DYI: Vinyl Coated Polyester Bomb Proof Teepee Tent

[gizmotron]

Here is the basic template that takes one 9ft section of the roll of fabric (108") and shows how to cut the side so that you have two unfinished panels. You can mark the dotted line and leave a little hanging out past it for gluing to the bottom of the tent later. Keep the scraps for making pull out & hold down tabs with grommets.

 

[gizmotron]

That previous picture might be misleading to some because it looks like I use a right angle for the bottom cut. Each panel should be just like each other and symmetrical to look at.

 

[gizmotron]

When you glue the sides together with 1" , 1.5", or 2" seams don't glue the top 3" together. When all the tent sides are seamed together you can take the top points and fold them over and glue each of them to the opposite side forming a pocket for the tent pole to come to rest inside. The first folded top point glues to the inside, if you want. The other 7 points fold over the top on the outside and are glued one at a time. This will make the strong point for the pole.

 

[gizmotron]

The top needs a vent to let out heat on hot days and keep in the warmth on cold days. It must be water proof even in wind driven rain. I would use two zippers that allow a flap to fold down when you unzip them all the way or part of the way on the inside. When you zip them up it closes off almost all ventilation. On the outside of that is glued bug screen made for tents. Over the top of that fold down flap area there is a rain guard flap that is glued into place. It will have a zipper in the middle so that you can get that flap out of the way for summer nights.

 

[gizmotron]

You set the tent up based on the prevailing winds if you can get that information. The upper vent or vents serve as windows too. You will need to place this window / vent opposite the door. This tent material does not breath. With a floor glued in place it will be almost air tight. You must account for this. It's one of the reasons that it will do so well in bad weather. It keeps the rain out. If you use an old Boy Scout trick of "trenching" your Teepee then you will not be set up in a puddle when it rains hard.

 

[gizmotron]

Great, the HH-66 has shipped and I got over to the home Depot to get a 3/4" thick sheet of AC plugged plywood cut the long way into three 16" wide pieces 8ft long each. I was thinking how I wanted a small table and a longer table used individually with my two really well built and adjustable height music keyboard stands. But when I use them together to create a workbench I can make the dang thing 9ft 6 inches long if I want. And I do want to for my workbench for gluing the 9ft (108" ) sides of all the Teepee tents together. Now that can be a hobby for me when I'm camping out in the real hidden Utopia. But I started this paragraph to explain another idea for these tents.

You can paint these things. And that alone will make them even better. Why? Because better is better and less is more, if you know that joke. I am thinking of taking my yellow, Stanly Steamer colored van and doing a little body work and paint as I travel. It can all be done with spray cans of good paint and templates and masking tape. I want to take the front end that is yellow and make ghost mist shaped flames move from the front to the front doors as it all morphs into bright colored common desert style camouflage. But now with a white roll-up tent room attached to the back I would love to keep going with the paint job hobby. Well I can. You can paint these tents it you want to. The vinyl coating is a perfect match for custom featuring with paint.

Here is another skill I found using the recommended paint for this type of work:

 

[gizmotron]

This is good. I will start on the correct size for the workbench parts and how I put them together this week. There are some clever ways to paint the surfaces of these bench parts to look like pho stone counter top or 50's retro crappy kitchen table styles. That's just eye candy if you want it. So far I'm going with that unfinished construction framing look that has knots that have fallen out of the plywood and there are quality stamps and labels that might look real nice if I stain over them. I like bragging that it's built like a tank and insolated like an ice chest. That's for all my fans that I know I don't have and will never care much about enough to keep me awake at night. I'm a loaner and the only thing that this is about is that others will take it and run with it. And I know it will help people in desperate times. This adjustable length, and two useful tables that can double as a gluing station or a workbench for carpentry that is great. It just happens to be for my indoor and outdoor kitchens too.

So I will take pictures as I go and all the grommeted tabs and zipper installations. These pictures belong in my van build but I also think that they belong here in hopes that some daring sole will attempt to build the first prototype. I encourage someone to bug Bob Wells. A work bench is key to making this job easy. So I will feature that here too. I know it's not a pristine video all edited together by Bob Wells. The pictures will help the test pilot / crash test dummy / who goes for it. My grommet kit will arrive late this week. Once I have the glue I will be ready to start construction on the tent room. I have the four poles and I dug out the snow at the back of the van where it is parked. I'm going to have a warm and dry room to do all the plumbing and electric. Once that is completed this baby is ready to go places. The solar just bolts on with their tilting brackets. I can tilt them forward or towards the back for better sun exposer. Has anyone seen tilted solar panels being driven into town from the LTVA's in Q ? It's slow so I think that at 35mph they might not need to be laid down for travel. Anyone? Good idea, bad idea?

I can see this brainstorming thread as being superfluous as soon as a quality video and proper instructions are completed by anyone willing to make it. I just want to see people making their own bomb proof tent shelters, even if they are not Teepee's. It looks like some want to make their own attached showers at the back of their transportation. I know I wanted a weather protected room for outdoor cooking in the Pacific Northwest. There is an entire world out there of DYI teardrop trailer builders & travelers that meet up for campouts. Every one of those rigs have some kind of shelter for the rear end. kitchens. None of them are making tent rooms with roll up sides and zippered doors. Everyone thinks that you need sewing capacity to make this stuff. That misconception is now blown off the stage. I can't wait to see what people invent. They will too. If you are majorly and chronically sick you could build your own replica of the Taj Mahal with all that gingerbread and fine embellishments that dazzle the imagination. There is nothing stopping you but you. LOL...

 

[abnorm]

They drive RV's with deployed tilted panels around the LTVA's to get to the dump etc.


Insulate is to limit thermal transmission

Insolate is to expose to the Sun

 

[gizmotron]

Insulate is to limit thermal transmission

Insolate is to expose to the Sun

Cool. I guess you must be a real fan. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[gizmotron]

I always wondered what they meant by "sols" or "soles" in the Matt Damon movie 'The Martian.' It must mean solar day, like that the rotation of Mars is different than earth's rotation speed. Hence the root meaning for solar system. What will those whacky astronomers think of next? I used to say nucular until it was pointed out that it's nuclear. How can there be a guy with a handle like "abnorm" and he still acts like he's norm-AL ?

 

[gizmotron]

Materials list, links, and costs:

List of materials: $ 560 total for 14oz VCP fabric That includes $160 for a work bench. So tent alone comes to $400 with screens for door and window/vent.

Two Double X-frame Keyboard Stands
https://www.worldtourcases.com/products/world-tour-dxks $42 each

Three quarter inch plywood cut the long way at 16" wide each. AC plugged + sanded $55 +tax Home Depot

Harbor Freight Spring clamps to clamp down fabric for gluing. (at least 6) $12

20 yards of 14oz Vinyl Coated Polyester Fabric 61" wide. $7.37 per yard -- $148 plus tax and shipping.

https://www.mytarp.com/collections/vinyl-coated-polyester-fabrics

1/2 inch brass grommet kit. More grommet available for $5. Kit costs around $8

https://www.homedepot.com/p/General-Tools-1-2-in-Solid-Brass-Grommet-Kit-71264/100200416
6ft to 12ft Painter's pole Home Depot: $34 +tax

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Wooster...5TtzwYaQ7HaNhxGAJQoaAuaQEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

two YaHoGa 78" #20 Super Large Separating Giant Plastic Zippers for Sewing Tents $16 each

two YaHoGa 24" #20 Super Large Separating Giant Plastic Zippers for Sewing Tents $14 each

https://www.amazon.com/YaHoGa-Separ...ocphy=9029448&hvtargid=pla-444930894236&psc=1
Two quarts, 32oz each, HH-66 glue: RH Adhesives HH-66 Vinyl Cement, $24 per can Amazon Prime prices.

https://www.amazon.com/HH-66-Vinyl-...ives+HH-66+Vinyl+Cement,industrial,157&sr=1-3

No-See-Um Mosquito Netting Black 60" Fabric $4 a yard. Get 1 yard for window/vent. Get two more yards if adding it to the door.

https://www.sailrite.com/No-See-Um-...8vB91G1-6vSQFzQH4eY7R1OXQ-rruHDYaAhLcEALw_wcB
Total cost for everything: $560 with 10% added for tax included with all shipping Amazon Prime pricing. My tarp does not ship the fabric for free, around $35 for that.

 

[gizmotron]

There you go Bob. Find a photogenic, happy go lucky, artistic craftsperson with a nice voice. Get the workbench & materials, set up the cameras, and go batsh*t crazy sniffing the glue. All that is left is the design for the window / vent and door & attaching screen to the door with zippers.

 

[gizmotron]

So cutting the door and adding the zippers is not that difficult. You put the door in one of the panels. You just cut the bottom of the door parallel with the bottom about 6" up off the floor. You keep the side cuts about two inches away from the seams on each side and you cut up each side of the 78" of the length of the door zippers. Now you fold back the side cuts 1/4 inch and glue the overlap on each side. This gives you 1/2 inch in the clear to install the zipper on the inside with the open end of the zipper at the bottom of the tent, starting upward along the base cut that you made earlier. It's best to cut one side only, install the zipper, and zip it up before cutting the other side of the rollup door. When it's open you can roll up the door and lash it in a roll at the top with extra fabric stringers made from scrap. There is no zipper at the bottom unless you want one. Some people will want one zipper up one side and one shorter zipper across the bottom area. This way the door is a flap that meets up on one side at the bottom of one panel. This works so that the door is a flap that can be tied back with stringers made from scrap fabric when it is open. In that case you might need a shorter zipper, say about 56 inches long. In the side method both zippers should end at the same corner when they are closed. This will allow for a little ventilation at the floor. You must ventilate this tent if you want to use a small heater of some kind.

 

[abnorm]

Cool. I guess you must be a real fan. Thanks for the heads up.

I'm not drinking the Kool-aid...................... but I ordered the HH66........delivery today

 

[gizmotron]

H

I'm not drinking the Kool-aid...................... but I ordered the HH66........delivery today

Holy Cow. Someone is going to build something. I'm thinking how valuable some kind of aluminum straight edge would be nice to have. Normally I would use a chalk line but that will wreck the gluing process. It will stain the fabric in some cases too. If I build one of these it makes it real nice if you create a lightly marked pencil line where the seams match up perfectly. If I us a dry line on fabric that is clamped down then I can add a few marks along the longest cut line and fill it in with a 3ft metal yardstick. Cutting and gluing as all you really need.

 

[NctryBen]

Let me know Doug if you need a good straight edge. It has a wiggle to it as it helped slow my ladder decent a couple weeks ago. Or anything else. The wiggle is towards the one end and seems straight enough. Haha

 

[gizmotron]

The window / vent is done the same way that the door is done. Wanting to build a tent for the ladies I would not have the top of the zipper on the vent be any higher than 6ft off the floor. The zipper is 24" long so your start at 6ft and cut down from there 24". You do that on both sides of the panel. You then cut across the two bottoms of each zipper. Now these zippers open from the top. This allows you to open them just a little if you want to. So you can open the door just a little and open the vent just a little. There is bug screen outside the roll down window. Then there is a glued in place rain fly that opens up with a zipper in the middle.

That's just about it. I cut little strips of scrap fabric to work as ties to hold rolled up things like doors or window coverings and glue them in place.

The last thing is folding it up to pack it into your car. Can't wait to see how that works out.

At this point I'm done. If anyone has questions I'd be happy to try to answer them. It's best to protect the bottom of the tent with several layers of cheap tarps cut to the footprint of the base and put down on the ground before nailing down the base. I would also get some very cheap carpet that Home Depot sells in rolls and cut and fit those for the inside. You also need something to spread out the compression to the center pole where in contacts the ground. A simple block of wood will spread the load a little.

Now go out there and build them. These completely blow away the very best commercially made tents made. People can build bigger ones with two or three 12ft poles. They can paint them. They can make all kinds of addons with glued together things. I even took a section of a nice tent I had that was wrecked in a storm, cut it out, and glued it in to serve as the door for one design. Good luck everybody. That same place has clear rollup vinyl material for creating windows. In fact you can make a glass house with the stuff. There is also Mylar for windsurf sail construction. You can look at the technology for adding batons to windsurf sails in order to make rigid walls. You can go crazy with the ideas. Batons are very cool. We first saw them on old Chinese Junk sails. There is no reason to conform to what has been done to death by others. It's for car camping. It's not for backpacking. Have fun. Camping is fun.

 

[bullfrog]

Great description and explanation of materials to use! Thanks! I'll be book marking this thread.

 

[Cammalu]

Doug are you going to make one? I wanna watch.

Also Gizmo, I must have missed it but was there a reason for glue instead of sewing?

 

[abnorm]

No TeePee for Mee........checking out the HH-66 adhesive....plastic-welding....and vinyl materials for my other projects