canopy hold down weight

Have a new pop-up and always nervous about it taking flight in the wind, and in FL we typically have an afternoon quick storm. I'm thinking of ratchet straps and 5 gal water jugs so that I can fill them and dump them at the event and not have to lug the weight, but the jugs don't nest so it will take up some garage space. Does anyone have a good solution for this?

Do you carry tires to the event? Use them. How about 5 gallon buckets with lids. Then they would nest if you took the lids off.

Tent stakes and a hammer? Or, is it too sandy?

I'm in FL too and work as a mobile hot rod builder. I use one of the canopy's if I have to be outside at a job. I've had one wrecked and one damaged by the sudden wind. I started using bunji cords to the tool boxes but thinking about casting some weights like these out of cement. At least they would give me time to remove the material from the frame. http://www.quikshade.com/products/233-accessory-weight-plates.html

Thriftshop suitcase (softside) and sand

Our 10x20 at work tossed 2-5 gallon buckets filled with concrete over a 6' fence.

I took four 2-gallon buckets and filled them 3/4 or so with concrete. Placed an eye bolt with a fender washer trapped between two nuts in the concrete before pouring. Held the eye bolt in place with some coat hanger wire for the pour.

I run some of that yellow nylon rope from the canopy frame to the eyelet of the bolt, and tie it to the leg of the canopy as well.

They don't nest, but they hold the canopy down when we use it in a parking lot.

MrJoshua wrote: Our 10x20 at work tossed 2-5 gallon buckets filled with concrete over a 6' fence.

QFT. I had my 10x20 flip over a fence at Sebring once. Good times.

I normally use my rain tires/wheels with ratchet straps and the leg through the center of the wheel. If it looks like it is going to get bad quickly I just remove the legs and get the roof as close to the ground as possible.

If you are looking for a stacking solution look at plastic cat litter refill bins. They hold about 4-5 gallons each, stack and have a good handle to attach to. Cat litter weighs a ton so they are pretty sturdy and you can normally find some in the recycling bins. Check the recycling center in Dunedin as I have seem them there.

I used kart tires filled with concrete and an eyebolt to latch to. One suggestion that has saved my WalMart canopy for three seasons is to worry less about the legs and more about tying down the corners of the canopy. I've seen countless ones destroyed with all the weight focused at the bottom of the legs instead of on the canopy material itself.

-Rob

I bring a set of wets and and extra set of slicks, all mounted and use those. If it's not breezy I use 'nothin, but at the end of the day, lower it, roll the car under, and tie the middle to the roll bar w/ a tie-down.

A brand new set of four is about $10 and takes up less room than a 5 gallon bucket when you don't need it.

Put one near each corner and throw a strap over the camper. Check Agway, Tractor Supply etc.

Dan

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/hsh/4048351007.html

with my cheap 10x10 I literally take some rope and tie a loop to the pop up right in the middle at the top of the frame, then tie it to a handle on my (usually full with ice and stuff) cooler.

or if where we are camping has a picnic table i tie it down to the table. worked fine camping at the beach for several days even when we got some nasty weather.

I use the same setup that 914Driver uses. The dog leash anchors work great. i then use extra ratchet straps to hold the pop-up to the stakes. You're going to bend the pop up frame before it goes anywhere. Also if you can set it up near a chain link fence you can attach the pop-up to that similarly.

When I was swapping tires at autocross events, my DD tires were strapped to my 10x10 ez-up legs - all four of them. That worked well enough to keep it in place for light breezes and quick gusts, while allowing enough time to attend to it if necessary.

Stakes are fine if setting it up on dirt, but not so good on asphalt/concrete.

That said, if a storm is brewing, taking the thing down is the prudent course of action. If you have two people, it takes less than a minute and is a worthwhile investment in peace of mind.

After many years of setting these up at swap meets I finally used 5 gallon buckets with hooks in concrete. Even then I anchor at least one side to a truck or camper.

Sure they are awkward and heavy, but it beats finding water or sand to refill them every time.

Slap some of those stickers that inevitably accumulate and enjoy!

Bruce

Thanks guys, all good replies. My wife and her specialty insurance business is doing more at car shows and has a really nice new canopy to support the vendor shows that she/we do. I've thought about all of these options. We don't take the spare tires to these, many times they are on pavement so we can't stake the ground. I was thinking about the concrete in a pail thing but then we have to tote a lot of dead weight. That's why I got to thinking about empty jugs and filling with water. May have to carry it somewhere but at least I can dump them out for the ride home. I was curious to see what everyone else does.

Mix cement into a old kart tire or bucket.

I use 4 of the 5 quart motor oil jugs filled with gravel and sand (snagged open bag specials at lowes...)

The handle holes can be zip tied right to the leg.

19.6 lbs each :)