Awning pole bases....

[tlhdoc]

I often tie my guide lines off to the table, post or a near by tree.  When we camp at the beach even 15 inch tent stakes (there are special ways to anchor in sand, but they all involve more work than I want to do) will pull out, but the heavy tables will move.

 

I've found that driving the rebar into the ground and placing the awning poles over them keeps the poles from scooting off to the sides and out from under the awning if the dogs or kids run into them. It also makes the set-up a tad more sturder in windy conditions.
 
The rebar trick also works great for staking into the ground to hold up my bambo based tiki torches also. Down here with the hard-red Georgia clay, driving in the rebar is a must and slipping the poles over them.
 
One day I'll set a webphoto account here, and post pics of the set-up.
 
It really is a simple set-up, very sturdy, and the guy-lines attached to the table pose no tripping possibility.

[gettingfiesty]

These will work assuming you have a surface you can #1 drive a nail into, and #2, the soil is firm enough that the nail will stay put.  I still prefer my flowerpots with plaster of paris and PVC (you can find descriptions in various threads).  I hated using the rope stays because I was always the one to trip over them!  Plus, more often than not, we couldn't stake them down for one reason or another.

I have two of the flowerpots and love them.  Want the third, but ran out of cement.  Even my husband loves them because he says it is easy to know when the poles aren't straight.

[GuzmanGang]

I have searched Home Depot and Walmart websites, but cannot find what you guys/gals are talking about. Is this what you are talking about?

http://www.buytikitorches.com/tiki-torches-bases/bases-iron

Those bases would be good for solid surfaces. My tiki torch bases are actually stakes to drive into the ground. After seeing those, though, I'm wondering if I need to find a cheaper version of those for those times when we're camping on asphalt!

[GuzmanGang]

I just found some sturdy tiki bases (not stakes) at Target for $10 each. I haven't had a chance to try them yet, but I'm going to take a look at the awning this week to see if it's a viable solution. The only thing is that they're just so heavy compared to the stakes!

[merkong]

You could always try this... I'm planning on it this weekend...

http://gmcamping.tripod.com/id13.html

[mike4947]

Before my extension poles to mount the poles to the trailer mod days and Campout awnings I found some bases that you could fill with sand. They were water tight so I just used water and could empty them when we broke down camp. This was helpful as I was always right on the ragged edge as far as weight was concerned, to the point we'd periodically strip the trailer to get rid of accumulation.
 
My main reason for the mod and the campout over the bases was the dog. Even staking the poles with rebar wouldn't help unless the rebar was 4 foot tall. My little Sheltie could as I called it "wrap and snap" an awning pole in about two seconds and ropes were out of the question. He thought the awning poles were part of an agility course...LOL

[copcarguy]

Hey all!

We did the "traditional" cement flower pots...  They work great!  Click here for pics:
 
http://community.webshots.com/photo/549777754/2971685570037083005urwLeJ#
 
and:
 
http://community.webshots.com/photo/549777754/2647659890037083005FqhjtR