DIY Hammock stand. $42 in material.

**hidesuru** · 03-01-2016, 22:06

I went to an event called Darrin's Dune Run in Yuma, CA recently. Right before the event I decided to try a hammock stand. I was inspired by the turtledog ideas, but wanted something more portable. I didnt want to have to carry around the center bar, for one. So I created a stand that uses two V-shaped legs and tension to hold everything together. Was a bit of a pain to get it working just right (didnt have time to test at home, but I had a backup sleeping location) but once it was working it worked great!

At the event:
https://imgur.com/a/f6JLm

Details about the build:
https://imgur.com/a/3X1Uf

As the title says I spent about $42 at Home Depot for the material (not counting the lines that I already had). Could do it cheaper if I tried, I'm sure. Especially since I didn't need the 2x4 I picked up (mentioned later).

I did some back of the napkin force calculations before building it. Assuming a 45° angle to the legs and a 60° hammock hang (ideal in most cases) there's about 200 pounds on the line at each end. There's about 50 pounds on the lines going to the ground. That last one is what worried me most. In many (most) conditions I'll probably need multiple stakes per side. I used 4 each in the desert to be safe, but they were so hard to pull out it was overkill for sure. 1-2 would suffice. That's assuming 200 pounds of hammock and person and gear.

I forget the weight on the actual legs going into the ground but it's not massive and in that dimension most lumber can carry a ton. Used 7' 2x2s for the legs. 8 foot might work a bit better to get the hammock up higher.

If you have questions, let me know. It's not perfect but it worked pretty well once I figured out the kinks.

The biggest issue I had was the legs skidding across the sand inward. Didn't expect that. I had cut up some 2x4s and drilled holes in them to act as bigger feet in the sand but where I was set up it wasn't as soft as expected and that didn't work out at all. Stakes did.

In all I used 16 stakes to hold it up though I could have saved at least 4 as I said.

**Spinefusion** · 03-02-2016, 00:01

Nice job!
Thanks for sharing. This looks like a nice project for me while waiting for spring to get here in north eastern N.Y. You said you rated this for 200 pounds. How much higher do you think it could go. I am in the 240 pound range.
Thanks again.