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Product information

Classic Caterpillar Tunnel

$1,207.00
As low as $108.94/mo.

Product options


Size
Bow Spacing
Package
Free shipping to contiguous USA.*
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Everything Grows Better in a Tunnel

The Farmers Friend Caterpillar Tunnel kit brings the ben­e­fits of green­house pro­duc­tion to your farm in an easy-to-assem­ble and afford­able pack­age. No bend­ing hoops or shop­ping for ran­dom parts. Quick to build and move. All while pro­vid­ing excel­lent air­flow for prop­er ven­ti­la­tion and pro­tec­tion from rain and light snow. What’s more, all Tunnels now include FREE SHIPPING, regard­less of how many you order!

All kits include 6 mil green­house plastic.

Quick assembly
Quick assembly
As low as $1.82/sq. ft.
As low as $1.82/sq. ft.
NRCS grant eligible
NRCS grant eligible
FREE SHIPPING on all tunnels!
FREE SHIPPING on all tunnels!

New Length Options

25-ft Tunnels are Back!

Perfect for backyard growers, urban farmers, and market gardeners who are looking for a space efficient propagation house or smaller growing space, the new 25-ft Caterpillar Tunnel is everything you love about easy to build caterpillar tunnels all in a new convenient size!

All 25-ft tunnels now come with 55-ft of greenhouse plastic (up from 32-ft) so you have plenty of extra plastic for the standard cone-shaped ends, or to use in alternate end wall coverings.

All-season growing

Year-Round Crop Protection

Caterpillar Tunnels are often viewed pri­mar­i­ly as a sea­son exten­sion tool, but that’s real­ly only half of the sto­ry. Covered grow­ing space pro­vides year-round pro­tec­tion for your plants from things like rain, pests, frost, heat (when using shade cloth), wind, and even from dirt being splashed onto your plants in heavy down­pours. (Image shown with option­al Zipper Door End Wall)

Rain Protection
Rain Protection
Pest Reduction
Pest Reduction
Frost Protection
Frost Protection
Heat Protection
Heat Protection
Wind Protection
Wind Protection
Cleaner Crops
Cleaner Crops

Why choose Farmers Friend Caterpillar Tunnels?

Year-round crop protection

Irrigate on YOUR sched­ule

Quick and easy assembly

Step-by-step instruc­tions with pic­tures+ video

NRCS grant eli­gi­ble

Cheaper than DIY

Comes with all parts need­ed!

FREE SHIPPING on all tun­nels! (to con­ti­nen­tal USA)

New Tunnel Options!

Wider, Stronger Tunnels Now Available!

Max out your farm with the thick­est gauge steel Caterpillar Tunnel on the mar­ket! We now offer a 16-ft wide tun­nel (up from 14 ft) with 40% thick­er, 14-gauge steel bows (up from 17 gauge).

With steel strength typ­i­cal­ly found only in com­mer­cial high tun­nels, these 14-gauge tun­nels are designed to give you greater peace of mind on stormy nights. Plus, being 2 feet wider, you’ll have plen­ty of room for 18-inch path­ways to more eas­i­ly trans­port har­vest bins/totes, or if desired, shrink your path­ways to 10 inch­es and fit five 30-inch grow­ing beds.

Gothic Tunnels

The Perfect Tunnel for Northern Growers!

Perfect for north­ern cli­mates with fre­quent snow­fall, the Gothic (pic­tured) will allow you to grow longer into the win­ter than a Classic Tunnel. This new tun­nel also includes a sol­id purlin and wind brac­ing to add even more rigid­i­ty to your structure.

For extreme win­ter grow­ing, upgrade to the Gothic Pro, which includes a Solid Purlin, Wind Bracing, Crossbars, and 16-inch Lift Kit for added strength and height.

Classic Tunnels

…And Southern Growers!

The Classic tun­nel is our most cost-effec­tive green­house. The Classic tun­nels fea­ture a round­ed, quon­set design that is wind resis­tant and is also our fastest green­house to build with just a 2 – 3 hour assem­bly time.

Our Classic Pro includes a 16-inch Lift Kit for added height, plus Wind Bracing and a Solid Center Purlin for added strength and rigid­i­ty, as well as greater peace of mind.

Caterpillar Tunnel Options

Classic vs Gothic

The Classic tun­nel (LEFT) is cost-effec­tive and portable. It’s a great starter tun­nel and is excel­lent for those who fre­quent­ly move it around their farm. The Gothic tun­nel (RIGHT) is an excel­lent choice for those liv­ing in north­ern cli­mates where snow is a fre­quent threat.

A Tunnel for Every Farm.

Which Caterpillar Tunnel is right for you?

Classic / 2-3 hr assembly
Classic / 2-3 hr assembly
Classic Pro / 4-8 hr assembly
Classic Pro / 4-8 hr assembly
Gothic / 3-4 hr assembly
Gothic / 3-4 hr assembly
Gothic Pro / 5-10 hr assembly
Gothic Pro / 5-10 hr assembly

Profitability

High profitability. Low cost. Free delivery.*

The Farmers Friend Caterpillar Tunnel Kit is one of the most cost-effec­tive options on the mar­ket — even when com­pared to DIY kits. Plus get FREE ship­ping right to your door on all tun­nels of any kit size — regard­less of how many you order! Your plants will thank you.

*Free ship­ping to con­ti­nen­tal USA. Discounted ship­ping to Canada.

Versatility

Changing with the seasons.

Our Caterpillar Tunnels work great for start­ing crops ear­li­er in the spring, and keep­ing them going longer in the fall. In the heat of sum­mer you can eas­i­ly push the plas­tic all over to one side, or take it off com­plete­ly, and replace it with shade cloth to pro­tect your crops from the sum­mer heat.

Plastic in early Spring and late Fall
Plastic in early Spring and late Fall
Shade Cloth in Summer
Shade Cloth in Summer

Assembly & Mobility

Easy up. Easy down.

With our in-depth instal­la­tion video and includ­ed step-by-step instruc­tion guide, this will be the eas­i­est tun­nel you’ve ever built. Two peo­ple can ful­ly assem­ble our 14′ × 100′ Classic Tunnel in as few as two hours. Our Caterpillar Tunnel kits are fast and easy to move around your farm as pro­duc­tion needs change through­out the season.

FAQs

Have more questions about this product?
Check out our knowledge base of support articles below.

Tech Specs

Assembly & Instruction Manual

14-ft wide

View

3.25 MB pdf

16-ft wide

View

2.99 MB pdf

Peak Height

Classic

7 feet 8 inch­es (2.3m)

9 feet with Lift Kit

Classic Pro

9 feet (2.7m)

Lift Kit included

Gothic

9 feet (2.7m)

10 feet 4 inch­es (3.2m) with Lift Kit

Gothic Pro

10 feet 4 inch­es (3.2m)

Lift Kit included

Tunnel Width

14-ft wide

14 feet wide

16-ft wide

16 feet wide

Bow Diameter

1 ⅜” out­side diameter

Plastic

14-ft wide

28 feet wide

6‑mil green­house plastic

4-year rat­ing

16-ft wide

32 feet wide

6‑mil green­house plastic

4‑year rat­ing

Crossbar Height

-

-

Gothic

6 feet 9 inch­es (2.1m)

8 feet 1 inch (2.5m) with Lift Kit

Gothic Pro

8 feet 1 inch (2.5m)

Lift Kit included

Purlin Type

Classic

1″ flat polypropy­lene strap

Classic Pro

1 ⅜” diam­e­ter 17-gauge gal­va­nized steel pipe

Gothic

1 ⅜” diam­e­ter 17-gauge gal­va­nized steel pipe

Gothic Pro

1 ⅜” diam­e­ter 17-gauge gal­va­nized steel pipe

Assembly Times

Classic

2 – 3 hours

Classic Pro

4 – 8 hours

Gothic

3 – 4 hours

Gothic Pro

5 – 10 hours

NRCS specifications

Our tun­nels meet the basic 325R National NRCS spec­i­fi­ca­tions. Ultimately, you should con­tact your local NRCS rep and pro­vide our instal­la­tion man­u­al found at the top of this page and the spec sheet(s) attached to our knowl­edge base arti­cle, “Do your tun­nels meet NRCS spec­i­fi­ca­tions?” for their review. Also, check out the NRCS guide below for step by step instruc­tions on how to apply!

NRCS Documents and Guides

Delivery

The Caterpillar tun­nels are shipped on a 4×8 wood­en pal­let via motor freight (an 18 wheel trac­tor trail­er). Depending on the order, some­times mul­ti­ple tun­nels can fit on one pallet.

You will receive a pro num­ber for track­ing from Farmers Friend when your ship­ment is picked up from our facil­i­ty. It is rec­om­mend­ed that you con­tact the car­ri­er pri­or to deliv­ery to make arrange­ments for time and date. There is some flex­i­bil­i­ty in date and time of deliv­ery, but cus­tomers in remote areas should accept deliv­ery at the car­ri­ers con­ve­nience to avoid exces­sive delays or extra charges.

Unloading

Prior to mov­ing or unload­ing, please take pic­tures of the order. This is in case items are miss­ing or dam­aged we have a way to ver­i­fy con­tents and con­di­tion. We rec­om­mend con­duct­ing an inven­to­ry of the ship­ment with your includ­ed pack­ing list as soon as pos­si­ble after unloading.

As far as unload­ing, it is the cus­tomer’s respon­si­bil­i­ty. The car­ri­er will not have a fork­lift to unload. A fork­lift or trac­tor with forks is not required, as the ship­ment can be unloaded by hand with two peo­ple. Simply break the bands and remove the pack­ag­ing. The indi­vid­u­als unload­ing should be capa­ble of team-lift­ing 130 pounds. Out of con­sid­er­a­tion for the car­ri­er, we request you pre­pare to unload as quick­ly as possible.

Farmers Friend will not autho­rize the use of any lift­gate ser­vices, and they are not includ­ed in any ship­ping charges, nor is it includ­ed with free ship­ping. If the local ter­mi­nal or dri­ver offers lift gate ser­vices, do not accept them for any rea­son as there will be an addi­tion­al charge billed to you from Farmers Friend at $150.

Wind Rating


There is no offi­cial wind rat­ing on our tun­nels. The cater­pil­lar tun­nel is designed to be a move­able struc­ture. Therefore, it is inher­ent­ly not made to with­stand high winds.

A tun­nels abil­i­ty to with­stand wind is based on at least 6 factors:

  1. Soil type
  2. Water Saturation
  3. Bracing
  4. Anchoring Selection
  5. Wind Direction
  6. Customer Installation

Soft soils have less grip on the anchor­ing mate­ri­als, while more com­pact soils hold better.

Related to soil type is ground sat­u­ra­tion. How wet is the soil at the time of said wind event? Saturated soil will be more like­ly to let go of the anchors.

The stan­dard cater­pil­lar tun­nel is sta­bi­lized by a nylon purlin strap. Accessories that increase rigid­i­ty while main­tain­ing the cater­pil­lar attribute of move­able are: Solid Center Purlin, Wind Bracing, and Spring Wire.

Anchoring options that exist for cater­pil­lar tun­nels are rebar, cement­ed ground posts, and Earth Anchors. Rebar is the most eco­nom­i­cal indus­try stan­dard effec­tive in mod­er­ate winds. Cemented ground posts elim­i­nates the Caterpillar Tunnel strength of tem­po­rary, but pro­vides a rock sol­id foun­da­tion. Earth Anchors are an expen­sive ground screw option that holds like con­crete but is eas­i­ly removed and reused.

Tunnels have also been report­ed as hav­ing prob­lems with the plas­tic being blown to one side from broad­side winds. Spring wire is a solu­tion to aid in pre­vent­ing this occurrence.

Customer instal­la­tion is the final fac­tor. Assuming all instruc­tions are fol­lowed and instal­la­tion is cor­rect, the stan­dard tun­nel can with­stand light winds and mod­er­ate gusts.

With all that said, our stan­dard tun­nels have with­stood winds up to 50+ miles per hour. In the cas­es where sim­i­lar winds have dam­aged tun­nels, the six fac­tors must be analyzed.

The pru­dent grow­er would do well to eval­u­ate these six fac­tors in light of their bud­get, short and long-term farm plan, and spe­cif­ic grow­ing context.

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Product Reviews

4.8 / 5.0

Review data

5 star reviews

79%

4 star reviews

17%

3 star reviews

4%

2 star reviews

0%

1 star reviews

0%

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Recent reviews

Classic Pro Tunnels

4 out of 5 stars

Frederique G.25 days agoVerified buyer

We ordered 2 of the classic pro tunnels and they were very easy to put up until it came to the cross connectors. The cross connectors were all uneven, they weren't the same length which caused putting up the purlins to take longer than putting the hoops together and putting them up. Other than the cross connectors being poor quality and ill fitting, we love the tunnels and they are very user friendly.

1 person found this helpful

Have not erected yet. Have bla...

5 out of 5 stars

Charles T.about 1 month agoVerified buyer

Have not erected yet. Have black plastic over soil at present.

100 foot caterpillar tunnel

5 out of 5 stars

Bradley G.about 1 month agoVerified buyer

Can’t thank you enough for such a high quality product at a reasonable price. I’ve got a 50 footer and have produced an amazing amount of food, plants and flowers! Thanks again.

1 person found this helpful

Super easy to assemble!

5 out of 5 stars

Sierra S.about 1 month agoVerified buyer

This tunnel goes up in one day virtually a one person job! The plastic is much easier with a second set of hands of course. Super easy instructions, I love of versatile the structure is. A fantastic addition to the farm here in Virginia.

1 person found this helpful

Classic Caterpillar Tunnel

5 out of 5 stars

Jonathon H.about 1 month agoVerified buyer

Great tunnels

5 out of 5 stars

Lee B.about 2 months agoVerified buyer

My fifth tunnel from Farmers Friend. Great product and absolutely great service from their employees!

Decent... could be better.

4 out of 5 stars

Christopher W.2 months agoVerified buyer

One of the great things about FF is that it makes many parts of ordering EASY. Minimal thought, click through and go. This is our 3rd tunnel, and we will be purchasing 2 more 100' (plus extra bows to make longer) tunnels this year as part of a grant.
With that said, why are they 50'? Market garden beds have been pretty standardized at 50'. having end walls right where the beds in is a super pita for a multitude of reasons. How about a 60' tunnel and advertise it as bumper room to move equipment or not have your crops beat to death by wind whipped plastic.
With that said, you don't make it EASY to order additional bows to make tunnels longer. You offer "bow sections" but you don't offer the female middle section - that has to be done through customer service. You also don't offer it all together so If I want to add 2 ribs/bows I have to click through all the individual pieces to add them. Full ribs/bow kits should be offered (that really seems like common sense? )
Everything else is perfect - except for the tech screws... you could upgrade the quality on those a tad.
Ryan.
PS: If you implement any of these changes a meager "free 60' tunnel " would be cool :)
pss: the ability to review from the email doesn't work.

1 person found this helpful

best

5 out of 5 stars

Larisa O.5 months agoVerified buyer

I am using caterpillar tunnel 3rd year very satisfied with this tunnel good price

Classic Caterpillar Tunnel

5 out of 5 stars

Eric T.5 months agoVerified buyer

Farmers friend cannot be beat.

5 out of 5 stars

Craig C.8 months agoVerified buyer

This was my second order with farmers friend and I legitimately did not think they could outdo themselves from the first time.
Ordering is a breeze, they are standing by to answer any questions or concerns you may have and they are seriously the friendliest group of people I’ve encountered through a business. The greenhouse kits are great, they sent an extra of every single piece, just in case something was missed and if you do happen to need help or are missing a part they will have it to you priority. 10/10 and I will absolutely be going through them a third time when I need more gear.

See all reviews