Securing Your Tent: ProPac's D-Ring Capacity
Tuesday May 7, 2024
Welcome back to our second installment on how to properly set up an inflatable tent for success. A prominent feature in securing the tent against the elements is the D-rings. D-rings are metal rings that are RF welded to PVC and used as a point of attachment for loading straps. In this case, these metal rings stabilize our structures to protect against winds and factors that may cause excess movement.
Once your tent is inflated and stakes are set, you may wonder how stable the structure is. ProPac prides itself on providing proven products and wanted to ensure no detail was overlooked when designing our new line of tents.
To verify how much stress our tents’ materials could withstand, we created several PVC testing tubes with attached D-rings and tested them for failure. With a mechanical press gently pulling the D-rings apart, failure occurred at an amazing 1,220 lbs.
See how the test turned out!
As for the number of D-rings per tent, ProPac’s Small Tents feature 4 upper D-rings (one per corner), 2 upper D-rings per front and back doorframe, and 4 lower D-rings (one per corner) for a total of 12 D-rings.
Using our knowledge from the capacity test, the small tent has an anchoring capacity of 14,640 lbs.
12 (D-rings) x 1,220 lbs. = 14,640 lbs. anchoring capacity
Our Medium Tent, 4-Door Medium Tent, and Large Tent feature 4 upper D-rings (one per corner), 4 upper D-rings per front and back doorframe, and 4 lower D-rings (one per corner) for a total of 16 D-rings.
The medium, 4-door medium and large tents have an anchoring capacity of 19,520 lbs.
16 (D-rings) x 1,220 lbs. = 19,520 lbs. anchoring capacity
As for our Decon Cubes there are 4 upper D-rings (one per corner) and 4 lower D-rings (one per corner) for a total of 8 D-rings.
The decon cube has an anchoring capacity of 9,760 lbs.
8 (D-rings) x 1,220 lbs. = 9,760 lbs. anchoring capacity
Decon Lanes have 4 upper and 4 lower D-rings along the lane per side with a total of 8 D-rings.
The decon lane has an anchoring capacity of 9,760 lbs.
8 (D-rings) x 1,220 lbs. = 9,760 lbs. anchoring capacity
The Drive-Thru tent has 8 lower D-rings per side, and 4 upper D-rings per side, totaling 24 D-rings.
The drive-thru tents have an anchoring capacity of 29,280 lbs.
24 (D-rings) x 1,220 lbs. = 29,280 lbs. anchoring capacity
Straps and stakes are included to utilize the D-rings to their full capacity. Tying down your inflatable shelter with strong D-rings improves the efficiency of your emergency response.
For reference, here are the wind loads on all our tent designs:
Next week’s topic will be how to secure a tent on asphalt, concrete, or rocky surfaces. See you then!