Diy megatarp

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

I could be wrong, but I think he's talking about the dimension in red:

That measurement is based on the width of material. The width of material is the measurement indicated by my orange line. In the diagram it would be 60", ripstopbytheroll would be ~58".

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

I updated post #1 with the plans I used due to the amount of requests for them.

 

[bowhunter15]

Did you use the 1.1oz Silnylon (20D)? I'm not sure if it is better to go that route or pay a little extra and get 1.1oz Silpoly 2nd Gen (20Dx50D) for less stretch and the same waterproof rating. Or the 0.9oz silpoly (15D) which has an even better waterproof rating. I think I remember reading that Kifaru uses a 30D fabric but it doesn't look like ripstopbytheroll sources that. I'd be a little concerned about the durability of the 15D stuff, but the 20Dx50D silpoly might not be a bad option? I am probably not aware of a full list of pros and cons.

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

I used 20d 2nd gen silnylon. I wanted the stretch for a tighter pitch and I figured it's better to stretch than tear.

 

[F16pointy]

Sorry not sure why the pic didn't come through. In order to make sure things match up what I am looking for is how far from the edge is that point? Is it centered on the fabric width? Or is it offset something like 30 inches from the edge? Im just worried if I don't get that right the end will not lay correctly. Thanks!

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

Sorry not sure why the pic didn't come through. In order to make sure things match up what I am looking for is how far from the edge is that point? Is it centered on the fabric width? Or is it offset something like 30 inches from the edge? Im just worried if I don't get that right the end will not lay correctly. Thanks!

As explained in post 61 its based off the width of your fabric. Measure 48" in from the edge, then measure from that point. Used the same measurement as the width of your fabric and wherever that measurement intersects with the edge is the answer to your question. In the diagram with 60" goods the answer is to your question is 36" from the inside seam edge. With 58" goods the answer is 32.56" from the inside edge.

 

[F16pointy]

Awesome thanks. So length is 48" and then since i am buying from RSBTR I go 32.5 from the inside edge!!! Sorry to be a pain in the arse!! I really appreciate it!!!

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

Awesome thanks. So length is 48" and then since i am buying from RSBTR I go 32.5 from the inside edge!!! Sorry to be a pain in the arse!! I really appreciate it!!!

Np it took me a bit to figure that point out too. You want that pitch to be the same as your side walls therefore it is the same length as your sidewalls.

 

[bowhunter15]

Kyle from RBTR got back to me as well regarding material choice if anyone's interested. He did not recommend using the 0.9oz silpoly for the Megatarp copycat, but thought either the 20d silnylon or silpoly would work safely. He also suggested looking at the 40d silpoly (soon to be on site) and 70d pu coated silnylon as mid to heavy weight fabrics for bombproof 4 season use with a stove jack. Lastly he mentioned that in ~6 weeks they'll have 30d silnylon 65" wide.

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

Kyle from RBTR got back to me as well regarding material choice if anyone's interested. He did not recommend using the 0.9oz silpoly for the Megatarp copycat, but thought either the 20d silnylon or silpoly would work safely. He also suggested looking at the 40d silpoly (soon to be on site) and 70d pu coated silnylon as mid to heavy weight fabrics for bombproof 4 season use with a stove jack. Lastly he mentioned that in ~6 weeks they'll have 30d silnylon 65" wide.

Good info. The 20d silnylon is plenty strong in my opinion, its surprisingly strong.

 

[DirtyDusty]

Do you think a catenary curve on the ridge line is needed?

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

Do you think a catenary curve on the ridge line is needed?

I didn't use a catenary cut if that is what you mean. The curve you see comes from a taught pitch.

 

[Hoythews71]

Really like this design and the $$$ it saves compared to buying a Megatarp! Im not sold on not having a floor, mostly because of bugs, and I really dont want to be confined in a bivy and waste all the available space inside the shelter. Any suggestions on how to make this bugproof? I was thinking about adding a 6" surround to the bottom of the exterior walls, then adding Velcro to the edge of the surround to attach a bug mesh ground floor. Only issue I see with this would be if I were to pitch the tarp at a lower height, it would extend the width of the floor and possibly make the mesh unusable.

 

[colonel00]

Be aware, Velcro can get heavy quickly. Also, I would suggest that you avoid actual Velcro as it will collect debris and stick to the noseeum. There is other stuff that is better for this application called union tape which would work better.

That said, even a bug skirt isn't going to keep the crawlers out. A bivy isn't really that bad and you can sleep with it open and just zip it up when you leave to keep bugs out while you are gone.

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

Brad is right about Velcro i f you choose a bug skirt. I was skeptical of going Floorless at first too but have had no issues with bugs above 9500' and we never camp lower. For me the benefits of Floorless far outweigh the disadvantage. If the area your in is extremely buggy, like Alaska, a bivy or nest would probably be how I solved it. Neither are particularly expensive or difficult to make if you choose that route. I'm going to make a couple bivys before next season that I will probably do a write up on the process. The reason I am going make bivies is because were probably going with a sheep tarp type setup next year if weather permits.

 

[bowhunter15]

I plan on making a bug nest with mine for use in Minnesota. Just planning on using 0.5oz no-see-um mesh, silpoly for the floor, zippered entrances at each end. To attach, I plan on adding loops at the top ends to slip over the trekking poles, then have loops spaced the same as the ones on the tarp to pull the wall out to vertical. Loops at the bottom to tie off to the stakes would complete it. Did the math and it should be around a pound or so.

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

I plan on making a bug nest with mine for use in Minnesota. Just planning on using 0.5oz no-see-um mesh, silpoly for the floor, zippered entrances at each end. To attach, I plan on adding loops at the top ends to slip over the trekking poles, then have loops spaced the same as the ones on the tarp to pull the wall out to vertical. Loops at the bottom to tie off to the stakes would complete it. Did the math and it should be around a pound or so.

Are you gonna make it full size or just half?

 

[yardwork]

I plan on making a bug nest with mine for use in Minnesota. Just planning on using 0.5oz no-see-um mesh, silpoly for the floor, zippered entrances at each end. To attach, I plan on adding loops at the top ends to slip over the trekking poles, then have loops spaced the same as the ones on the tarp to pull the wall out to vertical. Loops at the bottom to tie off to the stakes would complete it. Did the math and it should be around a pound or so.

So I tried something similar this summer with my Mountainsmith Mountain Shelter LT with mixed results. I sewed up a full nest/net tent for a trip to northern WI and learned that the ideal solution is to have the trekking pole inside the bug netting which i did not do. With the poles outside the net tent I was not able to pitch it very tight, lost a lot of room at the foot end and it hung pretty sloppily inside the tent. It worked fine for me by myself for a few nights but for two people it would have been really difficult to manage.

In the end I doubt I'll use it again and I actually have new silpoly, Membrane10 and new noseeum material at home to make a set of bivies which I think will work much better for sleeping which is what I'll spend 90% of my time doing in that size tent during bug season.

 

[bowhunter15]

Are you gonna make it full size or just half?

Full size was the plan, able to sleep two so I can use it when camping with the GF.

So I tried something similar this summer with my Mountainsmith Mountain Shelter LT with mixed results. I sewed up a full nest/net tent for a trip to northern WI and learned that the ideal solution is to have the trekking pole inside the bug netting which i did not do. With the poles outside the net tent I was not able to pitch it very tight, lost a lot of room at the foot end and it hung pretty sloppily inside the tent. It worked fine for me by myself for a few nights but for two people it would have been really difficult to manage.

In the end I doubt I'll use it again and I actually have new silpoly, Membrane10 and new noseeum material at home to make a set of bivies which I think will work much better for sleeping which is what I'll spend 90% of my time doing in that size tent during bug season.

Interesting, did you have sag on the sides or just the ends? I've thought about the bivy idea also, but I know the GF would much prefer some space to move around in.

 

[yardwork]

Full size was the plan, able to sleep two so I can use it when camping with the GF.



Interesting, did you have sag on the sides or just the ends? I've thought about the bivy idea also, but I know the GF would much prefer some space to move around in.

The front corners pitched tight okay but the rears were a problem because the rear pole (in the Mountainsmith) is inside the living space more than the front pole is. This resulted in the net tent wrapping around the rear pole which threw all the pitches off. When you sleep your feet extend beyond the rear pole so with just me i unstaked one corner of the rear and moved most of the net tent over to my side.

If you can account for the above and take more time that I did I think you can make a nice tight pitched tent inside the tent. It appears live2hunt's tent and the Mountain shelter are approximately the same size. Live2hunt's does appear taller which might make the effort worthwhile for a bug tent.