DIY Tipi Dimensions-your preference?

[WoodBow]

#8 will be good. Kifaru uses a 10. I used a 5 and regret it. It hasnt caused any problems but i feel like i have to baby it.

 

[realunlucky]

I used a #8 and haven't had any regrets yet

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[gudspelr]

Great-a #8 will go on the list. Side question1how did you guys do your vents? Specifically, I'm trying to decide how to get the material to lift so the air flow can get going. And conversely, how do you secure that material down in lousy weather? Most look to have an arched appearance to them which means there's excess material, meaning it won't lay flat without some creases. Does any of that make sense?

Jeremy

 

[realunlucky]

I didn't build any vents into mine how will you hold stove heat in? I used a double zipper on the door and open it from the top down and use the stake pockets to adjust air space on the bottom. Be interested in what you come up with

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[gudspelr]

I've seen a number of tents with vents and stove jacks. I was hoping to be able to use a vent for warmer weather; some no see-um netting with material over it that lifts, but must be able to be secured down for when the stove is going. I've got some ideas, but figured I'd see what others had done.

Jeremy

 

[WoodBow]

I used very large zip ties for the material to create the arch. Make your vent the entire top portion of one panel, whatever length you want. Creating the vent before you sew the panels together will be much easier. You can add a Velcro tab to close the vent if you want. I opted not to. You can use a guy line instead of arch material to hold the vent open of you dont mind a tripping hazard and an extra stake. The benefit would be that it would be easier to roll up the tipi. Make sure your vent hood extends below the mesh and there is no need to close it in bad weather imo.

 

[gudspelr]

Thanks, Woodbow. Went to my friend's place tonight and got to set up his SL-5 and check it all out. Asked him a bunch of questions and he had some good advice from his experience. He had a stove jack put in and had some good comments on stove placement within the tent that I wouldn't have thought of (stove towards the door vs other side of the pole so you/the kids don't have to get close to the hot metal when trying to go in and out). His vents stay open all the time and he hasn't had any problems, even when the stove is running. Said it helps keep condensation down. I'm thinking I may go that route. It was also really nice getting to see the flap for the zipper. I was trying to figure out how I wanted to do that and seeing his definitely helped.

We also discussed sod skirts and I may be intrigued enough to try adding them. Any thoughts from you guys?

I'll definitely take some pics as I go along once I get the project going and post it all up in a thread. Thanks to everyone for their help.

Jeremy

 

[WoodBow]

Imo a zipper flap is not required. Seems strange but i had no water come through mine and it saw plenty of rain.

I have extra stake loops about 4 inches up for a sod skirt but i don't see myself ever using them.

 

[realunlucky]

I also don't think a zipper flap is necessary. I used a golite for awhile before I built my own shelter and imo don't think the upper event helps all that much. Condensation will still depend on air flow from the bottom

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[gudspelr]

Interesting. I really appreciate your guys' comments. I have to admit, I'm a little surprised at no water coming through at the zipper without a flap. I certainly wasn't looking forward to sewing the extra pieces...but I just figured water would end up coming through it without a flap to cover it. And you guys aren't using waterproof zippers, correct? I wonder what it is that makes the water stay out? Good news for sure, though.

I think one of the reasons I considered a sod skirt was a comment my friend made. Even with the SL-5 pitched pretty tightly to the ground, there were still some small gaps here and there. He said there have been times that he's trying to sleep and gets a cold draft in the face and finds himself pushing his pack or something over to block it. In theory, the addition of a sod skirt might help keep those drafts in cooler weather from coming in?

Jeremy

 

[WoodBow]

Just a regular zipper. Not waterproof. I guess it is just easier for the water to roll off than penetrate. Also think about that below the zipper is the least likely place for someone to sleep unless you have the tipi completely filled with folks.

A draft from the wrong place sucks but some draft is necessary to combat condensation. If there is a gap beside your face or something, just put some gear in front of it. I usually have some large trash bags with me that I use to keep some of my gear dry in my pack. Those work well to fill any undesirable gaps.

 

[gudspelr]

Cool-I'm hoping the #8 coil zipper I am ordering will be just as water resistant as you've experienced. I'm planning on two double pulls so I can pull down from the top to help in venting if need be.

I am hoping to place my order later this week. I have a boat load of stuff in my cart at RSBTR, including stuff for this project as well as a tarp, pack covers, quilts, and whatever else. I've gotten some good info from the staff there when I asked some questions, including info on the silpoly. I was told the 1.1 silpoly PU4000 was specifically made for use in tent floors. I was told the standard 1.1 silpoly is very good for most any tent or tarp application. I also figured out the HH is higher on the XL silpoly than the standard width, but not as high as the PU4000. So, I'm planning on going with the 1.1 silpoly XL for the body of the tent. I'm also planning on about 7'3" peak height which should give me a bit over 50 degree wall angles.

I'm waiting to hear back about seam sealing either the HyperD 300 or Robic 420. They're PU type materials and I'm planning to use one of those (per their suggestion) for peak reinforcement. Normally, those materials are listed to have seam grip used, but the standard silpoly is listed for sil net....so I'm trying to figure out if there's a problem with using the two together. I also saw they sell stove jack material, so I'm going to order some and make my own jack.

Jeremy

 

[WoodBow]

Sounds like you've got it under control.

I made some stove jack material for mine by impregnating fiberglass cloth with silicone. I have not installed it yet because I do not have a stove yet. But very soon!

 

[mtnrunner260]

Looking forward to how it turns out.

 

[gudspelr]

Looking forward to how it turns out.

You and me both . Hopefully I'm not a disappointment to myself....

Jeremy

 

[gudspelr]

As a side note, I figured I'd post up an answer I got from Justin at RSBTR in case anyone else runs into the same problem. I had asked about the best way to seam seal when using a PU coated material for reinforcement on silpoly (non-PU coated). Their site lists sil net as the sealer for non-PU coated fabrics and seam grip for the PU fabrics. Here was his response:

"Actually, when it comes to sealing PU materials to Sil coated materials, there is no elegant answer. If you face the PU sides of the HyperD and Robic to the inside, you can seal the seams with silnet on the outside."

Makes sense to me, so that's what I'm going to try. I think I'll try and seam seal the peak with sil net before adding the reinforcement. Then, after that's all cured up, I'll sew on the heavier material and double check the right side is out and seal again. I had planned on trying to basically glue the reinforcing pieces on with the sealer before stitching, then seal the stitches afterwards...but looks like that won't be the case.

I'd be curious to hear about any experiences others have with how they reinforced the peak on their tents. Did you do extra material on the inside and outside, or just one or the other? I noticed on my friend's SL-5, there was only reinforcement on the inside.

Jeremy

 

[realunlucky]

I only did the inside reenforcement also tied mine into the entrance zipper seam

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[gudspelr]

Interesting. I'm trying to picture the fabric placement and the zipper seam. Did you form the basic into a conical shape or just sew it flat? Hope that makes sense...

Jeremy

 

[gudspelr]

It all got to my front step today. I rather excitedly opened the box from RSBTR and had a good time going through it all. They had some 1.1 silpoly XL seconds in their outlet, so that's what I ordered for the tent. I probably would've picked a slightly different color, but it's green and should work just fine for my purposes. I got all of my stuff from them, which was nice-one stop shop. I think I'm going to start on the quilts for me and the kids, then sew up a silpoly tarp (they had some more 1.1 seconds in standard width that I decided to get), then go for the tent. I figure that should give me a pretty decent practice period to minimize the potential screw ups on the pyramid.

Wanted to say thanks again to everyone who helped me with all the suggestions and advice. It helped me out a ton. When I get to making all the stuff, I'll do some threads with the info on how it goes and maybe it'll help someone else.

Jeremy