Super Heavy Duty Craft Show Tent Weights

Go to Home Depot or Lowe's or any building supply that sells a big, 5 gallon bucket that looks like this. Buy 4 of these, with lids, if you want, but they aren't strictly necessary for this project.

Now get 4 bags of Quikrete, or any ready-to -use concrete mix. I got the small bags. I'm not sure of the weight, but I think they were 40 pound bags. You'll probably need help loading and unloading these from your car if you're a woman.

Now you need to get 4 eye bolts like in the picture and 4 washers big enough to thread onto the eye bolts. These need to be big, giant, eye bolts, because you want to be able to tie rope through the hole in the eye bolt, or at the very least, slide a heavy duty hook through the hole.



Now, to make your super heavy duty tent weights;

1. Pour the contents of each bag into a bucket. Be careful and wear a mask when you do this, or at least do it a place with lots of good ventilation. Of course, it should be done outdoors!


2. Get your hose out and add water. Use a disposable wooden spoon or stick to mix all the concrete mix and water. I don't know how much water. Just enough to make a thick, gooey, porridge-ey consistency.


3. Mix mix, mix, mix, mix, mix. Until you think your arm is going to fall off. You can do all the buckets at once. The concrete sets up fast, but not that fast.


4. When the concrete gets thick, push your eyebolts into it, in the center of the bucket. Leave about 2 inches sticking out.




That's all there is to it. Your buckets will cure in a day. When you use these, set a bucket at each of the four corners of your tent, you can attach a bungie cord or rope from the corner of the roof of your tent to the eyebolt. The lids of the buckets can be cutout to accomodate the rope, and you can cap off your bucket, or leave it open - the choice is up to you.



These are extremely heavy and you will most likely need help lifting them. I use mine regularly, because I do a lot of shows on the coast or on the beach, where wind can be ferocious. The concept can be modified if you want you use smaller buckets or less concrete. A common style for hanging weights is to use large diameter pvc pipe capped off on both ends and filled with concrete. They are great, but if you need super heavy weights, the bucket idea works great.