Try as they might, long-term grey nomads can’t avoid wild weather forever and, when it comes, it can leave carnage in its wake.
A stroll through a caravan park the morning after genuinely powerful winds have blasted through can be quite a sobering affair. One of the most striking sights is always the sheer number of twisted and broken awnings laying on top of, and beside, shell-shocked RVs.
Bush Chook RV & Leisure, the makers of the seriously – and I mean seriously – heavy-duty ‘Bush Pegs’ reckon they have got at least part of the solution. Bush Pegs are manufactured in Western Australia from super tough 5mm thick 40×40 Aussie steel.
They measure a whopping 400mm long and the designers say ‘these orange monsters won’t move once they’re belted in’. While I wasn’t lucky enough to come across a cooperative cyclone to put the Bush Pegs through their paces properly, I can attest to the fact that it would take something pretty darned serious to dislodge these beauties.
The makers say the Bush Pegs are ideally suited to medium to firm ground. If the ground is very sandy or soft, adequate anchoring is inhibited and further precautions need to be undertaken. The pegs are just ‘hit in’ with a hammer in the time-honoured way.
Almost counter-intuitively though, the Bush Pegs are very easily removed. Because they are so tough, the pegs can be knocked by a hammer from the side a couple of times to loosen the ground around them and then easily pulled out.
Basically, they just won’t bend like traditional steel tent pegs might. Bush Pegs simply won’t shift unless you’re trying to shift them and so offer enormous peace of mind to campers. Of course, it always makes sense to bring your awning in if wild winds are forecast but, if you are away from your camp when the breeze picks up, you’ll be as confident as you can be if your awning is anchored down with Bush Pegs.
“If there’s a sudden wind gust the Bush Peg will remain solid as a rock,” said the manufacturers. “Even on a mildly breezy day the constant flapping and movement of your tent or awning will loosen most pegs … but not the Bush Peg.”
The Bush Peg kit consisting of two Bush Pegs, two heavy duty trace springs, two trace spring rings, and two guy ropes comes in a heavy-duty pouch for easy stowing and sells for $99.95.
