Lag bolt length for tent stakes

[MarcusBrody]

I just purchased a Kodiak Canvas tent and am at the suggestion of this forum am planning on getting some lag bolts to use as stakes to speed set up. What have people found to be a good general purpose length? I see in Burning Man forums that 12 and up are the recommendation, but I'm not sure if this is ideal for more general use on more surfaces. Should I just go 12 and built some spacers if there is solid stuff less than 12 in down? Use a smaller size? Any suggestions from people who have been doing it? We'll be based out of Las Vegas so lots of desert/dry alpine environments.

Thanks!

 

[nwoods]

FWIW, I really like these MSR Groundhog stakes. They are not very big, maybe 10" long, maybe shorter (there is also a mini), but super lightweight, and their X-shape holds the dirt tenaciously, and I've been able to drill them into pretty much anything other than solid granite in the Sierra's. I've used them on large (REI BaseCamp 6) tents in the desert winds and High Sierra storms, and have not had any pullouts. The fluted X-shape provides a lot of surface area for holding strength. Note, its not a true X-shpae there are only three "vanes" so I suppose they form more of a star pattern. They include a a pull string that is really useful in getting them back out of the ground.




There is a video showing a lot more info on the MSR website. Hmmm.... those new Cyclone stakes look pretty cool!

Groundhog™ Stakes Heavy-Duty, All-Purpose Tent Stakes | MSR®

Our classic Groundhog heavy-duty tent stakes work in just about any ground type, providing exceptional hold with an aluminum T-beam design.

www.msrgear.com

 

[CampStewart]

An open desert in sand will be very different than in the deep woods, then there is the size and style of the tent

 

[TNExplorer]

I bought heavy duty 12" stakes years ago and have used them on several different tents/styles. Havent let me down yet.

 

[MarcusBrody]

FWIW, I really like these MSR Groundhog stakes. They are not very big, maybe 10" long, maybe shorter (there is also a mini), but super lightweight, and their X-shape holds the dirt tenaciously, and I've been able to drill them into pretty much anything other than solid granite in the Sierra's. I've used them on large (REI BaseCamp 6) tents in the desert winds and High Sierra storms, and have not had any pullouts. The fluted X-shape provides a lot of surface area for holding strength. Note, its not a true X-shpae there are only three "vanes" so I suppose they form more of a star pattern. They include a a pull string that is really useful in getting them back out of the ground.

View attachment 591364


There is a video showing a lot more info on the MSR website. Hmmm.... those new Cyclone stakes look pretty cool!

Groundhog™ Stakes Heavy-Duty, All-Purpose Tent Stakes | MSR®

Our classic Groundhog heavy-duty tent stakes work in just about any ground type, providing exceptional hold with an aluminum T-beam design.

www.msrgear.com

I use the mini-ground hogs for my super lightweight 2 person backpacking tent. I actually just put one into the ground minutes ago in my yard as that tent needed to air out after having been packed too quickly after use.

I'm trying to get away from driving stakes with this new tent. It's a big (10x10), heavy, canvas tent with 14 stakes to be used strictly for car camping. In order to make set up and take down quicker, I'm planing on using lag screws and an impact driver (a tip which I picked up in these forumns). I'll probably just start with 12 inch lag screws then get shorter down the line, but I was curious if people had any specific experiences using this method. Desert and desert alpine seems the most likely set up spots long term, though we'll be kicking things off with a cross country trip starting in the East.

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

 

[billiebob]

Bolts ??

I use 12" Ardox nails.
Been using the same ones for 45 years.

 

[BritKLR]

FWIW, I really like these MSR Groundhog stakes. They are not very big, maybe 10" long, maybe shorter (there is also a mini), but super lightweight, and their X-shape holds the dirt tenaciously, and I've been able to drill them into pretty much anything other than solid granite in the Sierra's. I've used them on large (REI BaseCamp 6) tents in the desert winds and High Sierra storms, and have not had any pullouts. The fluted X-shape provides a lot of surface area for holding strength. Note, its not a true X-shpae there are only three "vanes" so I suppose they form more of a star pattern. They include a a pull string that is really useful in getting them back out of the ground.

View attachment 591364


There is a video showing a lot more info on the MSR website. Hmmm.... those new Cyclone stakes look pretty cool!

Groundhog™ Stakes Heavy-Duty, All-Purpose Tent Stakes | MSR®

Our classic Groundhog heavy-duty tent stakes work in just about any ground type, providing exceptional hold with an aluminum T-beam design.

www.msrgear.com

Just spent the week living out of my tent and using these! Love them! The only ones I like better for a bigger tent is the Snow Peak tent stakes and SP hammer.

 

[billiebob]

Should I just go 12 and built some spacers if there is solid stuff less than 12 in down?

I fail to understand. Just lay them back.

 

[OverlandNA]

3/8" x 10" Spax bolts and get thick fender washers for them.

 

[frgtwn]

3/8" x 10" Spax bolts and get thick fender washers for them.

I take it that the above was meant to be lag screws. I've used many brands over the years, and the among the best in my experience has been Spax. Two cautions, however. First, I'd want to use hex heads because they'd be reused for a very long time. I've not had very good luck with reusing the "T-star washer heads" because they tend to wear out after some time. Not complaining, they're made to go in and stay in, but I've used them a lot for temporary work, and reused them often. Also, all screws of that sort are tempered for that application, and they may be a bit brittle for this extreme application. I'd certainly screw them all the way down so that the rope did not have any leverage on the screw.

 

[Buliwyf]

Overlanders always step on my Ti stakes in sand, knock the rope off, making the buried stake impossible to find in the morning.

I use railroad nails:

Grip-Rite 3/8 in. x 10 in. Galvanized Spike Nails-10HGSPKE - The Home Depot

For the most comprehensive selection of nails and screws, look for Grip-Rite Fasteners, the most popular brand of fasteners in America. No matter what the project or what size the job, Grip-Rite Fas'ners

www.homedepot.com

 

[jeepers29]

I have been using 6 " lags and a cheap drill driver for years. Mostly in hard Texas soil and out west where the soil seems to be even harder and more rocky. I have never had an issue, but as stated above, use big washers and screw all the way down.

 

[drm]

8" hex heads straight down or angled work on my springbar family sized. Fender washers for sure. Id say 6 would be fine too. Not sure they would work in sand but...

Get an impact socket for the bolts and one for your lugnuts while your at it.

 

[Herbie]

This thread is the reason why I have a whole bin full of all kinds of different stakes - there is no ONE perfect stake - too much depends on the kind of earth you're trying to secure into.

The stakes I use most often are perfect for the coarse sand of my local deserts and our fine beachfront sand, but would be useless in hard-pack soil, and conversely lag bolts or even 12" nails wouldn't do squat in loose sand.

In case there are people who haven't seen these: <$2 each is hard to beat if you camp in sand at all:

 

[geojag]

For those that aren't familiar, the Spax lags look like this.

These are 8"X1/2, I had them for another project and never thought of using them for stakes. They are going in the stake bag now! The MSR Groundhogs and Cyclones also work great, the Cyclones are big enough to work in sand if it isn't too loose.