I have been reading all about the recent wind and storms, I am a lone camper with a Khyam chatsworth. I havent come across another one so havent been able to ask how others cope with this tent. Question, when battening down the hatches do I peg guy lines very tight or do they have to have some give. I intend to get some delta pegs for my guy lines before next trip. Any advice about surviving stormy weather and winds would be welcome.
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I once pitched the bigger and older Excelsior XL in strong wind, and made a small tear in one of the sleeves attached to the poles, due to an inexperience helper pulling the pole inappropriately.
Luckily, no significant damage was made, as it was an attachment to the lower and more upright section of the main pole. Even if it rains, it will not drip, thank goodness!
My advice would be to peg the guys when the tent is on its knees as instructed, so that the tent does not take off in high wind.
I am aware that some peeps skip this step in calm conditions. However, I would strongly advise against skipping it in windy conditions!
As far as I am aware, no additional guys would be required, as the tri-guy system should be sufficient to hold the tent in place.
I would definitely advise using Delta pegs for the 4 main guys for additional peace of mind. I would advise pegging down all the available guys and loops, and not to miss any out.
The guys should have some give, therefore, allow the elastic bit on the end to do the job it is designed to do. Pegging too tightly could risk excessive force on the poles during high wind.
Check the guys on a regular basis and tighten them if required.
Good luck!
DK
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Wind ya say....hmmm...as a poor soul with chronic flatulence, (I blame me tablets), it's summat I'm quite an expert on.
Howsomever, not wind in relation to tents. Did have a nasty wind experience with one of our awnings once though but got off lightly in comparison with others on the site some of whom had had their awnings completely take off over the top of their tin tent taking the side off as it went. We did have our storm strap over the awning, always wise at Pentewan Sands as it's right on the beach's edge.
In fact, I'm still convinced that if my hubby had not been so daft as to rest HIS fishing rod against the side of the awning, we would never have suffered the damage we got when the awning side must've blown full pelt against the rod tip and caused a nice square HOLE! Thankfully I was able to pick up a canvas repair kit the next morning and invisibly mended it before it had a chance to get any bigger. Hubby learnt his lesson to LAY his rod down in future just as mine had been
I've also heard that those Delta pegs are the 'nuts' for windy conditions too btw.
Wendy, your Chatsworth will take a fair old battering from wind, our old XXL has had some serious gusts thrown at it and it still going strong. My advice is make your guylines as long as you can, especially the four 'tri-guys' that support the four legs and the hub and be sure to peg the four main legs through the plastic looks by the feet. I keep my lines fairly tight but don't forget it is designed to move a little in the wind so don't tighten them up like the top E string on a guitar ! Keep an eye on things when it starts to get wild but, in a Khyam.. you'll be fine, it will flap a bit so we hope Max will be ok with the noise !!
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I've been reading this with interest. We are novice campers with a Nevada M + front extension and our last outing was a bit hairy with the wind. Do the same rules apply to most tent? Does it make a difference to have the guy-line long? I think I read that they should be tight but with a bit of give? Two of our front extension pegs came out in the night, the pole came out of it's pins and one of the straps came away. The extension was still up in the morning but we took it down as it was bending into the tent and I didn't feel comfortable leaving it like that.
Also, (another daft question) it was quite breezy when we were pitching the tent and the wind seemed to get under the groundsheet, it was like a bouncy castle inside then in the night we thought we were going to take off like a hovercraft! What did we do wrong?
Re: the Nevada M in strong wind. I too suffered at the hands of gales recently in our Outwell. Big mistake was not re-pitching the tent so it was bum into the wind, but waiting it out in the hope the wind would clear. Broken poles later (hit broadside by a strong gust just before starting to re-pitch) lesson learnt.
The canopy (like any canopy) can act like a parachute, so don't think that with decent pegging alone it will survive. If it is filling with air and getting pushed about too much, hassle though it is, take it down.
The tent can actually take quite a bit of a hammering but, like any tent, it is always best to get it "bum in to wind" if you can.
Re: the Nevada M in strong wind. I too suffered at the hands of gales recently in our Outwell. Big mistake was not re-pitching the tent so it was bum into the wind, but waiting it out in the hope the wind would clear. Broken poles later (hit broadside by a strong gust just before starting to re-pitch) lesson learnt.
The canopy (like any canopy) can act like a parachute, so don't think that with decent pegging alone it will survive. If it is filling with air and getting pushed about too much, hassle though it is, take it down.
The tent can actually take quite a bit of a hammering but, like any tent, it is always best to get it "bum in to wind" if you can.
I did know about the 'bum to the wind' (from advice from this forum!) but the pitch had quite a slope to it and if we'd pitched any other way, we'd have rolled out of bed! Also, the wind direction changed in the night so we ended up side-on to it. I didn't think (doh) of re-pitching but to be honest, it was so windy for the rest of our stay, I wouldn't have fancied it.
there is other stuff you can do to protect the tent a bit
choose your location carefully, behinds hedges is good as it softens the wind. Dips and hollows can help. Walls and fences often create turbulence but take some force out. Trees may drop branches - usually pointy bit first
park your car in the way as a windbreak
use a windbreak, curve it so the wind can deflect round it. If it is a wooden pole type you can rig guys to the top for extra strength
Thanks everyone, I think Im doing the right thing, I think I need a little more confidence in the tent itself, although I have been in breezy, gusty wind, it hasnt been too bad, I just want to be prepared. I'll take all advice and put it into practice, just in case. Going to Newquay in 3 weeks.
P.S. I dont like beans!
------------- every time I try to make ends meet, someone moves the ends
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Topic: worried about wind!!
), it's summat I'm quite an expert on.
