rizzo
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I have purchased several of these. any tips or tricks to erect them?
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The TM is next worthless due to poor quality. Master must have been lost in time and printed from a 5th generation repro. Photos are mostly illegible. There is an instruction panel sewn to the inside of each panel. Marginally helpful.rizzo said:I have purchased several of these. any tips or tricks to erect them?
do you have a pic?NEIOWA said:The TM is next worthless due to poor quality. Master must have been lost in time and printed from a 5th generation repro. Photos are mostly illegible. There is an instruction panel sewn to the inside of each panel. Marginally helpful.rizzo said:I have purchased several of these. any tips or tricks to erect them?
Search on Maintenance tent. I put one up last summer and was looking for help. I think I put some photos up.
Tip #1 find a tractor/loader or forklift you can borrow. Particularily if you are doing this by yourself. The end canvas is VERY heavy and you have to get the entire roll at the peak and then unroll things. Or so I found. The intermediate panels are not as bad but still a PITA, heavy. With some cussing you can pull one over using ropes. You have to maneuver across every purlin going up and then down the other side. Pull the next panel across the first and then slide it sideways into position. A tractor/loader would like ease this process as you could lift the entire canvas roll up from the inside of the tent so you could just unroll.
The frame is not so hard to set up. Start with a 4ft section (end hoop and 1st Intermed hoop) assembled flat then stand it up just like you were raising a house wall. Screw in 8ft purlins and attach the next intermed hoop (assembled flat on the ground). Lots of ladder and frame climbing required with this method. Unless your 6' climbing the purlins will be a real stretch. I used a dump truck as as a stage. A wheeled scaffold unit would likely be very useful.
I have not yet assembled the end wall/door unit as certainly will need lift/hoist equipment to lift the door lift assembly. Also have not yet installed insulated liners as this unit will not be heated at it's current location.
Tip #2 Get some help so you don't kill yourself. I setup singlehanded and was a heck of project. TM specs about 6men and many hours. Must be AF and taking a lot of breaks. Not that hard a project.
Tip #3. Which I did not do. Start canvas project at the down wind end of your structure. Then the rest of the canvas will overlap and reduce wind infiltration. Maybe do both ends before intemed. canvas so overlap at both ends.
I could find no useful info on how the tiedown ropes are supposed to be used so just make it up.
There are hooks on a rope that run front/back on each panel. The rope runs thru gromets in a canvas flap which is sewn along the bottom inside edge of each canvas panel (you'll see what I'm talking about when you unfold the canvas). You have to cinch/stretch the canvas across the tent frame until you can get the canvas flaps around the bottom purlin on each side of the tent. THEN hook/cinch down the rope. Don't quit with just the ropes around the bottom purlin, will not be tight enough.
I like these tents a lot. Very useful.