Looking for the name of this woven tarp for monkey huts

[Spliff]

I ran into this guy Nomad in the Barbie Death Camp that had a monkey hut, the tarp he used was made of a woven material that was somewhat reflective and it had bungies with rubber balls on them all around the edges for easy tying. It had a name, and it was stupid simple but it was sunday morning and you know the story. Can anyone help me with the name, I would figure it would be a pretty popular material but a lot of people use plastic tarps. Thanx a bunch for any help!

[FIGJAM]

Aluminet!

[Spliff]

Awesome! Thanks a bunch!

[Bob]

Aluminet is knit, not woven.

[Spliff]

Thanks I'm not a knitter, it's hard for me to tell.

[maladroit]

But what exact stitch do they use? Can we be sure it's not closer to a crochet process?

[MyDearFriend]

Spliff, Knowmad stayed with us so I think that was one of my monkey huts. The cover is aluminet, like FIGJAM said, 70% grade, cool and breezy. The grommets are quick on & off Shark Bite fasteners and the bungee balls are sheer genius, aren't they?

[Earthwalker]

MDF....do you have a trusted source for aluminet that you could share?

I've been reading a ton of design instructions on MHs but I'm still not clear on how the bungee balls are used. Could someone explain? How about the shark bites?

Thank you!!!

[theCryptofishist]

I think if you saw bungee balls it would be pretty intuitive. They are like those hair things girls use, astretchy elastic part, and ahard ball. So you wrap the stretchy part around apole, for instance, then catch it around the ball part, so it hangs on to itself, and stays around the pole. The shark jaws dont have a ball but they grab on to tarp like they are biting.

[Earthwalker]

Thanks, Crypto. I looked them up online and still felt the way I did when I asked my question. I see how they work, but, from what I see (and I'm no engineer type), it's the tarp that has the upper hand/lead role (sorry, can't think of a better way of describing it), in that the tarp is pulling away from the structure (see below), as opposed to a fastener on the structure that would pull the tarp taught. Not sure that makes any sense, but my concern is that with bungee balls, the tarp is in control, and thus will be loose.



This pic below isn't necessarily a perfect example of what Im talking about either, but as you see, it's the zip tie (and that other thing) that are pulling the sheets (or, in our example, the tarp) taught.



Any thoughts? Or am I just crazy?

Thank you!!!

[VultureChow]

The bungees are a tried and true method on the playa. The skeleton of the structure is slightly larger than the tarp. That's where the tension comes from. You want that tension because the greatest tarp tearing stress comes from slack portions of the tarp. (Less of an issue with aluminet as it allows wind to pass through it) The tarp flaps back and forth and tears out the grommets.

You can use other fasteners: zip ties, paracord, etc, but they're more difficult to get on and off. Also the give in the elastic when the whole thing is together is less than you think. The PVC bends and flexes more noticeably in the wind than the bungees.

[Earthwalker]

Ok, thanks for that response vulture. It makes sense to me. I like paracord but I see how this could be better. They're not that expensive so I'll try them out on my trial runs and see how it goes.

Thanks!

Now I just have to decide between aluminet and tarp...

[some seeing eye]

The best solution is to have the Aluminet edged with nylon tape and grommeted. Then you can use the bungie balls easily. The nylon tape distributes the force over a larger area. Aluminet does catch wind.

The shark bites deform the mesh of the weave like a run in stockings and are not as strong as the edge tape. The bed sheet grabbers have no chance of working.

If you search ePlaya you will find suggestions of burner-friendly companies that sell Aluminet and sew edges on it.

Elasticity of the bungies absorbs wind gust forces rather than them breaking something.

Here is a commercial example:

[Savannah]

I don't think we had a single broken bungee ball when we used them in 2009. The elastic flexed pretty well without breaking. I think we got nerdy and added a few extra grommets to our tarp, so the stress may have been especially well-distributed.

But we also brought a few more bungee balls than needed, and zip ties too, just because.

[FIGJAM]

Thanks, Crypto. I looked them up online and still felt the way I did when I asked my question. I see how they work, but, from what I see (and I'm no engineer type), it's the tarp that has the upper hand/lead role (sorry, can't think of a better way of describing it), in that the tarp is pulling away from the structure (see below), as opposed to a fastener on the structure that would pull the tarp taught. Not sure that makes any sense, but my concern is that with bungee balls, the tarp is in control, and thus will be loose.



This pic below isn't necessarily a perfect example of what Im talking about either, but as you see, it's the zip tie (and that other thing) that are pulling the sheets (or, in our example, the tarp) taught.



Any thoughts? Or am I just crazy?

Thank you!!!

The first pic with the bungee ball, think bungee cord, hence the name.

This keeps a constant tension on the tarp to reduce flapping and are VERY strong.

The second pic is a form of shark bite clip.

They are easy to put wherever needed, BUT tend to slip off the fabric when under tension.

[tamarakay]

But what exact stitch do they use? Can we be sure it's not closer to a crochet process?

It appears to be a basic garter stitch (knit both sides).

We used 90% shade cloth and loved it.

[BBadger]

Thanks, Crypto. I looked them up online and still felt the way I did when I asked my question. I see how they work, but, from what I see (and I'm no engineer type), it's the tarp that has the upper hand/lead role (sorry, can't think of a better way of describing it), in that the tarp is pulling away from the structure (see below), as opposed to a fastener on the structure that would pull the tarp taught. Not sure that makes any sense, but my concern is that with bungee balls, the tarp is in control, and thus will be loose.

With bungee balls, you can usually double-wrap them so that they'll bind to themselves and not come loose. The main concern with bungee balls is that they're a type of static, point-to-point rigging. The problem with this is that loads can't be redistributed in the presence of winds or other forces. The elastic in the bungees help with this, but still can result in specific areas of the tarp receiving loads that can't be properly redistributed.

For cheaper tarps having static rigging with wind gusts can mean that the eyelet will get pulled out of the tarp, along with causing a rip, in other cases the bungee will snap. One year, we used bungees for our Costco carport roof and some of the eyelets really received a lot of strain and we had to cut hole flaps in the roof to permit the wind to flow through it. Fortunately, it was an aftermarket carport tarp, not the one that came with the carport, and maybe that was also a reason it performed so poorly.

Last year, we used a running-rigging configuration with the tarp on our Costco carport and it perfectly, and was easier to do than bungees. You can read more about different types of rigging here. It may be helpful for other structures, such as Costco carports, etc.

Still, for monkey huts bungee balls aren't really a problem, and may be preferred. Unlike rigid structures, the monkey hut's flexible PVC frame helps redistribute the load, and it is part of the magic behind why the monkeyhut can survive wind gusts where rigid structures may not. Bungee balls are also good for the monkey hut because, unlike rope or other types of rigging meant for distributing loads, the bungees bind to the PVC and keep the tarp in place.

[Earthwalker]

EXCELLENT info! And thanks for that link on rigging. Thanks everyone!

[MyDearFriend]

The best solution is to have the Aluminet edged with nylon tape and grommeted. Then you can use the bungie balls easily. The nylon tape distributes the force over a larger area. Aluminet does catch wind.

The shark bites deform the mesh of the weave like a run in stockings and are not as strong as the edge tape.

I completely disagree with this. The Aluminet weave is quite stable and will not run, shred, or unravel under tension. I have made (and brought to BRC) FOUR Aluminet monkey huts (and 2 Aluminet garments!) and can say for certain that you can catch Aluminet at any solid point and pull it as tight as you like, no worries.

The shark-bites are magic even for fine or flimsy fabrics. If properly applied (watch the YouTube) they will hold even thin plastic films. I use them on my monkey huts as grommets and also to make tie-down points for the fleece blanket/dust blockers over the mesh panels in our tents. Bed sheet grabbers are indeed useless but the shark bites are fantastic and you can easily move or remove them on site as you fine-tune your shelter to prevailing conditions. Bring extras for emergency repairs in case the wind tears out the grommets in your neighbor's conventional tarp. Yes I felt quite smug thank you but tried not to show it.

[some seeing eye]

MDF is correct that Aluminet will not run. The weave will deform at a sharkbite attach point. Rather than a run as an analogy, a snag would be better.