Product information

Gothic Caterpillar Tunnel

$1,428.00
As low as $128.89/mo.
Buy one caterpillar tunnel, get a second one 10% off with code TUNNEL10 at checkout.

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Bow Spacing
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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.

Installation

FREE Installation Quote

We now offer installation services in Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky, and Northern Alabama. Our team will ensure a quick and efficient installation, allowing you to maximize your growing season.

Quick assembly
Quick assembly
As low as $2.02/sq. ft.
As low as $2.02/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)

5 out of 5 stars

This is my fourth tunnel from Farmers Friend and every one has been well worth the price. Having everything come at once and no trips to the hardware store is wonderful.

James Kovaleski
Freedom Farm

New Tunnel Options!

Wider, Stronger Tunnels Now Available!

Max out your farm with the thick­est gauge steel Caterpillar Tunnel on the mar­ket! Now both our 14-ft wide and 16-ft wide Gothic tun­nels are made 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. The 2 feet wider tunnels provide 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, Cross Bars and 16-inch Lift Kit for added strength and height.

5 out of 5 stars

Amazing Tunnel! Very pleased!!

I just want to say how happy I am with the Gothic Pro Tunnel we purchased. With the Pro package it has a lot of added support with the wind bracing and cross bracing. We had 50 mph winds yesterday during a storm and I’m so happy I went with the Pro package for the added support. Very pleased with the product! Definitely a game changer for our farm and is so enjoyable to have protected space to grow food in!

Dirk Tanner
Tanner Farmstead

Classic Tunnels

…And Southern Growers!

The Classic Caterpillar 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 Caterpillar Tunnel 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 or where wind is a greater problem than snow. 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 contiguous 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.

5 out of 5 stars

We love our high tunnel!

We put our Gothic tunnel up last Spring, this was our first winter, and it has withstood snow, freezing rain, and high winds like a champ. We look forward to a second one, hopefully this Fall.

Linda Warner
Beaver Run Farms

FAQs

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

Tech Specs

Assembly & Instruction Manual

14-ft wide, 17-gauge bows

View

2.54 MB pdf

14-ft wide, 14-gauge bows

View

2.54 MB pdf

16-ft wide, 14-gauge bows

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

Bow Gauge

Classic

17-gauge (14-ft wide)

14-gauge (16-ft wide)

Classic Pro

17-gauge (14-ft wide)

14-gauge (16-ft wide)

Gothic

14-gauge (14-ft & 16-ft wide)

Gothic Pro

14-gauge (14-ft & 16-ft wide)

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.

Product Reviews

4.8 / 5.0

Review data

5 star reviews

90%

4 star reviews

5%

3 star reviews

3%

2 star reviews

0%

1 star reviews

2%

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Recent reviews

I purchased three of these tun...

5 out of 5 stars

Caleb L.17 days agoVerified buyer

I purchased three of these tunnels, and put them up by myself. Instructions were clear, and all the parts came with it. I did find that it went significantly faster to slide the clamps for the cross bars onto the peak hoops, before attaching the side hoops. That way I didn't have to spend the time spreading the clamps, and then squeezing them together.

Love these tunnels.

5 out of 5 stars

Ben S.about 1 month agoVerified buyer

We now have a total of three of the 16x50 gothic pro tunnels. They are easy to assemble, stand up to harsh New England winds and have a huge impact on improving growing conditions. On top of all this, Farmers Friend stands by their products and offers amazing customer service. We plan to add more tunnels to our farm in the future.

Been there, Done that

5 out of 5 stars

Nicole J.4 months agoVerified buyer

I have constructed many tunnels over the last 25 years as a farmer, and this one was definitely the easiest! In the first few weeks, my Farmer's Friend tunnel has withstood heavy winds beyond belief. I am very grateful for the free shipping and quality of the customer service.

Love these hoophouses

5 out of 5 stars

Sylvester F.5 months agoVerified buyer

This is our 4th Gothic Tunnel hoophouse and we love these tunnels but more so, the customer service Farmers Friend provides is unmatched. We will continue to support them for their great service and quality of products they provide. Thank you for all your work to help extend our growing season.

Great cat tunnel

5 out of 5 stars

Diana L.6 months agoVerified buyer

Love this thing, wish I had bought it years ago. I have the 14’ by 35’ one (I added on some parts to get the extra 10’) and it is much sturdier than I anticipated, even before adding crossbars, wind braces, used extra crossbars as windbraces, endwalls and added weights along the bracing. I live in a windy area and have had structures get damaged before. I did it mostly by myself, never have built much before. Plastic was easy to get on with one person and some heavy duty clips- used those at the top to secure it and then went from there. Added my own endwalls using the extra plastic, 2 by 4s, and adhesive zippers. The instructions were very clear- only thing I would say is that it DEFINITELY took more than 3-4 hours to put up. Took me more like 20 with the endwalls. I was missing 4 ez clips but called and got them the next day. I’d definitely buy another kit!

1 person found this helpful

Mud season

5 out of 5 stars

Dean T.6 months agoVerified buyer

Our Caterpillar Gothic tunnel arrived on one pallet perfectly wrapped. Unfortunately for us Mother Nature is not giving us the spring weather , instead snowstorms have been adding to mud season. We are very anxious to get it set up but we need a solid month to dry out. At that time I will add to my review.

Easy to assemble, sturdy structure, easy delivery

5 out of 5 stars

Kelsey P.7 months agoVerified buyer

This is our first ever high tunnel/greenhouse, so keep that in mind. We ordered the 50foot gothic pro, with one framed double zipper end door. the end door instructions... could be a tad bit clearer, as in, in the tunnel instructions each page showed what parts/tools would be needed for that set of instructions. all in all, we figured it out and had the whole thing, including the door, built in two days(again, this is our first ever one of these. getting the plastic on looks way, way easier on the youtube video, we wish we had another set of hands just for that part, but we did it, and one day later the whole thing survived 60mph gusts perfectly!)

The best customer service helped through missing tunnel items

5 out of 5 stars

Anastassia Z.7 months agoVerified buyer

My pallet was broken apart when I recieved it, and was missing the wind bracing and the associated hardware. I also had mis manufactured clamps for the top center purlin (2 of them). When I called farmers friend about these issues they quickly sent out the missing/correct pieces for my Gothic pro. It did take longer to put up than I had originally anticipated, but they company made things right, and their staff are polite and very kind. This is my 4th tunnel purchase from them.

LOVE these tunnels!

5 out of 5 stars

Corinna W.7 months agoVerified buyer

We just purchased our 3rd and 4th Gothic pro tunnels. With two people, these are an easy setup, probably 15 hours for each tunnel, and they look great! Excited to get these up and planted for the new season!

1 person found this helpful

Great season extension

4 out of 5 stars

Shannon H.7 months agoVerified buyer

These tunnel kits are an easy solution when money is tight and a quick season extension solution is needed. They serve their purpose. This was my 2nd & 3rd purchase of a gothic tunnel from FF. I took a star away because there was a step missing from the pamphlet of directions that had me scrambling. Luckily I kind of remembered how it was supposed to go from the first build a couple years prior. The build is pretty intuitive, but still. I tried finding the corresponding video but the website & videos are inaccessible on Saturdays. Which is when so many farmers - especially part-time farmers - are building/working. It baffles me.

1 person found this helpful
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