Tent frame for camping over tent-peg-proof substrate

[Longshot270]

On my last camping trip I found out that when you forget the heavy duty galvanized 10 inch nails at home, setting up camp gets tricky if the site is harder ground than your pegs... so it got me thinking.

Can you build a frame slightly larger than the footprint of a tent with hooks on it for the tent and holes to drive stakes where possible?

I use a little 1 man pup tent and was planning on using regular 2x3 boards.

Anyone ever do this? Were there any issues?

 

[gandrimp]

If it were me, I would still forget the stakes. I carry my stakes with the tent and the hammer.

 

[Rexplorer]

my tents are all freestanding, so pegs arent required for tbe body of the tent. the only pegs i usually put in are the ones that hold the door/vestibule out. when we've been in situations where pegs don't go in, i usually tie the fly to a big rock or piece of wood. a platform seems a bit bulky but should work if you go that route.

 

[Longshot270]

Yeah, my big tent is free standing but the little $20 throw away tent has ended up being more durable than any other one I've owned.

I changed my plans and built a pvc truck bed cover that I can throw a tarp over and tie a cot sized mosquito cover in. No more worrying about finding a smooth campsite for a tent.

 

[brianb2]

Funny how that works out. Sometimes you buy a cheap piece of gear with low expectations to fill a need, and it ends up surprising you. I've got that with a walmart tent I bought. It's big enough that it's useful for camping, but it's not freestanding. I saw the aluminum frame used in the oztent and was inspired to build something similar. Aluminum tubing was going to get expensive. I settled on using 1/2" EMT and pvc pipe fittings. If you get the ones with the internal threads then you can hammer them onto the EMT and the pressure fit is surprisingly strong. I haven't had a chance to finish it yet it's kind of a side "side project", lots of other priorities. I'll post some pics when I get it completed. Good luck.

 

[Rexplorer]

the benefit of a decent tent with a full fly is the air insulation layer between the body of the tent and the fly. a single layer of tarp on a pvc frame is a great idea though. cheaper and easy way to fill a need... just my style.

 

[Longshot270]

On my little green tent, I had planned on building an internal frame but the project kept getting put off. When I forgot the pegs I improvised with a pop up canopy.

On the truck canopy I kept the exterior pvc so it is less likely to scratch up my truck and fishing rods or rust from the coastal salt.
Long horizontal lengths are reinforced with 3/4 emt inside the 1" pvc though. I'll take pictures this afternoon.

I actually built this to avoid the multiple layers. When it is 80-90 at night and no breeze, you really feel how well the tents insulate. Winter around here is often lows I the 40s. All you need is something to keep the rain and wind away.

 

[Yellow]

I got given a Hilleberg tent on an expedition, and its been in deep snow, desert and wet conditions and rarely bother taking the stakes with me.
It is free standing, but has long flaps on the outside layer and usually just weigh those down with rocks/snow/sand/whatever you can get your hands on.

My old cheapo tents I usually used stakes, but with my lack of organisation they were often not there so we used the rock method like Rexplorer said above

 

[000]

I’ve used rocks, logs coolers etc to tie to when camping on hard ground when stakes weren’t possible. My brother bought a pretty cool tent last year that clips into an ez up awning. Of course you need to have to room to haul an ez up, but it pretty awesome, relatively inexpensive and freestanding. It’s nice when the weather sucks to be able to have basically a small cabin to hang out in.


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[Longshot270]

The last trip all I had were oyster shell and grass. [emoji1]

In the pop up canopy tent, was it under the canopy or off to the side?
How sturdy is it? Where I like going 10-15 mph wind is considered mild and have been out there more than a time or two when 30+ mph wind whipped through and leveled the fiberglass tents.

 

[000]

The last trip all I had were oyster shell and grass. [emoji1]

In the pop up canopy tent, was it under the canopy or off to the side?
How sturdy is it? Where I like going 10-15 mph wind is considered mild and have been out there more than a time or two when 30+ mph wind whipped through and leveled the fiberglass tents.

The walls attach to the frame of the canopy under the roof where the roof turns down if that makes sense. The floor and walls are all one piece so you spread it out under the canopy and start attaching the walls around you. It’s very quick to set up. I don’t know if he’s used it in any real wind, we got out of the rain and sleet in it on a couple trips. He usually puts heavy stuff in the corners like his cooler, etc to avoid stakes


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