DIY Tarp Tie Out Philosophy

[Scott B]

I am making my own 10′ x 12′ rectangular silpoly tarp that I can use for hammock and ground camping use.  I am planning to have tie out points on all four corners, four pull outs, one center pull out, and three side tie outs on each of the sides evenly spaced (this includes the ridgeline tie-outs), very similar to the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Flat Tarp 8 x 10 tie out placements.  It’s gone well so far but am in analysis paralysis trying to figure out which direction to go regarding tie outs.

I have 3/4″ beastie D rings and grosgrain right now.  What I have seen a lot of is sewing on smaller grosgrain loops with a D-ring, with a seam holding the grosgrain together really close the D ring (to help keep it from twisting around, I assume), but it seems to not allow the tarp to be staked directly in the tarp loop (with typical y-stakes at least.) which I feel like makes it more difficult to have the tarp staked flush to the ground.  Also, I do plan to put it in porch mode sometimes.  My ideas so far are:

OPTION 1: Simply sewing on a loop of grosgrain while keeping the loop large enough to put a stake through and adding a D-ring WITHOUT a seam flush to the D-ring.  POTENTIAL DRAWBACKS: D-ring perhaps slides around too much, putting stress and/or twisting the grosgrain and/or making the tarp less stable.

OPTION 2: Simply sewing on a loop of grosgrain while keeping the loop large enough to put a stake through and adding a D-ring WITH a seam flush to the D-ring, and the loop is formed between the grosgrain stitching that is flush to the D-ring and the stitching on the tarp.  POTENTIAL DRAWBACKS: Would take a slightly longer length of grosgrain and would have a bit of pressure being put on the stitch that is flush to the D ring.

OPTION 3: Basically the same as OPTION 2, but getting rid of the loop between the tarp edge and the stitching flush to the d-ring and having the D-ring right at the corner of the tarp.  This is what I see more on hammock tarps.  Could then use a very short length of cordage (as short as I could, maybe just a loop?) to tie off the D-ring to the stake. POTENTIAL DRAWBACKS: Not as simple of a process to stake the tarp flush to the ground, which I do more when using a tarp for ground use.

OPTION 4: Ditch all grosgrain and beastie D rings and just buy some heavy-duty webbing and use that for loops.  POTENTIAL DRAWBACKS: Not utilizing the beastie D-rings and grosgrain I already have and not having the benefits associated with beastie D-rings on the tarp.

Any input or other suggestions is greatly appreciated!

[Chris R]

Ditch the D-rings. If you want a loop to put a stake through make some loops of cord and tie them to each pull out. If you leave a long tail on the knot it can be used to tie to a rock or to marlin spike hitch around a stake for more flexibility in stake positioning.

[Jerry Adams]

you might want to add a second layer of silpoly for reinforcement

small circular piece, or half or quarter circle.  Sew to main body around perimeter of circle.  Sew gros grain through the two layers of silpoly – main fabric and the circle reinforcement.  If it’s just one layer of silpoly it may rip out.

[Scott B]

Thanks for your input, Jerry and Chris.

Yeah, I already have the perimeter reinforcements sewn and the rest of the tarp figured out.  The part where I have been stuck is the technicalities on the adding grosgrain/webbing/d-rings placement based on what I am trying to do….whether to use beastie D-rings and grosgrain, just webbing, using beastie D-rings loosely on a grosgrain, etc…..

[David P]

Hi Scott, I would do what Chris suggested as well for the anatomy of your tie outs. Forgo the d-rings… Just sew on the piece of grosgrain ribbon, you can simply tie your guyouts to this grosgrain as if it was the d-ring. Add a loop of regular cord to each grosgrain tie out so if you want to stake tight to ground, stake through the cord. If I were to put any plastic hardware on perimeter grosgrain tieouts it would be linelocs instead of d-rings.

Good luck it will be sooo satisfying to sleep under your own tarp!

[Jerry Adams]

yeah, just sew grosgrain, no need for anything else

[Chris R]

If you really want to keep your stake out loops close to the perimeter you could actually set your grosgrain back under the tarp edge by half an inch. Sew both ends of the tie out to the same side (underside) of the tarp, this is plenty strong enough, and just finish short of the edge. You can make this an “open” loop by putting a half twist in the grosgrain and stitching both ends side by side to make sort of a handle loop.

The grosgrain would be entirely hidden under the edge of the tarp, all you’d see was the loop of cord.

 

[Paul McLaughlin]

If you form your loops as per the attached photo (this is actaully webbing but it’s the shape we are talking about) then you get a loop that will take a stake nicely; size the loops to suit the stakes you like. Tehn you bring guylines, a selection as you prefer. I don’t tie my guylines to the tarp, I just tie a loop in the end of the guyline, and stick the guyline loop thru the grosgrain loop and pass the line thru it’s own loop. That way you have solid attachment but no knots to untie when you want to remove the guylines for a different setup.

I also like the fact that this arrangement means you can get the ribbon stitched onto a larger area of fabric to spread the load out.

[Scott B]

I greatly appreciate everyone’s input!  This is what I think I am going to do:

• Simply sew the grosgrain on flat with loops that are just large enough to put one of my y-stakes through
• Since I normally keep my cord tied with loop held by a bowline knot, keep these loops as I normally would and simply stake through the loop in situations where I want the tarp flush to the ground.  The loops will primarily be on the corners and ridge line.  If I need extra stake reinforcement at a midpoint on the tarp perimeter and don’t have enough cord, I can simply stake through the grosgrain loop, since most of the stress would be on the corners anyway.
• For the ridge line tie outs, I’ll do the same thing but add d-rings since I have read that adding them can help some with keeping a tight ridge line.  I already have d-rings anyway and worst case is I can cut them off if I find out they add no value.
• It will be trial and error to see what works best when setting up with trekking poles in porch mode….whether to have the tip of the pole directly through the grosgrain loop, directly through the cord loop, or wrapping with the cord as I run the rest of the cord to tie off to the stake.  I think they would all work, but I can figure out what works best when I get there.

Part of my concern has been potentially less abrasion resistance of the grosgrain compared to webbing, but worst case is I can always replace the grosgrain loop once it’s worn through with more grosgrain or webbing.   The grosgrain I have is from Ripstop by the Roll, so is likely pretty solid.

[Jerry Adams]

that sounds like a good plan

gros grain will not abrade to the point of failure, in my experience.  It’s very tough.  The only time I’ve had a problem is using it with a buckle, it doesn’t have enough friction, maybe, or maybe it’s fine for that application too

where I put stakes there are often rocks, so I can’t just put a stake wherever I want.  So I have short guyline through the grosgrain so I can put the stake where I can get it to go in, and then tighten the guyline.  But, that won’t affect your construction, you could add it later.  Where you camp maybe this isn’t an issue.

[Scott B]

Good point, Jerry.  I am in the Houston, TX area, which is somewhat on the dividing line between more wooded, humid areas often seen in the southeastern US and drier, rockier areas in the southwest.  If I drive two or three hours west I start seeing little cacti and having more problems getting stakes in the ground.  If I drive two hours east I see piney woods and swampy areas, and KEEPING stakes in the ground is more often a problem than getting them in :).  That’s one reason I usually stick to y-stakes….decent all-arounder that still hold well in wet/muddy soil.

[Author]

Posts