Greenhouse design into Tent

[Russell Lawson]

Hey folks. I use these greenhouses that I modded from a design gleaned from Japanese farmers. This particular design is a rebar stake pounded into the ground, emt conduit riding ontop the rebar.  Each rebar has an S hook clamped on it halfway and is then twisted to face downward, a insulation washer is then slid down ontop of the S hook, together I can run light duty string over the top and the washer holds the S hook from prying up or being damaged by the compression of the conduit, as well as gives a lip for the string, causing a gap at the base for plastic looseness.

The design is very efficient in use and setup, super storm and snow resistant, no puddling water on arch because of string guiding it down, and the gathered end helps with arrow dynamics. Plus the sides can be pulled up for airflow or entrance. and it is very easy to move around inside the 6’wide 10′ circumference space (Bluestring is a single unit that helps with heavy storm strength, yellow twine is zig zagged over, alternating sides)

 

Trying to see if anyone has tried something like this? I believe a simular single arch tent is a notch from tarptent? Though the concept of not having stitches and a sleeve on the ridge of fabric would seem logical. There might be weight savings from switching out a sleeve that is seam sealed to ultralight string. Also not needing a zipper because the sides slide up and stay up due to the string tension.

It could potentially be made from a 10’x10-12′ but would weight less if it were designed to be a set size tarp. The vertical radius has to match half the ground diameter, and then the gathered end has to be a minimum of that same distance to have a smooth plastic sliding up action. Would work best to have guideline measurements built into a bathtub floor that gives referance to where the anchors go. I use my 12″ shoes to put these together and would prefer a bivy. As a alternative to the rebar, I think aluminum tubing pounded into the ground, with a ti shepard hook going through the aluminum at the middle on an angle into the ground would provide a good anchor, then slide a tent pole inside the aluminum, being stopped by the ti stake. Then run the string using the hook of the shepard stake. Might work?

 

Hope this was of interest! leave feedback and ideas. Will post when I build my prototype.

 

[Jerry Adams]

Interesting idea.  I like adapting ideas from other areas.

I see they have lines going over it to keep the plastic from blowing away.  You could sew tent stake loops on the edge and stake it down which would accomplish the same thing.

You could take Ti or Aluminum rod and pound into the ground a ways, then put your aluminum tubing over that.

Prototype with polyethelyne sheet

[Ken Thompson]

Kinda reminds me of this Tarptent, the Cloudburst 3.

https://www.tarptent.com/cloudburst3.html

[Daryl and Daryl]

I use a similar hoop house (with PVC hoops and a ridge pole-no cords) and have also thought about how its features could be incorporated into a tent.  Have never got further than the idea, however.  The devil is in the details.

I too am impressed by the design and how well it stands up to any weather.

 

[Russell Lawson]

First prototype, used 8×11 tarp, walmart tent pokes, four ti stakes with 1/2″ irrigation pipe, two aluminum coleman pegs, lumberyard muletape as ridgeline, mason line

It’s 7′ from end to end, 6′ wide in middle. Poles are junk and cant take tension so the tarp is lightly tightened over the top and sides.

Will try V shape in the poles next to get more sq footage.

Sorry they are upsidedown. When I try to rotate it on my phone it makes the file larger than 1mb

[Franco Darioli]

The Early Winters Omnipotent was a bit like that :

[James Marco]

Tunnel tents have been around for a while. Working on tent designs, I found that the poles were a BIG drawback. They just weigh too much for any reasonable strength. One thing nice about the Stephensons 2x is that they used large diameter, thin-walled, tubing in preformed shapes. These supplied a lot of strength but still weighed a bit. Roger C. gets around this with a modified or sectional hoop. But, the pole segments and joints still weigh quite a bit compared to a trekking pole without the dual purpose nature of the trekking pole.

Fabric is good with these though. The round design lets you maximize interior space for the least amount of fabric needed. A dome is even better and represents about the least surface area for internal volume, but does not conform well to a sleeping person…lots of wasted space in corners, around the edges. The weight of saved fabric over a rounded tent never makes up for the extra weight of the poles, though.

To me, a slightly smaller tent I can usually live with (provided it doesn’t get less than about 18 sqft (roughly 7’3″ x 2’6″) for a solo tent or less than 28 sqft for two (roughly 7’6 x 3’9″.) This leaves some room inside for gear and still have a cloths line inside for wet items. (Nothing ever truly dries out, but at least nothing gets wetter sitting on the ground cloth/floor or from spray/mist.) Not counting vestibules, of course.

I would be interested to see what you come up with. Nemo tried air beams. Wayyyyy back when (latter 50’s as I remember) Stephenson played around with an insulated tent to eliminate the sleeping bag. Several different pole designs were tried. I had trouble with an early version Exped Sirius, the poles all cracked after 5-6 uses…all replaced. But they look good. And they are nice in the winter…they have low surface area to radiate heat and stay nice and warm.

[BlackHatGuy]

[Russell Lawson]

great indepth feedback, James. And Doug thanks for inverting.

Certainly is a concept to reach beyond a efficient prop up tarp in the quest for head space. The poles certainly are heavy, mine come in at 7.6oz each 10′ length. But it is nice to keep my mind busy while I work, plus every woman I’ve ever been camping with is sketched out when I pull out a nylon tarps, so I guess this is my attempt to have a tent without paying the big bucks, while still tarp camping.

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