Low cost, easy transport, Portable shelter.

After my "Rolling Shack" article I had many personal requests about writing an article about building a communications shelter that could be transported to the emergency site in the bed of a truck. These people did not want to pull a camper as they already were using a utility trailer to transport towers and antennas. Some stated that the trailer incorporated a crank up tower so pulling a camper was out of the question. Also noted was the problem of modern tents. They keep the bugs off you and that's about all! I started looking at surplus military tents. The starting price of a used, in need of repair 12' X 12' canvas tent is $750 plus shipping and handling. Cabelas carries real tents made of canvas but the cost is also prohibitive. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/index/index-display.jhtml?id=cat550002&navAction=jump&navCount=1&parentId=cat20075&parentType=category&cmCat=MainCatcat20075 The second problems with these tents are there weight. You're going to need a 12-person squad to put them up and take them down! Needless to say you're going to be lucky if anyone is there to help when you arrive at the emergency site. Researching emergency shelters on the Internet I discovered Geodesic Domes are a very popular shelter design and for good reasons. Construction materials may be lightweight and portable and the Dome when erected is very strong using these materials. No special materials or tools are required for construction; everything required is available with one stop shopping at a local building supply store. Domes when erected and properly anchored can withstand hurricane force winds without sustaining damage.

Lets start off with shelter size. You want to be able to stand up and have room for several people, gear, and at least one bed. You also don't want the dissembled shelter taking up precious vehicle transport space. A very good size is a 2V 5-foot radius Dome made of 1/2" EMT Conduit. The 2V dome requires 65 sections of conduit. This conduit is manufracted in standard 10' sections. Using the 5' radius 2V dome requires the use of two different lengths and allows cutting the 10' sections three times to obtain 3 sections of the required lengths. These sections will be called A and B. For a 5-foot radius Dome A length between the centers of the bolt holes in each end will be 37.08" and B will be 32.784". This is NOT the measured length of the conduit pipes! They will need to be about 2" longer than the measured hole lengths giving about 1" of pipe length between the center of the hole and the end of the conduit. It is critical that holes in all conduit lengths be the same for all A sections and all B sections so the dome will have the proper Geodesic shape. Speaking of the shape, here is what 2V dome looks like.

This is a good choice between the roundness of the dome shape and the number of pipes required to build it. This drawing also shows where the A and B pipes are assembled.

Time to start fabrication of the A and B pipe sections. You will need to make a jig for marking the required lengths of pipe for accurate cutting and after all pipes are cut you may use the same jig for drilling all the holes.

If you do not have a drill press you should consider buying or borrowing one now! You will also need some way of flattening the ends of the conduit pipes before drilling.

Here is a picture of a 10' section of conduit laying in the jig for length marking.

Here is how you cut it, NO don't even think about using a hacksaw! You will make ugly cuts and screw up the pipe when you clamp it down in the vice while sawing on it. Using a plumbers pipe cutter guarantees a perfect cut every time!

Now you need to flatten the ends so there ready to drill. Use caution when you start to flatten the pipe. You can't just stick it in the press or vice any old way. Look carefully at the pipe and you will find a welded seam. If this seam ends up at the corner of the flattened pipe it will split and if you drill through the seam it will split there as well. Just put the seam at a 45-degree angle under the press, vice, or hammer and the seam will cause you no problems.

Ok, conduit sections are cut to length, the ends are flattened, and were ready to drill! A simple jig will ensure all your holes are the exact length they need to be.

The last process involves removing burs and sharp edges and paint. Yes, I know. Conduit is galvanized and no need to paint it; except where you cut and drilled it! It will quickly rust at the ends. Another advantage is using two different colors between the A and B pipes. This will save you from considerable confusion and headaches later, I promise! You may paint the entire pipe or just dip the ends in the paint can.

Assembly of the dome elements is easy. All connections at each hub use a single bolt, washer, and nut.

When you start to assemble the dome don't tighten the nuts tight, make sure the joints can move a little so the dome elements can flex and automatically self align as you assemble them. After all elements are in place then go back and clamp them down tight. You will be amazed at how rigid the dome frame has become!

At this point you need to secure the dome frame to the ground. The cheap and easy way is to use "U" shaped rebar and a sledgehammer.

Domes roll and fly very well in the wind and they're so rigid they can go for miles before they come apart leaving a path of destruction in their wake! Stick the rebar in the ground about 2' deep and at every corner.

Now you need to cover it. The frame looks pretty sitting there but it won't keep the rain and wind off you without a cover! Use that cheap blue (or other color) tarp available everywhere. Here's how to do it.

Tarp and dome, approximate relative sizes.

You can narrow the top (once the tarp's bottom edge is attached to the dome) by taking one large pleat on each side at the top. You end up with a trapezoid. Use multiple trapezoids to cover your dome.

You can use some bungee cords and/or rope and/or bungee balls to secure the two closest grommets of the top edge and the two corner grommets with forces in opposite directions, so that the top tarps hold their positions.

When tarps cross each other, you can attach to any of these points:

Setup time depends on how much help you have! This 5' dome is easy for one person to setup. The key is to have most of the pipes already bolted together and loose for transport. Also assemble it a few times and you quickly get the hang of putting it up. You should be able to go from transport box to shelter in less than an hour. If you have a large group and want a larger dome shelter this site will take care of all your construction requirements. http://www.desertdomes.com/index.html

Material cost of this dome should be less than $150 for conduit, hardware, tarps, and bungee cords. This would also make an impressive Field day setup for 2006!

I would also like to thank Mr. Cohen for the use of his pictures and information. http://www.snapsite.com/snapsite/guests/hoco/public/html/page19.html

I wanted to get this article posted due to the requests I have had as soon as possible and so I used pictures from the Internet, which allowed me to get it here very quickly.