Understanding the World of Party Rental Tent Stake Pullers
Pulling stakes since 1987 –When I entered the tent business in 1987, I was trained to remove a 42″ tent stake from our new Anchor Fiesta Tent by whacking a sledge hammer against the stake near the ground until the vibration rendered it loose enough to be pulled out by the head. We always carried a 24″ pipe wrench for those cranky ones which could usually be dislodged after a full 360° revolution. A few years later, Pioneer Tool built a banger puller that slammed up against the bottom of the stake head. Then came a lever puller with a chain, where if you were not mindful you would crush your fingers at the pivot point. It sucked. Eventually, Anchor Industries unveiled the red Anchor Yanker, probably the first safe and highly productive puller of the 90’s.
Fast forward to 2010 – There were so many different tent stake pullers it was amazing. They are all good; – some inexpensive; -some fast; – some more powerful. The only bad stake puller is the one you forget to throw on the truck before you leave the shop.
Gas Powered pullers on wheels, such as those offered by companies like Green Monster and Rainer, are by far the most popular. When People first heard the price on the power pullers they were shocked until they realized how many man hours they were saving. For the entry-level budget and jobs involving less than 20 stakes, there are about 5 manual pullers being sold. The patented Jack Jaw seems to be the most popular choice from the non-powered selection of stake pullers.
What did my rental company use? Over the years I bought or tried most of the tent stake pullers out there. When I sold the company we had a combination of levers, Jack Jaws, bangers, a Green Monster, and a Tents for Rent puller. Which one does the crew use most? They will work with all of them and pick their favorite from the bunch when it is available. The Jack Jaw took the longest for them to incorporate into the rotation. The bangers (we had them made locally to replace the Pioneer mentioned above ) go out on every small job, And when they get over 30 stakes they will general take one of the gas powered units.
A New Approach The Tent OX uses a totally new approach to stake pulling. With the OX Puller attached to the machine, the puller is a simple hydraulic piston with a 10,000 pound force. It is truly a one man puller since the operator sits in the seat and controls the puller with 2 buttons.
The OX Puller is a high production system that, for us, only went out on large jobs like 50 to 100 wide pole tents. For example, if we are striking a 80 wide, we will use the OX to load stage, flooring, and chairs, then pull the center poles, then switch to the OX Puller for stakes, clean up the site with the OX Forks moving tops and bins of tent parts. We generally look for at least 1 hour of work for the Tent OX to justify the cost of trailering it out to the job for stakes alone.
OX Puller Design – Where the puller meets the stake head, a “U” shaped notch in the ¾” pulling plate surrounds the stake just underneath the head. The first such opening is to the left where the majority of the stakes are met. It has a second opening that faces rear to the operator, which gives the operator multiple points depending on how he is situated at the stake. The OX Puller is mounted to the OX left-of-center. This allows the operator to pull all the stakes traveling in one continuous loop around the tent. Skilled operators seldom need to reverse the OX between one stake and the next.
Angled stakes are not a problem for the OX Driver. However, angled stakes can add 5 to 10 seconds of maneuvering time between stakes since the stakes are tipped away from the center of the tent.
When you want strength, speed and agility to pull over 100 stakes non-stop, the OX Driver is the Tent Foreman’s best friend.