The TurtleDog stand

[hppyfngy]

Great Pics Datahiker, but I still don't get it. Why not put your pole sitting on top of the tripod? Has anyone tried this? Seems like you could still hang from the end caps. Just rotate 60 degrees from the setup in pic. Added advantage: tarp would go over tripod with a little smoothing of the wood

Resting the pole on top of the tripod is just a little more tricky. I can imagine how to do it easily, but it does add a degree of potential instability.

I believe only Samsara has done it.

The origin of this basic idea was to make a simple portable stand, and this is pretty much it. Now with the longer poles being used, I don't really see the need for putting the pole on top of the stand. Hanging it is just so stable and easy and I don't have any 13' tarps anyway...

But I'm up for more innovation!

Go for it Petez!

[petez]

WOW! That's great Randy, Thanks for that link. You are right about the potential stability problems but that hook seems a pretty good solution.

PeterZ

[samsara]

WOW! That's great Randy, Thanks for that link. You are right about the potential stability problems but that hook seems a pretty good solution.

PeterZ

I did the "on the top" version for elevation rather than for length to accommodate a tarp. The spread of the tripod ended up being a lot wider than I had planned but every thing was rock solid and incredibly stable. I really think I can rest the ridgepole on my original one on top and lash it down but it works fine the way it is. I will, however, be building another TD2.0 soon (this weekend maybe?) so that I can hang my hugenormous Mayan hammock in the house (even if I put my ridgepole on top of my current stand my butt would hit the ground or I would have to use too shallow of a hang angle to lift it higher).

If you are using the stand outside and space isn't an issue then it is probably easiest to just have a long set of poles that will allow you to use your tarp.

Dave

[seadad9903]

I had the same logic as oldgringo. I built mine with a 13'-ish pole (1 top rail & 3' of another) because my tarp is too big for a 10' pole. I didn't have to worry about stand height, they strap to a rack on top of my car. Mine is the one with the grey tarp, my daughter's is the other one. My son's isn't in the picture, he wanted to sleep on the other side of the campsite.

[samsara]

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.

#1- Olddog
#2- flashbang009
#3- hppyfngy, with first angled ends
#4- linuxhack
#5- mys4sllc
#6- samsara
#7- letstieoneon
#8- Cole
#9- Fontana Horseman
#10 & #11- olzeke and wife
#12 & #13- CamRuns and brother
#14- carmen2kayak
#15- Troy64
#16- Throkda
#17- OldMart
#18- Spiffguy
#19- Aven
#20- hppyfngy for nephew
#21- Mundele
#22- meanmoe
#23- Chuck Gravy
#24- spinkid
#25- samsara's daughter, version 2.0
#26- old4hats
#27- CptAhmadKnackwurst
#28- Fish<><
#29- Shortbus
#30- Clarinath
#31- Silvertitan
#32- NoahWhey
#33- trhang
#34- TheKid
#35- Suburban
#36- gp_griz
#37- Sidewinder
#38- wattson
#39- thehappymailman
#40- Datahiker
#41-#43- seadad9903


If you have built a TurtleDog and are not on the list please feel free to add yourself.

[old4hats]

seadad9903, you have a great set up there. While there were trees that could have been used, the stands allowed you to "arrange" camp just as you liked. Great option for car camping.

[samsara]

seadad9903, you have a great set up there. While there were trees that could have been used, the stands allowed you to "arrange" camp just as you liked. Great option for car camping.

After my initial thought of "why use a stand when you have all of those trees available?" I quickly came to the same conclusion that you did. You also have the benefit of dialing everything in on your stand and don't need to futz with your setup when you get to camp. Using a stand when car camping seems like the absolute best way to camp! Plus... it's just fun

Dave

[hppyfngy]

Only thing about leaving the stand set up is it can blow over, unlike trees. (usually)

I had my stand up in the yard and was away for a couple of hours and a sudden storm knocked the whole she-bang over. Luckily, no damage.

[olddog]

Nice family of Turtledog Stands seadad. Have you experimented with hanging 2 hammocks from 3 tripods or 3 hammocks from 4 or even 3 tripods? silvertitan did 2 on 3 and detailman was questioning multiples. MADD suggested the 3 on 3 triangle. Be interesting seeing some multiple hangs.

[Just Jeff]

Plus, for the folks who like to camp at established campgrounds (during hammock hangs, for example), this opens up a lot more opportunities. And some campgrounds require you to sleep on the established tent pad and forbid hanging anything from trees...so this stand will get you through a night or two at those campgrounds until you can get back to the piney woods.

Might also be a good step for people trying to get their kids to sleep in their own hammocks. If you practice at home in the exact same setup that you'll use when car camping, the routine will make it less likely for a youngun to end up in your hammock overnight.

I really like this simple design...might have a place in my kit at some point!