I don't have two trees the right distance and am handy enough to install a pole and set it up for hanging but what would you guys say would be the "right" distance between my tree and my pole... Just a question... It bothers me that a beautiful day passed and I couldn't hang my hammock...
Live, Laugh, Love, if that doesn't work. Load, Aim and Fire, repeat as necessary...
Buy, Try, Learn, Repeat
you could set up a pole 16 ft from your tree, or you could drop in on the Turtlelady's Bamboo Stand thread in DIY and make a couple of tri-pod stands. Easier, cheaper, and you can move them to mow.
I live in one of those wonderful subdivisions where they chop all the trees and throw up houses. All you see is roof tops and a few trees in the community drain area that are being smothered by the even more wonderful kudzoo. I know i know..I'm the dummy that bought it. Anywho...i use my 6.5' fence post and my kids' 7' swing set. My ideal span is about 15'. 11' gathered end, tree strap, whoopies and marlin spike. The tree strap on the swing set is about 8' from the fence. The other strap is 2 posts away. Thus my uneducated calculations give me 15'. The angle of the hammock does make it diffficult to get a proper hang of the tarp however...but i deal.
It works for now, but i plan on getting some steel pipe and pvc. Cement the pvc in the ground at grass level and insert the steel pipe in the pvc when i want to hang. When not in use i will remove the steel pipe and screw a plug on the pvc so to keep out debris and be able to mow over them.
Not to hijack but any other ideas to my plan are welcome. I do want a tripod system also.
It's a hammock thing, you won't understand!
The wife no longer kicks me out of bed after she saw a hammock hanging in the dog house.
about 15' sounds right... in the woods, i use 5 paces. i think 12' is about the bare minimum.
Warning...slight hijack, but maybe not, if it helps with ideasOriginally Posted by HeathC
OH, OH, OH, OH!!!!! This is just what I've been looking for!!! We have 2 posts that we can use on our deck...but no where in the yard to attach something to the other end. I've been trying to figure out how to utilize those 2 posts to hang two hammocks, and by gum I think you've got it. I've already got the Pipe, I go out in the yard and stare at that pipe knowing there is something there, but not being able to put my brain quite to it. This makes so much since!! By golly, I wonder if this will really work and how deep that pvc needs to be?
The pipes are actually off a hammock stand I found, but it needs modded anyways to get the height...and I kept thinking, what if I could use the two ends off the stand...and those two posts on the deck so that I can hang my hammock and my son's hammock at the same time.
I've thought about the tripod system...but in my case I'd have to shorten one side majorly because there is a raised flower bed in front of those deck posts (about 2.5 feet high) and this is the only section of yard I can really use for two hammocks because of the pool. Plus, I wanted something easier to hide and take down (since this is also the only access to the rest of the yard). Pulling the pipe out of the pvc would be quick, and easy, and then just cap it, so our dogs don't break a leg, and your done...and not as much stuff to try and "hide".
I am so excited. My husband is going to kill me tomorrow as I think I have some pvc to get and digging I need to doI think I'll go with CPVC though, it seems more durable. (and to think he just got a pipe bender TODAY to mod those pipes on the stand
Sorry honey!)
THANK YOU HEATH C!!
Leave a drain hole in the concrete so that water doesn't collect. It will run down the sides of the pipe and fill the pvc insert.
DivaB...I'm not sure what your existing hammock stands are made of, but using the pipe for a vertical pole may not be a good idea. If it's the usual couple of inch diameter stuff, it's probably not strong enough for the increased bending forces that will be created by changing the pipe angle from steeply sloped to vertical. The forces will be less in line with the pipe and more sideways.
Brute1100...I agree a distance of 15' or a bit more would be good. This will let you setup a hammock and tarp just as you would "in the wild".
So it seems like 15' is an agreeable happy place... I guess I will get to it on my next days off... My plan is still evolving as my plans usually do... The tripod sounds cool and i may end up going that way bit then i have to deal with storage and what not and its just something else to deal with when I just want to hang...
My thoughts are just some oil field pipe, 2' deep hole hammer pipe in ground another foot past the hole with a sledge and then fill hole with concrete left over from the porch... Paint pole or whatever and then decide on mounting an eye bolt or just wrapping my straps around a few times like I would a smooth tree...
Live, Laugh, Love, if that doesn't work. Load, Aim and Fire, repeat as necessary...
Buy, Try, Learn, Repeat
Brute1100...2" pipe will be strong enough. Take some pictures and post them for us to drool over.
The cap on the pvc will help with broken legs on the dogs...good point!
gmcttr...excellent idea on the drain hole in the cement. Would tapping the pvc below the dug hole be a good drain...like Brute1100 mentioned?
It's a hammock thing, you won't understand!
The wife no longer kicks me out of bed after she saw a hammock hanging in the dog house.
gmcttr & HeathC
1. I'll have to look up how to do a drain hole...I'm sure it won't be too hard to figure out.
2. What would either of you recommend for using as a pipe that would be easy for a woman to pull out and move?
3. What if I where to angle that PVC a bit so that the hammock pipe is at an angle, and what kind of angle does it really need to be? It doesn't need to be at the extreme angle that it is on the stand does it?
4. How deep/or how long should that PVC be at a guestimate? 2'?
It's like 102 degrees here....I'm not digging today, so that slows me down and gives me time to really figure things out.
Why are you guys recommending Brute1100 to go 15' in distance? Just curious, as I feel that is the absolute max that I look at for trees when I'm out.
Diva, angle is good, the more, the better.
That said, tubing, or pipe, that is stout enough to withstand the forces exerted by a hammock is not going to be light. You're just gonna have to man up, and muscle the thing.
Bed the whole thing in gravel, and unless you're on solid clay, your drainage problem will be solved. I have doubts about a threaded cleanout surviving this...the load exerted by the iron pipe on the plastic threads will likely booger them. You know "booger'" right? Technical term.
Go down 3-4 feet, if you can. Anything less, in saturated soil, will pull over.
Last edited by oldgringo; 05-28-2012 at 11:34.
Dave
"Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self."~~~May Sarton
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