Grand Trunk Ultralight Mods

[sonic]

I recently made a few mods to my Grand Trunk Ultralight. Just to remind people, this is a $20 hammock.
MODS:
1. Dynaglide whoopie slings. (double looped in the channel)
2. Adjustable Dynaglide ridge line.
3. Cut the bag off, and made a black bishop bag out of it.

Still playing with ways to attach the ridge line. Any suggestions?

To cut the bag off, there is a seam that frees it from the hammock without interfering with the hem on the hammock. I used a seam ripper and carefully ran it up the seam. Pretty simple.

Then I injected a buttonhole on the thread injector, snipped a little hole and ran the head end suspension through the hole.

9.9oz Hammock, suspension, and ridge line. I think Ill use straps with an injected loop, and trail sticks for toggles. (just straps, no biners, or toggles to keep it ultra light)

[Otter1]

I really like what you did by making a Blackbishop sack!

Setup looks good. Just got one myself and hope to hang it ... fingers crossed! I hope it's long enough for a flat lay for me

[DaleW]

Excellent mod. I used carabiners in the channel instead of line, whoopie slings and tree straps. I like biners-- makes me feel... sexy

Ridge line looks great to me-- if it ain't broke....

Nice job on re-engineering the bag. I have used net stuff sacks to make black bishop bags the same way. I kept the side bag for stowage while in the hammock.

I really like this hammock for a day hiking rig. The cloth is really breathable and nice on a hot day and it takes up very little room. It mods well for an undercover too.

Did I mention I like biners? I do!

[DemostiX]

OP: When your done, would you report on what ridgeline length you find comfortable, and your height and weight?

[LeDude]

Very cool, I have been using the same hammock as my first hammock with great success.

Here is my setup, I dumped the OEM S hook and cords in favor of an ascending loop coupled with a continuous loop made out of 7/64 amsteel:



For storage I waned something breathable, I found the perfect solution in a mesh washing bag at Target for about .50 cents. I modified the bottom to accommodate my suspension loop.



My suspension consists of a some tubular webbing (1" or 9/16") along with the proven toggle in a marlin spike hitch. I carry a couple of different size whoppie slings that I made out of 7/64 amsteel. Depending on which set I am using, I either use one of long ones as my ridge line or combine the shorter ones to serve as my ridge line.

I like having the descending loop because it allows me to hang different parts from it without affecting the cord tension that much. It also acts a water barrier / brake should any h2O work its way down the whoppie sling cord.



I weigh in at about 185 lbs and am 5'10", my ridgeline fluctuates between 8-9 feet depending on how I am haning, with the whoppie setup it is very easy to take out the slack or relieve the tension.

You can check out the larger pics in my album: Grand Trunk Ultralight Setup

[Otter1]

LeDude,

I appreciate the detailed LePics!

The zipper is nice.

[DivaB]

Nice Job! I think this is what I'll do with my son's GrandTrunk. I picked up 2 packages of those washing bags at our target the other day. They were only a buck and 2 in each set...so yes, it's 50 cents each. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them....but knew something would come up, and here it is. I'm not sure if I'll use them for the hammock or the tarp. I was thinking that I may want a more waterproof option for the hammock and it doubling as a waterproof bag while in the hammock....also to help steer water from rain going into the hammock.

Very cool, I have been using the same hammock as my first hammock with great success.

Here is my setup, I dumped the OEM S hook and cords in favor of an ascending loop coupled with a continuous loop made out of 7/64 amsteel:



For storage I waned something breathable, I found the perfect solution in a mesh washing bag at Target for about .50 cents. I modified the bottom to accommodate my suspension loop.



My suspension consists of a some tubular webbing (1" or 9/16") along with the proven toggle in a marlin spike hitch. I carry a couple of different size whoppie slings that I made out of 7/64 amsteel. Depending on which set I am using, I either use one of long ones as my ridge line or combine the shorter ones to serve as my ridge line.

I like having the descending loop because it allows me to hang different parts from it without affecting the cord tension that much.



I weigh in at about 185 lbs and am 5'10", my ridgeline fluctuates between 8-9 feet depending on how I am haning, with the whoppie setup it is very easy to take out the slack or relief the tension.

You can check out the larger pics in my album: Grand Trunk Ultralight Setup

[LeDude]

Nice Job! I think this is what I'll do with my son's GrandTrunk ... I was thinking that I may want a more waterproof option for the hammock and it doubling as a waterproof bag while in the hammock....also to help steer water from rain going into the hammock.

I bought about twenty of those little mesh bags, they are very handy to have for backpacking, you can store just about anything in them. I makes for much less clutter in one's back pack / bag.

The other reason I used an ascending ring is that it will break the flow of water along the whoopie sling cord and drip down from there along the long arm hanging.

[sonic]

OP: When your done, would you report on what ridgeline length you find comfortable, and your height and weight?

At the moment its at about 6 feet 10 inches. I am around 165-170 pounds.
I think Im about 5ft 6in tall. at that length I am able to bend the ridgeline up warbonnet style, which was very comfortable (I fell asleep while on the phone)
So far I really like the adjustability. I tend to try different lengths, and its really handy to be able to just set it up differently a nice loose feel, or more of a flat feel. its awesome so far. I think my favorite part of this hammock is, I can let my arms and legs out of both sides, all at the same time.