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  1. #1
    Senior Member Timberrr's Avatar
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    Two Trees, Two Hammocks, Too Cool

    After such a long quest…
    Could the answer really be this easy??
    Surely someone thought of this before.

    Here, for your consideration, is a practical (?) solution for hanging two hammocks, side-by-side, on two trees.
    All credit for this idea goes to Gumbo. She is amazingly adept at seeing simple solutions to complex problems.

    2 trees 2 hammocks.png
    (sorry, I could only get a thumbnail pic)

    The trick is to “attach” your bridge/spacer/spreader bar (I’m calling it a hanger bar in this application – shown here in red) to the tree, not to the hammocks, and not ‘floating’ on your suspension. Note: The hanger bar would have to be lashed very, very firmly (lashing shown in yellow). That lashing might need to be so tight that it could risk damage to the tree. Using straps instead of rope and taking several wraps around the tree would lessen the amount of potential damage, but even minor damage violates our LNT policy.

    The hanger bar is further strengthened and stabilized by lines to each end – shown in green.
    The hammocks are then hung with their conventional suspensions and ridge lines – shown in purple.

    I’ve shown bridge hammocks because they have less ‘coccoonning,’ so you could better see each other and more easily reach over to the other person. Conventional cinched-end hammocks should work fine too, but having the fixed ridgeline is important.
    This would allow each hammock to have its own bugnet and swing freely while still being together under a single (large) tarp.

    Basically you’re putting up a continuous ridge line (one of the purples) that continues around to the other side of the trees (the greens) until it joins itself giving you a second CRL (the other purple) and forms a long loop. Then, to accommodate a hammock on each side, you widen the loop with a stationary spreader (the red hanger bar) on each end.

    To all our mechanical engineers, experts, friends and like minded individuals… Your input is hereby solicited.
    Known: The length of hanger bar needs to exceed the width of the hammock’s bridge enough to allow one hammock to swing without knocking the other and disturbing its occupant’s happy hammock dreams.
    Unknown: What are the compressional/tensional forces on the hanger bars? Can they be contained? The dimensions of this bar will be a function of the material. What material and what size would you recommend? Could you employ a pre-existing piece of equipment like a hiking pole? (too weak me thinks)

    The applications may be limited but they are significant.
    Kids who want to be close to their parents (and vice versa)…
    Couples who want to sleep together but not on top of each other…
    Really anyone who wants to sleep close to another camper without sleeping on the ground could benefit from this approach.

    The next challenge is to do a bugnet that encloses both hammocks.

    Thank you in advance HF’ers for your thoughts, critiques, ideas and inputs!
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    So many trees, so little time...


  2. #2
    Senior Member Ramblinrev's Avatar
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    The typical problem which seems to be encountered with hanger bars is the disparity of weight. If the hammocks are equally balanced it seems to have promise. But that assumes neither one gets in or out individually. (midnight trips to water a tree.) I would be concerned the twisting of the bars would inevitably erode the bark no matter how lightly the bars are lashed. That would be an unacceptable consequence for me.
    I may be slow... But I sure am gimpy.

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  3. #3
    Senior Member Timberrr's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ramblinrev View Post
    I would be concerned the twisting of the bars would inevitably erode the bark
    I definitely share your concern.
    The thinking is that movement in and out of one hammock would not move the hanger bar, and by extension, not effect the other hammock or the tree.
    I haven't had the chance to field test this approach yet but I'll be looking for these types of issues.
    No, we're not going out to chew up trees.
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    So many trees, so little time...


  4. #4
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    Two Trees, Two Hammocks, Too Cool

    This was my solution for my 5 year old son t be close to me. He loved it.

    http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/p...pictureid=7206

  5. #5
    Senior Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by river View Post
    This was my solution for my 5 year old son t be close to me. He loved it.

    http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/p...pictureid=7206
    Wow! Did he spend the whole night out there like that? Looks cold, but very cool!

  6. #6
    Senior Member Gumbo's Avatar
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    Hanging one above certainly works for a child, but we are looking for a solution where we could still see and talk to one another once we are in our hammocks.

    I don't know if this will work or not, but the general idea was that basically the bar would widen the tree girth enough to hang two hammocks side by side.

    I do worry about the amount of force it would take to secure the bar to the tree and about the bars themselves handling the load. At this point I'm not worried about weight of the bars since I'm not a hiker (we kayak mostly).

  7. #7
    Senior Member TFC Rick's Avatar
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    Teri,
    What about moving the spreader bar towards the hammocks and away from the tree? Each hammocks tree huggers used as usual with the bar holding them apart. A tie out could even come from the suspension at the point of the spreader bar. I wouldn't think there would be to much movement from hammock to hammock.
    Look up before you hook up!!
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  8. #8
    Senior Member Timberrr's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TFC Rick View Post
    Teri,
    What about moving the spreader bar towards the hammocks and away from the tree? Each hammocks tree huggers used as usual with the bar holding them apart. A tie out could even come from the suspension at the point of the spreader bar.
    This is a good idea.

    We explored where those guy lines should go, and how many would be required to stabilize the hanger bar most effectively. We concluded that if the bar is not absolutely fixed in place, then getting in or out of one hammock will create an unacceptable amount of movement in the other.

    The type of tree will also play into the equation. A palm or a cypress (hard wood with smooth bark ) should be fine. A yellow pine (soft wood with big chunky bark that breaks off easily ) would be a poor choice.
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    So many trees, so little time...


  9. #9
    Senior Member PuckerFactor's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Timberrr View Post
    The type of tree will also play into the equation. A palm or a cypress (hard wood with smooth bark ) should be fine. A yellow pine (soft wood with big chunky bark that breaks off easily ) would be a poor choice.
    I feel the need to say something about this. I'm not calling you out, Timberrr, I just want to help everyone to be as educated as possible.
    Many trees are different, but in general, the opposite is actually true. Thicker bark, whether it is soft or hard (think most pines, or most oaks) will actually cushion and spread out the force.
    Thinner barked trees such as Bald Cypress, Beech, White Pine, and many Maples, while the bark may be harder, is still very thin, and can't cushion the force much at all.
    That said, there are many variables. On many Oak trees, I wouldn't hesitate to use a cord around the trunk if I was in a bind, because of their thick, ridged bark. I try not to hang on White Pine or Red Maple, even with tree huggers, because of how thin their bark is. As an arborist, I have debarked whole sections of branch while standing in a crotch and just shifting my body weight! It doesn't happen that bad all the time, but it is a fairly common thing to inadvertently scrape some bark off of the inside of a crotch while pruning a Maple or Bradford Pear or White Pine.

    Hopefully my rambling has made some sense, and I apologize if I sound critical. I only hope to educate so we can avoid hurting a tree through lack of knowledge.

    Take care,
    PF
    It's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

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  10. #10
    Member Trudge's Avatar
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    disperce the torque

    Why not try a triangle bar assembly. This might limit the amount of shift to sleeper B when sleeper A gets up. Also it wil allow a single line to the tree.

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