Tent Platforms - Western Arthurs

[nq111]

Well - got to admit - I have never pitched on a tent platform! I can't recall seeing them about when I lived down there and visiting I haven't done walks where they are installed.

So questions please:

1. Are the platforms on the WA capable of taking a 4.4m tent?
2. What is the current state-of-the-art anchoring methods on these platforms - particularly to hold up in a good wind.

If necessary we'll just pitch on the ground but can see the value (environmental and possibly comfort) using the platforms where possible.

Ta in advance.

[north-north-west]

Take some screw-in cup hooks.

You'd probably manage to pitch that at High Moor provided the platform is empty, but I have my doubts about elsewhere.

[biggbird]

Take some screw-in cup hooks.

You'd probably manage to pitch that at High Moor provided the platform is empty, but I have my doubts about elsewhere.

That seems about accurate! We took a Nallo 2, and only just managed to fit in a couple of spots from memory.

What tent are you using that is that long? A Keron or Kaitum? This was one of the reasons that I didn't choose either of those models! (Yes, I acknowledge that other tent brands exist, but I guess I just have Hilleberg on the brain!)

[nq111]

Hmmm, sounds like it will be camping on the ground as usual.

What size cup holders work? Do they damage the platforms much screwing them in and out all the time? How secure are these in a good blow?

The tent is a Hilleberg Tarra.

Thanks for the help so far.

[Orion]

We took a Nallo 3 and it fit okay. I don't know how it would have worked out if it had been crowded though.

The Tara is narrower but about 1m longer. You might have to be a little creative.

[gayet]

What size cup holders work? Do they damage the platforms much screwing them in and out all the time? How secure are these in a good blow?

I have used cup hooks with a hook diameter of about 1 inch. They are screwed in BETWEEN the planks, not into the plank. Means you have to find a hook with a large enough screw thread to suit the plank gaps. The one inch variety have worked in a few places for me though never in high wind situations - been lucky I guess.

[icefest]

I didn't use cup hooks, but used the nails that are in between the boards already - you just hook the guy rope on it.

In the places where there was no nails, a tent peg with a clove hitch rolled to the knot works quite well too. You just put the knot in the middle, so the peg hangs perpendicular to the string. You then hold it by the string and insert it between the board and then twist it by 90 degrees by turning the string.
As soon as you pull on it the friction stops the peg from turning, and you'll end up with a bombproof anchor that doesn't damage the boards.
To stop them sliding along the crack, put them against one of the beams holding the boards.

Tent platforms are the bomb!

[Strider]

What size cup holders work? Do they damage the platforms much screwing them in and out all the time? How secure are these in a good blow?

I have used cup hooks with a hook diameter of about 1 inch. They are screwed in BETWEEN the planks, not into the plank. Means you have to find a hook with a large enough screw thread to suit the plank gaps. The one inch variety have worked in a few places for me though never in high wind situations - been lucky I guess.

Depends on the platform. Some have the planks closer together and can be screwed between, but others have gaps of 10-15mm in which case you would screw into the plank itself.

[Tortoise]

I didn't use cup hooks, but used the nails that are in between the boards already - you just hook the guy rope on it.

In the places where there was no nails, a tent peg with a clove hitch rolled to the knot works quite well too. You just put the knot in the middle, so the peg hangs perpendicular to the string. You then hold it by the string and insert it between the board and then twist it by 90 degrees by turning the string.
As soon as you pull on it the friction stops the peg from turning, and you'll end up with a bombproof anchor that doesn't damage the boards.
To stop them sliding along the crack, put them against one of the beams holding the boards.

Tent platforms are the bomb!

Thanks, icefest. I haven't had much success on platforms (surprise, surprise ) - so far haven't used the ones where it's possible to screw the cup hooks between the boards, and my wimpy fingers had trouble screwing them into the wood. First attempt at the 'double peg' method failed miserably as a peg fell through into the (almost) inaccessible below-the-platform vegetation.

So just to clarify - no sure what you mean by 'a clove hitch rolled to the knot'. I've had a go - looks like it should work using the 'loop' at the end of the guy line where I'd normally put the peg as the free end with which to make the clove hitch around the middle of the peg. Is that it?

[icefest]

That would work too. tortoise.

What I meant was to tie the clove hitch above the knot (on the tent side of the loop). Then as you pull on the peg the knot will roll down the rope, until the knot abuts the peg. If you use the loop at the end you will not tighten the knot as much and there is a slightly higher risk of losing the peg.

I don't think I know the double peg method.

[Tortoise]

Sorry, still not getting it. Any chance of a pic sometime?

I'm thinking that the clove hitch is around the peg, which is proximal to the sliding knot that you use instead of a line lock. Which doesn't make sense as it by-passes the whole adjustment system... so I haven't got it....

Edit: the double peg method involves piggy-backing pegs in a way that jams them successfully in the gap. I've seen it working well, but of course you need to take more pegs, which I don't want to do either.

[icefest]

On the left side is the loop you'd normally put the peg through.
The middle is the clove hitch.
On the right is the tent.

And here it is rolled over to the stopper knot.

[Tortoise]

Ah, I see the problem. We were talking different loops and different knots. The loop I was meaning was the adjustable part, and my knot was a sliding knot (i.e. in place of a line lock), not a stopper knot:

guyline.jpg (50.77 KiB) Viewed 10866 times

[Strider]

Wouldn't it be easier to just lock off the clove hitch with a half hitch?

[icefest]

Wouldn't it be easier to just lock off the clove hitch with a half hitch?

That would work too. It is one extra knot to undo though, and you can easily undo the one I did by rolling it back the opposite way.

[Tortoise]

If I could try your patience just a tad more, icefest... I can't see how you can adjust the length of the guy line once the peg is in place. I'll take a bionic brain when one becomes available...

[icefest]

You don't. That end stays static, and the other adjusts.

[Tortoise]

It appears I learnt it upside down as a kid, and just kept doing it that way.
That'll help in lots of Tassie campsites. (I nearly didn't keep displaying my lack of common sense, but it was worth it to learn something so useful.) Thanks.

[icefest]

It only works on some tents (not on the cheapest and not on my hilleberg), so it's not that silly to have learnt it the opposite way.
Both ways usually work, and it's cheaper to just sew the guy line to the tent and make the peg end adjustable. There's also a bit less wear, as the fabric loop on the tent could theoretically wear through.