Wall tent frame question

[11boo]

This 10x12 has seen me thru a lot in 25 years. Still in great shape, the tent. Me, at 61, I’m getting tired of all the weight and set up/take down is a lot solo.

Anybody try aluminum poles? I can source 1” schedule 40 aluminum pipe that is nearly identical OD to the 1” steel conduit, the weight reduction would sure help. Not sure how strong the aluminum would be though, the steel frame has held up to heavy snow and wind very well.

Alternatively, I have been checking out the Seek Outside shelter options. They are local to me, and have been good to deal with in person. They have their courthouse tent on display and I do like it a lot. Well made and $$$. I may just go this route rather than drop 250$ on aluminum piping.

thoughts?

 

[Back Country Hunter 2]

What brand is the tent?

 

[DRUSS]

I have a aluminium frame for my 14x16 wall tent. But I am not sure of your question here? It's been in winds up to 60mph gusts. Snow up to 8-10" on it. Been good so far.

 

[11boo]

I have a aluminium frame for my 14x16 wall tent. But I am not sure of your question here? It's been in winds up to 60mph gusts. Snow up to 8-10" on it. Been good so far.

mine’s a Ranier tent, I just wasn’t sure of the strength of an Aluminum frame. The steel has been thru winds I was sure would topple the tent.

I’ll be keeping a close watch on Seek outside this winter for any clearance stuff. Pretty sure the canvas is superior, but man they are nice in nylon. The SO version of a wall tent will be about 1600. Ouch.

 

[Calcoyote]

I have a 12x14 Davis wall tent and a SO 12 man tipi:

The Davis Tent - I have the 1" conduit like you do but I also purchased the traditional pole setup. It is a lot less bulk and easier for one man to set up. It also does not require NEAR as much lifting or muscle during setup. Davis tents has a video on Youtube of a 12 year old daughter setting a 12x14 up by her self using the traditional pole setup.

The SO 12 man tipi - Lots of quality. It weighs almost nothing and packs easily into a small storage box. It can be set up in about 20 minutes or less once you get the routine down. It sheds rain really good and and is MUCH easier to dry out when you get home than a canvas tent. I just unpack it and spread it out on the garage floor for a day or two and it is dry. I am going to have to buy a smaller stove to use with it. I have tried my Four Dog stove and the excessive heat was more than I could stand and turned it into a sauna. In order to get the temperature down I would have to choke the stove down so much that I would have problems with it smoking. You don't have as much head room inside as a wall tent but I usually hunt by myself and have more room than I need. Entering and exiting the tipi in the rain is not as good as a wall tent that has a vertical wall.

I don't really think of one as being better than the other. They serve different uses and my choice of which one I use depends on the weather and how many nights I am planning on staying.

Just some opinions for you...

 

[Beendare]

IMO, Nothing beats a wall tent for a base camp.

I have the Aluminum frame for my wall tent from Reliable tent. Its the best frame I've ever used. I bought that tent about 15 years ago and have used the crap out of it- including kids soccer team sleepovers in the backyard. [The back wall of these is a perfect white screen for a projector] The roof on mine is getting beyond its use-able life [I've sewn it twice] I just ordered another from Reliable [15% off now] I'm going a tad smaller 12x14 and will cut my frame down to fit.

I have many buddies with wall tents- seen them all- that have multiple iterations of the steel conduit frame that I've slept in- none are as good, as light, or as easy to put up as my Aluminum frame. The biggest advantage is no center poles- its all open inside....and the Aluminum is so much lighter than steel....plus its rock solid.


I can put that wall tent up solo with the Aluminum frame in about 30 minutes complete. I color coded my poles- assemble the thing and spray paint the rafter ends one color and the ridge poles another. I assemble the roof frame, drag the tent over it, lift one side and install the center wall legs first, then that sides corners, then lift the other side doing the same. Lifting the whole side is about like lifting a 70# barbell- not bad.

My frame looks to be 1 1/4" tubing. Can you taper those poles, or are you adapting to the steel angles?


....

 

[11boo]

That’s the input I’m looking for. Good stuff guys, I really like my canvas.

the aluminum tubing looks to be a direct replacement for my 1” EMT, and should fit right into my steel angle couplings.

That vid of the young girl setting up the tent was informative, but I bet she had some help getting it staked out and started.
i know how heavy canvas is, and my tent is made of some of the heaviest canvas. Still, looks like an option. The interior frame method is great for lots of things.

I’m going to buy the AL poles, and keep up with Seek for any blems or sales, I have a new Yamaha SxS that can get me in to some spots my truck can’t, but I’ll never get the wall tent setup in this thing unless I make multiple trips.

the aluminum tubing is 1.125” OD, the steel is 1.163”. Might be close enough, but I’m going to check some local sources.
that aluminum tubing is close to 600$ delivered.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

The SO tent is going to be much lighter. But, I'm going to give you a piece of advice, you will not be happy with the conditions inside that tent versus that comfy canvas tent for a base camp. There is simply no comparison of the feel inside a breathable wall tent versus a waterproof siliconed fabric. None. The humidity inside a water proof structure like the SO tent, really makes them much less comfortable in any weather.

Personally, if I were looking for a lighter base camp setup, I would look for an older canvas type cabin tent with an aluminum frame. Or, buy a quality tent like a cabelas outfitters tent or the Browning Glacier extreme. There are other brands to consider but, the important thing is to remember is in order to have an interior environment that comes close to mimicking the comfort of that in the canvas wall tent, with a nylon type tent, you need to to have a two layer tent. The inside tent lets moisture escape to the fly where it beads and runs off away from the interior walls.

You might already know this but, take the above advice from a guy that traded his heavy wall tent for a lighter cabelas Alaknak II. I have since went with the Browning Glacier Extreme tent due to the uncomfortable environment in the single walled tents. And, it is very comfortable, easy to heat to a ridiculous warm, and weighs like 30 pounds. I'm very happy with the compromise. I just miss the wall tent's homey fill

 

[sndmn11]

You are likely going to find the AL tubing that will fit in those angle to be noticeably weaker than the steel. You need to find thicker wall AL or get larger OD and new angles. Appropriately thick walled AL will be costly, and that is why an AL frame from a commercial mfg that works with those angles isn't found, they are all larger OD like Beendare describes.

 

[11boo]

I understand the breathable aspects. Nothing will be as comfy as canvas most likely.

nylon tents used to be a two layer affair, rain fly over untreated nylon. Don’t see that on any of the current hot tents. I imagine propane heat in a nylon tent would be really damp. I also wonder if the wood stove in a nylon tent might help keep the humidity down.

the guy at Seek outside recommends leaving the door slightly open and the vents open for sure.

 

[cnelk]

If you dont mind having a center pole, get some chain link top rail, a couple corners - cut the vertical poles, and ridge pole to size, using the slip joints. Then use some wood 1"x2" for the eave supports.

A lot less bulk - super easy to set up

 

[11boo]

If you dont mind having a center pole, get some chain link top rail, a couple corners - cut the vertical poles, and ridge pole to size, using the slip joints. Then use some wood 1"x2" for the eave supports.

A lot less bulk - super easy to set up

I saw another vid showing a young girl doing the same, solo.
It’s an option.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

I understand the breathable aspects. Nothing will be as comfy as canvas most likely.

nylon tents used to be a two layer affair, rain fly over untreated nylon. Don’t see that on any of the current hot tents. I imagine propane heat in a nylon tent would be really damp. I also wonder if the wood stove in a nylon tent might help keep the humidity down.

the guy at Seek outside recommends leaving the door slightly open and the vents open for sure.

In a double walled tent, propane heat is very nice. Single walled treated nylon, not so much.

 

[11boo]

I’ve tried propane heat in the wall tent. When it’s humid and raining hanging Wet clothes just won’t dry out.

one of these days I may get around to modding my wood stove to take a propane BBQ burner . I bet a 20# tank would go a week.

 

[11boo]

IMO, Nothing beats a wall tent for a base camp.

I have the Aluminum frame for my wall tent from Reliable tent. Its the best frame I've ever used. I bought that tent about 15 years ago and have used the crap out of it- including kids soccer team sleepovers in the backyard. [The back wall of these is a perfect white screen for a projector] The roof on mine is getting beyond its use-able life [I've sewn it twice] I just ordered another from Reliable [15% off now] I'm going a tad smaller 12x14 and will cut my frame down to fit.

I have many buddies with wall tents- seen them all- that have multiple iterations of the steel conduit frame that I've slept in- none are as good, as light, or as easy to put up as my Aluminum frame. The biggest advantage is no center poles- its all open inside....and the Aluminum is so much lighter than steel....plus its rock solid.


I can put that wall tent up solo with the Aluminum frame in about 30 minutes complete. I color coded my poles- assemble the thing and spray paint the rafter ends one color and the ridge poles another. I assemble the roof frame, drag the tent over it, lift one side and install the center wall legs first, then that sides corners, then lift the other side doing the same. Lifting the whole side is about like lifting a 70# barbell- not bad.

My frame looks to be 1 1/4" tubing. Can you taper those poles, or are you adapting to the steel angles?


....

More to think about. I was hoping the similar sized aluminum pipe would be a direct replacement for my 1” steel, and let me use my steel angles I have.
my tent is only a 10x12, but it is a heavy canvas. Not sure if the aluminum pipe would carry the wind loads as well as steel.

If I can find the right diameter aluminum frame material to mate with my angles I’m going to give it a try.
if not, I’m doing some electrical work at a friends welding shop. The guy is very good with any metals, he could fabricate some new appropriate angles from Al.

 

[Beendare]

Hey I'm a big DIY guy....but the Aluminum pole frame from Reliable would be tough to replicate. The pole sections are swedged to fit with long tapers. The angle kit is welded Aluminum with a reinforcing piece. The bigger dia. tubing is light and strong.

I've had my tent in some strong winds and its rock solid. Just last week in AZ we had some 35 mph gusts that blew down a buddies cheap nylon tent....didn't phase my wall tent even though it had more surface area. This frame makes a huge difference.

Mine is much lighter than the ones my buddies have of electrical conduit with less steel frame members. Theirs are all rusting. The conduit from China now is junk. As a side note, I've done projects that had that metal conduit installed in the ground 8 years prior and when exposing it- it was GONE- just rusty dirt and exposed wire. Crazy it could deteriorate that fast.

Really the only down side is cost to Alu. The frame I bought about 15 yrs ago at $450 is now about $800.

...

 

[Titan]

I think aluminum would hold up in normal conditions and wind. Snow load would be totally different. Vertical force would isn't an issue with the aluminum but any dent or kink could cause an issue.

I would pack a couple extra "T"s for the ridge line and some adjustable aluminum poles to support the roof if snow is in the forecast.

 

[11boo]

This won’t be cheap, no matter which way I go. I just have to pick a route.
i spent over 16k on the dang SxS this year just buying it And a trailer. Beats the heck out of my Jeep though. Used to be a 5-10 mile ride to a different spot would be a minimum hour. The SxS is so smooth I don’t even spill my coffee.

initial research shows beendare is spot on, a new Aluminum frameset with angles will be close to 1k.

I will probably run this by my welder friend, and end up having him fab up a whole set of angles based on 1.25”.
i doubt we have a way to swage the ends though.

 

[11boo]

I should have taken pics of the wrecked tent and frame from a wet 10” snowfall. Not my tent, it was a big one though. About 14x24. The two guys were struggling to get it back up, so I jumped in and helped. Poles were mostly wrecked, but we did a fair job with aspens and they finished their season in it.

 

[11boo]

Beendare, that conduit rusting out is odd. Mine is over 20 years old and no rust.

Buried EMT, forget it lasting. Ive seen the exact thing doing electrical work