"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:GQJEb.599065$Tr4.1565941@attbi_s03...
There are also "sand stakes" available that are designed to hold in
loose
soil. Sort of like
portable aircraft tie-downs but made out of thermoset plastic. They
basically screw into the
ground

There is NOTHING you can "screw into" some parts of the North 40. This
past
year we were parked on top of what amounted to gravel beneath a thin layer
of topsoil. As a result, I was completely unable to screw in my metal
aircraft tie-downs -- even using a "cheater bar"!

It would simply drill down a few inches, and start pulling up gravel and
dirt, just like a little excavator. I was just very lucky that those same
winds that destroyed my tent didn't flip my plane.

(We actually got a couple of them in, eventually, by carrying buckets of
water over to the plane, and pouring them into the parched ground. This
softened the soil enough for the screw-ins to "bite" and stay put, sort
of.)

Other years it's never been as much of a problem, so I think we were just
in
a bad spot, compounded by a summer-long drought.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Nothing can beat a 1/2" rebar, about 16" long. Weld a hook on the backside,
to keep the ropes from sliding off.

I found that the problem with most tents, is that they do not have guy
attach points in the right places. If the tent is allowed to start
oscilating from the gusts, the end is near. I put extra holes through the
rain fly, to attach to the poles in mid span, and at the top, then run them
out at a good angle away from the tent. That also makes for a good place to
hang towels, ect. So, in wraping up the tent bit, in my opinion, if you add
enough extra guys, any tent can be made to stay up.

The wet inside bit, is a hard one, but I recomend blow up air mattresses to
keep above any floor water. For luggage, a trunk type, made from plastic,
available as "tool boxes" at the big home improvement chains is hard to
beat. If it is in the water, no big deal. The top can double as a night
stand for lanterns, lights, clocks, act. Get a big piece of plastic for
under the tent, but make it large enough that you can roll up the edges,
upwards, and make sure they are under the edge of the tent. The rolled up
edge prevents water from getting on top of the plastic, in between the
bottom of the tent and the plastic. (bad news)
--
Jim in NC