The TurtleDog stand

[PTAaron]

Alright... My father in-law and I got mine built yesterday on my day off work! I was hoping to hit #200 on the list... but I guess no such luck

Completed pic in my back yard (construction pics are at my in-laws house, which has plenty of trees!):


We did things a little bit different... First off we used U bolts in the ridge pole for a nice solid connection we didn't have to worry about unbending itself (like an eye bolt could):



On the inside we put in one nut to set the depth, and give use the ability to "Lock" the nuts onto the bolt. The other side we marred the threads up with some pliers so it took a socket to crank it on (to lock the nut in place):


Then after test fitting everything, we cut the bolts off and smoothed out the edges so there wouldn't be anything sharp to snag on:


I had originally intended to attach the U bolt directly to the shackle in the hinge - but the orientation of the parts was wrong... so I used a pair of oval climbing rated carabiners to attach it all:


To attach the hammock I had picked up a couple of climbing slings (27 kN rating) that I intended to clip the hammock to and slip over the ends of the pipe... but it turned out that the 10'3" ridge pipe was just a little too long to give me a 30 degree hang with those... I needed about 3 more inches. My father in-law happened to have some climbing rated no stretch rope, so he made me a loop for the head end, and I used one of the slings I had for the other end... this gave me a bit of a "feet higher than the head" hang:



So... there it is!

EDIT: Right now the leg poles are 7'... and it leaves me hanging just high enough that I can almost touch the ground sitting on it... I'm debating cutting them down a bit, but I kind of like the extra height for protection from splashing if it rains

[hppyfngy]

Very nice! I'd say you built the heck out of that stand.

[PTAaron]

Very nice! I'd say you built the heck out of that stand.

Haha! Thanks

[olddog]

Originally Posted by olddog
The question was posed by old4hats about the number of turtledog stands that had been built. Went back and reviewed a few threads, the Turtlelady stand, the TurtleDog stand and a thread by domromer. Here is what I was able to find and assume that there may be others.

Page #1. Ends at post #723
Page #2
#101 - turtleburger
#102 - JakobW
#103 - berksound
#104 - HangDenAround
#105 - civetta62
#106 - LEAGLE
#107 - joeybravo13
#108 - JohnSawyer
#109 - JaxHiker
#110 - delphyves, the first from France!
#111 & 112 - Rightside
#113 - tato
#114 - Randy
#115 - Mag
#116 - Aardvark
#117 - Brute1100
#118 - ptsal
#119 - Bankheadboy
#120 - old4hats' second
#121 - UncleClark
#122 & 123 - hppyfngy, the Master TD maker!
#124 - Humpback
#125 - jima59
#126 - 100MileBill
#127 - WV
#128 - rcracin24
#129 - NWOHanger
#130 - doogie
#131 - WhiteHillReptile
#132 - catalyst
#133 - Lupus
#134 - bowl-maker
#135 - ewhammock
#136 - Privateer
#137 - Settle
#138 - obmit
#139 - Jazilla
#140 - kk4df
#141 - gothmog
#142 - Pj1008
#143 - the2nddeal
#144 - samjaynes
#145 - HamMike
#146 - Veto 65
#147 - bonsaihiker
#148 - Peartree
#149 - hawghanger, for daughter
#150 - oldfatguy
#151 - raleighbuckner
#152 - Corpus
#153 - Owl
#154 - Ryn8tor
#155 & 156 - talldaddy
#157 & 158 - creativeKayt & nephew
#159 - body942
#160 - Jim697
#161 - ConnerMan
#162 - Mannowar
#163 - HayJay
#164 - recentconvert
#165 - PappyAmos
#166 - for dkurfiss by harleynemo
#167 - MrClean417
#168 - Miguel
#169 - camoxjeep
#170 - Snarl
#171 & 172 - mitchamaphone
#173 - oldpappy
#174 - jmstallard
#175 - CamRun's second
#176 - FlyingFox
#177 - FLRider
#178 - pumkinpete
#179 - sdc
#180 - Unmighty
#181 - bdaabat's second
#182, 183, 184 - hillbilly. Set of 3 aluminum stands
#185 - georgecarr
#186 - HickoryStick
#187 - Banana Hammock and his Banana Stand!
#188 - nitokerght
#189 - turtlelady
#190 - archy88
#191 - Tankosl
#192 - Womble
#193 - SouthernExposure
#194 - Chug
#195 - Bakon
#196 - Cascades
#197 - 1-Hung-Low
#198 - PTAaron

[Acer]

thats a lot of stands!

[Tankosl]

Well.......after building and putting up my stand on July 6th

I've slept in it every night since

All good things have to come to an end I suppose and now I have to take it down.........because we're off camping in our tent for a week

I may just try and sneak it into the back of the landrover when nobody's looking.......

[Tinmar]

You know the saying "don't hang any higher than you are willing to fall." Well my TDS and I crashed. Be very careful of the 2x2 at Home Depot. One of mine had a knot that just looked like a dark spot. Not so. As I was getting out of my ENO while pulling on the hammock to sit up and swing my legs over, one of the legs snapped at the knot and down I went. Not fun. And of course I had just convinced my wife that it would be fine to hang inside. Big gouge in the wall and several gouges in the hardwood floor. Be careful of the 2x2s quality. I had to search for a long time to find six that weren't warped and didn't have a lot of knots. Guess I missed one.

[MrClean417]

You could always make the stand out of the fence railing and put cups on the feet. I think there was a PVC cap that actually fit or was close enough that a good dose of goop would keep it on to protect your floors with. The legs on the stand don't have that high of a weight individually and I KNOW the fence post is stronger in compression then a knotty 2x2.

[hppyfngy]

You know the saying "don't hang any higher than you are willing to fall." Well my TDS and I crashed. Be very careful of the 2x2 at Home Depot. One of mine had a knot that just looked like a dark spot. Not so. As I was getting out of my ENO while pulling on the hammock to sit up and swing my legs over, one of the legs snapped at the knot and down I went. Not fun. And of course I had just convinced my wife that it would be fine to hang inside. Big gouge in the wall and several gouges in the hardwood floor. Be careful of the 2x2s quality. I had to search for a long time to find six that weren't warped and didn't have a lot of knots. Guess I missed one.

So sorry OldMart. I'm afraid I've been waiting for this to happen. I hope you weren't hurt.

I've been recommending for a while to get your 2x2's from a reputable lumberyard and to ask for "clear or better" stock. They're 50% more expensive but I've built a lot of these stands and haven't had a failure yet, (knock knotty pine...)

Be careful with these stands, folks!

Thanks for the reminder OldMart.

[old4hats]

So sorry OldMart. I'm afraid I've been waiting for this to happen. I hope you weren't hurt.

I've been recommending for a while to get your 2x2's from a reputable lumberyard and to ask for "clear or better" stock. They're 50% more expensive but I've built a lot of these stands and haven't had a failure yet, (knock knotty pine...)

Be careful with these stands, folks!

Thanks for the reminder OldMart.

This is why I went with 2x3's, a bit heavier to tote, but real sturdy.