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PVC Yurt

Here's a cheap, easy, and fun solution to your camping shade structure needs! The whole thing will cost you around 200 dollars and an afternoon's worth of pvc cutting. The result? a 12ft diameter, octagonal yurt that fits into a snowboard bag for easy transportation. I used a parachute ($60 included in the total cost) to cover it which works great as far as size however it is not very breathable so rolling up the sides helps during the day.

Now the fun! because it's so cheap to make, spend a little time on paint (helps with keeping the various parts organized). Also, the roof is almost 10ft in the middle leaving plenty of room for hanging lights.

Detailed plans coming soon!

12 comments

May 27, 2012. 7:10 PMmagnadude says:

Simply tie rope in an X between the rectangle areas of the walls. Your problem is that squares and rectangles aren't very rigid, but adding some braces between two opposite corners should work well and save you alot in time redesigning and materials.

Sep 8, 2011. 4:42 PMMaxQuest (author) says:

PVC YURT UPDATE! Important! I have just returned from testing this yurt at Burning man and it was sadly unable to withstand the strong gusts of wind coming off the playa. I was able to keep it up for the first few days using pvc cement glue at the joints but ultimately it collapsed. After being on the playa for the first time this year I see that most structures of this size are made of steal however I am confident this structure will be playa proofed by next year. THE KEY IS THICKER PVC! 2 inch instead of the 3/4. Also i want to look into making a better cover as the parachute catches the wind like it's supposed to. THIS YURT IS STILL SUPER FUN. If you aren't fighting the worst conditions possible it should stay up and provide plenty of sheltered space. I'm broke now so yurt 2.0 will not be in production untill proper funding is obtained.

Jan 10, 2012. 2:32 PMHelter says:

You'll probably get better results by using a more traditional yurt design. Increasing the diameter of the PVC will increase the rigidity of the poles, but your underlying problem is that the joints can't flex, and under high wind/stress they'll need to.
You're also increasing your costs and decreasing your portability significantly.

Nov 28, 2011. 5:56 PMtricker69 says:

Well this post answered my wind question. I wonder how some thicker walled aluminum tubing would hold up. It would still be light weight to carry the whole bundle around. A lot lighter than with a whole wooden wall frame.

Sep 7, 2011. 9:19 PMbusterfan1 says:

This is FANTASTIC! We used an online program to play around with some of the measurements so we're off to the hardware store to pick up supplies. Just a quick question. Where did you pick up a parachute for so cheap?

Sep 28, 2011. 10:10 PMjfarley3 says:

I have another question, which online program did you use to play with measurements?

Sep 19, 2011. 10:55 PMjerropa says:

inspirative!

Sep 11, 2011. 5:43 AMSashaDensikoff says:

someone else has done a yurt with a wood frame.
It may cost a little more, but it certainly looks more resiliant, and the step by step instructions seem to be really thorough. Comes with pictures.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-yourself-a-portable-home---a-mongolian-yurt/#step1

Hope it helps. :)