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What kind of weights does your tent have?

Hi. I’m looking for weights to add to my tent. What do you use and how many pounds are they. Also do you know where to buy them or make them. I was thinking of getting PVC pipe ,filling it with cement and a hook to hang it. Please let me know. Thanks.
Wendy

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Permalink Reply by Cyreathia Reyer on January 19, 2011 at 1:47pm

Great idea about the non-skid liner. I had mine made to my specifications (heavy duty) for our Kansas winds. The base plate is 1/2" steel with the 1/4" square tubing welded to it. the one square goes directly into the legs of the canopy (approx 12 inches) and bolts to the feet of the canopy. I can then put as much weight as necessary on the other end of the plate which will be covered up under my tables. I also have cans with I bolts set in concrete that I tie to the top rail of my canopy. I didn't budge one inch in 45 MPH winds. On the picture above, I only had 40 lbs on each leg. I guess I will have to hit the pawn shops if my son decides he want his weight bench. Some have told me I went overboard, but I would rather be safe than sorry later.

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Permalink Reply by Kenneth Marine on January 24, 2011 at 1:30pm

Old Truck scale weights. Many of the weight stations have gone digital and we had another friend who ran into the motherload of these at a flea market. They are 50 lbs each and have a nice handle for carrying or putting the tie-down strap thru. they measure 8" long x 4" wide"8" tall (including the handle part). Got them for a steal at $20 each.

I always hated my pvc pipe weights because they'd roll around, took up a lot of space and were just awkward.

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Permalink Reply by Alison Thomas on April 27, 2012 at 6:34pm

Currently I am using water bottles that hold 5 gallons of water, about 40 lbs. I have had issues finding water to fill them - actually a friend who helped me set up a lot said "if you don't bring these filled I'm not going to help you anymore" as he leaned into a lake to fill them. I dump them when I'm not going to have shows for a couple months but keep them filled most of the time. If I make enough money this show I'm going to get the Eaton canopy weights. The water bottles work great but don't look so great.

If you're going to use cinder blocks please don't leave them at the show! Who do you think picks them up afterward.? It's very unprofessional.

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Permalink Reply by Cyreathia Reyer on April 29, 2012 at 1:33pm

I have researched the weight of water. Each gallon weighs in at 11 pounds. After my show here in NE Kansas on April 13 (the day/night we had 85-100 tornadoes and winds were horrible), I am adding 5-7 gallon water jugs on each corner in addition to my 60 lbs on each of my "feet". with wind gusts up to 50 mph I found out that 60 lbs wasn't quite enough. We were still hanging on to the tent to keep in it place.

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Permalink Reply by Robert Wallis on April 30, 2012 at 6:31pm

No offense, but water is 8.3 lbs/gal. A liter of water is one kilogram or 2.2 lbs, and a gallon is less than 4 liters. At those figures a 5 gal jug of water is 41.5 lbs. That should be for most applications.

In situations like yours, that's a problem. I've thought more than once about filling the cavity in my concrete block weights (38 lbs) which should bump them up to about 55 lbs. Some shows I'll use a ten foot 2x8 screwed on top of the blocks (the blocks have a 2x8x16 wood plate liquid nailed on top), then the tent feet screw into the board with lag screws. This clears a lot of uneven ground, but it would be easy enough to add two more blocks in the middle which would get 300 lbs anchoring the whole thing down. If there's a wind strong enough to move that, my butt is not going to be there ;-)

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Permalink Reply by Cyreathia Reyer on May 1, 2012 at 9:12am

No Offense, I found my weight measurements on the internet and knowing you have to take it with a grain of salt. I would love to see a picture of your anchoring system. I work full-time and mainly do the smaller shows here in the NE KS area and have never set up that I didn't have to contend with the wind. Any ideas or suggestions on this topic is of great interest and benefit.

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Permalink Reply by Alison Thomas on May 7, 2012 at 3:55pm

My Eaton canopy weights just arrived and I haven't even taken them out of the box yet. I did hold off on ordering until I sized up the sta-bar situation and I should be able to raise the sta-bars up to higher than the weights. I'll set up with them first time this weekend and let everyone know.

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Permalink Reply by Cam Chapman on April 30, 2012 at 8:00am

I used 24" X 4" PVC filled with the lead weights that are intended for use in balancing tires. You can get an unlimited supply of them from tire installers (Goodyear). I poured in a few weights, packed them as well as I could, then encased them in a soupy cement mixture. Each weight is approximately 60 lbs.

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Permalink Reply by Teofana Beckwith on May 1, 2012 at 12:02am

Right now the EZ-UPs that are sold in SAMs have addition - steel plates, that fit over the heels of the poles - so you can anchor the tent with more stakes or put extra weight on top of them.

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Permalink Reply by Jason Wallace on May 1, 2012 at 8:50am

I tried PVC weights when I started out a few years ago, but I was only able to manage 35lbs per corner. My booth collapsed a couple times, even with the PVC attached. Since then, I've gone all out:

For rigidity: stabars and upper corner supports for my Light Dome canopy, Propanel support bars and canopy hooks, and a few dozen yards of wraparound velcro to hold the corner panels into the booth.

For weight: I use surplus ammo boxes stacked with plates from an old weight machine. Each box: 7 plates, 10 pounds each = 70 pounds per corner. (And yes, they stay in the living room next to the front door. :)

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Permalink Reply by Dow Mathis on May 31, 2012 at 11:35am

Jason, that's a great idea. I just made my pvc weights a couple of months ago, and they work great, but the ammo can idea makes a LOT of sense. Where'd you run across the weights at?

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Permalink Reply by Jason Wallace on May 31, 2012 at 2:03pm

The boxes I bought from a local farm & ranch store (Atwoods), and I found the plates at a surplus auction at my university. Scrap metal junkyards would probably have them too. The biggest surprise was finding out how snug the plates fit in the boxes. Seemed to be made for each other!