tentpegs and sand
- Thread starter Tengu
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Not that it seems you'll need them... but Saw these once whilst looking through eBay.
Delta Tent Pegs :
http://www.deltagroundanchors.co.uk/home/a8_Product_Ordering
From the blurb they seem to think they are rock solid.. never tried them myself tho.
Cheers
Carlo
Delta Tent Pegs :
http://www.deltagroundanchors.co.uk/home/a8_Product_Ordering
From the blurb they seem to think they are rock solid.. never tried them myself tho.
Cheers
Carlo
Make up some triangular pieces of material for each of the pegging points that the tent actully needs to stand, attach them to the hoops the pegs would normally attach to and bung a large rock on each. Have also used this when climbing and found myself pithing on rocky bit's :11doh: I'm sure someone makes such a thing but there so easy to make even i managed it :sulkoff:
Tengu,
I set up last year with both a small tent and a hammock and tarp. The little alloy pegs with the tent I don't recall being a problem. With the tarp I first tried some simple wooden stakes finger thickness. These didn't hold. But then I had a very satisying time knocking in some big stuff about 2" diameter and about a foot long. That did the trick nicely!
I set up last year with both a small tent and a hammock and tarp. The little alloy pegs with the tent I don't recall being a problem. With the tarp I first tried some simple wooden stakes finger thickness. These didn't hold. But then I had a very satisying time knocking in some big stuff about 2" diameter and about a foot long. That did the trick nicely!
You're right Tengu, the ground is sandy. Longer pegs or stakes may well be useful, depending on how much anchorage you need. There won't be any problem in improvising something though.
Take a shovel along, dig a hole at the apropriate angle/distance and bury/tamp down an attached peg to act as a "deadman". Should hold under most but extreme circumstances (hurricane)
Even a small steel plate with a eye bolt in the middle will suffice if buried deep enough.
I have even used spiraled dog "anchors" twisted into the soil/sand and they worked well.
Even a small steel plate with a eye bolt in the middle will suffice if buried deep enough.
I have even used spiraled dog "anchors" twisted into the soil/sand and they worked well.
I've never had any good luck with all those "store bought" tent stakes, so I make my own. They are always too flimsy or short to hold if you have any sort of wind or loose/sandy soil.
My normal tent stakes are around 12 to 14 inches long made out of 3/8 inch iron rod with a T end or eye loop on the end. For loose/sandy soil, or if bad weather is coming, I use 24 inch long stakes made out of 1/2 square iron with an eye loop on the end. I used wood stakes for years, but got tired of breaking and the replacing them. I made them out of elm branches 3/4 to 1 1/2 inch in diameter - from trimming all the trees. I would cut them off just below where a small branch split off, which I would nip off about an inch out. This gave me the Knot area for extra strength pounding it in, and that stub branch helped keep my tent loop or rope from slipping off of the stake. I would make them about 14 to 16 inches long, point the other end, and strip the bark from the bottom 3/4'ths of it - the portion that would be driven into the ground. They worked great, especially when I still had my tipi, but I had to continually replace them as they broke.
Sandy soil just means using longer and bigger stakes. But that "buried anchor" version also works great. It's amazing how well a 12 inch long branch/stick with a rope tied around its middle will hold when buried in the sand a foot or more deep.
The key thing is to angle your stakes into the ground/sand. And angle it in with the top sticking out away from the force of pull from your tent or tarp. It's easier to pull out a stake that is put straight down into the ground than one that is angled away from you.
Over at a friend's blacksmith shop along the Mississippi River, we make a Sand Anchor for people with boats to use when tying up along a sandbar in the river to fish/party/camp. We make them 5 feet long out of 1/2 inch square iron bar, with an eye loop on the end and a triangle extension welded on the side - to help you push it into the sand with your foot. You push them into the sand with the top part angling away from your boat and the water. They can be pulled back out pretty easily when you pull them straight out in line with the stake, but hold really firm when the force/pull is from the side away from the angle of entry.
I hope these simple ramblings help.
Mikey - out in the Hinterlands
My normal tent stakes are around 12 to 14 inches long made out of 3/8 inch iron rod with a T end or eye loop on the end. For loose/sandy soil, or if bad weather is coming, I use 24 inch long stakes made out of 1/2 square iron with an eye loop on the end. I used wood stakes for years, but got tired of breaking and the replacing them. I made them out of elm branches 3/4 to 1 1/2 inch in diameter - from trimming all the trees. I would cut them off just below where a small branch split off, which I would nip off about an inch out. This gave me the Knot area for extra strength pounding it in, and that stub branch helped keep my tent loop or rope from slipping off of the stake. I would make them about 14 to 16 inches long, point the other end, and strip the bark from the bottom 3/4'ths of it - the portion that would be driven into the ground. They worked great, especially when I still had my tipi, but I had to continually replace them as they broke.
Sandy soil just means using longer and bigger stakes. But that "buried anchor" version also works great. It's amazing how well a 12 inch long branch/stick with a rope tied around its middle will hold when buried in the sand a foot or more deep.
The key thing is to angle your stakes into the ground/sand. And angle it in with the top sticking out away from the force of pull from your tent or tarp. It's easier to pull out a stake that is put straight down into the ground than one that is angled away from you.
Over at a friend's blacksmith shop along the Mississippi River, we make a Sand Anchor for people with boats to use when tying up along a sandbar in the river to fish/party/camp. We make them 5 feet long out of 1/2 inch square iron bar, with an eye loop on the end and a triangle extension welded on the side - to help you push it into the sand with your foot. You push them into the sand with the top part angling away from your boat and the water. They can be pulled back out pretty easily when you pull them straight out in line with the stake, but hold really firm when the force/pull is from the side away from the angle of entry.
I hope these simple ramblings help.
Mikey - out in the Hinterlands
I had some of these made up from re-bar, as we tend to come across a fair bit of sandy
soil for some reason.....
(Edit) Sorry.. the one on the right...
soil for some reason.....
(Edit) Sorry.. the one on the right...
Never tried it but the opinion of the Outdooridiots should not be neglected (and never be criticized)...
http://www.outdooridiots.com/features/200606/pitchingatarp/pitchingatarp5.asp
Tom
(I am very afraid of them and don't want to wake up next to a horse's head)
http://www.outdooridiots.com/features/200606/pitchingatarp/pitchingatarp5.asp
Tom
(I am very afraid of them and don't want to wake up next to a horse's head)
P
Pippin
Guest
Another vote for twizzle-pegs - worked for me at Merthyr Mawr
There's also a good idea in Richard Graves' book - you connect several (three usually) pegs to the tent-peg so the strain is distributed between 4 pegs; if that doesn't work then connect several pegs to each of the pegs attached to the tent-peg. This is a recursive solution - keep going till the tent-peg no longer moves
But I like this cos there's redundancy in the solution, and all safety-critical systems should include redundant components (so that's why I need to carry several knives
)
There's also a good idea in Richard Graves' book - you connect several (three usually) pegs to the tent-peg so the strain is distributed between 4 pegs; if that doesn't work then connect several pegs to each of the pegs attached to the tent-peg. This is a recursive solution - keep going till the tent-peg no longer moves
But I like this cos there's redundancy in the solution, and all safety-critical systems should include redundant components (so that's why I need to carry several knives
)
If it's actual sand you're pitching on a cheap solution is to use plastic bags. Dig a hole in the sand, fill the bag with sand, tie the guy line to the bag and bury it.
I make my own onsite but im usually campin in or near woodland so theres allways a good supply of wood. I stopped using metal pegs years ago as they are easy to leave behind and in softer ground pretty useless anyways. Also you can tailor them for a specific job ie bigger, smaller, longer or broader etc
With a little practice and a hatchet you can knock up a handfull in no time at all and when you leave one behind you know they will just return to the soil.
With a little practice and a hatchet you can knock up a handfull in no time at all and when you leave one behind you know they will just return to the soil.
I tried this in very soft ground and in sand.
It actually works really well.
Longer pegs makes it work even better still.
/ Karl
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