Locking RTT Open - Secure For High Winds?

[Nd4SpdSe]

I was wondering if anyone had made anything to secure their RTT in the open position. I've had my RTT for over 8 years now and I've never had this problem before. I've been through many high wind storms and watched tents and shelters get torn apart while I sat in my RTT all comfy and with a mild shake, but on Friday, we had an incredible storm. The closest weather station that recorded wind speeds reported gusts of 43km/h. I was holding on the ladder very seriously and in between gusts, was trying to pass a rope from the top step of the ladder through the rim of the trailer to keep it from folding so I can deal with the awning that my girlfriend was holding on to. Maybe the issue was that it was facing towards the wind with the front flap open, but like I said, I've never had a problem with storms in my RTT until this last one. Maybe all the others by chance the wind hit the tent by all other directions.

Maybe some industrial pegs holding the bottom of the ladder? I through about installing some kind of locking/latch at the hinge, but would it really help? Being at the hinge, with the leverage and it being right there at the pivot point, I don't know how strong that could be. I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience and rigged something up to solidify their RTT while open during a storm.

 

[TexasD-90]

Great question. Last week we had 60mph wind gusts, and I came back to camp to find my tent folded up, and my awning blown down. All I suffered were 2 slightly bent spring rods and 2 bent tension rods on my awning. No big deal to replace, but not ideal in the middle of a trip. In winds like that I'm not sure there is much you can do. Even steaks on the ladder could be pulled out with that much force on the kite like design of the RTT. We have used big stakes and sand bags in the past, but sometimes I guess you we just need to fold the tents up before leaving camp for the day. I am interested to hear if anyone has come up with a different solution.

 

[Bretthn]

I tie some 550 cord to the d-rings on the overhang of the tent that are used for tensioning the tent in the closed position for storage. I tie the other end of the guy line to my rear tire.

 

[Mass_Mopar]

I slept in my RTT through a tropical storm with 45 mph gusts. I removed all spring rods except the main door, and tied the ladder down. The tent survived with 2 bent spring rods, but I would never go through that again. I'd rather sleep in my driver's seat sitting up than be in the tent through wind that strong. We stayed dry but the sound of the wind kept us up all night. As a result of that night, I've built an interior platform to serve as a backup if the weather is too nasty for the RTT.

 

[F40]

Ratchet strap to the vehicle and I stake the ladder as well.

 

[Yarjammer]

You could stake it down using spiral stakes like the ones below. They're about $10/pc at Hone Depot and the likes. They can be a pain in the rear, but when you NEED them you'll find a way. I keep four of them in my camp setup box.