PSA: Always weigh down your canopies and tents!

[PearsOnPrint]

Was just at a great show at a cider brewery. There were about 30 of us set up in the parking lot. Super calm day, hardly a breeze. We were almost all set up when this gust of wind came out of nowhere and upturned half a dozen tents. Inventory was flying, tents were being lifted up and carried away. The food vendor's tent blew into the side of the building. Thankfully it didn't look like anyone was hurt and inventory was all ok. A few vendors thought weights weren't needed because it was so calm, and others were waiting to make sure their neighbors had enough space before they added their weights.

As I was strapping my canopy to my weights I even had the thought, this is probably overkill. Nope, I will always use weights and straps on my canopy from now on. The day before I was at another sale and a gentleman kind of gave me a (good natured) hard time for hauling my weights out of my car and using them because it wasn't windy. Now I've seen what a rouge gust of wind can do! It was crazy!

[TracyMcGeheeArtist]

Agreed. Always use tent weights. Ya just never know...Mother nature can be a tricky one! I'd rather put all the effort in of weighing down my tent than to have it blown over in a random wind gust with all my artwork probably ruined.

[NeshikotJewelry]

what weights are you using for your tent? I will be doing my first outdoor show and don't want to worry about the wind and what it may do to my set up.

[TigersandDragons]

There are several different kinds - some you can buy, some you can make.
Just be sure to have at least. 40lbs per corner

https://www.etsy.com/ca/teams/8070/craft-fairs-its-a-living/discuss/10897943/page/1

https://www.etsy.com/teams/8070/craft-fairs-its-a-living/discuss/16332201/

https://www.etsy.com/teams/8070/craft-fairs-its-a-living/discuss/15321500/

[Former_Member]

I made our weights out of 4" PVC pipe and filled with cement and a large eye bolt. https://www.facebook.com/SweetAirSoap/photos/pcb.1493484184050583/1493479217384413/?type=3&theater

I would never set up our canopy without adding the weights. Just a couple weeks ago, we did an outdoor festival, art & seafood. Just about every vendor had cheap, flimsy canopy's, no side curtains and no wights. We had our steel framed Caravan, side curtains, weights, etc. Our neighbor had a super heavy duty, very expensive dome canopy.

Around 3:00 in the afternoon, a thunderstorm rolled in, rained poured down, the wind kicked up. Our canopy and our neighbors heavy duty domed canopy were fine. But I could hear vendors yelling as they were running around frantic, trying to figure out what to do during the storm.

And then, there was an outdoor show a few years ago, celebrating the service of firefighters, EMS, police officers, coast guard, etc. We were outside on a large grass lawn, in-between a yacht club building and the bay. In the afternoon, the State Police Medivac helicopter approached the large lawn, and then landed about 150 from the vendors canopy's. At that show, we were the ONLY vendor with weights and side curtains. Lemme' tell ya, the gust of wind from the Medivac's rotors when it was landing felt like a hurricane was coming through. Again, vendors were scrambling to secure their products and tents. I held on to one of my frame legs but really didn't need to, but it's just an instinctual thing. I have a video of the helicopter landing and the gust of wind it caused on our Facebook page.

You just never know what you will encounter at an outdoor show, so it's always best to prepare for the worst, and then enjoy it when you get the best.

[ImLaughingMyGlassOff]

I have always used weights. Last show I borrowed a stake and ratchet strap system from a more seasoned artist. My set up did not budge in storm. Highly recommend.

[Former_Member]

Kettle ball weights from Walmart with a ratchet strap... hooked to the top of the frame, not on just the leg...

[ComfyPetPads]

I'm always surprised at events when tent isn't weighed down, it's should always be a requirement. I was at an event a couple of years ago, weather was lousy, and someone kitty corner from me didn't have their tent weighed down. The wind came in and blew it nearly missing mind. I was pretty unhappy about it. People don't realize these things can be deadly when they fly around. I have PVC filled with cement on each leg, around 45lbs each.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/463518986621072084/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/463518986620923883/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/463518986620923891/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/463518986620500989/

[PearsOnPrint]

I like the kettle ball idea!

I got these:
https://www.amazon.com/Outdoor-Stuff-Portable-Canopy-Weight/dp/B01BE8MMXO/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=15...

I do notice after hauling them quite a few times this summer (12+ times) that the handles are coming unstitched in the corners. So far they haven't broken completely. Might need to look into the kettle ball idea if they do.

I filled gallon ziplock bags with landscaping rocks from my yard and filled each side till the whole thing weighted 30-40 lbs. I've also heard of people using sandbox sand ($4 for a 50lb bag). I just had an excess of landscaping rocks outside. :D

I also got these lashing straps:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017902W8G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I run these through the D ring on the weight bags and over the top of my canopy frame and pull tight. I haven't seen too many people do that but I feel like its more secure.

[Former_Member]

In retrospect, I wish I would have went with either the kettle bells or hex dumbbells. At one outdoor festival, I noticed a vendor across the street from me who used hex dumbbells. They're much smaller than my weights, lie flat on the ground, and have built in handles to carry. And, you can get the dumbbells in whatever poundage you want. It probably would have cost more to buy the dumbbells, but buying them would have saved me a lot of time and they would have been much easier to transport to our outdoor shows.

[ImLaughingMyGlassOff]

And you have dumbells for the rest of the year.

[BeachFleaMarket]

I was at an outdoor show in a city that is known for being windy. I commented to a near by booth that they may want to tie down their tent. She said that it wasn't required. Right after she finished saying that, she grabbed the tent as it was lifting off the ground.

[PrairiePrimitives]

It was nice and calm as I was setting up at 7am this morning. I trekked to my truck and hauled my weights back just before noon. Good thing too, because from 1pm until the show ended at 3pm, it was more breezy than not. Google said the wind was only 10mph, but really???

I've been hanging my weights from the top corners, as many of you have said is the right way to use weights. This leaves me wondering about the weights that fit around the canopy feet; are they a total joke? Two of my booth neighbors had this type of weight; one said they were 10 pounds each!

[TigersandDragons]

The tent material is the "sail" that the wind pushes, so if the weights are only on the frame of the tent and not attached to the canopy, it is possible for the wind to take the canopy away, and snap the "weighted" tent frame structure....leaving it behind on the ground.

If you think about traditional tents, even when the bottom of the tent is pegged into the grass, there are still lines that run off the canopy that are also pegged in

So the canopy feet weights are not effective when it's really windy,

[PrairiePrimitives]

Am I still not hanging the weights correctly? When you say "canopy," do you mean the fabric roof? If I hang my weights from that, I'm sure I'd get a big hole in each corner or, more likely, the entire canopy roof would just rip to shreds. Other than that, it's all frame, as far as I can tell.

[PrairiePrimitives]

Tried to edit the above comment, but got a message about not having permission to edit my own post, despite being in the process of doing so! I thought as long as the edits were started within 120 seconds of the original post, I could take as long as necessary to make the edits.

Anyway ...

There's a frame and there's a fabric roof. I've been hanging the weights with a bungee from the metal rafters in the interior corners.

[TigersandDragons]

Canopies usually have string lines coming from the 4 corners. Like traditional tents, if you were on grass, you would run those lines to the ground (out at an angle) and peg them in.

We have the large sandbag type of weights, that wrap around the legs (with Velcro), AND we also connect the string lines to these weights, so that the fabric canopy is weighted, NOT just the bottom of the tent frame.

[PlaynwithScraps]

My canopy has walls with 3 velcro strips at the top. If I have the walls down and it gets windy I always loosen the center velcro strip so the wind can blow through a little.

[PrairiePrimitives]

My canopy doesn't have any lines. I've never seen that on "EZ Up" style canopies.

Can't remember the last time I set up on grass (1978?), so staking isn't an option for me. I doubt it would be allowed anyway since the stakes or lines would be a pedestrian hazard.