Weights for pop-up shade canopy

[dodgecharger-fan]

I'm shopping for the weights that you use instead of stakes to hold one of those pop-up shade canopies in place.



I can find them all over the Internet, but none close to home so I can just go get them.

Has anyone come up with creative alternatives?

I have some weight lifting weight collecting dust in the garage, but the holes are too small to slip over the legs of the canopy. I dread the thought of cutting them - not because I want to keep them but because I don't think I have any equipment capable of cutting them. and they are the plastic ones and I'm not sure what's inside and if it will hold together once cut.

[Charger_Fan]

Are you placing the canopy legs on cement, or dirt?
I fit's dirt, you can hammer a stick or metal fence pole into the ground & lash the leg(s) to the pole.

[dodgecharger-fan]

The weights are for when it's on pavement or very hard-packed surfaces... or when you just can't (are not allowed to) drive a peg into the ground.

My immediate concern is an upcoming show where I know I'll be parked on a ball diamond that has that hard-packed fine gravel for a surface.
I could get a peg into it, but they might not appreciate the hole in the diamond.

[Charger_Fan]

Heah, I guess they might frown on you pounding something into their nicely manicured area.

[PocketThunder]

Heah, I guess they might frown on you pounding something into their nicely manicured area.

Did you just say "pounding something into their nicely manicured area" ?

[68X426]

 

[GT]

I've seen people fill a bucket with concrete and tie a rope from the bucket to the top of the canopy to hold it down.  Cheap & works.

[quapman]

I've seen people fill a bucket with concrete and tie a rope from the bucket to the top of the canopy to hold it down.  Cheap & works.

I believe your plastic weights are filled with concrete. Maybe you could do the rope thing with them?

[dodgecharger-fan]

I've seen people fill a bucket with concrete and tie a rope from the bucket to the top of the canopy to hold it down.  Cheap & works.

I believe your plastic weights are filled with concrete. Maybe you could do the rope thing with them?

That was gong to be my backup plan. Ugly, but it will work.

I'm bringing tent stakes anyway. Maybe they won't care (I'll find out first. I've already asked via e-mail. Just haven't heard back yet.)

[dukeboy_01]

We've used some ankle type weights before...they have velcro on them and they just wrap around the leg of the canopy.  I have also used them on my pulling tractor when I needed about 5 more lbs or so on the front end...  You should be able to pick some up at Wal-Mart or a sporting goods store....just a thought!

[dodgecharger-fan]

That's a good idea.

I came across "bag" weights in my searched but they didn't seem to make a lot of sense - unless just the sheer weight of them leaning on the post is enough. these were in the neighbourhood of 45 pounds each.

I'm going to keep looking, but for now, I found out that my immediate concern is for not as we are guaranteed a spot on the grass.
So stakes will work out fine.

[dukeboy_01]

A guy could surely get some sandbags and tie them to the legs...  Heck, some heavy socks with gravel in them would even work in a pinch wouldn't they?

[Shakey]

Four scrap harmonic balancers with notch's cut out of them for the leg should do the trick.  After you have cut the notch and ground down the excess a quick coat of Eastwood's Spray Gray would make them somewhat appealing to the eye.

Four brake drums would also work.

[Old Moparz]

This thread reminded me of a mishap at Carlisle one year when the wind picked up a canopy that wasn't anchored. One of the legs gouged the entire side of a beautiful, black Barracuda fastback, that "had" a mirror finish paint job. Man was that guy pissed off.

I think the ankle weight idea is a good one, they won't have any sharp edges. 

[dukeboy_01]

That is the biggest problem with a canopy near things of value.  The wind can pick those things up and throw them quite easily.  I would say whatever you use, make sure it is heavy and well attached to the legs....good luck finding something.

[DodgeByDave]

I made some nice "leg weights" fro mine from some coffee cans. I use a 20x40 from Holiday Canopies that has six legs once erected.

6 5 pound coffee cans (empty)
6 lengths of steel tubing (make sure your legs fit)
12 large style washers (the dreaded fender washers would work, mine were spirited away from Delta airlines long enough ago for the statute of limitations to have expired)
40 pound bag of some-kind-of-crete (cement stuff that has rock in it and gets hard later)

One thing I did to assist assembly was I used some liquid nails to glue the leg tubes to the floor of the can so I wouldn't have to hold the thing during the pour.

Pour in your concrete stuff, let it set up.

Take your washers and grind a nice flat on one side. I did mine by assembling them on a bolt, installed a self locking nut and tightened it down. Makes it easy to get a set of nice uniform flats. I ground off maybe a quarter inch (didn't measure, results may vary).

weld one washer to the leg weight and one on the leg, I bought a set of bungy cords and added 6 inch of stretch to the length to get my leg washer placement. I used a piece of string with 2 knots to measure.

That should add about 50 lbs to your deal cheaply.

however, weight isn't the issue here, it's lift. Pit stewards, track designers and other folk could really help us out here. a good case in point is Putnum Park road course in Indiana. I believe that when they laid out the track the main straight was sat in the direction of the most often prevailing wind in the summer months. I don't know if this was by design or in consideration of the aviation tendencies of the crowd that like to play there. Regardless, by doing this and the way that the pits are laid out "if ur doin it right" you have any wind blowing longitudinally with your canopy rather than across it.

The key here is to make the deal work for you rather than against. Of course in a tornado all bets are off, however, 5 pound ankle weights and even my piddly 50 pounds is worthless in certain winds at the right angle. I do believe there is perhaps a canopy still in the trees from it's sudden flight at mid ohio circa 1988. It was a pretty flight and if it hadn't of been for the damn tree..............I was rooting for orbit.

flatter canopies tend to generate more lift than the more peaked roof style. A certain square style that is really easy to erect is notorious for it's flight tendencies and will carry away small children. I saw one destroy itself during a thunderstorm at a Kentucky dirt track, the rather large gentleman that was wrestling with for the most part was preventing much altitude, how ever the anger within was a sight to behold and he couldn't save his shelter.

Pit safe, and remember to forgive a trespasser, for one day you yourself might be one. Only the winds and the gods know which canopy may sail next!

[400/6/PAC]

I use a cooler full of beer and tie to the handles for one side and weights for the other side.