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  1. #1
    Senior Member ricktreks's Avatar
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    Ridgerunner Modifications Questions

    Hi Everybody,

    Warbonnet recently had the Ridgerunner on sale so I jumped right in and got one. Even before I bought it I knew there were a few things I would like to change. So if you guys don't mind, especially those of you who own Ridgerunners, I'd like to run these ideas by you so that you can maybe give me some pointers.

    1- Changing the zipper: Does anyone know what size of YKK zipper they use on the Ridgerunner? Is it a #3 or #5? I want to make the bugnet completely detachable, and I want to have two zipper sliders on both sides so that I can enter/exit the hammock from either, just like I do on a DH Sparrow or a Chameleon, or completely remove the bugnet when not needed.

    2- I would like to get rid of some surplus metal. All the aluminium corner tabs that hold the spreader bars in place add a certain amount of weight, and I know that WB is now using a "locked brummel-like" or some sort of system that only uses the amsteel from dog bones to hold the spreader bars in place. Does anybody know how this system works exactly? Along those same lines I'd like to eliminate the metal ring that connects the dog bones to the continuous loops on the suspension. Perhaps replace it with a soft shackle? Does anyone know why this would be a bad idea?

    3- I'd like to shorten the length of those dog bones too. The hammock itself is not very long but with those dog bones you definitely need a longer distance between the trees. Last night I was able to rig up the Ridgerunner on my Tensa4 stand, and it took a bit of fiddling, but finally managed. Still the long spreader bar was touching the Tensa tubes every time I moved. Most of that was due to the dog bones being too long. Now, I understand that shortening the dog bone would increase the compression forces on the spreader bar itself, and obviously I don't want to stress the setup too much or compromise the safety but I assume the dog bones can be shorten down to a certain point and still be safe. Has anyone experimented with this?

    I think that's all I got for now. Thanks in advance for the help!

    Cheers,

    R
    Backpacking trips in the tropical jungles of Latin America... Exploring our living planet from within...
    http://www.jungletreks.com

  2. #2
    cmc4free's Avatar
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    2. I haven't seen this firsthand, but below is a screenshot from one of Warbonnet's instagram posts that shows the corner attachment in some detail. It looks like it's just an eye splice lark's headed to the Dynaweave webbing, with the tips of the spreader bar placed inside the eye. Replacing the metal apex buckle should be fine. You could use a soft shackle, or even just splice a new CL through the eyes of the dogbones.

    3. How are you attaching the RR to the Tensa4? I understand where you're coming from, but I have no problem with it and don't have the spreader bars hitting the T4 poles. To hang the RR from the T4, I do one or the other of these 2 things:
    - Hang the continuous loop from the RR directly over the T4 pole, wrapping the CL an extra time around the pole to shorten it further.
    - Hang the metal apex buckle directly over the T4 pole, so that technically the T4 pole is "inside" the suspension triangle. This method allows the shortest hang without actually changing the dogbone length.

    Once that's done, I'll adjust the T4 ridgeline so that the RR hangs at a decent angle, and then adjust the T4 baseline so that there's enough clearance between the T4 poles and the RR spreader bars. This results in a pretty narrow baseline compared to a normal GE hammock setup. I'd guesstimate it's 5' +/- 1'.

    Changing the dogbone lengths is possible, but generally not recommended. It's also not necessary IMO. Shortening them puts a greater load on the spreader bars.

    Last edited by cmc4free; 01-23-2020 at 12:55.

  3. #3
    cmc4free's Avatar
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    One other thought comes to mind when talking about reducing tree span. I've never actually tried this on the Tensa, but I suspect it would work there, too. It works great between trees or other fixed posts.

    Without shortening the length of the dogbones in the bridge suspension triangles, it's hard to imagine any suspension system that allows for a shorter tree span than the one pictured below. Removing the apex hardware from the RR's dogbones and then connecting the eye loops of the dogbones to a Dutch Beetle Buckle on a suitable strap allows the bridge triangles to be connected a mere 2 inches or less from each tree. Hanging and adjusting the strap and Beetle Buckle setup is about as simple as can be.

    I know you mentioned removing metal hardware. This would remove the apex hardware but add in a Beetle Buckle on each end. Then again, I don't know what the rest of your suspension system consists of, so maybe the Beetle Buckle would just replace some other hardware like a MSH/toggle.


  4. #4
    Senior Member ricktreks's Avatar
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    Hey cmc4free, thanks for all your comments and pictures. Very helpful indeed. I untied the dog bones from the triangle and found that the locked brummels that are larksheaded together are a bit bigger than the ones attached to the aluminium spreader bar tabs. So I would just need to swap the ends of each dog bone to eliminate the tabs. So no special knots or other contraptions needed.

    About the Tensa4 adaptation, I think I neglected to mention that I like the RR with a bit of a sag, so maybe that's why the spreader bars are touching the T4 tubes. The first time I took this hammock camping I tried sleeping in it as flat as possible, and I found it to be very uncomfortable. It was very rigid and it flattened my back like one of those old army folding cots. So I raised the height of the webbing up the trees a bit and gave them some slack to create a sag. Later I added a Zing It structural ridgeline, and am pretty happy with the sag when I camp between trees, but on the Tensa4 that might be the reason why the bars are touching the tubes.

    I'll keep playing with it until I find a sweet spot without resorting to making the dog bones any shorter than they are. I'll also narrow the baseline UCR like you've mentioned to see if that helps.

    Thanks so much again!

    R
    Backpacking trips in the tropical jungles of Latin America... Exploring our living planet from within...
    http://www.jungletreks.com

  5. #5

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    I've been using dogbones 6" shorter than standard with no ill effects for the past several years. I read here often that it is "not recommended" but I'm going to have to see an actual failure to go back to the full length ones

  6. #6
    Senior Member ricktreks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Muddy Creek View Post
    I've been using dogbones 6" shorter than standard with no ill effects for the past several years. I read here often that it is "not recommended" but I'm going to have to see an actual failure to go back to the full length ones
    Hey Muddy Creek, that's helpful, thanks. I know how that goes. I make my whoopie slings with a 3" bury for my personal hammocks, when the recommended length is I think 8", and (knock on wood) have never had any issues. But most manufacturers rather err on the side of caution and build stuff with a lot of redundancies prioritizing safety over functionality, and it's a good thing they do. That's why most of the hammocks sold commercially come with the stock daisy chain / carabiner suspension. That type of suspension is heavy and marginally adjustable, however it is pretty safe and easy to figure out on the first attempt. Manufacturers don't want customers coming back complaining that their product had a safety failure. It could kill their business. But it is true that as the end user if you know what you're doing you can take some liberties and tweak the product by eliminating some of those safety redundancies to maximize functionality.

    R
    Backpacking trips in the tropical jungles of Latin America... Exploring our living planet from within...
    http://www.jungletreks.com

  7. #7
    TrailBlaser's Avatar
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    With the help of Warbonnet, I was able to add a mod to my RR to keep my pillow in place. Loop added to head-end, button sewn on pillow and tether from Amazon. I keep the pillow, TQ, UQ and UQ protector in a SLD Hammock Catch-All for easy deployment.

    20210403_130612.jpg

  8. #8
    Senior Member
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    I exchanged the zipper with 2 pieces of 103 inches long zippers from Dutch, and made a topcover too. Works perfectly.




  9. #9
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    I took off the Apex buckle (old style) and just put the two dogbone ends in a WB carabiner and clip that to a Dutchware (spider) daisy chain. At some point - usually with GE hammocks, it’s the tarp that determines the tree spread. I kept blaming the RR for needed further apart trees but if I’m using a RR compliant (13 ft) tarp, it’s going to need that span anyway.
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

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