How hard is it to pound in concrete form stakes?

DrYes · Post by **DrYes** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 1:16 pm

Thinking of picking some up for my tent this year rather than rebar. Are they pretty easy to pound in? Could I do it with a small one pound mallet or is that going to take an irritatingly large number of strikes to drive a single stake in? I know how to remove them with bent nail and and rope, but haven't pounded them into the playa before.

Thanks!

Token · Post by **Token** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 1:38 pm

About the same effort, more or less.

Depends on size of rebar you are used to.

The only benefit is the round concrete stakes are a better grade of steel.

The whole pointy tip vs. slightly thicker than rebar is a wash.

Please cap them same as rebar unless pounded in flush. They cut shins just fine.

FIGJAM · Post by **FIGJAM** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 1:39 pm

Don't you have power?

If yes, then try the lag screws.

You'll never go back.

Token · Post by **Token** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 1:48 pm

FIGJAM wrote:Don't you have power?

If yes, then try the lag screws.

You'll never go back.

Cuz not everyone wants to bring power tools to a camping trip.

A good hammer solves way more problems in life than a good hammer drill, although I'm fond of both.

LowePro · Post by **LowePro** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 2:13 pm

It can be done. I used a few form stakes as part of a structure last year. Use a mini sledge rather than a regular hammer or rubber mallet, of course.

tatonka · Post by **tatonka** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 2:32 pm

I have 18" lag bolts , I pound them in flush with my 32 oz hammer. I put a vicegrip on and twist them out about 6 inches , then I just pull them out.

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 2:48 pm

Token wrote: Cuz not everyone wants to bring power tools to a camping trip.

WHAT??!!!!

FIGJAM · Post by **FIGJAM** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 4:46 pm

Captain Goddammit wrote:
Token wrote: Cuz not everyone wants to bring power tools to a camping trip.
WHAT??!!!!

^^^^^ WHAT, he said!!!!!!!

maladroit · Post by **maladroit** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 5:26 pm

This is not the sort of camping trip where you wake up enjoying the sounds filtering into your sun-warmed tent, then go chase some bears away from your cooler.

...OK, it is, but different.

Token · Post by **Token** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 5:37 pm

Yeah, the Bears wear tutus in these parts

BBadger · Post by **BBadger** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 6:45 pm

Token wrote:Cuz not everyone wants to bring power tools to a camping trip.

That's what I call a missed opportunity to buy more power tools.

skippy3k · Post by **skippy3k** » Thu Aug 13, 2015 6:39 am

We camp in or near the gayborhood area of the city. There are a lot of bears.

WileE13 · Post by **WileE13** » Sat Nov 19, 2016 1:19 pm

Easy to pound in, a nightmare to take out. Made that mistake the first year. We used concrete stakes and t-posts. On the last day, all we wanted to do was leave, but we had to spend hours digging those things out. That year it rained, causing the playa to set up like cement around the bar. This caused suction. We'd pull them up a half inch and they'd pull right back in.

Use lag bolts and a screw gun. Don't spend your last day breaking your back trying to remove concrete stakes or t-posts.

drdiffracto · Post by **drdiffracto** » Thu Aug 10, 2017 3:11 pm

Just out of curiosity, where do you find 18" lag screws? I live in a fairly large city, and none of the hardware stores (HD, Lowes) I went to had anything close. The biggest I could find was 12". I ended up getting 18" concrete form stakes instead.

BBadger · Post by **BBadger** » Thu Aug 10, 2017 3:44 pm

You might need to order them online, or maybe there's a specific bolt or construction shop in town that sells them, since they're probably a specialty item for most intents and purposes.

Papa Bear · Post by **Papa Bear** » Thu Aug 10, 2017 7:11 pm

Astral Headwash has used concrete stakes for years rather than rebar. Never had any trouble pulling them out as far as I know.

We're in the process of transitioning to 18" lag screws, though. Individual campers have used them for years, but this will be the first year they see heavy use for the common infrastructure. Our online source is the same as that from Figlam's thread - fastenersuperstore.com.

EGAZ · Post by **EGAZ** » Thu Aug 10, 2017 9:57 pm

This one popped up the other day. Haven't ordered from them. Just puttin' it out there.

http://www.thefastenerstop.com/product/FS215528.html

drdiffracto · Post by **drdiffracto** » Fri Aug 11, 2017 10:32 am

Awesome, thanks for the links. For the concrete form stakes, I put an eyelet bolt through the top hole on the stake to a) provide a place to tie paracord easily and b) provide some leverage to pry the stake back out of the ground. I guess we'll see if that helps with the suction issue.

I wonder whether it would be at all helpful to loop a bit of wire through the bottom hole before pounding the stake in, and then have that wire sticking out as a leverage point when it's time to remove them.

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