FIGJAM

[ygmir]

a playa Truism:

"quit thinking"


nice pic, congrats!!

[FIGJAM]

TYTYTY for all the help and support. now i can show my ideas as a picture is worth a thousand words and i dont want to type that many.....lol

[FIGJAM]

[Elliot]

Maybe make a support for the tarp at the rear of the truck also? You will be dealing with some pretty serious winds.

[illy dilly]

I agree with Elliot. It looks like in this picture you might be able to extend that bar up to support the tarp some.
I might try this same set up, but form the top of our Suburban.

[FIGJAM]

Anything with some kind of a roof rack to slide a pipe through to attach the ball bungees or rope to will addapt to this plan. You can strap the long poles to the roof rack for transport.Buses could carry real long poles and i could see a 20x30 or larger with this same system. The back pipe on my truck has to be that low for hauling saguaro cactus, but ive already got a design per elliots suggestion.....lol

[FIGJAM]

Once i thread rope through all the grommets on the edge and do an X with rope from corners to corners on the underside of the tarp i could really tighten this up and take all the droop out. Even X on top for overkill. My buddy next door has that strap that electritions use for pulling wire in conduit. Looks like miniatur tow strap and come on like 1000ft rolls. Should be easy to get a couple hundred ft for free( i did )..............FIGJAM...........

[illy dilly]

Once i thread rope through all the grommets on the edge and do an X with rope from corners to corners on the underside of the tarp i could really tighten this up and take all the droop out. Even X on top for overkill. My buddy next door has that strap that electritions use for pulling wire in conduit. Looks like miniatur tow strap and come on like 1000ft rolls. Should be easy to get a couple hundred ft for free( i did )..............FIGJAM...........

Pull rope is shit. Can take pretty high tension based on what strength you get. Doesn't tangle real easy either.
All I'd be worried about for supporting it to the top of the suburban is the strength of the roof rack. I don't know how well it would hold up in high winds.

[FIGJAM]

I have to redo most of what i buy to make it work the way i want. Maybe you could beef up your rack or (dont be afraid) design one that will do whatever you can dream of it doing.

[FIGJAM]

I can already see one made out of steel tubes so you could slide your long pipe through the front one and shade most of the burbon.

[FIGJAM]

[illy dilly]

Yeah, I have a couple ideas as well. I need to take a closer look at the roof rack. Never really investigated the quality of the roof rack before.
I'm glad I'm not the only one that uses the term burban. I wasn't sure if people would follow what I was saying if I didn't clarify first. Her name is Big Blue Bertha, she is 20 years old, smokes oil like I smoke cigarettes and drinks more gas than I drink beer.

[FIGJAM]

[dr.placebo]

Your design is fine for low wind, but it's not nearly strong enough for 50-60 mph wind. You need more vertical supports and more cross-rigging and either bigger or more stakes.

Anything that looks like a kite will behave like a kite.

I don't say this to be snarky. I've had more than enough shade structures come apart on the playa, even when I thought that they were strong enough.

[FIGJAM]

like this...now turn it 90 degrees so the tab of the angle sticks out enough to drill mounting holes through. Sandwich the roof with the tab and a back plate inside the burbon and the whole roof would have to come off for it to fail. ya think....

[FIGJAM]

thanks doc. That was just a quick lash up job to get the idea trough my head. Ill beef it up and test it here ( side of a mountain with 45mph gusts ) before BM. im not an engineer so when i make something its usually gorrella proof....lol

[illy dilly]

Yeah that could work. I'm gonna have to check it out and see what I'm working with.
The only other thing I just thought about is that you'll for sure need to red flag/light the ends of the poll that sticks off on the front. Only reason I say that is I'm about 6' and every time something is sticking out the back of a pick up I walk right into.

[FIGJAM]

.lol.....yea that front pipe is exactly 6ft off the ground and with my hat on those obsticales get me every time.

[FIGJAM]

Just scored 1000ft electricians fish tape(2500 pound tested) for free. Doesnt stretch 7/8in wide. Do you think i could use this instead of rope? It looks like miniature tow strap made of polypropalene.

[illy dilly]

Do you mean Mule tape, some times called kevlar or polyester pulling tape? I've never seen fish tape at 2500 pound. To me fish tape is normally a steel (sometimes fiberglass, aluminum) tape with a hook on the end, used for getting through a conduit tell you find a lost cable or new path. Though, I could easily by wrong.
Is it like white (white once upon a time) nylon feeling stuff?

If its Mule Tape hell yeah! I keep roughly 200' (was about 350' I've cut random lengths off as needed) of 3/8" measuring tape (similar to mule tape, only rated to pull about 800lb) in my Pathfinder used it to tie furniture to the top of my car, my back hatch closed, and what ever else might need tying. I've found that when making a knot double and triple knot it. Its kinda slippery, and the flat shape doesn't lend well to basic knots. I'm not a boy scout, so I only know three or four knots (maybe only 2 ways of doing the two same knots). Tie it then tape your knots, just to keep them from coming undone.

[FIGJAM]

Yea its mule tape rated at 2500 pounds and i think i could melt it just like i do rope.

[illy dilly]

You mean melt so it stay in place? Never tried that. We melt the ends after we cut it, to keep it from fraying.

[FIGJAM]

I can do that or practice some better knotts......how tall is your burbon? I think you cold put feet on your roof rack so it will be tall enough to not denogginize you.

[FIGJAM]

I think flapping is what rips out the tarps. Im thinking if i sandwich my tarp between 4 or 5 strips of that mule tape top and bottom, then pull everything ridged it should stand up to any playa wind.........Thoughts?

[Elliot]

Yes, three thoughts:

Yes, flapping tears the grommets out of my very-strong hay tarp.

Nothing but solid poles can stop flapping.

Large tarps need vent holes to let wind thru. It "hurts" to cut holes in a nice tarp, but it is necessary. After installing the tarp at the event, watch it closely and cut vents as needed (bring step ladder). Two cuts in a V, or a U, makes a good vent.

[FIGJAM]

.ive seen alot of playa pics where people had thier tarps streached tight as a drum. I checked alot of back posts (by bob) and he said as long as the tarp is peralel to the ground with no way to catch the wind thay work fine. I dont question your wisdom but i think ill challange the playa to a blow off........lol

[Elliot]

...challange the playa to a blow off........lol

That's a valid approach. And your tarp is not as large as my 40x40. I just want you to be prepared to take remedial steps if you need to.

[FIGJAM]

thank you vey much for your concerns..........and now............the trike



.....and yes im getting a permit.

[Elliot]

Very interesting design, that trike!

By the way, you can disentangle your text from your pictures by hitting "Enter" once or twice before and after your pictures, like this






Instead oflike this.

[FIGJAM]

Thats why your a genius.........lol