Level Portable Shelter

I've designed a basic canvas shelter capable of being transported to a location, set up and leveled. This will give groups working in areas with rough ground or sloped terrain access to a comfortable and level working space. The jacks that keep it off the ground will also allow the floor of the shelter to remain dry and warm in rainy conditions. Potential uses could be remote research stations, events with expected rain, and summer camps.

1. 2"x4" Aluminum Beams
2. Aluminum Poles
3. Composite Flexible Poles
4. Ratchet Jacks
5. Steel Dowels
6. Canvas
7. Composite Wood Planks (real wood has durability and rotting issues)
8. Mineral Wool for the insulation in the floor
9. Fusion 360

I first brainstormed the general shape and idea of the shelter's design. Originally, the main requirement was that it be elevated from the ground, however, I decided that adjustable ratchet jacks would make it more portable. This also ended up giving the deign it's leveling system. I also decided in later parts of the design to reduce the horizontal and vertical frame pieces by one each to save space and weight while not significantly compromising the overall strength. The frame of the tent was also changed to a more rounded top to give increased headspace. Overall the design came out to be approximately 12x9 feet in floor space and gave up to seven feet of headspace inside.

The jacks in this design are represented by a rough model instead of a functional jack but I still aimed to make it look semi realistic to the final product especially since the ratchet jacks would need to be made custom. The four dowels on top are meant to lock into the bottom of the aluminum frame so it stays connected. Each jack would also be individually adjustable allowing plenty of adjustment depending on the site.

The first thing I created in the CAD was the aluminum frame. I did this by creating one longer frame piece with the lower wall attached then two short frame pieces one with the lower wall attached and one without. Then I assembled them all together. Note the four holes visible in the frame pieces. The holes are presented in the longer piece but are simply obstructed from view as they are only on the bottom.

The insulating pad is simply represented by a rectangular prism however the composite wood floor will be made of several boards laid on top of the insulating pad and then secured with straps. They will both be laid inside of the lower wall during assembly.

The frame of the actual shelter portion will be made of aluminum and fiberglass flexible poles commonly used in tents. I decided that the lower portion representing the walls should be small aluminum bars and that the roof should be made of the flexible tent poles supported by aluminum crossbeams. The tent poles would fit into holes cut inside the aluminum bars allowing them to stay secure during use.

The frame of the shelter would then be draped in a large sewn canvas sheet. This sheet wouldn't need to be very thick since canvas is an excellent insulator. The door would be a simple button/zipper. And that's all! Thanks for reading!