Securely Displaying Your 12ft Skeleton & friends
The metal base for Skelly isn't made to withstand strong winds. It’s engineered to keep skelly upright on a level surface. Some have recommended taking the base to a local metal fabrication shop or welding shop to have the base reinforced if you intend on keeping your Skelly displayed for more than a few weeks around Halloween; of course this is completely optional and only a recommendation.
The plastic joints that secure the head, shoulders, elbows and knees break easily under mild stressors with wind and is typically the first part a Skelly owner is in search of. We recommend purchasing replacement parts from before the parts are needed. It’s always best to have them on hand for an unexpected Skelly fracture. SkellyParts sells the bracket for the head and arms. Mellos Designs sells the replacement shoulder inserts along with some great items to reinforce the ankles and knees. These parts can also be purchased directly from the manufacturer https://sviservice.com but we’ve found that Skelly Parts & Mellow Designs manufactured ones are substantially stronger and less expensive. SkellyParts has offered an exclusive discount for 12 foot Skelly & Friends website visitors.
DISCOUNTS ARE AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY TO OUR READERS FOR PARTS FROM SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS IN THE HALLOWEEN COMMUNITY.. 12% off any order at www.skellyparts.com using discount code ‘FRIENDS12’. For 12% off any order from The Mellos Designs use discount code “4THEBEST12FTGROUP'“.
This 12 foot friend of yours loves to sway in the wind and can get a bit top heavy when it starts swaying. Though adding sand bags or bricks to the base of the Skelly can work to keep it upright it isn’t the best option as it puts a lot of extra stress on the metal base. Skelly has been known to break at the ankles, knees or bending the frame all together while swaying if additional guy wires aren’t being used. The best way to properly secure your 12 foot friend is using quality stakes like trampoline stakes and a few guy wires. SVI includes 1 guy wire with Skelly which is to keep him upright and stable during mild weather. This is why we recommend 4 guy wires equally spaced around Skelly and secured with trampoline stakes. Please see the picture for an idea of guy wire placement.
These guy wires should be secured from just above the hip bones, coming down at a 45 degree angle and attached to straight stakes that are pounded into the ground at an opposing 45 degree angle or using the spiral trampoline stakes. Alternatively spiral stakes screwed into the ground will work regardless of the angle of the stake. We highly recommend purchasing this bracket from Secure A Skelly to attach your guy lines. This bracket can be placed after Skelly is already assembled which is a great feature.
Ferrules for looping the end of the guy wire: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-16-in-Aluminum-Ferrules-10-Pack-42574/205887624
Trampoline stakes: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ashman-Heavy-Duty-Trampoline-Stakes-4-Pack-12-in-L-and-9-mm-Dia-Ideal-for-Tents-Canopies-and-Swing-Sets-LargeSodStaple4Pack/316222542
Spiral stakes: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Vortex-16-in-Steel-Folding-Ring-Spiral-Anchor-4-Pack-ANCFR16-ORG-R/307634214
Alternative to Guy wires:
300 lb test fishing line: https://a.co/d/0fxnITSp
550 paracord: https://a.co/d/00d0Uwz9