We’re going to solve another one of the great mysteries of camper trailers, one of those questions everyone wants an answer to. What are the extra D-rings on the side of your tent and annex for? Well, they’re there for windy, stormy conditions. What you can do, is add an extra couple of ropes, peg it into the ground, and give additional support to the tent frame, stop it moving around as much during windy conditions, extra support, extra strength to the whole structure.
Run one rope out at 90 degrees to the camper, and one out at 90 degrees to the front of the camper so you’ve got a good angle. That’ll hold the corner steady. Run those front and back of the camper, and now double rope your annex. At the front of the camper, you’ve roped off your awning.
At the middle at the end of the awning is a triangular piece of canvas with a nylon loop sewn in or a D ring. It’s quite strong. Tie in an extra rope here, run it down at an angle, and peg it off. So that it adds support. Don’t forget, you’ve got to put the support pole underneath it, which is a C-clip at one end, and a rubber boot at the other. On the corner of the camper, run ropes out at two different angles. Go out as far as 90 degrees, loop them over the top. That adds extra strength to holding down the corner of the awning.
Over in the centre, set up two ropes again. Set them out at an angle, anywhere between 60 and 90 degrees, far enough back so you get a good angle, and the pegs will do their job.
A little trick on you can do is a half hitch around the poles with your ropes. This will help stop the poles from lifting in wind.
Also, if you’re on a campsite that’s a little bit tight, say you’re in a caravan park and you’re running out of real estate to set up, by doing this, you can actually bring your pegs in closer and still get a good angle down to the peg with the rope, and that’ll hold everything up. That’s basically it. What you can do to secure your camper more when you’re expecting inclement conditions or wind. Head over to our website and check out more of the Masterclass series. Follow us on Facebook and you’ll know each time we post one.
