Camping Tips – Guying Out a Tent
Posted by: The Camping Gear Connection.com in Camping Safety, Camping Tips, tags: Camping Tips, guylines, guyout, rainfly, tent rainfly, tent stakesA Properly Guyed Out Tent Will Hold Up in High Winds
A lot of us have heard about using guy-lines but, aren’t really sure how to use them or the best way to place them to be effective. Protect your tent from high winds and storms by following some simple guidelines. I personally like the guidelines and illustrations presented by Eureka Tents, these are the guidelines I follow and I would like to share them with you.
When high winds or storms are predicted, do not count on staking alone to keep your tent secure. Depending on the model, your tent rainfly has built-in loops or rings at optimal guyout locations. It’s important to put in the extra time guying out your tent. Correctly done, it can save your tent during harsh weather.
- Attach parachute cord to the loop/rings and stake them in the ground three or four feet from the edge of the tent. If staked too close to the tent, wind can cause an upward pull that could dislodge the tent stakes.
- Make sure that the top rainfly is securely attached to the framework underneath. Ties, hook and loop closures, or dog-bones and elastic loops are typical fasteners sewn to the underside of the fly for this purpose.
If your tent does not have loops or rings for guy outs, attach guy lines 1/3 or 1/2 of the way up the framework on the main sidewalls. This enables the guy line to support the lower section of the pole, while the upper pole can flex the side of the guyout. This will prevent all movement except toward the anchor. The idea is to get the guy lines to work together through opposition. See illustrations below:
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December 29th, 2009 at 4:07 am
If you are to tent out where there are high winds then l would say that the most important tip is to buy a good tent designed for purpose. l experienced problems in high winds until l invested in a “hurricane” model, slightly pricey but well worth the extra cash.
December 30th, 2009 at 2:45 am
I agree having a quality tent is important but, even 4 and 5 season tents, which are made of heavier material for a better weather resistance, still have guy out points. It is best not to rely just on the tent stakes to keep your tent from blowing away. Learning how to use guylines properly will save even the least expensive tent.
February 27th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Huh that was weird, my first post didn’t work. Anywho I wanted to say that it’s nice to see that someone else also touched on this as it was troublesome finding the same information elsewhere. Yours was the first place that told me the answer. Thanks.
February 28th, 2010 at 12:37 am
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April 17th, 2010 at 2:57 am
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May 14th, 2010 at 11:43 am
This is a great article. I’m going to have to share it with some of my friends. Just got back from a group camping trip and most of them didn’t have any idea what a guy line even was. And the one or two that did had their stakes about six inches in front of their tents.
May 18th, 2010 at 6:25 pm
I’m glad this article will be be helpful to your friends, I have had several people ask about guy lines, what are they, how do you use them, so I wrote this article just for them. I like to share experience and knowledge with fellow campers. Visit again soon! Happy Camping!
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June 13th, 2010 at 11:40 am
Well Steffannie, I am very happy you were able to find the page you were reading and was able to finish the article. Now that you have found The Camping Gear Connection again come visit us again soon we are always writing about something new.
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November 27th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me.
November 28th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
Thanks for commenting and yes as I get more info on this subject I will certainly share it. I would really like to hear form other campers on how you guy out your tent. Happy Camping!
November 29th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
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July 2nd, 2011 at 4:36 am
YAY Amiee…… whatta fish!! My daddy was an avid fisherman… I was always in awe that the he could sit for hours at the same time, wait for the fish to bite, catch them, then cook him regarding supper. He was men who probably had ADHD, but he could fish like not a soul else. What a lifestyle lesson…. Kiera Kocian
July 3rd, 2011 at 12:26 pm
My dad loved to fish too. He taught me everything about fishing, what lures to use and when to use them. The only thing I never could get the hang of, is fly fishing. I am going to learn how to fly fish one of these days.
November 29th, 2011 at 6:40 am
Thanks for the auspicious writeup.
March 15th, 2012 at 9:34 am
With all due respect I would not state, “When high winds or storms are predicted…” that is the time for the guy-lines to go out. You can’t always “predict” when they are needed.
Beamer and I actually had a problem when we left the Dinosuar National Monument campground with the sun shining and all was well. At least, that is what we thought. While we were gone it seemed that a micro-burst came up (because the rain left a inch of water around the campsite). That micro-burst actually tore through the campground, upsetting a number of tents.
It also bent our 14.5 mm aluminum alloy poles quite a bit, but it also caused a major tear in the mesh and tent covering – one that could not be fixed with “duck tape.” That was the end of that camping trip, but fortunately it happened just a day before it was culminate.
Even though the guy-lines were out, and pegged properly, the sudden micro-burst was a doozy. Some of the tents were actually flattened in that campground, and there were others that had blown away. The lesson learned: always have guy-lines out if you will be leaving the tent. You never know when the unpredictable will happen.
March 18th, 2012 at 11:53 am
I totally agree about using guylines. Whe I was new to camping I didn’t bother setting my guylines or staking my tent since it was free standing. I mean after all nothing is going to happen to my tent. Wrong. I was out fishing, a storm came up with rain and wind got back to camp and my tent was not where I had set it up. Found it several feet away with rips in the top where it had blown against a smaller tree with sharp dry branches. A lesson learned the hard way.