OK - so I know that I am cheating for my virgin year by driving my RV, but I already own it so why not! So here's what I'm thinking. I bought a 25'x40' silver heavy duty tarp from HarborFreight. I was thinking about staking it to the ground on one side of my RV - then going over it (leaving 6-12 inches gap above the RV - then going straight out about 20 feet. I was going to get 6 12' 4x4 wood beams to use as poles (2 on the one side of the RV, 2 immediately on the other side, and then 2 more out at the end) and guy them all out proper like. I have 24-30" rebar as well as a bunch of 2 ft concrete stakes to use (20+). I have 300 to 400 feet of parachute cord to use for the guylines as well as a 75' climbing rope (5/8 inch?).
Am I crazy to try this? Will the wind tear it all to shreds anyway? Not enough support poles? Or am I ok if I can get it good an taut? Any feedback is appreciated!
Am I crazy to try this? Will the wind tear it all to shreds anyway? Not enough support poles? Or am I ok if I can get it good an taut? Any feedback is appreciated!
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Boise
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Re: BIG tarp over RV
Thu, August 14, 2008 - 2:07 PMI suppose I should also mention that this is to keep me from running my generator much. And the 20' of shade is for community shade. I had someone suggest to me that I should just take the 20' side and angle it down to the groung for a pseudo monkey hut shaping - and that is an option. However I'd prefer to keep that end up and let others from our camp pitch a tent under if needed or just enjoy some community shade! -
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Re: BIG tarp over RV
Wed, August 20, 2008 - 1:12 PMJust a suggestion. When staking down a tarp, run climbing rope through the eyelets and make a loop for each stake connection, but use bungee cords (not the real heavy rubber ones) to connect to the rebar stakes. This gives your tarp flex in high winds and minimizes tearing.
Use T-posts (7 ft barb wire fence posts from home depot) and drive them into the ground where support poles are located. Then gorilla tape and rope them together.
I've never lost a tarp in four years---although the flapping makes you nervous -
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Re: BIG tarp over RV
Wed, August 20, 2008 - 3:26 PMthanks for your reply to my question. It leads me to other questions though - as I don't quite follow what you said. Are you suggesting that I thread the climbing rope through all of the grommets and then tie off from the rebar stakes to the climbing rope - adding a bungie to the mix?
I was planning on making some small wood disks tonight to re-inforce the grommets - 2.5 inch hole saw to cut a bunch of OSB - and then 1 inch hole saw to cut out the middle - take two and screw them together on either side of the tarp - sandwiching the tarp between them. I was going to do this for at least 8 of the grommets - the main pole support placements....
Based on other suggestions in here, I was going to use 2x4x12 instead of 4x4x12 (need to get it up over the RV and have breathing room for the AC) -
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Unsu...
Re: BIG tarp over RV
Wed, August 20, 2008 - 5:54 PMtrouble with tarps. the noise . and one that big is one heck of a sail. loooooooooooooots of wind force. at over 30 mph right now.............. i hope someone has a camera ready for pictures.
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Re: BIG tarp over RV
Thu, August 14, 2008 - 7:34 PMI think you'll do just fine.
Run a lattice work between your poles to keep the poles nice and tight. Use two concrete stakes per pole and nail them to the poles. A couple of good wraps of duct tape will hold the bottoms in place. Guy each pole down in a couple directions and I think you'll be fine. -
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Re: BIG tarp over RV
Sun, August 17, 2008 - 5:18 PMThanks for the response. I was concerned with how big it is and how well it will handle the wind. I think one of the most important things is to make sure that it doesn't have the large awning side facing south/southwest. Has anyone tried a tarp shade that large and had good and bad luck with it? What worked and what didn't? -
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Re: BIG tarp over RV
Sun, August 17, 2008 - 5:48 PMActually, 4x4s are probably overkill. 2x4s would probably be fine. We did something similar in 2005, with a big tarp over a semi trailer; and we only used 2x4s.
Martini Steve
BORG2, oops Apokiliptika -
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Re: BIG tarp over RV
Sun, August 17, 2008 - 6:32 PM> make sure that it doesn't have the large awning side facing south/southwest
Word to the wise - while it's good to know that this is the direction of the prevailing wind, don't make the mistake of assuming this is the only wind direction you need to plan for. I made that mistake my virgin year by orienting a carport so that it was well-guy-wired down for the prevailing wind, but not so much for wind coming from the other direction. During a windstorm, the wind blows from any and all directions. If you're far from camp when one hits... not good. So think about how your setup is going to fare with wind coming from unexpected directions, because that will happen at some point.
I guess it's too late for you to do an Aluminet buy, but Aluminet is a good candidate for your shade idea. It tends to catch the wind much much less than a tarp. Last year I made a simple Aluminet shroud for my Class B RV and it worked well. For photos, scroll down: www.oceanbeach.com/ches/tra.../bm07/rv/ -
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Re: BIG tarp over RV
Sun, August 17, 2008 - 6:52 PMYeah - I looked at the aluminet - it looks great - but is about 4 times as much money as this was. I bought this heavy duty tarp for $70 and a size smaller than this in Aluminet was 300+. The biggest expense of all is gas for my RV to drive it there - about $800 round trip. I had a few people that were going with me and sharing in gas costs - but finances are a factor for them and they backed out on me. My finances are stretched tight - so I'm making the best of what I can. Thanks for the feedback! -
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Re: BIG tarp over RV
Sun, August 17, 2008 - 10:01 PM> but is about 4 times as much money as this was
You get what you pay for. :) -
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Re: BIG tarp over RV
Wed, September 3, 2008 - 2:22 PMOK - so for the record - the big ass tarp over the RV looked great when I had it staked out and nice and tight Monday morning when I went out to explore this strange new city.
Yeah - it didn't last!
It came down during the windstorm Monday afternoon and my campmates stuffed it under my RV. I think I could have set it back up on Tuesday and had it be just fine Tuesday through Saturday morning. The winds on Saturday afternoon though would have killed it again. Back to the drawing board! I think Aluminet or other similar shade structure material would be much better now that I have been and experienced the wind and conditions.
Thanks everyone for the advice - and I wish I would have done it different. You live and you learn!
mzfit -
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Re: BIG tarp over RV
Thu, September 4, 2008 - 12:26 AMThe Aluminet over my RV worked fine. I also had sheets of Aluminet over a 10 x 10 and 12 x 12 Quick-Shade frame. I did not use the the stock canopies, only Aluminet. Very easy to set up and tear down, required very little anchoring, survived the winds well. Will post photos later.
I actually think the winds were much less violent this year, it's just that the playa was so much looser so we had more dust.
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