4x4? 4x6?

[BillyBob58]

Vitamaltz's approach works good.

Just a thought along those lines: if you rig up some sort of top post ( like a metal ridgeline ), you won't need much at all to hold the uprights, mm, upright. I hung from 2x4s for 2 years, and it never flexed even a fraction of an inch as far as I could tell. All the rest of the heavy wooden stand really only served to hold the 2x4s vertical. Without the top bar, it would have collapsed quickly when weighted. I could flex it pretty good just by pulling on it hard, without the top post(spreader bar? top bar? don't kmow what to call it). I had two pieces of fence top post about, I think, 14 feet long total. Then I had about a 5 foot piece of slightly larger diameter fence "upright?". again don't remember what it is called. The fence post that goes in the ground. The longer ones went inside this, to keep it from flexing at the joint. Then I drilled some holes about 1/2" deep in the 2x4s just wide enough for the fence post to fit in. It was bombproof. Even after a couple of years with untreated wood, which was looking really questionable, it was still solid. The fence post took virtually 100% of the load.

I'm not sure how you would rig that up on metal uprights, but I'm sure it could be done. Just an alternative route.

[vitamaltz]

Vitamaltz's approach works good.

Just a thought along those lines: if you rig up some sort of top post ( like a metal ridgeline ), you won't need much at all to hold the uprights, mm, upright.

Yep, that's pretty much what the 4x4 does; just keeps the verticals from collapsing in on me. If it wasn't so high off the ground, I could probably get away with 4x4 verticals as well. A steel rod would probably work just as well in the horizontal position.

[BillyBob58]

Yep, that's pretty much what the 4x4 does; just keeps the verticals from collapsing in on me. If it wasn't so high off the ground, I could probably get away with 4x4 verticals as well. A steel rod would probably work just as well in the horizontal position.

I should confess: my first "Risk" stand collapsed on me. I did not hit the ground, but I did accelerate a foot or so towards the ground. I had just had my wife come out to observe if I was compressing down vest loft in my SS, I sat down in the HH and down I go. No wonder she would never have anything to do with hammocks! I had a longer top post than Risk's original design, which means I had two top posts joined together with a joint. The bar would always flex a little, then it gave at the joint. But, it did not completely give way, just bent a good bit at the joint, then did not bend any further. Which is why I did not hit the ground.

But on my second try, after I put the sleeve over the joint which actually seemed to keep it from even flexing at all, absolutely bombproof.

[gum115]

I would try using a "dead man" to help keep the posts from angling in. Try using two 3 foot lengths of pressure treated 2x6. Bury one on the back side of the post at the bottom of the post and the other on the inside of the post near the top - that way when the post tries to pivot in the pressure will be placed on the 2x6's, which would have to push a lot of dirt out of the way to move. You have to dig a bigger hole at the beginning, but it works pretty well.