A Frame Shelter

[commandocal]

Hey i spend alot of time in the woods camping etc, but usually its with military bashas, groundsheet, I have the standard idea of how to make an A frame shelter since im going to spend a few days in the woods and would like to make one, If anyone could giv me a basic walkthrough or simple step by step guide of how i could make one with a basha/groundsheet, what string/rope would be strong enough etc that would be great! thanks in advance

 

[RobertRogers]

I generally carry about 50 feet of paracord for this purpose. You can use it for so many puposes, especially setting up a shelter.

 

[Seoras]

Hi Commandocal

Take some time out and go through the Downloads section. There are many guides there that will explain and describe many different types of shelters.

Cheers and good luck

George

 

[yullyuk]

i saw his a frame a few days after he finished it, the leaves went dry and so did his bedding but it was realli good, really comfy and the camp was excellent!

 

[commandocal]

no j that wasnt an A frame...

 

[Greg]

Are you on about the raised 'A' Frame bed that the SAS guys use in the jungle or a Dog Kennel type 'A' Frame on the deck?

 

[commandocal]

Raised A frame bed - i should have made that more clear sorry, Not just the SAS use it yaknow , and yes for the sleepin part on the raised area how would i use a basha or groundsheet for that ?

 

[Greg]

Raised A frame bed - i should have made that more clear , Not just the SAS use it yaknow , and yes for the sleepin part on the raised area how would i use a basha or groundsheet for that ?

I know its not just the SAS who use them it was just an easy way of describing it that most people would recognize.
You could make the bed part out of lengths of strong wood(well strong enough to hold your weight) and use your basha as the roof like normal.
Or if your basha has enough eyelets like a poncho you could make a stretcher like bed by threading your paracord through the eylets. Then secure it to the 'A' frame at either end.
Its hard to describe without me actually showing you but I hope your getting the gist of it.

 

[Tourist]

Shot with HP ScanJet 2400 at 2007-08-20

Questions?

 

[Greg]

I think you need to redo that fella!

 

[Tourist]

We'll go for a thumbnail.

Right then, lets try again, questions?

This is how I was shown to make them in Malaysia at the old jungle warfare school in JB.

The line A------------B indicates where there should be a cross member, there should be one at each end.....just
that it would make the pic too busy if I put them in.

 

[Greg]

We'll go for a thumbnail.

Right then, lets try again, questions?

This is how I was shown to make them in Malaysia at the old jungle warfare school in JB.

The line A------------B indicates where there should be a cross member, there should be one at each end.....just
that it would make the pic too busy if I put them in.

Thats better, a nice, easy to follow drawing.

 

[commandocal]

Wow cheers thats great, i will go make one tomorow thanks alot, Would an MOD basha be strong enough to sleep on if i somehow attached it to the 2 bed poles? I was thinking of making a layer of branches on them 2 support poles and covering with bracken i think that would work

 

[Gailainne]

Tourist

Its not bad, large pic is an isometric (or 3d image), small pic is an elevation, question is why the double up of the "A" frames, (ones at 45 degrees in purple) I would think the yellow, red "A" frames plus the 3 long poles (blue) plus the cross members at either end would be more than enough. Was the original design for bamboo ?

Stephen

Edit was'nt dissing the design, complementing the drawing

 

[Tourist]

Compliments, long time since I did TD - Technical Drawing - and I don't have a CAD package on here, so it was hand drawn with my daughters felt pens in about 10 minutes.

C.Cal,

you can probably get away with twigs and the like if you take your time. But, in the military you used to get the camp tailor to knock up a tube out of a piece of old parachute. the tube was generally about 7 - 8 feet long and 30 inches across when laid flat (so a 60 circumference). Alternatively a piece of flat paracloth turned over at the edges with enough room to slide a pole down. Either way was used. You may even get away with using one of the new military hammocks as I understand they have the slots for poles that turn them into stretchers - so feasible to use in an A frame.

Gailainne,

This design is the way I was taught by a SAS instructor back in 1973. He did the way without the purple poles and it fell over, he added the poles and it stood up, triangulation for support.

Depending on location and desired longevity of the A frame you can dig in the pole ends or simply sharpen them and push in (more difficult with bamboo - easier with pine trees).

You can make the A Frame low or high depending on how much room you want under the tarp and how high you want or need to be off the ground.

The poiny ends of the purple A's, outside the upright A's, can have branches laid across them to act as shelves that hold your kit. You can also attach another pole below each of the bed poles, above the ground so that you have somewhere to put your feet to keep them off the ground.

A Frames are still taught in the military - recently on exercise in Kenya, I understand. Also if you go to the National Army Museum, Chelsea, London - top floor, Special Forces and Close Protection displays, you will see a jungle A frame built and on display complete with SAS mannequin (I would'nt dare say dummy).

 

[commandocal]

SAS mannequin (I would'nt dare say dummy).

me neither

Yep normally i was told you do not need the two traingular purple poles as you would make one in between two tree's, i belive with 3 carabiners i can use a MOD basha as a bed for the A frame

 

[Tourist]

Yep normally i was told you do not need the two traingular purple poles as you would make one in between two tree's

Ah, but like anything if you first learn to make it the long way round it is generally easier to make it using short cuts every other time.

My first one: We watched the instructor throw his up in about an hour or so............it took us about 5 - 6 hours, mind I was only 14 at the time.