Re: [VAC] Shelter: I'll bite; how'd ya' do it?

["Matt and Bekah Gessner" <mattandbekah@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Oooh.  Wind can be a problem.  I used schedule 40 pipe from Allied Fence,
and tarps and connectors I bought from http://www.tarps.com to construct a
30 x 40 foot shelter.  A smaller structure would be fine with SS20 or a
thinner walled pipe.  I put the tarp up once with the bungees I got with
tarps, but I hadn't calculated my tarp size properly, so I couldn't get the
tarp as tight as it should have been.  We had a nasty storm with winds
approaching hurricane force, and my tarp was yanked off the frame.

Now I clamped 2x4s onto the frame, and nailed the tarp to the boards with
Button Kap nails.  (Regular nails with 1" plastic disks under the head to
grip more surface area.)  The tarp is stretched extremely tight, so it will
have less room to whip when the winds come.  I am in central NC, and we
don't often get bad storms, so I pray this will last me through the summer.

For those of you who don't know, I am building a house, so I am living in my
Airstream permanently parked on the lot.  Travelers need a better solution.
I can envision an awning that would pull out over the top of the Airstream,
kind of like a convertible...