It may be an idea to get a couple of well made wind brakes i think you can get them about 5 foot high, and with a solid fixing on each pole it should keep most of the wind off
------------- Home is where you park it
Don't forget to leave a review of all tents you've used, for a chance to win fantastic prizes
Quote: Originally posted by russandjax on 02/4/2011
Hi All
Our very first camping trip turned into a frightening nightmare!
We pitched and set up in 2hours lol and everything was great the first night.
By breakfast time the winds picked up...first to suffer was the canopy. Our cooker was in here and the wind just took it across the field...we just shoved everytning inside the tnet and managed to get the canopy down.
By now the tent was folding in on itself, the gusts were hitting it from the side and my H was fighting a loosing battle with the guy rope pegs etc.
We decided to get the hell out of hell lol...(it was terrifying). However once we started to empty the tent the wind had no resistance, and whilst H was still inside it, the winds just took it. He was knocked off his feet but ok. The carpet, airbed, bedding etc were down the field, the tent wrapped around a fence...oh the footprint was still in place...for about 10 mins lol!!!
The tent has 2 rips that we could see..the back pole is shattered and the tent ripped away from the seems.
We have no idea if we could have done anything to prevent this happening, apart from staying at home lol!
The winds must have been 45-60mph. Any suggestions or similar experiences appreciated please..
We are covered in bruises and were very stressed, but not sure if this was our fault or a flaw in the tent, or just mother nature.
Thanks for reading
Jax
50-60mph winds are strong enough to uproot large trees and blow the roofs off houses...what chance did you have in a tent?
I think the lesson to be learned here is don't go camping if strong winds are forecast. It just isn't worth it. I probably wouldn't voluntarily go camping in anything over 30 mph winds and I would think twice at that.
Reading your other posts it seems that you weren't placing the pegs at the right angle but to be honest, even if you had, I doubt whether your tent would have been saved. In some cases, a peg which doesn't pull out of the ground in really bad weather is instrumental in the tent tearing.
A collapsed tent due to the pegs pulling out is salvagable but not if it is torn to shreds. In my experience most tents subject to storms are damaged by the material tearing rather than the pegs pulling out. You can see this in numerous utube videos. In your case it is doubtful any type of peg would have saved your tent.
You have been advised regarding certain tent pegs, steel poled tents, etc. All good advice given in good faith but take a look around the campsite on your next trip and you will find at least 50% or more of tents are the ordinary fibreglass poled type and pegs vary from the regular wire pegs to rock pegs to steel pegs to plastic pegs of all shapes and sizes and most people survive a lifetime of camping without problems...you learned the hard way...but...that story will last you a lifetime at the pub bar and with the grandkids
Having said all that I bought a metal poled tent because I am getting older now and the excitement of a fibre poled tunnel tent almost collapsing on top of me in a storm is no longer...er...exciting. I've not tested the metal poled tent in a storm yet though. I now keep a good eye on the weather forecast
sorry to hear about your problems with your icarus, we went through some strong winds in ours last year, the worst was up in teesdale near High Force, really windy but we had allready decided to do without the canopy that weekend due to the location and weather report, but we had put up the vango wind break , wich flapped with every gust but kept together, i also parked the car to the windward side for aditional wind deflection. the tent was deforming with each gust and i expected to wake to a broken pole. but it all held and no obvoius damage, a lot will recomend the delta pegs, but i firmly belive the 30cm yellow plasic ones i used for the guys made all the difference, at an angle and well hammered in.
With those and the TBS on tight it showed me what they can stand upto if prepared,
Can't really comment whether the tent was at fault or it was due to set up related issues or a combination of both, however, I had experienced high wind during that stormy weekend in July last year.
I used a mixture of Deltas and 9in angled steel pegs for my set up, which included the additional storm guys for my Khyam Freelander tent.
Deltas were used for all load-bearing guys - all the guys for poles for the canopy, the ends of the wind break, and the main poles for the tent.
The wind was so strong the first night I really thought the tent was going to collapse. The dog was so scared by the noise he wanted to be hugged all the time.
We could not sleep due to the noise from the wind and the rain. Home was only 45min drive away, and I was very tempted to go home. However, I decided to sleep in the car instead, and grapped the sleeping bag and off we went, much to the amusement of my next pitch neighbours in a caravan.
We woke up to a calm and beautiful morning, and found the windbreak of my concertina kitchen and a bottle of oil got blown over. Everything else remained standing with no breakage.
The tent incurred a very small damage - a hole in the mess screen of one of the windows where it ground itself against the corner of the aluminium table. No big deal as I do not use that window at all.
Here is a pic of my set up during that trip. It may look a bit of a Health and Safety nightmare with all the guys, however, I left a clear passage way for entry with ease and for the dog to move about without getting tangled up.
I would like believe the number of guys used, in conjunction with strong pegs and good pegging, along with whatever up there that was looking after us that night, had saved me from loosing my tent, canopy and windbreak.
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
I like my vango tent because of the TBSystem, as it gives it that bit more stability in the winds, It only cost me about £120, It has served me well in all kinds of weather and it's entering it's 5th season. I remember my first trip, I just finished pitching the tent, when it started raining. That night it blew a hooley driving rain and wind. I used the pegs which came with the tent, but for some reason, I doubled pegged and crossed them, it worked a treat. I was a wreck with worry hoping that the tent would survive, It was a toss up between views or shelter. pitched the tent at the bottem of the hill, risking the potential of flooding, or having a high hedge for protection.
What was really nice and apprecitive, the owner asked if we managed to stay dry and if we were ok.
sorry just found this after posting on your fixing poles thread
Really glad to see you are taking this in good spirits and not getting put off camping
it does sound like you had a combination of bad luck with the weather and possibly not quite the right setup with your kit for the conditions
last July sticks in my mind as some of the worse weather we have ever have camped - we were fine in our Canvas Dutch Pyramid but lots of other tents went down, many had pegs pulled and a few were not guyed properly - if you search on here there are a few threads about surviving <<puts on best Vicar of Dibley voice>> the "Great wind of 2010" and how to cope with storms
I know Deltas have been mentioned but I would suggest you get a dozen rock pegs too, they are much fatter than the cheap wire things you got with the tent and do a multitude of conditions. You can use a claw hammer to get them in if needs be too
Grabons might be a good idea too, they can be used to help spread the load if the wind starts whipping up
And dont forget to pitch "bum to the wind"
And if all else fails go buy a Dutch Pyramid - you will be able to laugh in the face of most weather then
Don't forget to leave a review of all tents you've used, for a chance to win fantastic prizes
Nah, I think I have to agree that your guying was likely a deciding factor in whether you had a tent the next morning. That looks to be set out very well to me.
Get some yellow plastic pegs from Halfords currently reduced (in my store at least) to £1.99 for a pack of six. They are for soft or sandy ground. While you're there get some rock pegs but remember to bring an ordinary claw hammer for these pegs, which will double as a peg puller outer as well. The rock pegs are like long, strong nails and will go through hard ground or stones.
Get some V pegs (ones that are made out of a flat piece of steel which are bent down the centre to create a 'v') four of which are good in the four corners of your tent. Deltas come highly recommended too.
I got a cheap small toolbox for carrying pegs in. You might have an old sports bag or something which would do the same job.
When on site, take a walk around the tent inspecting pegs and guy ropes once a day. Adjust and re-peg as necessary. If you should be unlucky enough to get caught in a storm, don't go away from the site leaving the tent unattended, and check pegs and guys more frequently.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Icurus 500 v The Wind
