Rays Tent City Teepee ??

[Franco]

BackpackingLight did a peg holding test sometime ago.
Of the 11 pegs tested (inc 6" and 8" Y ,V ,Shepherd hook and plastic 6") the Easton 8" (about 8mm thick) came up best in pure holding power

That was 66lbs in both moist and compacted soil.
As a comparison the 6" Easton held about half of that.
(http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin ... takes.html you need to be a member to read that)
So I would assume (...) that your 10" version would do better again.
You have 6 bottom of fly pegging points and at least 2 guyouts.
Distributing the tension around those 8 points with your pegs I would think that it is enough.
I would put weights (rocks /logs) on top of the two guyout pegs.

[Moondog55]

I was thinking of the Vargo titanium pegs as I was under the impression they were better for the snow

[Moondog55]

Well I won't be doing the carbon fiber tube wrap; they want $45- to post a 3 metre length that weighs 90 grams

[Franco]

I have some Ti V shaped , perforated, 6" pegs.
On soft ground they performed somewhere between the 6" and 8 " Easton.
(BPL found the same)
I would not use those on snow but others might.

[Moondog55]

Who sells the Easton pegs locally??
I must admit I have an Easton arrow shaft here and I am surprised at how strong it is ( spreader bar for an unfinished hammock project) Bogong are holding the Mont snow pegs for me. Being a hexagon this tent will need a minimum of 6 guy-lines.
If Wild Country would redesign this tent for cold weather by only using one door, removing the see thru windows and placing vents down low for good airflow this would be a really good winter shelter. As it is I need to do some work to it, mainly cutting the floor out and using an exterior snow flap

[Moondog55]

I'd like some opinions on whether to keep the floor or cut it out.
Given my slowness to get anything done at the moment I may not have the wood stove made in time so heat on the floor may not be an issue.
I may have to walk up the street to the vacant block to try out erecting this thing, it is too big for my yard; back or front

[Moondog55]

Second tent no longer available, SOLD on ebay.
Lots of looks and many (23) watchers but only the one bid

[Moondog55]

OK next part of the project.
Sewing in a stove jack, I just ordered a short section of siliconised nylon and now need to think about where to put it. is there anybody on the form who has sewn in a stove jack into such lightweight tent fabric??
Not yet sure of where to fit the stove jack except that it will be near a door, and probably the left hand side as that seems to be where most people have it.

[Moondog55]

Only just got around to putting this up in the back yard.
That's 3 extra large winter mats and the wood stove in it's probable location.
Yes it is light, probably too light for an Australian winter in bad conditions but it will allow me to see how big a real tipi I actually need.
It may benefit from a spray with well diluted silicon or that Nikwax Solarproof and I need to decide soon on how high the fireproof stove jack needs to be.
It's huge for 3 and would be comfortable for 4

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[Moondog55]

Change of mind
I'm taking this up "AS-IS"
Having looked at it erected over the last couple of days I no longer see any point in working on it. The base fabric is just a little too light to sew easily on my machine and overall it is a little lightweight for the High Country
All I am going to do is add shock cord at each guy point to reduce instant wind loading and try and avoid explosive rupture of the fabric and give it a coating of diluted silicon waterproofing on the outside.

What I want and need I cannot afford at the moment so I guess I have a target once the house renovations and my beloveds new diamond is paid for.
I always knew I wanted the Helsport

http://www.helsport.no/en/product/TENTS ... r_810_Camp

[Onestepmore]

We had this tent for a recent camping party at Wombeyan caves for my son and his friends for his 12th birthday party. Plenty of room for the six of them. Could have fitted eight sleeping mats and bags.
The guy ropes are lightweight and the tensioners are crap, and the pegs are poor quality, but it's a great large single skinned tent that was perfect for what we bought it for.
I had to replace the flimsy too small bag that came with it, with a more robust canvas bag. I'd like to replace the above with better quality guys etc.

It will be interesting to see how it copes with rain, and what it's like in summer. The ventilation looks ok, but will have to wait and see

A 'fun' tent

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'Big red' next to our OzTent RV5 and my daughte's two man. No boys allowed!
OK this photo wouldn't load, so slightly different version

Tons of space inside

Could easily pack in more. Son is the one on the black and white hat with dangly 'ears'

Last edited by Onestepmore on Fri 31 May, 2013 10:15 pm, edited 2 times in total.

[Onestepmore]

OK, apologies everyone. i am just fail at posting pics. I had problems trying to get pics from my computer library for a different thread about a woodstove, as most were too big and I'd have to download a programe to resize them (which I cb f to do at the moment)
So.....as was suggested, if I use my iphone to post a reply I was informed that that would automatically resize them. Well....it doesn't! (well only some, not all, lol)
And as you can see, the ones I have here are crazily orientated - I promise they were all upright on my phone and in the preview!!
Truly
I have no idea how to fix it

[ULWalkingPhil]

Im getting rescue helicopter images when I click on your tent images.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Moondog55]

Agreed the supplied pegs are poor but I won't be using them as I have made others more suitable for the snow. Yes the guy lines are lightweight but no point in a guy that is too much stronger than the tent itself so I kept them, I am hoping the added loops of shockcord will moderate any issues.
Too late to do any work on it as it was taken up and placed in the dump already.
It is a lot of tent for the money tho and could be made a whole lot better with just a little better design effort but the importer doesn't seem interested in constructive criticism

[Moondog55]

Well the tipi failed, but not in the way I imagined it would.
What I expected to give way was the guy points sewn into the seams and the general stitching. 25GSM nylon is quite strong and the tipi design probable helped a lot with that.
What failed was the centre pole and when I made an expedient repair the next day the whole tent lifted in the wind and the pole penetrated the mesh venting and ripped off the cap.

It was windproof and shower proof and light snow just fell off but when the snow turned to heavy rain it leaked like a sieve, especially at the join between the nylon and the wove poly floor as that seam wasn't taped.

Waterproofing is easily fixed with some silicon in solvent and as I thought cutting the floor out and adding snow valances will fix the other problems with wind lift.
I am going to persevere with it, give it a double coat of silicon and make a decently strong pole and fix the centre mesh and make a slightly larger much stronger cap with much stronger attachments to the tent itself [ it was only held on by light duty elastic and one of the small plastic rings did rip out, but an easy fix] as I thought tho two doors and two windows is of little use in winter but as a value for money base camp tent I think I will do OK next year.
For the engineers out there will 32 * 1.2 mm aluminium tubing be strong enough? Should I try and make my own Carbon Fiber pole instead??

[Moondog55]

I'll continue to use this thread rather than open a new one.
I am looking now for ideas on the best way to utilize what I already have to make this tent more suitable for winter base camp use.
A couple of points first tho.
It needs to be much better waterproofed, this I can do with the old standby of silicon in solvent; does the layer of silicon add any strength to the tent tho??

The weak point of this tent is the peak, I will need to use a breathable fabric here, the existent mesh is very weak, how much stronger should I make it?? Also how is the best way to do this:- a graduated layering or do people think adding a single layer of ripstop with some Cordura at the peak will be enough? Should I perhaps use something with a more open weave than cheap ripstop?

I will be cutting out the floor[leaving about 150mm on the inside] so snow valances will be needed; how wide will be be enough, 300mm or will I be better off with 450 or 600mm?

As is the tent has no hanging loops inside so these will be added.
I was musing on adding a central locating ring about 400mm down from the peak to keep the centre pole in position in very high winds too, but is this needed or even advisable?

Next I was thinking of protecting the doorway from dropping snow and rain entry by adding a poled vestibule.

[Franco]

Moondog
You may find some of the comments in this thread relevant to one of your questions:
http://www.trailspace.com/forums/gear-s ... 47962.html
(re fabric for the inner)

[Moondog55]

Thanks Franco
I hadn't even thought about an inner tent at this stage

[Avatar]

Why don't you just get one of these superbly named shelters:
http://www.luxeoutdoor.com/eng/catalog- ... fpath=/167

backpackinglight.com.au may be able to get it in from Luxe.

[Moondog55]

Well those Luxe tents are good but are smaller
I already have the tipi as a donor source
I don't have the money for a new tent
I like to tinker

[Moondog55]

Thanks for the link Franco it gave me some ideas. I searched through my fabric stash and found some medium weight nylon taffeta which will do the liner job if I decide to go ahead with that amount of work.
If I do put a liner in how high do you think is a good height? I'm 185 tall so I am thinking that somewhere between 190 and 200 would be OK and simply attached with plastic rings at each seam and small plastic clips or bits of cord

[Pockets Mcgee]

You want a base tent, hows this one?

OMG where did you buy the watermelon tent? Any info would be appreciated. thanks

[Franco]

Watermelon tent from :
http://www.fieldcandy.com/

[thejungleisneutral]

Speaking of Ray's Teepee Tents, I bought one today - before I had seen this thread.

It's huge, it's distinctive, but it's a bit flimsy in my opinion. I'll be using it in "anger" for the first time next weekend for a car camp on the Wollondilly.

I think it'll be fine for the occasional non-hiking trip, but time will tell.

[Moondog55]

The tent fabric is surprisingly strong the weakest link is the flimsy centre pole next weakest link is the bottom seam which must be seam sealed before use in the rain or it turns into a swimming pool
I will be interested in your feedback as I have another on layby for the winter basecamp

[thejungleisneutral]

I'll definitely report back and I'm interested in seeing how it holds up for you in the snow.

I had fun setting up the tent in the back yard last light but promptly put the pole through the side of the mesh in the peak LOL

The damage was my fault and easy enough to fix with a bit of needle and thread action. Note to self- ALWAYS centre the top of the pole properly when pitching this tent

I'll keep an eye on the bottom seam since this tent will definitely see some use in the wet. What do you suggest for seam-sealing?

This type of tent is not something I'd usually pick up, but since my 4m canvas Sibley pattern tent is still on a slow boat from China and since I needed it for next weekend, I bit the bullet.

Has anyone pitched a tarp or hutchie over the doorways of one of these tents? I'm thinking tie off one side of the tarp to the guy attachment point between the tent's doors and use an adjustable tent pole for the other. It works on paper, but I'll try it out on the weekend using two hutchies clipped together.

[Moondog55]

I almost always use diluted neutral silicon for seam sealing, covering the doorways with a tarp is something I have thought about but never done for this tipi I tried it with my Megamid tho and it can place a lot of extra strain on the centre pole and the tie point
I would sew a triangle to a web loop and centre the web loop on the seam between the doors and back the line of stitching with a longer length of webbing to spread the strain, starting at the top guy point and ending at the bottom one.
I will be / would be using my big diagonal tarp in this situation with a decently strong tent pole at the other end and tied down towards the tipi
My big fly is 5metre on the diagonal

[Moondog55]

Another thought experiment with the tipi. Get two of them and join them with an extra large diamond tarp between or even a rectangular tarp but a rectangle big enough would be HUGE and need to be super strong. I think my big fly is just a touch short and perhaps not quite strong enough