I've recently returned to the US from many years of full time travel and I don't want to settle into a regular apartment life (and don't want to pay that much) so I'm going to be van dwelling. I'm going to be stealthing in cities, so I'm aiming for a soccer mom mini van. I can set it up with a twin bed, but that takes most of my floor space, so now I'm looking at hammock options. A house I lived in in Mexico had no beds, so I did the hammock thing there, so I know it's doable for me, I just want to optimize it. There are a few ideas I'm tossing around in my head but I'd love some thoughts from pros.
Specs to keep in mind: I will probably have 8-10 feet between hang points (front passenger door to rear driver corner of back entrance) and i will only have about 3.25 feet of internal height so anything I put up has to hang high/tight. I'm only 5'4" so I don't need something super long. I'm using it in a van, so no need for tarps, bug nets, etc. I'm thinking I'll use cinch straps to run a 'permanent' system that runs outside across the roof to hang from and I'm thinking the internal parts will be looped webbing straps, daisy chains, dog bone or something similar that i can attach to because i'm going to want to be able to move whatever I hang out of the way at times without having to change the external setup. I know i could just close the ends in the door but I've read that this can cause denting/warping vs spreading the load across the entire roof.
Here are my ideas at this point:
1) traditional gathered end hammock. pros: easy, cheap to buy and test, i can bungee it off to the side to get it out of the way so I don't have to put it up and down all the time. cons: I'm generally a side sleeper and about half the time, partially on my stomach. my hammock in mexico was like this, so I know I can do it, but it won't be the most comfortable thing ever.
2) bridge hammock like the WBRR. pros: good for side sleeping, comes in a net-free option, would be easy to bungee out of the way. cons: i don't think the distance between my hang points is long enough to use this. do they have a short people's version?
3) a tent hammock like the Lawson Hammock Blue Ridge Camping Hammock. pros: flat, so good for side sleeping. cons: harder to get out of the way so i'd have to do up/down with it a lot. it has a built in mozzie net which would annoy me. could i cut that off or hang it upside down to not have to deal with it?
4) 90 degree hammock. this is what i really want, or something similar, but i don't think i'll have enough height for this to work.
5) 4 point 'platform'. like this: https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1UhnsO...-Small-pet.jpg but for humans, and probably with some kind of bracing down the sides so it doesn't sag too much. pros: flat, so good for side sleeping. i could make it wider than the normal hammock if i wanted to give myself more room but also shorter so I'm not wasting space. it would be easy to get out of the way, just unhook two points and let it fall against the wall of the van. cons: i'd have to figure out how to make it, or pay someone to make it for me. i would have to run a 2nd strapping setup (not a huge deal). i can't try it out and return it if it doesn't work.
6) a custom bridge hammock using one of the designs from here. pretty much the same pros and cons as #5.
So, that was a lot of information, but I figure the more I provide, the easier it will be to get feedback/suggestions. I would appreciate anything anyone wants to chime in. I'm just in initial planning stages at this point so I don't know yet where I will be living. It will be a large metro city but I'm applying all over the US so it could be as mild as LA or as hot/cold as new york. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by guitstik
Bookmarks