5 Tips for Shelter Building

1. Measure Twice

Don't go overboard with your dimensions. A good rule of thumb with length is to take your height and add 6" to either side. As for the width, a common size is about 8 feet.

If you ever need a more confident approach, check out the dimensions of tarps from cottage companies to get a good average size.

2. Bind the Seam

A simple way to finish the center seam is to baste the panels together, then bind that seam. Although it is not technically water sealed, this is a method that many companies use for their finished projects and has kept thousands of people dry. Plus you don't have to deal with the sticky seam sealer.

The binding has a similar effect to a shingled roof. The water runs over the binding and away from the seam. Many of us here at RBTR have made shelters like this and still prefer this method.

3. Keep the tieouts light

Although the tieouts may seem like a weak point, grosgrain is a lot stronger than you realize. We recommend 5/8" grosgrain for the tieout areas. If you want to get fancy you can add D-Rings our other hardware, but they are not necessary and will add weight.

Avoid using 1" grosgrain and webbing of any kind as it won't provide much more durability. In fact, it has a higher likelihood of putting the corner of your shelter at risk.

4. Reinforcement Patches

If you need to include reinforcements to your tie outs, the best way to do that is through patches not the tie outs themselves. Use a material that stretches with the shelter fabric to anchor your tie outs too. This will distribute the load well and ensure there isn't a compatibility problem with the main material and the reinforcement material. We like using HyperD 300 for this application.

An easy way to finish this patch is to embed the reinforcement area in the rolled hem.

5. Reflective Guylines

Pro tip. No one likes tripping over guylines at night. Avoid face-planting in your campsite or tearing your guyline out by using reflective cord. Our 1.5 oz mm reflective cord is great because it is a Poly/UHMWPE blend and has the reflective touch.