Tent Equipment & Set-Up

[Bois]

I have gone through 3 10'X10' canopies in 7 months thanks to the Texas weather. I'm beginning to wonder if I'm jinxed or something. The first was an EZ-UP that bent out of shape when a gust of wind hit while I was putting up the canopy. I learned how to set one up from that experience.

The second :eusa_doh: was another EZ-Up where 2 cross arms broke and another 2 bent due to my putting up & taking down the canopy daily. I've requested the parts be replaced through warranty coverage.

Today, #3, a First-Up brand canopy collapsed when a gust of wind hit after a mild rain. Bent the cross arms. First-Up is cheaper, but Wal Mart in my area (3 stores) has stopped carrying EZ-Up brand.

I anchor the legs so that there's no horizonal leg movement and I have guy lines on all 4 posts using bungy cords. I hang a 8' X 2' banner on 2 sides using bungy cords.

MY QUESTIONS:

1. What brand canopy do you use?
2. If you have a permanant location, do you take it down every night or do you leave it up overnight?
3. How do you anchor your canopy?
4. Do you hang banners on it?

Dale...

[CPR]

The best way to anchor the tent is with female panelmates and sidewalk bolts, I here ya never heard of those before. I can post pictures if you want, they set in a 1-2" x 2" deep hole ( countersunk ) with a flat head bolt to hold down the tent. That is what I use in my driveway when painting cars here, used it in 30 mph winds all day with no worries.

[maxryde]

We have 2, 1 is a Caravan the other is Premier Aluminum. They are both nice but have different qualities worth mention. The Caravan is the older powder coated model that is VERY STURDY in comparison to the aluminum one. The premier is taller and the top is fixed on with bolts in the center of the cross frame area. We had a mishap with that one due to wind when it was about two week old. The parts were reasonable like 15.00 and took a few second to repair not a problem.

We take our canopies down every time. While we do have fixed locations we don't work the same place two days in a row very often and if we did I would still take the canopy down at night.

We use anchors ALLWAYS!! Our locations have solid objects that we tie too and we have our vehicles to tie to also. Banners on the canopy too, with bungee's

Now I have a question Dale, ez up has a few different models out there, do your canopies have the horizontal scissor (good) or the arched type (cheap). My thought is you get what you pay for. The cheap canopy is disposable and should be thought of as such. I would keep an extra on hand for just the situation you have had. (2 @89.00 ea=178.00)
Where as the commercial type will last a great deal longer. (Out live the top 200.00 ea at Costco or Sam

[Repair1]

I only tent once or twice a week in the summer months so my wear is probably not as bad as the full time tent guys. Although, we have had our tests with wind. In fact, just two weeks ago, I thought it was gone and I only had two legs secured. That will never happen again. We had a gust come up, I thought it was going over. I quickly pulled all the pins loose. I took the top off and I waited out the storm. When the storm blew over, I put it all back together and let it dry. It worked great. There is another great story, although the end results weren

[Bois]

Thanks for the comments so far...

CPR, I'm currently set up on a gravel parking area. Pounding stakes is difficult. However, the owner is considering having me move to a concrete area. If so, I will talk to him about sunken fasteners. Thanks.

Maxryde, I've been using EZ-UP's Embassy model ($100) which has a sissors frame. Unfortunately, Wal Mart no longer carrys this brand. The First-Up brand ($89) that I lost today replaces the EZ-UP brand at Wal Mart. I looked up Optikleer's fasteners. Looks like a good idea for supporting the leg bottoms and adding weight. Looks like I'm going to have to drive 70 miles to check out Sam's (not a Costco member).

Brian, I guess I'm just going to have to find a better way to fasten the darn thing down better and take time each day to take the canopy down. It's so much easier to leave it up after spending all day in the heat. Wish you had a camera, too.

Dale...

[Clarity Glass]

I am a full time tent operation in the local mall parking lot. I recently had to purchase a new ez-up for $600 because a funnel cloud lifted the tent on two legs(with me hangin' on for dear life) and ripped a hole right through the canopy. Second time this happened, frame had been bent pretty good so I bought new. Yes, $600 but I feel the structure and canopy are better quality than those found at retail outlets. I take my tent down everyday. Being that I set up on pavement, 4-40lb sandbags anchor my tent and I've been considering additional weight just to calm my nerves on the blustery days. My general rule is not to set up on days where winds are expected to be 20 mph or greater. If it does, I strap the banners to the side of my truck and put out a sidewalk sign and do business as usual. As far as banners, I use two 3'x9' banners attached with bungees.

[GlassStarz]

Now you know why some tents cost $400 and some are $75