Has anyone got an effective solution to broken white plastic hooks that are sewn on to tent and are supposed to fix tent sides to roof rack poles. They are not that crucial but any solutions (apart from re-sewing) or ideas welcome. I have a 4th generation Royal.
Why not just sew them? Use a curved upholstery needle and some strong cotton thread, like buttonholing thread. It's a faff, yup, but it will do the best job.
I have to do this a lot when refurbishing campers, and need to repair bed pods, roof liners etc. It's a pretty straightforward job. I'm a bloke with no sewing experience at all, and I find it easy. In fact, it's difficult to think of what could be much easier, as it needs to attach the hook firmly to the tent. The only option I can think of that doesn't need stitching is to use something like safety pins, but sewing is so much better.
Quote: Originally posted by Blue Sky Pennine on 04/9/2014
I have to do this a lot when refurbishing campers, and need to repair bed pods, roof liners etc. It's a pretty straightforward job. I'm a bloke with no sewing experience at all, and I find it easy. In fact, it's difficult to think of what could be much easier, as it needs to attach the hook firmly to the tent. The only option I can think of that doesn't need stitching is to use something like safety pins, but sewing is so much better.
Just in case anyone doesn't know this...safety pins will rust.
Sewing is better. It doesn't have to be a meticulously neat piece of embroidery, just sturdy.
Just in case anyone doesn't know this...safety pins will rust.
Sewing is better. It doesn't have to be a meticulously neat piece of embroidery, just sturdy.
Absolutely. Even the best ones will rust quickly in the wrong environment. I mentioned those only in terms of trying to think of something that didn't actually involve stitching, hence the comment that sewing is much better, and, personally, I wouldn't consider anything else.
There is one other possible option. Again, it's not ideal, compared to sewing, but you can actually buy crocodile clips with a key ring style attachment on, that could be attached to the hook and then clipped onto the inner tent. I did look at these as options at one point (though, to be fair, I did rule them out). On the plus side, I think one of the popular uses of these is on those little clothes hanger things, so I'm assuming there is an element of water proofing, but, again, we're clutching at straws. Sewing is really where it's at for anything like this.
I have one of these clothes hanger things for towels and such. I hang it from a roof pole from a loop of J-cloth tied loosely round the pole. It's not attractive but it doesn't leak. I got this tip from a tv program years ago called "Twenty Top Tips From Experts" and there was one on camping, a woman there hung her battery lamp up this way. I was impressed and use the J-cloth loops for other things too, loops for my electric light and cable, a tent tidy and once for a hanging larder. Yes you can use a flat band C-clip but if you don't have one handy then any supermarket has J-cloths.
And as a bonus, when we're putting up the TT awning frame we know where the poles with loops go instantly, it speeds up the sorting slightly.
Going off topic here but someone might find it useful.
A long term solution to disintegrating loops btw is not to sew the plastic hook directly to the inner but to sew a short loop of sturdy cotton tape there instead. My Conway TT has these, then you double a thin rubber pegging loop through it and hook a C-clip into the other end. The rubber pegging loop (you can use a sturdy elastic band or knotted piece of elastic) provides a bit of give in the arrangement and means it's less likely to tear out of the inner. And if the elastic loop breaks it's a two second job to thread through another one.
The hooks that attach to the luggage rack are under quite a bit of tension when attached so I think they need to be sewn on otherwise they'd be likely to ping off.
If I remember correctly,the clips are sewn to an elasticated tape,so if the hook is cut off,there should be a loop that a clip with a small hook or removable pin will attach to. In an emergency,a cling on may work.
------------- Silence is golden
Duct tape is silver
The elasticated tape is normally looped through the hooks, then sewn on to the tent at the other end. Usually it's an easy repair, and the elastic is dead easy to replace if need be.
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Topic: Camplet Broken plastic hooks
