dual ridge lines

[gargoyle]

Okay, went out and played with the idea of the double line tarp. Easy enough to do, strung up the tarp on its normal ridgeline tie out points. Tied on an auxiliary line to the south side of my trees, and inserted a spreader. Then staked out the rest of the tarp. With the ridgeline at the high point, the spreaderline is lower, allowing for water run-off. Sorry, Rain Man.

Close up of one style spreader, an 18" long 5/16ths fiberglass rod. No need for it to be secured the tension is holding it in place! I would probably add some way to attach it tho. I moved the tarp around some, and it stayed in place. Wind was blowing about 10-15 mph. Not bad.
double line tarp 003.jpg


Other side of tarp..I snapped off a "trail stick", and it held fine as well, as Mac suggested a small continuous loop here would save the lines from any abrasion or chafing. A pair of small webbing booties could be made? add the bootie to the ends of the stick? maybe?
double line tarp 004.jpg

Side view
double line tarp 005.jpg

End view, it really opens it up. Be a good improvement over the norm.
double line tarp 006.jpg

Side view of the "low" end, looks like adequate drainage for rain to run off.
double line tarp 008.jpg

And last, I added a 38" spreader (old golf shaft), went to the opposite side and inserted it into a webbing loop, and wedged it against the auxiliary line. Almost gives the tarp a gantry style roof. Maybe a 3 line tarp set up, using two sets of speaders??? hmmm...
double line tarp 011.jpg

Weight of 20-30 feet added "auxiliary line" is the only penalty, unless you wanted to carry your spreader bar. Simple and easy. Took just a minute or two longer during set up. But the added space is nice.
A few minutes longer, if you wanted to custom fit the stick and whittle a little V in each end. A couple of dowels with notches could be carried, without it being to heavy. (UL crowd frowning in disgust)
Auxiliary line could be shortened, and attached to main line with prussics and continous loops. But my thinking is 'thats alot of added prussics'. Two for the tarp, two for the stick/spreader at each end, and two more for the auxiliary line. Thats gonna get confusing at darktime. K.I.S.S.
I think leaving the aux. line a seperate beast is a fine solution, use it when applicable.
I'll leave it up for a while, see how the sticks hold against the auxiliary line/main line. Give the tarp a few bumps, let the wind blow it around, etc. see how it'll do?!

[trigger hurt]

No... sorry!

Suppose you had a loop at just the right places on the ridgelines, at the points where the spreader bars attach. If each end of the bars had a notch, you would simple put the notches in the loops.

Clear as mud?

actually, that makes far more sense than the other way you typed it.

Use the loops in prussics to put the notch spreader bars. It's so simple, I'm sorta embarrassed that I didn't think of it.

[trigger hurt]

So, in a rain, you want a growing pool of water with no drainage right above you and your gear in a hammock? I've seen this in a poorly designed tent I used to own.

I can visualize a funny video making the rounds from this idea!

Rain Man

.

You guys have to consider that I day hike and car camp. I might do an over nighter where I walk a few miles and set up. I'm not worried about rain because I can change the tarp from 2 lines to one with little hassle.

[OldMan]

Okay, went out and played with the idea of the double line tarp. Easy enough to do, strung up the tarp on its normal ridgeline tie out points. Tied on an auxiliary line to the south side of my trees, and inserted a spreader. Then staked out the rest of the tarp. With the ridgeline at the high point, the spreaderline is lower, allowing for water run-off. Sorry, Rain Man.

This seems pretty similar to using tieouts on the tarp body, with the advantage of not having additional lines strung around camp.

[beep]

Hmmm...it seems to me that two 8" tent pole sections joined by an angled connector (all standard Easton hardware) would be a good "spreader bar" that could be connected to an "underneath" ridge line (prusiks to the ridge line??) that would provide the effect of widening the tarp.

Perhaps two or three such spreaders with their upside-down shallow "V" shape would be sufficient with the added benefit of using only a single ridge line.

Thinking out loud here...

[opie]

Hmmm...it seems to me that two 8" tent pole sections joined by an angled connector (all standard Easton hardware) would be a good "spreader bar" that could be connected to an "underneath" ridge line (prusiks to the ridge line??) that would provide the effect of widening the tarp.

Perhaps two or three such spreaders with their upside-down shallow "V" shape would be sufficient with the added benefit of using only a single ridge line.

Thinking out loud here...

Interesting suggestion. I wonder if the pre-formed arch would actually make a difference compared to the natural angle created by a normal tarp string up.

[FarStar]

I agree that a flat top should be avoided. If dual ridgelines are used, I'd be sure to have them at different heights, especially if rain or particularly snow is expected.

I have a Speer Winter Tarp and want to obtain a set of Grip Clips to expand the room underneath the tarp and better shed the wind.

If a Baker tent pitch is desired (when wind isn't a challenge), I plan to use my hiking poles on the downwind side to create an awning.

Oops: Didn't see the second page. Nice pitch, Gargoyle.

[gargoyle]

My lines were tied at the same height, with the normal ridgeline at its normal position, dead center of the tree. The auxiliary line was tied about 8 inches away from the centerline of the normal set up.
No extra lines or stakes is another added advantage. as mentioned by OldMan.

I don't need to buy anything more than 20-30 feet of rope...weight penalty on that is? (help me out here Opie or Paul on the cost and weight?)

Pre-bent aluminum poles are gonna run at a pretty steep price, and be more finicky when terrain/angle of pitch is different, IMO. The rope can be loosened or tightened, to change with the pitch or size of spreaders.

A set of poles is going to take up more pack space than a bundle of rope/cord. To secure the poles, some kind of mod is probably going to made to the tarp (pole pockets).

[opie]

My lines were tied at the same height, with the normal ridgeline at its normal position, dead center of the tree. The auxiliary line was tied about 8 inches away from the centerline of the normal set up.
No extra lines or stakes is another added advantage. as mentioned by OldMan.

I don't need to buy anything more than 20-30 feet of rope...weight penalty on that is? (help me out here Opie or Paul on the cost and weight?)

Pre-bent aluminum poles are gonna run at a pretty steep price, and be more finicky when terrain/angle of pitch is different, IMO. The rope can be loosened or tightened, to change with the pitch or size of spreaders.

A set of poles is going to take up more pack space than a bundle of rope/cord. To secure the poles, some kind of mod is probably going to made to the tarp (pole pockets).

I forget what the actual weight on 30' of zing it is.... Something like 20 grams.

I may try the pole mod since weight isnt a concern of mine... But yes they add weight. They really arent all that expensive, however...

Fiberglass

Aluminum

Edit... they do have a 45 degree arch... I think Im gonna give it a try.

[opie]

I just orderd the parts to give this a try.... Im liking the idea so far....