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Another tunnel fan here, first ever night in our Vango tunnel we were caught up in a severe storm up in norfolk. Got up the next morning to find awnings in tress and a caravan with a small tree sticking out of it, Our tent was fine!

Well thanks Guys, all your advice is extremely helpful, esp. the correct alignment and using the guys properly. I think the delta pegs are a must as well. So I will now confidently go and get my Icarus next weekend (Yippee!! I am so excited!!) and order the pegs.

Thanks Again

Quote: Originally posted by blacklagoon on 20/4/2009

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ages ago,when i was looking for tent info,i wanted to know the same thing - are tunnel tents good in wind?From all the forums and sites i visited,they said they were good,but dome tents can withstand winds and rains better,due to their shape.

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Geodesic or semi-geodesic dome tents will outperform anything, has to be said. But very, very few of the current big family leisure tents on the market are geodesic or semi-geodesic domes. The standard central dome construction of two or three crossing arches isn't any more stable than a tunnel tent, as long as both are erected as well as possible.

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The ONLY way it survived is by pitching it correctly, with the back end into the wind and making absolutely sure your guy ropes are pegged out at the correct angle, well grounded, and tight.

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Our SunValley 6 got absolutely battered by the wind last year at the top of Scotland - but it coped brilliantly  A couple of split pole sections (hmmm... still need to replace those for this year) BUT no damage to really worry about.

I think that horizontal storm poles (well, that's what I call them) really help by distributing the load accross the whole tent structure.

It's nowhere near as ridgid as my small mountain tent, for two main reasons 1. pole structure and 2. the small tent is maybe 3' 6" at the highest point...  I love that tent!

And hammer the pegs in so the top is sloping away from the tent. We have camped in all sorts of weather in a tunnel tent - never any bother.

Alan

Would back up what many others are saying - our Vermont is very stable but we did invest in delta pegs before setting off and they make a huge difference!

Quote: Originally posted by Sarah+Simon on 20/4/2009

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The ONLY way it survived is by pitching it correctly, with the back end into the wind and making absolutely sure your guy ropes are pegged out at the correct angle, well grounded, and tight.

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fancy sharing what "correct angle" for guy ropes is?

newbie needing help :D

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Rule of thumb? Guylines should be pulled out from the tent in line with the seam or pole from which they come, and hit the ground at an angle of 45` approx. Tent pegs should be hammered into the ground at an angle of 45` with the points going towards the tent, so that the guylines and pegs form a 90`. Approximately!

Of course there are exceptions, and if for instance you're putting on extra guylines in windy weather you should be looking at how the tent is being pushed and how to best support the vunerable pole. And some guylines are attached at two points and pegged in the middle...here I would use the upper portion to form the 45`.

And please, please, PLEASE...one peg to each guying point. I don't care if it looks overfussy and untidy to have five or six pegs in the angle of a dome tent, for example, but putting several guylines on one peg just compromises the stabiluty of your tent in high weather. And of course, peg everything.