I have thought about putting up a gazebo, and hanging hammocks from there. But I need a back yard first.
I have thought about putting up a gazebo, and hanging hammocks from there. But I need a back yard first.
I think that just putting up poles outside the shelters when there are no trees would be a great step forward on this subject. Hanging in the shelters would be great but I think the wildlife, such as mice, raccoons, and possums, would be the major problem. They love shelter just as much as we do, lol.
Hanging inside shelters, as mentioned above, creates a lot of problems. Be very careful about hanging from the outside of a shelter, using the shelter wall on one side and a tree or something on the other. I once came upon a situation in which a hammock hanger used a shelter that way. He pulled the whole shelter down on everyone during the night. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but he wasn't very popular from then on.
If shelter builders want to accommodate hammock hangers, I think the best thing is to put up three or four sets of 4X4 or bigger along side or in back of a shelter. The center post with six or so posts around also sounds good. They would need to be sure the post are about 12 to 15 feet apart. But it's a lot of posts to be carrying into the back country and a lot of work making sure there was enough post buried into the ground to hold up. Cross bracing might be needed, but that's even more stuff to be carried to the site. You could add reinforcements to a shelter, but I think you'd need a engineer to be sure it was strong enough.
The main problem with hanging inside shelters now is that the interior space is meant to accommodate those sleeping on flat surfaces. That is why for the most part its just not the ethical thing to do, and then secondarily, there's the structural issue to be aware of. However, seems like a lot of shelters could be retrofitted so that one could hang above that same floorspace.
I wonder about the 1-pole idea, if that is something that would not become a bit annoying to all those attached to it when one person gets in/out of their hammock, especially over time. In building future shelters, I wonder if they could just clear less area so that there are trees within a reasonable distance to supports on the shelter?
Bigger. A lot bigger.Originally Posted by bear bag hanger
6x6 or 6" diameter minimum.
Great idea though!
If you're putting posts in your back yard, (or someone else's backyard - Adventuregirl) do not use 4x4. Like I did. They are too small.
HangCon Sign Up:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing
So many trees, so little time...
Would 3 2x4s work? Can't say that I can remember seeing a 6x6 anywhere. Would a 4x4 work with some kind of angled brace like what you see on some hammock stands? How about a storage bench surrounding the inside of the shelter that doubles as a brace?
Typically when you start getting up to those sizes, you have to talk to the lumber manager about special orders. My parents have an 8x8 in the backyard where they mounted the old farm bell. Dad had a tendency to over-build. Mom said the tree house he built me would withstand a hurricane. She was proved true when Hurricane Camille came through in 1969. OK - so our major problem was flooding and not high winds, she still was right....
GeezerScouter
Trees work great for this
I asked about hanging OUTSIDE the shelters and encountered a fair amount of hosility directed towards me as a hammocker by alot of posters who seem to think of us as tree killers, or the very least people who wanted special treatment. I was surprised by the reaction to say the least.
what he said
Peanuts
"A womans place is on the trail"
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks