, as an update, ours has now stood through a second New England Winter, and while it did collapse, once the snow melted I was able to put it all back together. I wouldn't feel too bad about it collapsing, as many buildings collapsed this winter, even real ones not made out of PVC

The legs ARE cut into 5 foot sections, with a 2.5 foot sleeve connecting them back together.

Edited to say: I guess collapsing means it didn't really stand through the winter...but it did survive

[MyDearFriend]

Also, as an update, ours has now stood through a second New England Winter, and while it did collapse, once the snow melted I was able to put it all back together. I wouldn't feel too bad about it collapsing, as many buildings collapsed this winter, even real ones not made out of PVC

The legs ARE cut into 5 foot sections, with a 2.5 foot sleeve connecting them back together.

Edited to say: I guess collapsing means it didn't really stand through the winter...but it did survive

I tell you what, I would MUCH RATHER have something that came apart at the connections rather than broke. So much simpler to put something back together than to replace a support, especially when you are miles from anywhere. Best-case scenario for me would be a house-of-cards type event if my Monkey Hut fails out there. So yeah I'm focused on making sure the cover stays put.

[eureka]

Thanks for the responses.

Definitely thinking shade cloth of some type is going to work for us as we aren't concerned about limiting air flow. Maybe 1 x tarp running along the spine at the top, then shade cloth for the walls.

I managed to obtain 6 x ¾" bits of schedule 40 pvc for free, plus some spares...

The instructions on http://www.chromatest.net/Lovemonkey/ call for 1" and 1¼" pipes. Anyone see a problem with downsizing ¼" all over and getting 1" pipes to use as the spine and 1" T & X connectors?

Will the overall structure be slightly weaker?

[FIGJAM]

If you have enough of the smaller pvc, add some extra ribs!

[jlaux42]

I've always used tarps and not cloth, but I've had 1-1/4" X connectors snap before, even in relatively modest dust-storm-free experimentation off-playa. (Learning experience: Bring spare X connectors to the desert.) I wouldn't go smaller for structural joints. You could use the 3/4" pipe for reinforcing the spine, as a spare rib in case one breaks, or for signs, showers, art, etc.

[ConnieH]

I've always used tarps and not cloth, but I've had 1-1/4" X connectors snap before, even in relatively modest dust-storm-free experimentation off-playa. (Learning experience: Bring spare X connectors to the desert.) I wouldn't go smaller for structural joints. You could use the 3/4" pipe for reinforcing the spine, as a spare rib in case one breaks, or for signs, showers, art, etc.

You don't need X connectors - following a tip I found (on tribe.net I believe, or maybe here, can't remember), we tied the spine to the ribs with innertube tires - works awesome! We had huge gusts of wind the other day and the thing held up fine. We also cut our ribs into 6' chunks, used 2.5' pieces of the 1-1/4" as "connectors" and made 24' ribs (instead of the standard 20') by piecing together 4 6' pieces of the 1", spaced them 6' apart and used a 12' spine. Makes the hut much roomier with lots of headroom for the tall folks.

It's a bit harder to find 20' sections of PVC for our configuration, but sprinkler supply stores have it. We covered the hut with 24'x12' aluminet - I love it!

[MyDearFriend]

Hey let me show you what I did and ask you what you think. Here is the Monkey Hut I made today:



I liked what Love Monkey did with his hut, putting a sloped-down shade on the tent end, though, he used a lot of separate stuff and extra hoops and a tarp that was not as wide.

But, since the aluminet is easily penetrable for anchoring in the center, I figured I could use one piece. But, as you can see, when it slopes down off that last hoop there is a lot of extra fabric.



And, it was just a mess but I hate to cut it in case some day I have room to bring 6 hoops and put a second tent in there. So, since I was thinking how FIGJAM would shake his head at me, seeing as he has everything extra tight and straight, I remembered what he said about golf balls and I gathered the excess in the center with 3 golf balls and then tethered them to a little plastic stake with a bungee ball thing... thinking I would figure it out later.



But, we had a real nice wind late this afternoon, that is pretty usual around here and I had set up on the point looking out at the mouth of the bay so as to catch that wind if it came. And it hit pretty good, rattled the shed, kicked up some whitecaps and in fact I was getting hit with spray from the beach, 30 feet away and down a 6 foot bank. So yeah I went around and looked at the back of my hut and, there was a little strain on that middle stake so I unhooked it here and, wow the aluminet lifted just enough to spill the wind. It was really cool to see it pulsing up and down.

So yes, the sort-of closed end is catching the wind but it's catch and release. The net is kinda stretchy and it's tethered all around with bungees and has climbing rope through the grommets at the bottom, the PVC frame is real flexible and, the rebar goes 12" up the legs, so, while the net lifted away from the frame at times the legs never moved.

Overall it looked pretty good to me. Once I let the center back loose there was no strain anywhere that I could see.

Except that my tent was trying to take off with the chairs...




So, am I seriously mistaken here? This stuff is real easy to work with, cuts with scissors and the shark-bite grommets can be moved around no problem.