Ground Blind Fiberglass Rod Repair

GAWolf

Ten Pointer
I just pulled a brand new ground blind out of the woods and that nasty wind storm we had dropped a glancing blow tree on it. One side took the brunt of the blow and at least 2 of the fiberglass rods shattered.

I dismantled a prior popup ground blind and have extra rods.

Has anyone had any luck removing a shattered rod and replacing it? Any tips on how to remove a rod from the female metal hub?

I hunted this thing 3 freaking times before it got smashed. Thanks in advance.
 
A few years back same thing happened to my Rhino ground blind. I unfortunately had about 4 rods shattered. I was able to buy replacements from the Rhino website. Check on the brand website to see if they sale replacement rods.
 

GAWolf

Ten Pointer
Thanks. Going to contact Muddy. I dismantled another broken ground blind and kept the cover and the rods. The rods from old are same size as new but I’m not certain how to remove old ones from their metal ends without damaging. I’m just handy enough to at times be dangerous but pondering heating the glue and see if they can be yanked out. No idea how fiberglass responds to heat.
 

TH7

Eight Pointer
Mine were attached to the metal hub with bolts and nuts. There might be a cap to remove to access the bolts. I removed them and then had to tap them out. I was not repairing one but taking apart to save the rods for whatever else. Had some old blinds that were damaged. I have some of the old rods out as yardage markers.
 

GAWolf

Ten Pointer
Updating this topic in case anyone could use the information in the future. I contacted Muddy customer service who refused to sell me individual stakes. It’s an entire blind purchase or nothing, and when I asked how to fix it they never wrote back. It seems Muddy has been purchased by a conglomerate and the customer service is nothing like it was. Sad.
Anyway, I clipped the broken poles from the metal ends with bolt cutters. Then I drilled out the fiberglass rod remaining in the metal hub ends. I purchased some fiberglass driveway stakes from Home Depot, and I cut them to length with bolt cutters. They are smaller in diameter, but I wrapped each end with about two wraps of duct tape. I then worked them into the metal ends and used a rubber mallet to bang them on and secure them. As of now no adhesive seems necessary. I reconfigured the hubs and put them back in the blind. A couple of tips I learned elsewhere - open the blind completely and lift from ground so you can walk under it and work inside without weight on rods. Also be mindful of fiberglass splinters. Wear gloves when handling broken rods and eye protection when drilling fiberglass into dust. The driveway stake fix was relatively easy. I’ve purchased my last Muddy product not because it broke due to an act of God - tree falling - but because customer service is terrible since the sell out to parent company. You’ll understand when you get hung up in their 800 number call tree.
 

bshobbs

Old Mossy Horns
Check YouTube for video, I know Rhino Blinds has one and sell individual rids or whole kits


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

cuppednlocked

Ten Pointer
Primos sells replacement rods and hubs. When I broke some rods their CS was very helpful and even sent a free hub since I bought a full set of rods vs the 2 I needed to replace. You need to cut the rods to length for your model.

 
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