Cord and peg as tie-down kit

[acer]

I've been looking at tie-down kits and wondering why I shouldn't just carry-on with my temporary solution: attaching a simple length of paracord to the top of the awning leg and use a camping peg. Both of these I have on board for other reasons and I could therefore save myself c£20. What I have so far gives me peace of mind, and I expect if it became too windy I would wind-in the awning anyway.

So, I'm grateful for your views on what extra practical benefit comes from the kits?

 

[jts46]

Good idea, that is the way I use my home made tie down kit made from webbing belts.

 

[Yorkie]

I was in the Cali shop yesterday to buy something else and couldn't resist buying the tie down kit. So I too will be interested in hearing why. #impulsepurchase

 

[WelshGas]

Absolutely no reason why not. Decent cord and decent pegs, Rock Pegs cover most soil conditions, is all you need.
Peg the Leg base and 1 guy to each leg. Anything else is overkill.

 

[jts46]

Absolutely no reason why not. Decent cord and decent pegs, Rock Pegs cover most soil conditions, is all you need.
Peg the Leg base and 1 guy to each leg. Anything else is overkill.

Entirely agree with above

 

[jts46]

Yes, rock pegs and a good claw hammer, not puddly mallets

 

[EddieEagle]

I use straps to hang buckets with whatever is handy as ballast, water, sand or stones . Buckets might be better if black perhaps.....

 

[acer]

View attachment 34306 View attachment 34307 I use straps to hang buckets with whatever is handy as ballast, water, sand or stones . Buckets might be better if black perhaps.....

Orange is good - less of a trip hazard. And no-one wants to "kick the bucket" right?

 

[EddieEagle]

Orange is good - less of a trip hazard. And no-one wants to "kick the bucket" right?

Just turn a little pale, maybe??

 

[jts46]

Could also be used as fire buckets. We had to have a red fire bucket in front of our pitch on C &CC sites in bygone days as i remember

 

[EddieEagle]

Could also be used as fire buckets. We had to have a red fire bucket in front of our pitch on C &CC sites in bygone days as i remember

Have to paint A.R.P. on them!!

 

[Ian Robinson]

The Thule and Fiamma tie down kits use springs between the pegs and the straps. These absorb movement of the van. When you get in and out of the van you can see the springs move in and out a bit. So if you are using just cord and pegs maybe you should consider using a spring or bit of bungee rope to absorb movement- this might avoid damage to the awning or the fixings on the awning rail? Just a thought.

 

[Victor]

You must have something with springs or you could cause serious damage to the awning if caught by a gust, all the professional tie downs do have springs.

 

[Walrus]

A bungee ball threaded through the top of the post and paracord guy lines is what I do.

 

[WelshGas]

After well over 10 years of tying down awnings on caravans and campers I think I will keep to my guy rope and Rock Pegs.
I want to hold the legs steady and provide a counter-pull to tension the awning fabric against. Personally, I think the addition of springs is addressing a problem that does not exist in practice and just allows the Seller to charge a lot more.

 

[WelshGas]

You must have something with springs or you could cause serious damage to the awning if caught by a gust, all the professional tie downs do have springs.

Can you explain why and how?
If that is the case then Brandrup should be taken to court, or are they not professional?

 

[Hotel California]

Imo. the Thule tie down kit is worth all its money .
It's decent material , and handy to set up.

I'm always the first to save a few £$€ but in this case , buy the Thule kit , it's realy important your awning is good secured or else the money saved using a diy. cord can get expencife when your awning flips over on your roof.
It has super strong and long pegs , a coil spring in the strap and easy to put/release the tention

There has been review on the Thule kit and everyone agrees it's good stuff.

For me a no brainer for securing the Thule awning = Thule tie down kit

 

[WelshGas]

The Thule kit is fine for a large Motorhome or Caravan awning, but for a VW sized awning it is definitely over engineered.
Parachute cord, which has a very high breaking strain and Rock pegs are more than adequate. In fact the weakest point of any takedown system is the Peg-Ground interface which is highly dependant on the ground type and peg angle.

 

[EddieEagle]

Well my tie down kit pegs failed the hard standing test......

 

[Hotel California]

The Thule kit is fine for a large Motorhome or Caravan awning, but for a VW sized awning it is definitely over engineered.
Parachute cord, which has a very high breaking strain and Rock pegs are more than adequate. In fact the weakest point of any takedown system is the Peg-Ground interface which is highly dependant on the ground type and peg angle.

It's not the cord that counts (yes it counts but not the most important factor)
The attatching point and the way it's attatched is the weakest factor.
using a knot in the cord to attach something narrows down the breaking point of the cord at that place by almost 1/2 .

 

[WelshGas]

View attachment 34332 Well my tie down kit pegs failed the hard standing test......

You need Rock Pegs.

 

[WelshGas]

It's not the cord that counts (yes it counts but not the most important factor)
The attatching point and the way it's attatched is the weakest factor.
using a knot in the cord to attach something narrows down the breaking point of the cord at that place by almost 1/2 .

I think I can live with that.

I’m going to be winding the awning in because of the gathering storm way before the possible breaking point of the attachment of the Guy Rope etc:

Now if you were talking about a Tie Down Kit for a Drive Away Awning that you will be leaving up in ALL weather conditions then that is a different matter altogether.

 

[Hotel California]

View attachment 34332 Well my tie down kit pegs failed the hard standing test......

Two Q's
Are those the Thule tie-down kit pegs ?
And did the wind do that?

 

[westfalia]

I use my peggy peg ankerplatte on each awning leg and if
there´s a hurricane on the way i might add a couple of strings
tied to the top of the awning and tent pegged into the ground.

Those thule ones with the springs are for the big campers.

 

[EddieEagle]

Two Q's
Are those the Thule tie-down kit pegs ?
And did the wind do that?

This is the one I bought, the pegs deformed banging them into very hard compacted ground. Not wind, just me with a very big lead shot filled nylon faced dead blow mallet.!
They coiled up in the ground around stones, I guess and we’re an absolute pig to get back out.
Good for the price and the pegs would be fine in softer ground.