Have I re-invented the wheel?

**gunner76** · 01-26-2012, 10:18

I suspect an edit is needed

Sorry about that, you are correct and I edited it.

The door pillar post of most cars/trucks/SUV are fairly strong and I would trust putting webbing around them before I would trust hanging from a roof rack. There are some roof racks that are beefy and incorporate a strong mounting system that I have seen people hang from (in pictures only) but none that I would trust my 280 lbs to hang from.

**bloomgorge** · 01-26-2012, 12:43

i'm not sure this is a good thing to be doing. your door may seem strong enough but actually you are running the risk of causing problems if this is done often and you attach at the same location....

FVMSS NS207 does test for the structural integerity of the door but in the opposite direction your hammock would pull and it's a combined loading of not only your door outer and inner but the hinge pillar, sill, B pillar and roof frame. the load is applied to the triangle that makes your A pillar, roof and door. It's a max load and the deflection of the body panels is what is measured to determine pass along with glass fracture, door opening and a bunch of other stuff.

problem with using your window sill is this,...you have a rolled hem at the top of your door which kisses off to your seal at your roof line. if you're pulling out away from your car while in your hammock you are going to cause that hem to buckle down which looks like a dent or bow out. if this happen you'll more than likely have a leak.

your door is actually 'hung' at 3 locations, 2 hinges and 1 latch. if you are pull down and outward at the top of your door you are creating a moment/twist. you are also buckling the window sill at it's two points where it comes down and joins the majortiy of sheet metal. because of this twisting you could potential pose a problem for your door glass. you could also see your paint crack where the window sill comes down and joins the door. you could also develop an air leak.

visit a car plant, you'll be amazed and how much beating goes on with a door getting it to fit right.

if you want to talk loads, if you're a little person under 200lbs you might do that much damage but if you're one of hte bigger folks on this site it's going to be considerable. at 200lbs just laying in the hammock your are loading your door anywhere between 200-386lbs. now, if you bounce at all it's going to double or tripple that number. i wouldn't have the window up.

a jeep was mentioned. if this jeep is older than an 08 it's not going to be as robust but if it's an 08 or newer than it's a 3mm round tube welded to two bracket 3mm brackets which bolts 3 into the windshield and 3 into the B pillar and center bar and craddled. if you use the 'roll' bar which is actually called the 'sport' bar you shouldn't have an issue but i would not use the door. mind you, there are locating holes within that tube that locate your target tops and trim for hard doors. i would also bais to the B pillar or further away from the windsheld.

i wouldn't hang off a roof rack, the mounting for these on the inside of the roof is nothing more than a nut welded to the back side of 0.7mm thick sheet metal. if you are doing this, run the strap from one side to another on the vehicle and use the opposite roof rack mount. by doing this you'll be using the roof width to reduce the load on the actual mount.

i guess the jist of my rant is use 2 trees instead.

**FLRider** · 01-26-2012, 13:04

Thanks, bloomgorge, for that assessment of how a car would stand up.

To be certain I understand your explanation, the actual pillar in between the doors might be able to stand up to the forces—or it might not—but the door proper is probably not going to? Is that about right?

**Red Wing** · 01-26-2012, 13:07

touche'd...

**bloomgorge** · 01-26-2012, 13:16

Originally Posted by FLRider

To be certain I understand your explanation, the actual pillar in between the doors might be able to stand up to the forces—or it might not

this i don't understand. are you asking if you opened both doors and ran it through the vertical B pillar between the front and rear door? yeah this would hold but it might slip down and you'll surely crack the trim and probably set off the air bag if you have a newer car.

the A pillar is more or less what the left and right edges of your windshield lies on. the B pillar would be would be where the door latch is for the driver and door hinges for the rear seats. C pillar would be where the rear doors latch or if it's a 2 door where the deck lid (trunk) latches.

me, i don't think i'd use any feature on my car or truck doors. a jeep, slightly different as jeeps are designed with the intent to beat the hell out of them. if you've got a beater by all means have fun with your car but if this is your primary car i reckon i wouldn't hang from a door.

if you've got a truck, drop a 2x2 steel walled square tube in one of the holes in the bed, make sure it has a good wall stock.

**FLRider** · 01-26-2012, 13:38

Thanks. I appreciate it.

**twdant** · 01-26-2012, 16:53

For anyone who cares...

This past weekend while shooting skeet with some buddies, I slung up between a tree and the imaginary B-post on my F-150 Supercab. I say imaginary because there isn't actually a post, just a sturdy something to wrap a hugger around where the front door and back half-door come together. It held my 265 pound self nicely, if a little low to the ground, for the better part of an hour. If you try it, just be sure to roll both windows all the way down so the strap rests on the door itself, not the top edge of the window. I suppose the same concept could be applied to the sunroof for a loftier hang, provided the interior trim doesn't get damaged.

**Owl** · 01-26-2012, 17:09

So here's a goofy thought.

What if you took a LONG strap...something on the order of 15'+....and ran it through the top seam of the door jam on one side of the car, along the cieling of the interior of the car out the same seam on the other side, brought it over the roof of the car, and then looped it on itself as though you were wrapped around a tree instead of around the roof of the car. Make sure that the "loop" is on the bottom part of the strap going through the car so that it pulls tight against the car door/jam...and then hung off the remaining strap?

Seems like it would distribute the forces across either side of the roof rather than on any other portion of the car.

Just a thought...I'm no kind of car mechanic or structural engineer, which is why I posed this as a question.

**MedicineMan** · 01-26-2012, 17:43

Not that I plan to or want to but please post pics if any have them of vechicle/hammock setups. After reading the thread I liked KKs idea the best-it seems the strongest and with the least potential to damage parts of the car.