My big 30x40 foot tent has been up over a year now. Last winter I regularly pulled the snow off the roof with an extended snow shovel just to keep the snow load down but there never was a hint of excess weight. There always is a little left on the very top between the center pole and the first two beams due to the reduced curvature at the top, the slight sag of the material under the slow load and the distance to reach, being at the extreme reach of the snow scoop.
This year I pulled snow off it once with a little left on top. The week of December 16th was a mix of snow and freezing rain/rain over Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. I remember driving by the tent tuesday and noting that while there was snow on the roof, it wasn't particularly high and not worth pulling off. Boy was I wrong.
I guess that when the snow turned to rain, the rain saturated the snow instead of just running off. At night it would freeze creating an ice dam that would prevent any further snow or rain from running off. As it was rain and ice instead of snow, there didn't need to be much of a buildup for the weight to substantially increase.
On Wednesday evening I drove by after getting home from work. I actually drove right by the tent on my way to the trailhead and noticed nothing amiss but when I drove back my heart sank. The big tent had collapsed in the very middle. Talk about a shocking downer. The front and back as well as about 8 feet of the two sides (up to the first beams) were still standing but the center was all the way down. I had just moved a pile of cut planks onto a skid in the middle of the tent. I could walk in the front to the boards but they wouldn't move under the weight on them.
Well I thought I could drive back home, open a bottle of wine or two (better yet a bottle of whiskey) and drown my sorrows or I could get to work doing something about it. I figured that whatever I did, I would have to get the snow off the collapsed structure so I drove off to get a ladder, returned, and leaned it up against a standing side. I threw a snow shovel in, climbed the ladder and slid into the center of the tent.
I spent about an hour shoveling wet heavy snow eight feet up and over the side. Half the time some (or all) of the snow came sliding back. It was a task of sisyphus but I actually seemed to be getting rid of some snow. I took a moment to call my good friend Dave Murphy. Dave noted that there was a volunteer with a beer in his hand standing right in front of him so the two of them got in Dave's truck and headed over to help. When they got here Rick slid down into the tent but I made Dave stay outside to find a rope. Otherwise we never would have gotten up the slippery sides and out.
It was dark by 5 PM but we were finished shoveling. We retired back to Owls Nest for some fine dinner by Miss Lucy (finest eatery in the universe). Lucy was a bit nonpussed hearing that we had two unexpected guests for dinner but quickly rallied when she heard about our disaster.
Over dinner and beer we discussed how to deal with this disaster. I thought we should release the cover and pull it off before attempting to deal with the skeletal frame. Dave thought we should just try to raise it as is. There was a big storm due on friday so thursday, the next day, was the only day to deal with this before it all became buried in the snow.
I picked Rick up thursday morning and the two of us started the task. With the snow removed we were able to pull out the boards in the middle of the tent. The roof satyed were it was giving us a 2 foot space underneath to work with. I got Zack the tractor out and we were able to get the bucket under the first collapsed hub and lift. By lifting and shoring up with 2x4's (I had a tent full) we were able to slowly raise the roof. Dave arrived at noon (just in time for lunch) and we spent the afternoon getting the entire tent up. A pipe or two was broken but I found a table let that was just the right diameter to fit inside the tube so we cut a joiner for one section to put it back together. With a combination of 2x4's, joiners, ropes and plywood sections to hold the roof poles together we were able to get the roof backup.
Damage inside the tent was minimal. As I had everything stored along the sides and ends of the tent most everything was untouched. There was just one chair that got busted, that's it. The tent however is pretty well toast. All of the upper poles are bent or severely weakened by having their ends bent twice, once by the collapse and again by raising them back up. One pole got bent by the tractor bucket when we lifted it. There are a few small tears in the cover at the very top and a large 4 foot rip along one side. I think the weakness of this design was that instead of using hubs that the round poles fit into, the pole ends were flattened so they could be bolted together. This round to flat seam reduced the strength of the round poles considerably.
On friday I went back with foreboding in my heart to see if the tent was still standing after 30 mm of snowfall. She's still up!!! A little crooked here and there but the tent stood. Now she looks like a cathedral with 2x4 pillars holding the roof up, all in all, about 15 supports.
Some friends suggested I should file for insurance (a new tent is $8K) or contact the dealer about a replacement (it has 6 years of a 10 year warranty left). I might call Glenn, the dealer I bought the shelter from, to see what he can do for us, but I think it's time to build that timberframe barn I was always dreaming about. Now where did I put those plans???
This year I pulled snow off it once with a little left on top. The week of December 16th was a mix of snow and freezing rain/rain over Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. I remember driving by the tent tuesday and noting that while there was snow on the roof, it wasn't particularly high and not worth pulling off. Boy was I wrong.
I guess that when the snow turned to rain, the rain saturated the snow instead of just running off. At night it would freeze creating an ice dam that would prevent any further snow or rain from running off. As it was rain and ice instead of snow, there didn't need to be much of a buildup for the weight to substantially increase.
On Wednesday evening I drove by after getting home from work. I actually drove right by the tent on my way to the trailhead and noticed nothing amiss but when I drove back my heart sank. The big tent had collapsed in the very middle. Talk about a shocking downer. The front and back as well as about 8 feet of the two sides (up to the first beams) were still standing but the center was all the way down. I had just moved a pile of cut planks onto a skid in the middle of the tent. I could walk in the front to the boards but they wouldn't move under the weight on them.
Well I thought I could drive back home, open a bottle of wine or two (better yet a bottle of whiskey) and drown my sorrows or I could get to work doing something about it. I figured that whatever I did, I would have to get the snow off the collapsed structure so I drove off to get a ladder, returned, and leaned it up against a standing side. I threw a snow shovel in, climbed the ladder and slid into the center of the tent.
I spent about an hour shoveling wet heavy snow eight feet up and over the side. Half the time some (or all) of the snow came sliding back. It was a task of sisyphus but I actually seemed to be getting rid of some snow. I took a moment to call my good friend Dave Murphy. Dave noted that there was a volunteer with a beer in his hand standing right in front of him so the two of them got in Dave's truck and headed over to help. When they got here Rick slid down into the tent but I made Dave stay outside to find a rope. Otherwise we never would have gotten up the slippery sides and out.
It was dark by 5 PM but we were finished shoveling. We retired back to Owls Nest for some fine dinner by Miss Lucy (finest eatery in the universe). Lucy was a bit nonpussed hearing that we had two unexpected guests for dinner but quickly rallied when she heard about our disaster.
Over dinner and beer we discussed how to deal with this disaster. I thought we should release the cover and pull it off before attempting to deal with the skeletal frame. Dave thought we should just try to raise it as is. There was a big storm due on friday so thursday, the next day, was the only day to deal with this before it all became buried in the snow.
I picked Rick up thursday morning and the two of us started the task. With the snow removed we were able to pull out the boards in the middle of the tent. The roof satyed were it was giving us a 2 foot space underneath to work with. I got Zack the tractor out and we were able to get the bucket under the first collapsed hub and lift. By lifting and shoring up with 2x4's (I had a tent full) we were able to slowly raise the roof. Dave arrived at noon (just in time for lunch) and we spent the afternoon getting the entire tent up. A pipe or two was broken but I found a table let that was just the right diameter to fit inside the tube so we cut a joiner for one section to put it back together. With a combination of 2x4's, joiners, ropes and plywood sections to hold the roof poles together we were able to get the roof backup.
Damage inside the tent was minimal. As I had everything stored along the sides and ends of the tent most everything was untouched. There was just one chair that got busted, that's it. The tent however is pretty well toast. All of the upper poles are bent or severely weakened by having their ends bent twice, once by the collapse and again by raising them back up. One pole got bent by the tractor bucket when we lifted it. There are a few small tears in the cover at the very top and a large 4 foot rip along one side. I think the weakness of this design was that instead of using hubs that the round poles fit into, the pole ends were flattened so they could be bolted together. This round to flat seam reduced the strength of the round poles considerably.
On friday I went back with foreboding in my heart to see if the tent was still standing after 30 mm of snowfall. She's still up!!! A little crooked here and there but the tent stood. Now she looks like a cathedral with 2x4 pillars holding the roof up, all in all, about 15 supports.
Some friends suggested I should file for insurance (a new tent is $8K) or contact the dealer about a replacement (it has 6 years of a 10 year warranty left). I might call Glenn, the dealer I bought the shelter from, to see what he can do for us, but I think it's time to build that timberframe barn I was always dreaming about. Now where did I put those plans???
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