ropes for awning?

[lopo]

I just got one of Marti's little 5'x5' awnings for my Compact since I'll be on the road and not likely to bother putting up the 8' one for one night. I have never put one up or seen one put up. I bought two poles from her, but there are no ropes. Will I need ropes and stakes for this little one or will just the two poles be enough?

[offspringin]

need ropes and stakes. we went "old school" with a natural sisal rope similar to the link and made wooden block sliders.

if you can see the blocks on the ropes this allows you to adjust the ropes


factorydirectcraft.com/catalog/products/1531_1913-10299-14_all_natural_sisal_rope_50ft.html

for stakes i bought 12" huge nails also from home depot

how i remember my dad doing it when i was real little with our pop up

[lopo]

Well, darn. My dad never did it. I don't even know how to fasten the rope to the awning (or pole?) or to the stakes. Nothing like venturing into unknown territory to make me feel like a total dope. Embarrassing! But I'm determined, and I keep telling myself that by the end of the summer, I'll be a pro! So, any closeups will help. I'm going to try to save this photo and see if I can then zoom in on it.

[offspringin]

no worries. and dont feel bad or embarrassed. there's tons of stuff i don't know too but i don't mind sharing things that have worked for me.

as far as the ropes etc goes it doesn't help that I'm an Eagle scout (in fact 3rd generation)

your in luck. my ropes are in the house so heres a picture, intending to splice the end that loops to the stake.

if you go the wood block route i used 1x2 wood, length of a dollar, drilled holes in it 3 places slightly larger than the rope (rope is 3/8th i think) then tie a knot in one end and lace it through. the loop is the part that goes around your pole, then other side stays tight to the wood and runs down to the stake. think i started with a 10ft rope (and that's kinda on the short side but works just fine) the other end stays tied in a loop and you just hammer the stake in through it so the rope is decently tight then when your done slide the wood deal and it tightens up.

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[offspringin]

i just couldn't see a vintage (retro to some of you ) trailer with new poly braided ropes....... that's why i went with the sisal rope.

the set up above has held the canopy in super gusts of wind without fail on multiple trips. tried and true by my dad so that's why i copied what he did.

of course i remember his looking old when i first saw them.... good memories. i remembered the smell of the rope and when i found this in the store i knew it was exactly the same rope from smell alone....

[lopo]

Well, that is very cool little contraption! This is my lucky day - you're right! And I should've known you were an Eagle Scout! I've lucked out! That settles it - I'm adopting you!

[65callie]

I have first dibs to adopt Offspingin!

[lopo]

Oops! Sorry, 65callie, for stepping on your toes! I see you're closer so I don't have a chance.

[offspringin]

i need to put myself up as one of those ebay auctions for "services"

[boandsusan]

Mar 28, 2012 19:48:14 GMT -5 offspringin said:

i need to put myself up as one of those ebay auctions for "services"

LM_O

I really do like that set up. I`m stealing it! Thank you for the pictures. And the giggles. lol.

[offspringin]

its not as easy to adjust as say a nylon backpack strap, have to pull one section, hold it, then pull the other.

about any width or height wood should work, its the thickness you need.

my dad also had some aluminum sheet metal ones he made years back and when i went to make these i asked him alum or wood. he told me the aluminum ones didn't work as good because of how thin they are, they don't kink the rope to the side enough to hold it well.

i actually made these in the campsite (well i had precut the wood) but drilled and laced them in the site. they are that easy.

our canopy has 3 poles so it uses 5 ropes, you can get away with 3 if you mount the end ones diagonally but i like them 90 off the awning. home depot sells a package that's 50ft, so i just cut it into 5 equal parts. then... someone stole one of them to use in the awning she made... (i wont name names here ) and i had to buy some more. but that's ok because it looks good with vintage tiki lights on them too.

we have long sections of poly rope with us, and have on occasion needed them but prefer the sisal for looks

[lopo]

OK, then, for dum dum here, how many ropes will I need for my 5'x5' awning that has just the two corner poles? Two ropes for each pole?

[offspringin]

you could likely get away with 2 ropes if you set them at an angle from the corners. ours is a larger 8x8 so i always figure it needs the extra.

IF I WERE YOU though i would plan for and take 4 with you, if you need them you have them. They don't take up too much room, even in a compact and its easier than trying to improvise.

one campground i stayed at was totally paved, either concrete or asphalt. nowhere to drive in stakes.... so we ended up using the table, trees etc etc so i still suggest maybe longer rope of any kind for those times... depending on where you camp at

[boandsusan]

We have an 8x8 but we only use 2 poles (we also carry a spare pole). We use 2 ropes on each pole at 90 degrees. We had to tie one to a really fat tree this past weekend. luckily my husband had grabbed a 100ft length of rope off one of the boats on our way out. So from now on we`ll carry extra rope. I like the feed bucket idea that I saw someone make for his wife (in place of stakes),as she sets up a lot at parks with asphalt. I need the feed bucket things or lighted stakes as I ALWAYS trip on them.

[lopo]

Lighted stakes...hmmmm. It's a no-brainer that I will trip over them all the time, too. Let's think about this....what about those solar lights that just stick in the ground? Would they work as stakes??

[offspringin]

i dont think the solar lights would have enough support/grab to hold the ropes tight. if you had wind the canopy would become a kite. Could use a piece of rebar that sticks out high enough to slide up inside the post of a solar light though....

using that 10ft rope keeps them pretty vertical though and we have never had an issue with tripping on ours.

[boandsusan]

@ Lopo. I think its only old ladies like us who fall over them lol. The dollar store has those little solar lights that stick in the ground for $2 each on sale right now. Think I`m gonna pick some up. I`ll stick one in the ground next to each stake and plus I need one for up front (yes I keep hitting that too). Come to think of it, I don`t think its anything to do with age. I think its cos my friend puts too much"horseradish" in the bloody mary`s. Ha Ha.........

[mamasherb]

Susan, it'd be the mint in the juleps for me. Gotta watch those tricky seasonings!

[lopo]

Thanks for the tip on the Dollar Store. I'll go there tomorrow!