I need a canopy for Lucerne Dry Lake!

Onebadhawk
madcow rocketry
The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
majordude

majordude

Swimsuit Model
TRF Supporter
Joined
Apr 5, 2013
Messages
1,545
Reaction score
71
It's sunny and hotter than hell out in the middle of the desert. What is a good canopy to offer shade yet is macho enough to withstand driving winds/gusts? I was going to get something cheap from Walmart and then they said to get a Coleman because they were made better.

I'm clueless.
 
Most Swap Meets have a vendor that sells to other vendors. These are electrical conduit pipes/corner elbows and use tarps and bungie straps. Be sure to buy some tie down straps and ground stakes. Horror Fright has canopies for $59 and they are okay if you lash them down. And yes-it's hotter than Afganistan...
 
I bought a canopy on line at SAM's Club. It is a commercial grade EZ-Up. Cost about $200+. Has big feet, so that I can tie it down and if I desire, as I did last year, I took two five gallon buckets of water and put them on the big feet at each corner. That helped hold it down. It stayed put in 50 mph gusts, with no stays in place, while everyone else was taking theirs down. If I was looking for one, that is where I would start, and I would buy commercial quality if you want it to last. I hope this helps; BEAR
 
HF = Harbor Freight

Make sure you lash the framework down solidly. If the big wind comes up, take the canopy off the framework.

If you're using an EZ-Up or Quik-Shade, take them down when the big wind kicks up. I've seen them as high as 500' in the air during the passage of a dust devil.
 
Dude

I have an old ram-air canopy like the ones the army special forces use but it is called a " Goliath " and is solid blue with no lines . you can have it for the cost of shipping

Bobby
 
costco has Undercover canopies, very sturdy and well made. Regardless of the brand, stake the legs and secure the canopy with lines at a 45 degree angle off of each leg. That will help to keep it from blowing away.
 
It is a very rare EZ-UP type canopy that will survive a real wind storm if the top is left on. I've seen plenty of EZ-UPs get destroyed out at BALLS and at Kloudbusters. I have 18" or 24" rebar stakes I use at BALLS for canopies. I use tie-down straps from the stakes to the frame of the canopy. Some of the frames are pretty thin so I have to choose where I hook on carefully.
 
At roughly twenty square miles; that’s going to take a really big canopy.

Ta-Da-Boom!!
 
This is all OVER BLOWN. :y: :wink: No more wind at Lucerne this year.... Really... I promise.
 
belfert said:
It is a very rare EZ-UP type canopy that will survive a real wind storm if the top is left on. I've seen plenty of EZ-UPs get destroyed out at BALLS and at Kloudbusters. I have 18" or 24" rebar stakes I use at BALLS for canopies. I use tie-down straps from the stakes to the frame of the canopy. Some of the frames are pretty thin so I have to choose where I hook on carefully.
Click to expand...

You are correct for consumer quality equipment. Commercial grade is quite a bit more hefty. I had a consumer grade that I paid $109 for and it was gone by the end of the first season. The second one is a commercial grade. When I used it last year at a launch, I put the big feet on and put 80 lbs (10 gallons of water on each foot, along with a 40d nail for a stake. Normally I would put the outriggers on, 2 at each corner, 90 degrees to each other to secure the thing. Again that is what I would normally do. But I was a half mile away trying to help prep our Proton M team project (12" Sonotube, 9 motors on the first stage, 3 on the second stage, 1 on the third stage.) I could not get back to take it down. As I looked over at the parking line, all of the canopies had the fabric taken down, leaving the frame, except for mine. (Yeah, your saying if the wind is blowing that hard, why are you prepping to fly a 15', 300 lbs. bird? Because we had big gusts, but it would go back to calm, and we thought we would have a window of opportunity, which we finally did.) Regardless, my canopy withstood the wind and is in fine shape today, ready to use. So commercial grade is the way for me. Mine was a little over $200 at Sam's.
 
For the lakebed, something similar to the Shelter by Defy-Gravity seems to make more sense. Not as much cross-section to "catch air" and turn into a sail. Think of carrying a sheet of drywall or plywood, in a breeze -- hold it at the ring angle, and it doesn't do much, hold it at the wrong angle, and it's a problem.

-Kevin
 
I have a mid priced canopy that has a stronger frame work. I tossed the little tie down stakes that came with it and bought some rebar cut to three foot lengths. Pounded in deep with a small sledge hammer they hold the canopy tight to the ground, it's no guaranty that the wind won't take it but so far so good. I've had mine for a few years now and it's still in good shape but that is probably due to knowing when to take it down before the wind gets too high.

Like Old Dude I've seen canopies tossed hundreds of feet in the air, I've also seen them roll down the range like a tumble weed, I've even seen them turned inside out from a down burst. There is no guaranty that anything you buy wont be turned into a pile of trash the first time you use it. You need to decide on how much money you want to invest in a canopy that might be destroyed no matter what, then buy the best canopy you can for that money and take the best precautions you can to avoid it being destroyed. Taking it down when the winds get up is the best defense.

I know most of what I've written above seems obvious but I have seen too many people stop and buy a canopy on the way to the launch or beach, set it up without even staking it, then end up tossing the whole thing in a dumpster before the day is over. They usually cuss the manufacturer for selling junk when a little common sense could have prevented the whole thing.
 
BEAR said:
You are correct for consumer quality equipment. Commercial grade is quite a bit more hefty. I had a consumer grade that I paid $109 for and it was gone by the end of the first season. The second one is a commercial grade. When I used it last year at a launch, I put the big feet on and put 80 lbs (10 gallons of water on each foot, along with a 40d nail for a stake. Normally I would put the outriggers on, 2 at each corner, 90 degrees to each other to secure the thing. Again that is what I would normally do. But I was a half mile away trying to help prep our Proton M team project (12" Sonotube, 9 motors on the first stage, 3 on the second stage, 1 on the third stage.) I could not get back to take it down. As I looked over at the parking line, all
Click to expand...

I had one of the $200 Caravan Canopies from Costco. Really nice canopy, but I still wouldn't leave it up in high winds. I got rid of it and bought the $200 EZ-UP from Sam's Club because I got sick of taking the cover off the Caravan Canopy. I have seen one of the Sam's Club EZ-UPs get damaged at BALLS.

I don't take my EZ-UP to BALLS or LDRS because I don't want it damaged. I have an agreement with my friends that I supply the motorhome to get to/from BALLS and LDRS and they supply the EZ-UP canopies.
 
For Black Rock we use 1/2" rebar 18" to 24" long to secure our EZ UPs and canopies. The rebar has a large fender washer welded on to attach a tie down strap that goes up to the canopy frame. We don't actually stake down the legs directly to the ground.

I bought a really big party tent to use at BALLS last year. The stakes are 40" long and 3/4" diameter! We used a 36" long masonry bit to predrill holes in the playa.
 
majordude said:
You mean, you don't stake the actual legs of the canopy but just the guidelines, right?
Click to expand...

We use ratchet type tie down straps from the stakes to the frame of the EZ-UP or canopy. We have to be careful not to put too much pressure on the EZ-UP frames.
 
majordude said:
That seems waaay to big and flimsy what Lucerne cooks up.

We need one of those Mongolian Yurks or those Arabian tents that come stocked with belly dancers for those crazy winds.
Click to expand...

Lemme know when you get the Yurk set up. I might move in. Oh, and I will belly dance for motors but you might not be impressed.
 
BEAR said:
I bought a canopy on line at SAM's Club. It is a commercial grade EZ-Up. Cost about $200+. Has big feet, so that I can tie it down and if I desire, as I did last year, I took two five gallon buckets of water and put them on the big feet at each corner. That helped hold it down. It stayed put in 50 mph gusts, with no stays in place, while everyone else was taking theirs down. If I was looking for one, that is where I would start, and I would buy commercial quality if you want it to last. I hope this helps; BEAR
Click to expand...

Is this what you bought?

https://www.samsclub.com/sams/e-z-up-instant-shelter-canopy-10-x-10/prod711059.ip
 

Similar threads

DeltaVee
I've been told not to mix rattlecan paint brands... so I didn't!
Replies
28
Views
2K
TomLee
T
MikeyDSlagle
New Mexico. Possible summer trip through TX to NM.
Replies
13
Views
2K
MikeyDSlagle
MikeyDSlagle
smapdiage9
My Terrible Tree Recovery
Replies
16
Views
3K
CzTeacherMan
CzTeacherMan
cherokeej
ARLISS in the News
Replies
4
Views
1K
cherokeej
cherokeej
georgegassaway
So, I have Diabetes,....and about 10% of you do too.
2 3
Replies
66
Views
13K
georgegassaway
georgegassaway

Latest posts

Back
Top