HOW TO PREPARE FOR BAD-WEATHER CAMPING

How to prepare for bad-weather camping is something a camper will learn the hard way if they do not prepare for it.

No camper looks for bad weather when planning a camping trip. But, the South African weather is most unpredictable, so it is unwise not to prepare for all weather conditions

November 2021 experienced unexpected weather and homeowners, and campers suffered from surprisingly strong winds.

How should a camper prepare for unexpected weather to ensure that they don’t suffer costly damage and inconvenience?

Most camping goods manufacturers in South Africa make the necessary accessories. But, all camping accessories are not created equal. There is a marked difference between tent pegs manufactured from iron or mild steel and tent pegs made from hardened spring steel.

From the start, Connie at Maxcons decided to make a superior product because he wanted to make a Maxcons tent peg that he would make for himself. The quality would mean that the pegs would be more expensive, but also that it would last a lifetime.

What you need when camping in a storm

Let’s see what you need to make your camp stormproof.

You will need six items to ensure that your tent is storm-resistant.

1. Tent pegs that can withstand storm winds and gusts in super hard soil but also in loose sand. (Tent peg with spring and carabiner)
2. Anchor ropes that are strong enough and not stretching to create a reliable connection between tent peg and tent pole. The camper should be able to tighten the anchor rope and be able to trust that it will not slacken.
3. Anchor rope sliders that tighten the rope easily but are reliable enough not to allow the rope to slacken in gusty winds.
4. Rope and pole anchors that will not bend or break in strong winds and will not perish with years of use in the South African sun.
5. Well-maintained tent poles that are strong enough for any weather conditions.
6. Pole steady pins are made from durable and strong material to keep the bottom of the tent pole firmly anchored, even if an extreme wind lifts the canvas and pole.

Many campers acquire their camping accessories as finances allow. What you will need to start with is a full set of the above six items for every tent pole.

What you will need

Campers who use only a caravan or rally tent and need three tent poles will need at least five sets of the six items. That is for three tent poles of which the outside, or corner poles, each takes two pegs and a 5 – 7m anchor rope, while the middle, or ridge pole, will take at least one set with a 7m anchor rope.

We use our caravan tent as well as a rally tent, so I have two additional anchor ropes for the poles on the corners where the caravan tent ends.

My setup consists of three 7m anchor ropes (you can use 5m ropes) for the three front tent poles. That gives me anchor ropes long enough to accommodate two Maxcon tent pegs per pole (6 pegs for the front).

Then there are two 3,5m anchor ropes on the sides where the caravan tent meets the rally tent. The middle, long, ridge tent pole only needs a steady pin to keep it grounded.

Each tent pole has a Max-Pole steady pin. This ensures that the pole stays upright should an extremely strong wind lift the tent canvas together with the pole. What happens is that the wind lifts the canvas with the pole. The pole then “hangs” on the canvas and resettles off-centre. If one pole settles off-centre, the whole setup becomes unstable and with the next strong wind gust, it collapses.

A setup such as mine consists of
– 3 x 7m Maxcon luminous green anchor ropes,
– 2 x 3,5m Maxcon Grey (silver) anchor ropes,
– 8 x 350mm Maxcons tent pegs complete with springs and carabiners (you can do without the carabiners if you tie the rope directly to the peg spring and you will need 450mm pegs for soft sand)
– Each anchor rope has a Max Rope and Pole anchor which attaches the rope to the tent pole. The standard plastic pole anchors failed during the excessive storm winds at Ventersdorp on 23 November 2021, so the Maxcon pole anchors are important.

The cost of a setup such as mine will amount to about R 1 660,00, delivered to your door, at the time of writing this.

If you use this setup and set it up as prescribed, there is zero chance that you will experience problems, unless a movie-like twister sucks your rig up and puts it down in another camp.

Correct use of Maxcons Rope and Pole Anchor
Correct us of Maxcons Tent Peg