Suspending Turtledog Style Pole from Ceiling

[erric]

Okay, been rethinking this, partly due to another current thread. Hang the pole (cut a fence rail in two, stick the small end back into the other piece) from static rope from the ceiling hardware down to a normal TD stand height. Easy enough to get level, no need for a whoopie. Get your hang angle correct just the same way you'd do with a TD stand. I'd opt for short lines with 'biners on the pole attached to CLs on the hammock. Once you get the angle tweaked by adjusting those lines you never have to tinker again.

For storage, two options: 1) remove the pole and pull the dangling ropes out of the way. 2) run light lines from the pole ends up through the ceiling eyebolts, using them as pulleys. It would take little effort to raise the pole and these lines are not structural in terms of holding the loaded hammock. You could even leave the empty hammock attached. These lines might wear a little, but so what! They'd probably last for years and they'd be cheap to replace anyway.

Ok so this is great. It's dead simple, and like you said, who cares about the lines, they should last years. I think I'll give this a shot.

You don't need to hang from the pole. As you describe it, the only reason for the pole is to correct the hang angle, that would otherwise be too steep given the height of the room relative to L/W. So hang the hammock straight from the hooks/suspension, and then stick the pole in between the connection points to hold the hammock open the right amount. To stow, just remove the pole and stick it in a corner or wherever.

Here the pole is directly analogous to a ridgeline, except pushing the ends out in compression instead of pulling them in in tension.

If you have room to stow a 9' pole, you have room to stow a 4-pole tensahedron, too, just saying. It folds up quick like an umbrella, and you don't need to mess with the ceiling at all.

I would definitely have room to stow a tensa stand, but the issue is floor space. The bedroom in question has about 3/5 of the floor space taken up by a king size bed. The rest goes to standard bedroom furniture - dressers, a desk, etc. There is enough room that a tensa stand could be set up, but there would be almost no floor space remaining in the room. The area of ceiling I'm thinking of hanging from is directly above the bed, so I'll have two sleeping options with no additional floor space taken up by the second option. As I said earlier, I have TONS of vertical space because the ceilings are so high, so even leaving the hammock attached to the pole and pulling it to the ceiling would be possible. The bed is very low to the ground as well as it's on a simple metal platform that is probably around 8 inches tall.

Just wondering, but is there any particular reason you are not inclined to hang from the walls instead of the ceiling? With the eye bolts on the wall you wouldnt have any extra hardware to stow away when not in use.

I left out all the details because I wanted to avoid the typical discussion I've seen around here about the complications of hanging from concrete, but for the curious: this is an apartment in a high rise constructed in the 70s as an office building. As is the trend, the concrete ceilings are exposed to give the place an industrial look and more vertical space. Since it was an office building, the concrete slab separating the floors is riddled with anchors from ceiling tile, duct, and conduit hangs. That's why anchoring directly into the concrete is a non-issue, the slab is thick and I can look up and see the remains of dozens of wedge anchors that worked just fine for hanging up all manner of stuff, so even if I were to mount the anchors incorrectly or drill unnecessary holes, you'd need a forensic concrete scientist to tell it apart from the dozens of holes already up there. And since I'll be hanging directly over my bed, if it all comes crashing down I'll fall into a layer of shock absorbing memory foam. I don't know if you could ask for more ideal conditions for anchoring into a concrete ceiling.

As far as the walls go, they're metal studs, so hanging from them is totally off the table.

[TominMN]

Ok so this is great. It's dead simple, and like you said, who cares about the lines, they should last years. I think I'll give this a shot.

Remember: without pictures, it didn't happen.

[erric]

I've still got another 3 weeks to wait on my dangerbird from the smurfs... but I'll be doing SOMETHING, no question, and I'll be posting it here when I do

[Dynamystic]

I did something similar on a backpacking trip in Hawaii once. I used bundled bamboo as the compression strut and hung two hammocks from one tree. I used my hammock suspension to hang the bamboo using the tree straps around the branches.




If you can figure out the appropriate concrete anchors, I can see this working really well. In my college days I built a bed frame for my futon mattress and hung it from chains at the four corners to lag screws in the ceiling beams. I loved the gentle sway (well, gentle most of the time anyways ) of my hanging bed and, despite the occasional roughhousing, I never noticed any loosening of my lag screws. Might have to do that again someday.

Best of luck, I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

[oldpappy]

oldpappy, is that just your standard chain link fencing? You've never had any concerns about it folding inward at the point it interlocks? Also what's that cap with eye bolt you have on the end to hang your suspension from?

Looks like you have a decent plan. In answer to your questions:
Yes, standard chain link fence top rail with the 'pot steel' end caps for chain link fence.
The hammock connections use a 'chain quick link' and 'S' hook bent to stay on the quick link. Hammock continuous loops just go on 'S' hooks. This has been used very often for 5 years without an issue. Some folks have concerns using the end caps but it has not been an issue for my 165 lbs.
The Turtle Dog Stand post has many options to hang your hammock off the chain link top rail. You can use carabiners if you have them, or the 'Chain quick links' and 'S' hooks available at Tractor Supply or Walmart - just verify size and weight spec. Example:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/10-Quick-Li...-/282897388904

[Sirenobie]

Here is my hanging turtledog that I have set up in my garage. If you want to use a set up like this, make sure you are using amsteel so that there is no stretch over the longer length of rope needed to hang and hoist the rig. When you need to move the hammock out of the way, simply hoist the hammock and pole up closer to the ceiling...

[Baka Dasai]

...If you want to use a set up like this, make sure you are using amsteel so that there is no stretch over the longer length of rope needed to hang and hoist the rig...

Three questions:

1. Do you use pulleys, or does the rope run well enough over a metal hook/ring?

2. If you use a single rope between ceiling and hammock, do you have problems with the pole not staying level when you shift your weight around inside the hammock?

3. What does it matter if the rope between ceiling and pole stretches a bit? I know it'll affect the height of the pole/hammock, but it won't affect the lay like stretch in a typical hammock suspension does.

[TominMN]

I'd go with a fixed-length piece of rope on each end once you get the height where you want it. Something with little or no stretch. It isn't going to matter if a stretches a little bit. Every time you lower it it's in exactly the same spot. Pull the rig up with practically anything. Use up that paracord you have laying around. The smoothness of the eyebolts is enough to not use any pulleys.

[erric]

Just thought I'd post an update in here since it's been about a month. It turns out a hammer drill is NOT adequate for 60 year old structural concrete. I spent a good 30 minutes over a few hours with a hammer drill and carbide cutting bit making minimal progress in my ceiling. Thinking the 3/8" bit might be too wide and a pilot hole would make things easier, I made a run to home depot to get a 5/16" cutting bit. No luck, another 10 minutes and I had made maybe 1/2" out of the 4" needed for my anchor. A serious, heavy duty industrial rotary driver is what I need, and although home depot does rent them, another $40-60 sunk into this combined with the daunting prospect of applying the needed force above my head, and I'm putting this project on hold for now.

[sloanie]

I would definitely have room to stow a tensa stand, but the issue is floor space. The bedroom in question has about 3/5 of the floor space taken up by a king size bed. The rest goes to standard bedroom furniture - dressers, a desk, etc. There is enough room that a tensa stand could be set up, but there would be almost no floor space remaining in the room. The area of ceiling I'm thinking of hanging from is directly above the bed, so I'll have two sleeping options with no additional floor space taken up by the second option. As I said earlier, I have TONS of vertical space because the ceilings are so high, so even leaving the hammock attached to the pole and pulling it to the ceiling would be possible. The bed is very low to the ground as well as it's on a simple metal platform that is probably around 8 inches tall.

I believe Latherdome often sets his Tensahedron stand up *ON* hotel beds Though whether you'd want to do that to your own mattress on a regular basis might be the difference.

I'd love to see how this project turns out-- looking forward to it if you're eventually able to make it happen.