Modified Ceara Hammock Stand to Hold Two Stacked Hammocks with a 400 lbs weight limit!

**damalm** · 12-09-2017, 14:01

I enjoy hammocking with my son but we live in Phoenix, AZ and most stands of trees are about 100 miles north. If I want to hang locally overnight I can't because there are no trees in most state parks, etc. I came up with a solution that involved buying an existing hammock stand and a mod. I have tested it and it works well! It is also easy to set up and takes about five minutes. The stand is the Ceara Hammock Stand from Byer of Maine (https://www.byerofmaine.com/ceara-hammock-stand.html). Great stand but not tall enough to work with two stacked hammocks and a tarp. The hammock stand can manage 400 lbs so I decided to modify. I purchased four, two foot long pipes from a local Metal Supermarket. Two of the pipes are inserted in the outer two pipes (they telescope together) so they will connect to the stock connection elements on the Ceara hammock stand. You can see the result in the pictures. I now have a sturdy stack-able hammock stand! The four pipes cost an additional $30 and the stand itself was about $125 so my total investment is about $150. The top hammock is a WBRR and the bottom is a WB XLC. I am attaching the invoice so you can see the dimensions of the pipe.

**OneClick** · 12-09-2017, 16:30

Well done! All the different stand ideas can make your head spin but this is a nice solid setup that doesn't look like garbage.

**ecologito** · 12-09-2017, 18:22

Has anybody tried this?
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Best-Choi...=sem#read-more

**damalm** · 12-09-2017, 20:27

Thanks, it actually looks quite nice and is very stable!

**damalm** · 12-09-2017, 22:18

The hammock stand you provided the URL to was one that I explored. It is 10' in length which will be insufficient for most camping hammocks. You need at least 15' between bars to hang your hammock in most cases. The one I have is about 17' (and could be made longer with an optional extender connection bar). This stand is also extremely well made and sturdy. This rig also can be broken down easily which is key. I use it with my off road vehicle, and it can be broken down such that no piece of it is larger than a approximately four feet. Many of these stands on the market either can't be broken down easily (put it up and you are done) or if they can they have pieces that are 6' or longer and can't easily be put in the back of a vehicle. This one can be broken down and put up an no tools are needed.

**HoosierT** · 12-09-2017, 22:57

I’ve also been looking for a fairly portable stand. One thing I don’t understand is why the above linked stand wouldn’t work for an 11’ hammock with a 110” SRL being that the span of the stand is 120”?

**damalm** · 12-10-2017, 13:39

Originally Posted by HoosierT

I’ve also been looking for a fairly portable stand. One thing I don’t understand is why the above linked stand wouldn’t work for an 11’ hammock with a 110” SRL being that the span of the stand is 120”?

You can see the struggles this individual is having with how to suspend his hammock with the 9' version https://youtu.be/axDjHoPdFi0 (stacking two would be impossible). He has to do all kinds of modifications and knots and there is friction between suspension and hammock. It is possible to use the 10' foot version for a single hammock (which is bigger than what he is working with) but it seems pretty inefficient from my perspective. You may better off with more length so you can have a natural connection with your suspension and can play with your hang so that it is comfortable. Just my opinion, your mileage may vary.

**Kayak_Medic** · 12-10-2017, 22:13

I'll preface by saying I'm not an engineer, so that being said, I can't help but wonder how much your mods have decreased the load limit. When you have one hammock attached, you are applying your pulling forces in one direction, and it's more in line with the bar. Hanging two hammocks changes that. The bottom hammock is still pulling at an angle that's relatively inline with the tubes, but the top hammock is going to pull in an much more inward direction. Add to that the fact the tubing is longer and that inward pull is at the far end, it seems like you're applying force multipliers that weren't accounted for in the original design or estimated load limit. That little thin gusset rod at the bottom doesn't look very sturdy. If you think about a crane, it can lift more weight when its boom arm is more vertical, and the weight is closer to the crane, inline with the boom. If the crane boom is angled so the weight is further away from the crane and no longer pulling inline to the boom arm, the amount of weight the crane can hoist is greatly reduced. Maybe there is someone here with engineering background that is more knowledgeable than I, and can confirm or debunk my concerns. All I know is, a failure in a stacked setup probably won't be as fun as a failure of a single hammock.

**damalm** · 12-11-2017, 23:35

Originally Posted by Kayak_Medic

I'll preface by saying I'm not an engineer, so that being said, I can't help but wonder how much your mods have decreased the load limit. When you have one hammock attached, you are applying your pulling forces in one direction, and it's more in line with the bar. Hanging two hammocks changes that. The bottom hammock is still pulling at an angle that's relatively inline with the tubes, but the top hammock is going to pull in an much more inward direction. Add to that the fact the tubing is longer and that inward pull is at the far end, it seems like you're applying force multipliers that weren't accounted for in the original design or estimated load limit. That little thin gusset rod at the bottom doesn't look very sturdy. If you think about a crane, it can lift more weight when its boom arm is more vertical, and the weight is closer to the crane, inline with the boom. If the crane boom is angled so the weight is further away from the crane and no longer pulling inline to the boom arm, the amount of weight the crane can hoist is greatly reduced. Maybe there is someone here with engineering background that is more knowledgeable than I, and can confirm or debunk my concerns. All I know is, a failure in a stacked setup probably won't be as fun as a failure of a single hammock.

You have a reasonable concern which I also thought about but having tested it I can tell you it is rock solid with two people in the two hammocks. The load limit is 400 lbs and I am sure this is an underestimate (most manufacturers provide a limit lower than tested limits). Keep in mind the steel making up this hammock stand is not thin (hence the increased cost in relation to other hammock stands). This is thick steel tubing. The entire hammock stand weight is almost 45 lbs which should give you some idea of the thickness of the steel tubing. The steel I added weighs about 11 lbs which I have taken into account by subtracting it from the load limit. With the two telescoping tubes of steel .095 inches thick you have a combined .190 inch thickness. It would take an incredible force to bend these bars (telescoped or stock) and certainly some significant torque which you won't get by people rather gently laying in a hammock. I suppose if you put one of these bars in a vice and hammered hard enough you could get some bend due to striking blunt force. The hammock itself is likely to fail before the steel tubing, and I trust the warbonnet hammock above me (I am below).

Beyond intuition, if you want to get really geeky about it here is a website you can enter diameters and steel widths info into to determine when the tubing will bend. https://www.roguefab.com/tube-calculator/ After entering the correct info, this site indicates my tubing will begin to bend when a low enertia force with a weight of 820 lbs is applied (72" which is the longest section x 1.75" diameter x .095" tubing width). I think we are safe!! Beyond all that, stacking hammocks is fun!!

**Kayak_Medic** · 12-12-2017, 00:46

My concern isn't the strength of the steel bars. My concern is the point where they connect to the base. That's where the increased pressure is going to be applied. That's what the thin gusset rod is bracing against in the stock configuration. By increasing the length, as well as changing the angle of pulling force, you are multiplying the pressure on that connection joint at the base. Think about what you do when you're trying to remove a rusted, stuck bolt when your standard socket wrench won't give you enough leverage. You either use a longer "breaker bar" or you makeshift one by slipping a length of pipe over your socket wrench. That extra length increases your leverage and the amount of torque you're able to exert on the bolt. You have essentially fashioned a breaker bar, which means you are placing a lot more torque and pressure on that joint at the base. At the very least, I would recommend you beef up the gusset brace at the bottom.