is theer a rule of thmb for stakes?

[XJ35S]

I seem to set up my tarp different every time. I usually pull and move to drive it in again. I hate slack and wrinkles.

I have line loc 3's on all my tie outs, on a 12x10 winter tarp. Today I think I figured out a good rule of thumb. I would like to hear your methods. Anyone use actual measurements? Like a guyline for reference.

stake all four corners in line with the tree about 6' to each side. Then put four stakes inline with the door corners about 4' out.


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Then if the doors are needed loosen the corners and move the lines to the door corner stakes on the opposite sides, and tighten.
I have followed this procedure twice and got a perfect hang of the tarp each time.

stakes22.jpg

Here it is live!!!


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[fallkniven]

Your overthinking it. Once you get the hang of it, it will become second nature. Also, your stakes are way too far from your tarp, that may be why your having trouble. When I'm staking out the corners, I grab the line and pull till the tarp looks right, then drive in stake and pull line taunt. The stake is only a foot or two away from the tarp. Also, a little shock cord on the line will help to get a tight pitch and take up any slack from moisture.

[Korse]

Your overthinking it. Once you get the hang of it, it will become second nature. Also, your stakes are way too far from your tarp, that may be why your having trouble. When I'm staking out the corners, I grab the line and pull till the tarp looks right, then drive in stake and pull line taunt. The stake is only a foot or two away from the tarp. Also, a little shock cord on the line will help to get a tight pitch and take up any slack from moisture.

This ^^^^^^

[XJ35S]

Thanks.Trying to find the best way to close up the doors. That starry night tarp has snaps. Might not be a bad idea.

[fallkniven]

Hook the line for the door on the corner of the tarp

[fallkniven]

Or hook the lines together around the tree

[T- Minus]

I use Dutch's tape worms on a bungee connected to the tarp, a loop in the stake end, so for setting up I stake it and tighten and loop the worm. simple. And if the weather turns sour I and adjust from under the tarp or even stick in an extra stake to change the angle.

[WalksIn2Trees]

Step One: get your tarp hung, centered and level from the ridgeline loops.

Step Two-Notes: your corner stakes and ridgeline height define your doors and the geometry of your tarp. In the winter, you'll want your tarp edges to be closer to the ground, while in summer you may prefer to raise them high for better air flow, but this might allow more rain to blow under as well, so you have to learn the proper balance.

Step Two-A: If doors, prep the doors along with corners to be in the closed position. I guy-out my doors to a point, rather than crossing them, this gives me more interior room and keeps the wind from blowing quite as much weather underneath. Stake out the point because this defines the extents of the door geometry while the doors are closed.

Step Two-B: guy out the corners that are shared with the doors if you don't cross your doors. If you do cross your doors, you've already done this as part of step two-A.

Step Three: guy out your centers if needed, the more wind, the more guylines you want holding it all down. If you'll be away from camp and there's a chance of a heavy storm while your away, make sure you fully deploy and secure your tarp.

Step Four: guy out your side-pulls (if you have them) side-pulls mostly eliminate the need for post-setup adjustment because they tension the span of the tarp, eliminating sag and stretch, and they open up more interior head room. If your tarp lacks side pulls, there are aftermarket and DIY products that allow you to add some without any sewing

You always want to work opposites to keep it centered and evenly tensioned

There's​ many many ways to make your guylines adjustable... Make them adjustable AT THE TARP, so you don't have to get wet while adjusting them.

Some one up there mentioned too long guylines... There's no such thing. If you're camping on a slope, the downhill guylines will need to be a lot longer than the ones on the uphill side. You're screwed in that case if you only carry short guylines... Remember, you can always tie them close to the tarp if you need to, and coil up the excess. This is not to say you can't keep short lines on there and bring spare cord, and in fact you should always bring spare cord. Things I use my spare cord for include hanging bear bags, preventing me from slipping on a muddy slope after a rain as I ascend/descend to my hillside camp site, securing things to the outside of my pack or bike.

Maybe they meant the distance from stake to tarp, but this is also situation dependent. On a hot day, you might want a lot of air flow, on a rainy windy day you might want the wind-ward side staked close to the ground and the lee-ward side in a shallow porch-mode.

Something else that I've done is use nearby bushes to take the wind-action off the stake... The bush takes the motion, the stake secures the line


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[XJ35S]

Most excellent. This is helpful. I did connect the doors to the corners and it gave me a very taught tarp with just a small gap at the peak for the straps. I'll try the two A for the point. Thank you.

[curlymaple42]

I'm interested at the NEHHA hang this weekend to see just how tight people tension. The ridge line I tension nice and tight but the guy lines I'm not sure about.

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