On Tue, 4 May 2021 15:45:11 +0100, R D S wrote:

snip

I forget the brand, it's not been out of the loft for a good few years
but it was a fairly decent 8 man tunnel job and it stood up fairly well
to be fair,

'Tunnels', if properly pegged and guyed can be pretty resilient,
especially compared with frame tents and caravan awnings. ;-(

the devastation on the site the morning after was something
to behold.

Oh indeed. I have often spent time helping others make temporary
repairs if they were game enough to carry on.

I went back to the camping shop to replace the splintered pole sections
and asked about thicker ones. As you said yourself the guy there said
it's the pegs that matter, I was skeptical but got better pegs and
indeed, it fared much better in future bad weather. Pretty obvious
really I suppose.

Only once you have had a peg break or pull out of the ground maybe?

As a sailor and power kite flyer I know what sort of forces even a
couple of sq/m can apply and so consider that when pegging a tent
down. Keeping guy-line-angles reasonably shallow whilst staying on
your pitch and at angles to the tent that might help to stop it
twisting. Eg, on your tunnel the front and rear outers might be at 45
Deg to the tent and the ones in between at 90 deg. I think there is
quite a bit of engineering / science in all that and can make a big
difference.

We got the pitching of the Rigidome down to a fine art when motorcycle
camping (the Mrs, our daughter and I). We would turn up at a site and
the tent would be in the top of the trailer I towed behind my BMW.
That would be stood up in probably 60 seconds and if it was breezy,
the 4 main guys put out, followed by the rear bedroom poles and lower
pegs. The trailer could then be rolled into the front of the tend and
unloaded in the dry, groundsheet fitted to the rear half, inner tent
fitted and then daughter thrown in the bedroom area to pump up the
airbeds and set out the sleeping bags. I finish off al the outside
stuff whilst the Mrs sets up the living / kitchen area and remove the
trailer and secure / cover the bikes, before going in the tent and
starting dinner. ;-)

When breaking camp one we noticed a guy sitting on a camping stool a
few meters away, obviously watching us. I offered him a cuppa (we
often got a flask of tea ready for the trip to the next site) but he
kindly refused and explained that he hoped we didn't mind but he was
intrigued how we were going to get that fairly large tent and all the
gear (inc 3 full sized camping chairs) away on two motorbikes and one
trailer. ;-)

Most of the kit had been bought with the trailer and bike in mind, so
whilst we had the weight capacity, I still went for light / multi
purpose kit to keep is as 'trim' as possible.

Slightly more reassuring in a gale is the folding caravan (although it
might sound like it shouldn't be) as it's all plywood so you don't get
the noise / movement / flapping of canvas. Again, I would fit a fairly
substantial ratchet strap over the awning if there was any suspicion
of it getting windy but even then you just hoped the wind would be in
the kindest direction. ;-)

A real 'high' for me when in the tent or folding caravan is the rain
and how good it is for masking my tinnitus (and other noises of the
campsite). ;-)

Cheers, T i m