How to weather the storm
(News archive - February 28th 2009)
The biggest problem faced by campers and caravanners is high winds. Lets imagine a possible worse case scenario; your away on holiday in your tent or awning and the wind starts to pick up. Before long you're left clambering onto your tent like it's about to be sucked into a black hole. The long earned family camping holiday is in danger of being cut short. You can't stand there all day and night waiting for the wind to drop, not without your arms falling off! The problem is the second you let go the whole things gonna take-off like a kite tied to a jet engine! A large repair bill is inevitable as are the words, "That's the last time we go camping".
The first thing to do prior to going camping is to check the weather. Log onto www.metoffice.gov.uk. If hurricane Charlie is on its way, think again! Remember 99% of tents are not covered under guarantee if damage is caused by high winds. High winds is anything over 18\20 mph. Also tents can be damaged very easily in breezy conditions in the process of erecting and dismantling, so always beware of the windy conditions. We highly recommend you insure your camping equipment, we are currently able to offer Camperlands customers a 10% discount from a highly reputable insurance company called Caravan Guard. If you are interested you can request a quote by clicking on the banner to the right of this sentence.
You can quite easily double or even triply the strength of your tent or awning. Follow these simple tips and avoid a whole load of hassle:
- Storm props are designed to "C" clip onto any 19 to 25mm steel or aluminium frame. You simply clip the "C" clip onto the frame with the pole pointing into the wind. The storm props also make great clothes props. So you can buy one simple piece of gear for two uses.
- Awning tie down kits. The shape of a tent acts like a aerofoil section and when the the wind blows aver the roof of the tent or awning there is a lifting element, as the wind speeds up. This change in speed causes tents and awnings to try and basically "lift off". The use of a tie down kit will reduce the chance of this happening dramatically. Awning tie down kits are for emergency use and not long term as then could cause chaffing to the material.
- Fit extra guy lines, and the rule of thumb is "the stronger the wind the longer the guy line, and peg it further away from the tent or awning ". Do not over tension guy lines. Remember if the guy line is already tight then there is a chance that the guying point will come away under the strain.
- A good selection of pegs should be part of your survival kit. Hard ground pegs for, you guessed it hard ground."V" channel pegs for soft ground and a few large pegs or "u"shaped ground anchors for all corners. Large wooden pegs are particularly good for soft ground. Bare in mind that no two camp sites are the same and ground conditions vary, so a good selection of pegs, to cope with different conditions is essential.
- Loosely peg mud flaps in such a way to stop the wind entering under the mud flaps and inflating the tent like a balloon ready to pop. The mud flap should be pegged under slight tension as you look at the mud flap face on I.E. from left to right, but loosely in and out, as to let the pegging rubbers act like shock absorbers. If you do not peg mud flaps correctly the can come away from the stitching or rip.
- When pitching your tent or awning use natural wind breaks, hedges and bushes etc. Park your car between the wind and the tent or awning.
Camperlands stock all of these essential items either in store or on line. Storm props cost £8.99, Tie Down Kits from around £10.00 and Pegs from 50p. For around £30.00 you can purchase enough survival gear to bring you peace of mind and reduce the risk of having a divorce, cutting you holiday short and or a large repair bill. Money well spent as they say.
 Tent pegs, rubbers, guy lines & Tie Down Kit |
