How to Anchor a Tent on Sand
Anchoring a tent in sand can present challenge. Sand is too loose for regular tent stakes to hold. There are stakes made specifically for setting up a tent in sand. They are about a foot or more in length and extra wide to provide a lot of surface area. They can be hard to find and may not hold in some very loose sands or gusting winds. The surest way to anchor a tent in sand is to use something known as a deadman, which can be improvised on site or made in advance.
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Things You'll Need
- A tent
- 1 guy line for each tent stake location. Length will be determined by conditions where the tent is to be set up
- 1 deadman for each tent stake location.
- Trowel or shovel
- The following are needed only if you are going to make your own deadman in advance
- Aluminum sheet
- Tape measure
- Drill
- Drill bit
- Cable, 1/8-inch diameter is fine
- Cable sleeves
- Cable cutting tool
- Crimping tool
Instructions
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Using a deadman
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1
Tie one guy line to each deadman in the center. A deadman can be made from things found on site, such as driftwood or a tree fall. The stick should be about as big around as your forearm and a bit longer. You could bring 2X4's already cut to size.
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2
Dig a T-shaped trench at one tent stake location. The leg of the "T" needs to point to the tent. The trench should be about a foot deep or deeper depending on how loose the sand is.
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3
To get maximum pull resistance put the deadman in the trench so the guy line is at about a 45-degree angle going toward the tent.
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4
Fill the trench, tamp it down and test. To test, grasp the guy line and give it a good hard tug. If the deadman comes out of the sand, rebury it deeper. Retest until it stays. Bury the remaining deadman stakes in the same manner.
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5
Tie the guy line to the tent where the stakes normally go.
Making your own deadman
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6
Cut pieces of aluminum 8 inches by 10 inches. The aluminum needs to be thick enough not to bend easily.
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7
Drill two holes just big enough for the cable to pass through in the center.
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8
Feed the cable through the holes making a loop.
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9
Slip a sleeve onto one end of the cable. Feed the other end of the cable into the sleeve from the opposite direction forming a neat cable loop.
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10
Crimp the sleeve down as tight as you can.
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