designing tents..measurements..etc...3d mockup

[realityguy]

Cad Program?

Not quite everyone has a cad program on their computer..or knows how to use it.I'd be interested to see how long it would take someone to design that tent using a cad program.I cut the plywood and strung it up in a couple hours That was with a lot of thinking,changes,putting gear inside(are you going to draw gear to scale?),dropping the top 6",and redoing the top end...
I'm putting this more in the realm of DIY and something that anybody could possibly do in their back yard and with materials at hand.Basically a person just needs a couple pieces of wood for forms of the main walls,nails, and string..besides a tape measure,saw,straight edge,and a hammer.Yeah..I know I cheated and used a portable drill instead of the hammer.

If a person used a single trekking pole for support and wanted to build a "freeform" tent,a person could run all the facets or flat planes off a single point to different points on the ground,giving them the panels they need to construct the tent they desire,especially if they aren't concerned with a floor..I may do one like that.All the dimensions for the triangles to construct the tent can be taken directly off the form..and once the central post is in the ground,it should take about 10 minutes to put nails in the ground,and run strings between those points.Initial measurments aren't even needed and things are easy to adjust to make it work out better for the materials or remnants at hand,beside whatever gear or bodies that need to be covered by the tarp/tent..

Here's an example:



This tent design took 3 minutes and 40 seconds(stopwatch) from the point of the center post being in the ground.I can lay down in it.I can put gear in there.The points "float" on the strings pretty much so I can adjust here and there to even things out.Does it need to be perfect..Hell no!Would anybody really notice if one side is longer than the other by 1".Hell no.Even the floor is laid out for you to just slip the material under the strings and mark it directly whatever distance you want from the walls.if you want a tarp tent that has 6" of mesh around the perimeter when it is on the ground,those points can be marked 6" in with a 6" spike(where it hits the ground on the corner in a couple more minutes.Can you do that with Cad that fast?
..Also..it took me 1 minute and 40 seconds to have the string rolled up and the post and the stakes in a neat pile.
The inspector did show up on the job and approved the job!

[zelph]

Reality CAD or should I say RAD.

The inspector said it's big enough for me, where is yours?

Outdoor speed design. Instant equipment fit check. I like it!!!!

[realityguy]

The oimportant thing is that everyone can do it..the dimensions are all right in front of your face for every panel.You can go haywire and get elaborate..or you can keep it simple.A person can pound in another stake halfway across a bottom line and "frame in a door zipper" and have the two side panels already measured with one more stirng between them.
With a design like this,I'd use the string over the cat's head as the door zipper point,leaving 2/3rds of the vestible for gear and the other 1/3 for access and air.The door would hinge on the pin at the left of the cat and maintain the tent's integrity..simple design,but effective and lightweight.
I tried sewing a couple scrap pieces up that were left over from cutting the other tent design,sewing the two angled rips together and a couple more to make panels basically the same back end tent shape..then setting the thing up and trying to figure out a vestible for the back end(roughly a tarp 24" at one end by 80" at the other and 84" long)...NOT WORTH MY TIME AND HEADACHES!I've abandoned the project and going to use those two panels for another tent's floor by sealing the center seam so I don't waste the material...I could make a glorified bivy that looks something like that design only smaller..but it's more hassles to do it in reverse and starting with a partial plan and trying to make it work.If I did the bivy,I would layout the dimensions I have..place the single point where it should be..and use string to get the dimensions for the vestible pieces.
I tried setting up the pieces I had sewn with clamps,a central post,and clamping other scraps up front to try and see what I could get that way..gave up....

[zelph]

The important thing is that everyone can do it..the dimensions are all right in front of your face for every panel.You can go haywire and get elaborate..or you can keep it simple.

Yes, that's what's nice about it. The dimensions are right in front of you. Nice to have a cat or two to help out. Three dimensional objects such as a pack inserted into the design sure does help in knowing ahead of time if it's going to be big enough. It's easy to make adjustments on your type of system to "make" things fit.

[realityguy]

Keep It Simple,Stupid!

[realityguy]

One more thing..as far as catenary exterior bottom edges..I do an arch of about 1/4" to the foot in the sides to keep things tight,based on the overall length of the sides..so a 7' span would have a 1-3/4" bow(7x1/4") at the middle point(we aren't building the Golden Gate Bridge!)for a tarp tent.Once the panels are cut,I can lay them out on a flat surface with a heavy weight at one point,take a flexible stick,hold it with my foot at the other point and flex the middle point of the stick in such a way that the ends point can move in also but remain at the point..giving me a nice smooth arch that is still easy to sew.The catenary bottom edge's stress at the midpoint should pull the top down some in the middle and keep it tight also...

[zelph]

KISS Tent

http://store.colemans.com/cart/us-milit ... rrency=USD

[realityguy]

..and what is the weight of that..about 8lbs? I think the only thing you'll "kiss" will be the trail because your lips will be right there as you are packing it! I guess that's how the army divides the MEN from the gram weenies(meaning "ones with brains")...

[zelph]

..and what is the weight of that..about 8lbs? I think the only thing you'll "kiss" will be the trail because your lips will be right there as you are packing it! I guess that's how the army divides the MEN from the gram weenies(meaning "ones with brains")...

Use the photo for your next silnylon tent. The design is KISS

[realityguy]

Actually..I had a standard puptent like that but of nylon..GERRY BRAND turned it into this..

My first "tent mod" project...
Weighs 1-3/4lbs now but needs a floor sewn into it.It does have the 10" of mesh sewn on all the way around with a full mesh curtain on the front and back..it ain't pretty..but light!I've got some 3oz brown taffeta..maybe I'll cut a floor of that and call it the "Great Pumpkin"!..only use it in october.