Advice and Information for Tent Nomad

[geogentry]

again don't make the guy ropes rigid.  put a heavy duty bungee in each guy rope.  this allows the tent/tarp to give in the wind and greatly reduces the stress on the material.  come by my camp at RTR and you can see.  highdesertranger

You have no idea how I wish it was possible to drop by your camp at the RTR.  Not gonna make it this year I will miss it by a couple weeks.

 

[geogentry]

Just how bad is it - really?
I keep hearing the phrase 'Dust Storm'  And this is what I picture in my head when I do.

 

[tx2sturgis]

All part of the adventure.

 

[bonvanroulez]

Just how bad is it - really?
I keep hearing the phrase 'Dust Storm'  And this is what I picture in my head when I do.

That's a haboob. They do happen in the desert. Quite a thing to see.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haboob

 

[geogentry]

[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]tx2sturgis[/font]

Yup - and if I know I can be ready for the roller coaster ride.  After all if I didn't want anything at all to be happening I would just stay where I am.

bonvanroulez

The way you say that makes me feel that it would be a rare occurrence there if it happened.  Cool.  I don't care if there is some dust blowing with the wind I just don't want the haboob so I have to figure out how to breathe dirt.    My parents talked about the dust storms in Oklahoma/Texas so I am mentally prepared anyway for those.

Thanks to both of you that answers the question perfectly.

 

[akrvbob]

I have good news and bad news; the good news is that I’ve never seen wind storms like in that picture in the Ehrenberg area. I think it’s too rocky with 2 much desert concrete because it does happen in Phoenix.

The bad news is you should be worried about the wind. I’ve known lots of people who came to Quartzsite/Ehrenberg to live in tents and very few made it through a whole winter and none of them did it two years in a row. Maybe you’ll be the first?

The first 4 years of the RTR we had windstorms that lasted for days and blew well over 50 mph. The last 4 years have been much better, but still worse than you are thinking they will be. Who knows what this year will be like.

Ehrenberg is worse than Quartsite and down by the river is better than both.

 

[mert6706]

I knew there were dust/wind storms in Ehrenburg but can't find a lot of information on the dust aspect. I wish I had seen that video. It makes me wonder what kind of tent he had, how he had it set up, did he bail into his car because of the wind or the dust or both, were all of the windows and door secured.

Two Utube videos to check out: Kia Gypsy Girl is the one who retreated to her car, she also had a video a few weeks earlier that showed her tent blown over in another incident; Caravan Carolyn posted a video of the damage in her camp and a neighbors done during the recent overnight windstorm.

 

[Sleep]

We had sand storms like that in West Texas and when I was a little girl it would sting my legs on the way to school!

Good luck!

 

[geogentry]

[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]akrvbob[/font]


Thing I like about you Bob is your knowledgeable, experienced and a straight shooter.  You just tell it like it is.  And I Thank You for that.

Good News:  
Cool.  I was worried about the big ones. (which I found out are called Haboobs)  Looked those up and found pictures of the one that hit Phoenix.  Fascinating pictures - glad I wasn't in the area at the time.  As for the dust storms,  I watched the Gypsy girl video mentioned (Thank you Mert6706) and I have been in stuff like that.  Not something I want to be in every day but not something not something I am panicked about facing either.

Bad News:
Yea the wind.  That has been/is at the top of my concern list.  After watching the aforementioned video I am confident the tent will handle 30mph winds if I have it prepared like I have figured.  Gypsy girls tent did have the advantage of being more of a dome which cuts the force down by about half so I have to think about that too.  But those 50 mph winds ...   Thats about 3 times the force on the tent.  That much force is not something to ignore.  I'm pretty certain I can secure the tent properly against that much force. (Been a lot of really excellent advice and help in that direction)  I am just not sure about the strength of the materials in the tent.  Weak link in the chain and all that.  I am going to have to give this a lot of thought.  If it were just me I would give it a try (that would let me know what thinking I need to change to be ready in any situation), but I have to think of the wife and the furry family and their safety also.

Thanks for the input Bob.  As always you have been a great help.

 

[geogentry]

Two Utube videos to check out: Kia Gypsy Girl is the one who retreated to her car, she also had a video a few weeks earlier that showed her tent blown over in another incident; Caravan Carolyn posted a video of the damage in her camp and a neighbors done during the recent overnight windstorm.

I found and watched Gypsy Girls video.  Thanks for pointing it out.  Will begin the hunt for Carolyns vidoe in a bit.

 

[bullfrog]

Really if you have a car you can usually watch the weather. When a front is coming, just drop the tent by removing the poles and ride it out in the car, generally you can move a few hundred miles and get into another weather pattern if it looks like it will blow for several days. Having a small enclosed trailer to carry all the camping gear that you can sleep in when all the camping gear is outside has worked well for us all but one day when we ended up in a motel drying out wet gear. Check out Teardrops and Tiny Trailers (ttnt) forums for small cheap solutions.

 

[geogentry]

bullfrog

When a front is coming, just drop the tent by removing the poles and ride it out in the car

-I am not sure I understand this.  I will have twenty guy lines attached to the tent which would not be quick to pull down.  If I did manage to collapse the tent that leaves 500 square feet of material for the wind to loft and whip around.  There would be a time factor involved and then dealing with the wind damage to the tent.


Having a small enclosed trailer to carry all the camping gear that you can sleep in when all the camping gear is outside ... Check out Teardrops and Tiny Trailers (ttnt) forums for small cheap solutions.

-I like the idea and will check out the forums.  It may not be immediate but in the very near future it could provide a solution

 

[bullfrog]

Leave the tent attached to lines and stakes and making it lie flat on the ground by removing poles. Zig zag a line or throw a cargo net stretched to the stakes over the flat tent keeps it from flapping. This is necessary only when you get caught off guard in a high wind, your tent will get dirty as the majority of the sand is blowing closer to the ground but your tent will stay in one piece and your poles won't bend or break. My Kodiak is easy because it only has two uprights and every thing inside can fold flat, the top exterior poles actually help keep the canvass from flapping. Also the only ropes I have are two for the awning. These tents are made with wind in mind.

 

[geogentry]

I did look at the Kodiak tents.. they are very very nice.  And I would have preferred to go canvas rather than the nylon for durability and comfort - but that pesky thing called a budget laughed at the idea. 

I will have to play with the idea once I get it set up.  It is  good idea.  I just may have to modify the guy line attachment to make it feasible.  I figure with the help of good ideas from everyone and experience it will take me about 6 months to have a good, solid, understanding of what it takes to setup my camp in various terrain and environments successfully.  I expect to learn a lot and make a lot of mistakes, hopefully nothing catastrophic. Learning, after all, is part of my coming Adventure.

 

[wagoneer]

My go to all inclement weather tent has been the USMC 2 person made by Diamond sold under the Eureka label low slow and tough. I see em on ebay always used and 25-30 bucks.

 

[bullfrog]

Really most of the time in the west a tarp works as well as anything along with a pop up shower tent to change and dump in. I used to spend a lot of time in a good sleeping bag with nothing else not even a good dog to keep me warm, but as we get older it sure gets tougher, a good nights sleep any where makes the rest easy.

 

[geogentry]

I thought i would update this thread. Since a lot of people read the threads for information.

18 months after i started the original thread, 14 months after Departure, i have learned a ton about wind, dust, rain, and the occasional sleet.

The tent i mentioned above ended up being a disaster. Hit a wind on the edge of a storm in New Mexico, everything was working as planned - until some of the guy line attachments ripped off the rain fly. Bad workmanship. Lost 3 poles from damage. Tent company said to the effect it was God's will and they don't cover that. Fixed it so it was usable once more. Some months later hit a good dust storm in Nevada. Tent destroyed.

Started using a Coleman tent. It held up fairly well as i traveled around Nevada and Oregon. Went back to the tent eater spot. It ate the tent.

So using a tent someone had cast off (they had burned a hole in the floor). Placed a vinyl piece under the tent and one on the inside. Worked ok.

Saved up some money and bought a tent made to stand up to weather. Got an Alaskan Guide 8 man. With me, wife, and two dogs it had just enough room to sit out a rainstorm plus the bed. Yes, i gave it the test. Back to the place that eats tents. Experienced heavy winds, dust storms, rain for days and even some sleet. (Dust happened before the rain of course.) The tent remained sturdy, upright, and unharmed. Not even much flapping of the rain fly. I give credit to the fact that there are 24 stakes holding down the tent. Of course the stakes are those 12" landscaping spikes. It's a bear to put up now that it's just me and my pup, but when i lay down at night now i know i will not wake with the tent crumpled on top of me.

So my advice to possible tenters is to get a tent made to withstand weather. 4 season tents are the stronger choice. And do some checking on weather where you want to be.

Sent from my SM-J727V using Tapatalk

 

[highdesertranger]

thanks for the review geo. is that the Cabela's Alaskan Guide tent? I have heard good things about them. highdesertranger

 

[geogentry]

Yes HDR. I could have said a LOT more on its positives. But that wasn't my purpose. I will say that despite it being nylon i haven't slept in a tent as solid as this in 3 score years when I slept in a canvas cabin tent.

BUT they have gone up in price - a lot. Last Thanksgiving they were about $450. Black Friday $425. I ran to the store on Monday and they had gone up to almost $600. I guess a day late and a dollar short does fit sometimes. (Another month of Ramen noodles put the savings to the purchase level)


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[bullfrog]

Thanks for the update. Tenting in good high quality tent when it is 10' x 10' or larger (ours is a 10' x 14') is work putting up and taking down camp for a broken down almost 68 year old man , one reason we camped our full 14 days or whatever the limit was and only leaving early if we would have to pack in wind or wet weather which is no bueno. We only use the tent after long periods in which we have had time to forget the work involved to put it up and take it down but it is glorious to wake up in with a sunny day with a cool breeze. Bad weather days it stays in the trailer along with us.