DIY Tipi Tested and Proven

WoodBow

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Joined
Jul 21, 2015
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1,754
I fully intended to do a build along for this project but i accidentally wiped my phone and lost all of my progress pics. I used 1.3 oz poly coated ripstop nylon. I ordered 20 yards from ebay shipped for $80. I had about 2 yards left over. The top cap and tieout reinforcements are 500d cordura. Stake loops are gutted paracord. I have one set of loops on the bottom edge and another 4 inches up in case i want a sod skirt effect. I also attached stake extensions to allow 2 or 3 inches of vent all the way around. We ran it with the extensions to start with. It kept the condensation away but could get pretty breezy in there at night. Eventually we dropped it all the way to the ground. We did get some condensation then but not enough to be an issue. I ordered the pole from rei for $40. It is very similar to the one felix40 used. I had no complaints with it. I did drill additional holes between the existing ones to allow me to add tension in smaller increments. I originally designed it using good ole geometry, a protractor, and a cereal box. Eventually i used sketch up to determine the details. If you arent familiar with sketch up, you should be. It is quite user friendly and an extremely valuable tool. My fabric was 61" wide with no side waste. I wanted to maximize the yield so i laid out the known measurements and angles in sketch up and then measured the unknowns with its tools. I designed the walla of the tipi to be a 45 degree angle. That made the bottom angles of each panel 73.7 degrees. When i drew up the tipi dimensions that were the max i could get out of 61" fabric, it came out smaller than i wanted. I wanted it to sleep 3 or 4 guys and gear very comfortably. So i decided to splice in another panel to the bottom of each panel to get the size i wanted. To minimize waste, i made the added panels 20 inches tall. That way i could get 3 panels stacked out of 61" fabric. The decision to add those panels added around 40 feet of french seams. Thats a good bit more time added. I used small grosgrain loops sewed into the last pass of the vertical seams so i could add clotheslines and such inside. Peak height is about 7.5 feet and the flat to flat diameter is about 15 feet.

Our first camp this year



The elk were just not in that area so we bailed out to try a new area that felix40 had scouted via maps. We were not disappointed.


 
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WoodBow

WoodBow

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Joined
Jul 21, 2015
Messages
1,754
Tipi, pole, and 16 coghlan stakes weighs 7.25#s. I was hoping for 7 to 8 so i was happy.

The materials stretches when it gets rained on. You can see it is a little saggy in some of the pics. I just bump the pole up another notch or two and shes perfect again. When the material dries it builds hella tension. I couldnt get the pole down without pulling some stakes first when we broke camp the first time.
 
Joined
Jul 3, 2012
Messages
1,023
Location
Central Cal
Damnit......I've been putting off tackling this same project and just buying a tut. Now you go and post one that's looks like it was professionally made....

You nailed it bud.

Sketch up is awesome and anyone even thinking of a project should give it a serious look. If you have even the slightest experience with CAD it is easy to pick up.
 
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WoodBow

WoodBow

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Joined
Jul 21, 2015
Messages
1,754
Pods, the door is actually not offset even though it appears that way. I staked the door mid panel, so essentially i only ever utilized half of the door. I used a #5 zipper and installed it with the coil inside. I would definitely suggest a bigger zipper. I saw afterwards that kifaru uses #10. I had no issues but had to be careful zipping it if it was under a lot of tension.
 
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WoodBow

WoodBow

WKR
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Jul 21, 2015
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1,754
My zipper is 9 feet long. My original plan was for a #8 zipper. I think i had a brain fart when i placed my rockywoods order.
 
Joined
Jan 23, 2014
Messages
363
Location
AZ
So does this mean there a 300 percent mark up on commercial tents? Wish I had the skill to make one, I'll probably never talk myself into buying one.
 
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WoodBow

WoodBow

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Joined
Jul 21, 2015
Messages
1,754
Build one and you will realize they are selling them pretty cheap. I have a lot of man hours in that thing. Id like to know how many man hours the pros have in one total.
 

slick

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Joined
Feb 13, 2014
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1,798
That's amazing, this might convince me to start a winter project. Looks great!


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Felix40

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Joined
Jul 27, 2015
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1,876
Location
New Mexico
I was a tiny bit worried about it surviving that hail storm but the tipi is legit. It would be hard to go back to a tent now.
 
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