Screw in tent pegs take 2

Olley46 · Guru

Screw in tent pegs take 2

Cupie · Guru

Buggar ... Just picked up a pack myself. Waiting for the torrential rain to stop to try them out.

Oh well, off to the bolt shop on Monday.

-- Edited by Cupie on Saturday 21st of March 2015 03:44:03 PM

brickies · Guru

Yes I brought a box this morning not worth a pinch of s-it , Aldi rubbish again lent my lesson

brickies · Guru

Lance what size coach screws do you use and if you were happy why did you try the ALDI ones

Long Weekend · Guru

It probably doesn't say so on the pack but I would presume that they would only be suitable for those small two and three man tents. These small tents have virtually no pulling on the pegs. I once saw a couple in a tent a bit larger than a three man one at Ulladulla who simply pushed their pegs into the ground! No hammering required. Luckily, the wind over those couple of days was light.

Like Olley46 Lance I'll stick with my coach screws - I have a selection of sizes - 150mm, 225mm and 300mm. To date they have held no matter how strong the wind has got up to.

So far though I haven't tried the coach screws in mud. A few years back we stayed at Maroochydore when there was some five days of rain day and night. The ground got so soft that the tent poles sank into the ground and the ordinary pegs simply slid out of the mud.

I wonder if anyone has used coach screws in mud?

Murray

Olley46 · Guru

brickies wrote:
Lance what size coach screws do you use and if you were happy why did you try the ALDI ones

Hi brickles

I thought I would try the Aldi one,s because of price ,the coach screws are 8"X 1/2". 200cm x14cm the coach screws were around $3.25 each,I am going to find some longer ones a gentleman told me where I could get them in Geelong,so I will see how I go! the post above me was going to try some coach screws in mud i don't think any pegs would be good in mud, a six foot star picket maybe.

Lance C

-- Edited by Olley46 on Saturday 21st of March 2015 05:06:32 PM

brickies · Guru

Thanks Lance

Sheba · Guru

I still think the Pet Tethers already mentioned would be a much better option. They can't be just pulled straight out. You have to literally unscrew them from the ground.

Cheers,

Sheba.

-- Edited by Sheba on Saturday 21st of March 2015 08:44:04 PM

Long Weekend · Guru

Thinking about mud (and sand!) I remember seeing what are called Blue Screw Ground Anchors. An Australian invention they are sold direct online and BCF used to carry them - I say used to because I couldn't see them on their web site when I searched a short while ago.

Check their web sites www.bluescrew.com.au and www.bluescrewtentpegs.com. There are two sizes, a pack of four small ones cost $15.95 plus $6.60 postage and a pack of two large ones same price plus $9.90 postage. Their web site has a demo video - one shot shows a man swinging on a rope looped over a tree branch and hooked onto a blue screw imbedded in the ground. They look something like paint stirrers with a hook on the end to take the guy rope or trace spring.

The postage is a bit of a killer so if they could be found in a shop then they would be cheaper.

Has anybody ever used them?

Murray

Allany · Veteran Member

Boats have been using screw moorings similar to bluescrew for years
They work really well

Allan

brickies · Guru

Long weekend I have 4 of those blue screw anchors from BCF , They on only any good on soft ground or sand and wont look at normal ground

Olley46 · Guru

Sheba wrote:
I still think the Pet Tethers already mentioned would be a much better option. They can't be just pulled straight out. You have to literally unscrew them from the ground.

Cheers,
Sheba.

-- Edited by Sheba on Saturday 21st of March 2015 08:44:04 PM

The reason I want the coach screws is so I can use a cordless gun on them ,they are like your pet tether wont pullout ,I have arthritis in my hands the gun makes it easer.

Lance C

brickies · Guru

And that is the same with the blue screw anchors very hard on your hands and have had to use a tent peg though the eye at the top to turn it

Olley46 · Guru

If you go back to the original post of Cupie, the photo that has been put up by an Aldi buyer of the box of pegs are different to what I put up ,the photo on the first post shows the corkscrew part of the pegs is almost the full length of the peg, the photo I put up the corkscrew is only part way up the pegs,maybe the full screw maybe better than part of a screw.

Lance C

JackieP · Senior Member

I, like most went to ALDI this morning and got a box of the pile driver pegs...oh well will just carry them around in the boot of the van...maybe they will be okay for the ensuite tents. Now for the dumb female question...would it be possible to weld a nut ( or whatever they are called ) onto those pet anchors so they can be drilled in?....I don't have the strength to manually screw them into the ground and due to hubbies medical condition he cant either so using a drill is imperative

hako · Guru

Don't forget that ALDI have a money back guarantee.

ShortNorth · Senior Member

I pulled mine out with just a finger under the plastic bit - I'm taking mine back for a refund on Monday.

Last year I was camped next to a bloke at Noosa River CP - he was a builder - he fixed all his annexe ropes down with special building screws called SPAX (made in Germany). Said he'd been using them for over 4 years without a problem - used washer head 10mm x 240 long - about $3.50 each, but he said was worth it - needs a special driver point to fit into your cordless drill - nice big wide thread holds quite well in normal ground. He said he wouldn't use anything else, much better than normal coach screws - the SPAX held in the heaviest winds he ever camped in !

Here's a link to see what they are like - a search on their website lists dealers who stock them - I think I'll get a handful.

http://www.spaxpacific.com/products/whptds.html

Regards, Brian

hako · Guru

Looks like they are supposed to be driven in with a heavy hammer....not screwed in. They seem popular in England for driving into hard stand. GOOGLE "pile driver tent pegs"
Regards

Cupie · Guru

ShortNorth wrote:
I pulled mine out with just a finger under the plastic bit - I'm taking mine back for a refund on Monday.
Last year I was camped next to a bloke at Noosa River CP - he was a builder - he fixed all his annexe ropes down with special building screws called SPAX (made in Germany). Said he'd been using them for over 4 years without a problem - used washer head 10mm x 240 long - about $3.50 each, but he said was worth it - needs a special driver point to fit into your cordless drill - nice big wide thread holds quite well in normal ground. He said he wouldn't use anything else, much better than normal coach screws - the SPAX held in the heaviest winds he ever camped in !
Here's a link to see what they are like - a search on their website lists dealers who stock them - I think I'll get a handful.
http://www.spaxpacific.com/products/whptds.html
Regards, Brian

Thanks for that ... Looks like there's a stockist just near my place ... at Randall St Slacks Creek ... I'll pop in on on monday morning on my way to Aldi to return theirs.

There are a couple of Bolt specialist i the area too.

cheers Graham C

Long Weekend · Guru

ShortNorth wrote:
I pulled mine out with just a finger under the plastic bit - I'm taking mine back for a refund on Monday.
Last year I was camped next to a bloke at Noosa River CP - he was a builder - he fixed all his annexe ropes down with special building screws called SPAX (made in Germany). Said he'd been using them for over 4 years without a problem - used washer head 10mm x 240 long - about $3.50 each, but he said was worth it - needs a special driver point to fit into your cordless drill - nice big wide thread holds quite well in normal ground. He said he wouldn't use anything else, much better than normal coach screws - the SPAX held in the heaviest winds he ever camped in !
Here's a link to see what they are like - a search on their website lists dealers who stock them - I think I'll get a handful.
http://www.spaxpacific.com/products/whptds.html
Regards, Brian

I had a quick look at the SPAX website. It looks like that the type called SPAX T-STAR PLUS might be suitable for our purposes - the wide thread goes the full length of the shank and it seems to be available in lengths up to 450mm!!! Putting them down that deep should ensure that the holding power would handle almost up to a cyclone.

The only minor problem I can see is that the screws take a special driver instead of the common 1/2-inch one. That means that you would best have to carry several spares to replace one that would get lost - after all, I doubt that the drivers would be available at the local corner hardware store, nor probably from the big green shed.

Also, the head of the screws could well be the 'one shot' type and not meant to be screwed in and out multiple times. I'll be interested to hear how they go in extended use.

Murray

jon641 · Veteran Member

Just had a look,doesn't seem to be any distributors in WA.

ShortNorth · Senior Member

Cupie wrote:

................................ Looks like there's a stockist just near my place ... at Randall St Slacks Creek ................................

I had a look on their website, couldn't find the SPAX screws anywhere , maybe they only get them in to order. However, I did find that A Wood Shed at Darra seem to carry them, I'm going to ring them sometime this week.

Regards, Brian

ShortNorth · Senior Member

Long Weekend wrote:
I had a quick look at the SPAX website. It looks like that the type called SPAX T-STAR PLUS might be suitable for our purposes - the wide thread goes the full length of the shank and it seems to be available in lengths up to 450mm!!! Putting them down that deep should ensure that the holding power would handle almost up to a cyclone.
The only minor problem I can see is that the screws take a special driver instead of the common 1/2-inch one. That means that you would best have to carry several spares to replace one that would get lost - after all, I doubt that the drivers would be available at the local corner hardware store, nor probably from the big green shed.
Also, the head of the screws could well be the 'one shot' type and not meant to be screwed in and out multiple times. I'll be interested to hear how they go in extended use.
Murray
G'day Murray,
The T-STAR PLUS head applies to several of the different screw types - I think you'll find the ones with the full length thread only have the small head designed to pull flush into the timber being fixed (be very hard to attach a suitable rope fixing to the small head) - the preferred wide washer head type are only in half-length thread and up to 260mm only. The bloke who put me onto them, only uses the washer head 240mm ones and has had no problems over 4 years. I think any longer than that and you'll need a very powerful cordless drill, as I think the very long screws are designed to be fixed with 'industrial strength' mains power drills ! Also I don't think the screwing in and out again will be a problem, the bloke has been doing that for over 4 years, so it can't be a 'one shot' type. And, yes, will probably have to keep a few spare driver bits for good measure. I'll know a bit more later this week after I've rung the local dealer.
Regards, Brian

dING · Senior Member

When the going gets rough we use short star picket posts

A cyclone wont pull them out

Olley46 · Guru

Took my pegs back today ,they asked me what was wrong with them,I said they just pulled straight out of the ground,I told them you may have a lot being returned to different stores,

Lance C

Olley46 · Guru

Went to a nut and bolt supplier today and asked what was the biggest coach screws you could get in 13 mm and they told me 200mm was the biggest they make, i suppose if you need them longer you could cut them and add an extension .

Lance C

Long Weekend · Guru

As mentioned earlier I bought mine on eBay from America. The two sizes were both 3/8th of an inch (about 9mm) diameter by 12-inch (300mm) and 9-inch (225mm) in packs of 25. At that time the Aussie dollar was just below the greenback so even with the exorbitant shipping charges they still worked out at around $2.50 per screw.

At the time I was searching for these screws I found several firms in England selling them in the long sizes. Unfortunately, although England normally charges better shipping rates than America, none seemed to sell them on the Internet so I ended up buying them from the US.

I mention this as although Olley46 Lance C was told that the longest coach screws made in Australia were 200mm there are longer ones available from overseas.

Not sure why Lance C would want 13mm thick screws - I found my 9mm ones do the job and haven't pulled out yet.

Murray

03_Troopy · Guru

Long Weekend wrote:
As mentioned earlier I bought mine on eBay from America. The two sizes were both 3/8th of an inch (about 9mm) diameter by 12-inch (300mm) and 9-inch (225mm) in packs of 25. At that time the Aussie dollar was just below the greenback so even with the exorbitant shipping charges they still worked out at around $2.50 per screw.

At the time I was searching for these screws I found several firms in England selling them in the long sizes. Unfortunately, although England normally charges better shipping rates than America, none seemed to sell them on the Internet so I ended up buying them from the US.

I mention this as although Olley46 Lance C was told that the longest coach screws made in Australia were 200mm there are longer ones available from overseas.

Not sure why Lance C would want 13mm thick screws - I found my 9mm ones do the job and haven't pulled out yet.

Murray

For softer ground maybe?

Cupie · Guru

I finally dropped in to one of the miriad of bolt suppliers in my area and got 4 of their longest 'HEX HEAD COACH SCREWS'.

They are 12x200mm grade 4.6 Galvanised ... 4 for $20 which was about the price that I expected.

The plus is that the hex head is 3/4" which is the same as my caravan corner steadies. So all I need to do is reinforce the power tool winder extension socket that I have for doing that job & I'm in business.

I am currently experimenting with a few ideas for attaching the guy rope.

I will take a photo later & attach to this or a subsequent posting.

I'll use the useless ALDI (edit) ones for holding down the annex walls .. perhaps.

After sleeping on the problem I think that I'll just revert to the large washer with a retaining blob of weld to attach the guy rope springs.

(looks like the email notification of checked posts facility is working again)

-- Edited by Cupie on Tuesday 24th of March 2015 09:33:48 AM

jetj · Guru

Aldi is selling 20 screw in heavy duty tent pegs in a plastic case for $10.