Camp Site Innovations Thread

[CiderMouseRules]

I ended up buying my specialty PVC fittings at Amazon. This kind (with up, down, and right-angle connectors) isn't normally sold in hardware stores. They can be great for PVC structures though.

http://www.amazon.com/4-way-Tee-PVC-...s=PVC+fittings

[Jankypirate]

I ended up buying my specialty PVC fittings at Amazon. This kind (with up, down, and right-angle connectors) isn't normally sold in hardware stores. They can be great for PVC structures though.

http://www.amazon.com/4-way-Tee-PVC-...s=PVC+fittings

Awesome thanks. Dont know why I didnt think of checking amazon, Ive always just made do with home depot's fittings but that's not ideal at all.

[NachoCat]

Ill repost this from last year because it looks like it can answer some questions. There is also a link in there from where I got the fittings…








With PVC you can build just about any shape and size structure you want. Use your imagination. 10' PVC pipes were about $3 a piece. Connectors range anywhere from $.30 - $4. Had to order a couple of them online @ http://flexpvc.com/ .The only thing you really need is a hack saw, which was about $7. Everything else slips into place. I’m planning on duct taping joints for strength when set up.

You can bend PVC into curves or whatever shape you need with heat. Once it cools it will hold. To make the bends I boiled water, capped both ends and filled with a funnel. Bent around some stakes I put in the ground and let cool. Every piece will come out exactly the same. When completed I would suggest numbering or color coding the pieces for ease of setup later.

[ELECtROjan]

One of the biggest worry about canopies seems to be it not having stakes and being blown away. But I thought why not just put the canopy legs in cinderblocks, do you think that would provide enough stabilization?

Cinderblocks are like a buck each and weigh 20+ lbs. For example:

& this


Or do you think the wind could still bend the poles/knock it over?

This option is just a lot cheaper, the canopy is $100 on academy.com, just amazon has a better pic

i was walking through Home Depot the other day and thought of this as well. I'm pretty certain they would work just as well as any weight systems built for canopies to keep it grounded. My concern is that they are sharp and could be a hazard if a drunk person in my very large camping group trips on them...

[CiderMouseRules]

Huh, filling PVC with boiling water to mold is really fucking clever.

A hacksaw works fine, but plunking down $20 for PVC snips made me crazy happy.

[theeng72]

Theeng72 and Janks,

I'm going to get some battery power for my campsite and was just going to go with a car battery or 2 since it will be much cheaper. I'm bad with this whole watts/voltage thing but it'll be used for mostly speakers and phone charging.

Got logitech s751i, says the power rating is AC 5W per channel RMS, so probably ~30hrs of this during the weekend and phones take a pretty minimal charge.

I'll test it myself too once it gets closer to the date but think a regular car battery will do? I can charge it back up with my car throughout the weekend to I guess...

Regular car batteries aren't made to be drained that much. You will loose some power through the inverter as well which you will need. With a Deep Cycle you can run down to 20% no problem.

Look at your amp power. 115 x 20 = 2300 Watts / .80 = 1840 of usable Wattage give or take. So say it pulls 20 Watts / Hour that 92 hours of run time. If you're going to buy a battery might as well just spend the extra $20 and get one you know will last.

Get a couple 15 Watt LED lights to run at night as well for your camp site and you will have plenty of power for the weekend. (36 hours) You can always charge them from your car for a bit to give you a little extra juice. Just mind where your neighbors are sitting. No one wants to be sitting behind your car for 30 minutes..

If you have a multi meter bring it as well. Good chances your inverter will not run below 50% of the battery. So a charge will be needed.



This is a great read to explain more - http://www.marxrv.com/12volt/12volt.htm

[kerby14]

this is gonna be my group's setup this year

DSCN3807.jpg

and for those saying the arches on a monkey hut takes up space/height, our structure measures to a little over 7 feet so it shouldn't be an issue at all

[kerby14]

Ill repost this from last year because it looks like it can answer some questions. There is also a link in there from where I got the fittings…








With PVC you can build just about any shape and size structure you want. Use your imagination. 10' PVC pipes were about $3 a piece. Connectors range anywhere from $.30 - $4. Had to order a couple of them online @ http://flexpvc.com/ .The only thing you really need is a hack saw, which was about $7. Everything else slips into place. I’m planning on duct taping joints for strength when set up.

You can bend PVC into curves or whatever shape you need with heat. Once it cools it will hold. To make the bends I boiled water, capped both ends and filled with a funnel. Bent around some stakes I put in the ground and let cool. Every piece will come out exactly the same. When completed I would suggest numbering or color coding the pieces for ease of setup later.

also is there any point to having a bottom frame for your structure? i feel like if you have proper staking it shouldn't make a difference?

[theeng72]

also is there any point to having a bottom frame for your structure? i feel like if you have proper staking it shouldn't make a difference?

Way more stable... Can't always rely on stakes.

[kerby14]

yeah but the difference between my structure and nachocat's is that mine is retention based whereas his is just pre-shaped pvc..wondering what kind of a difference that makes