Hanging in a mobile home (safely)
I have an old mobile home at the lake that I wanted to set up for hammocks since my son and I have become full time hangers. The problem is how to hang them without building stands that sat on the floor because I wanted to keep the beds in there for options when we have company. I certainly wasn't going to try to screw an eye bolt into the tiny studs that older mobile homes have. In fact, I wouldn't trust that system in a new house with 2x6 studs because they are still only 1-1/2 inches wide. After talking with my older son who is a master carpenter, we came up with this. I hope it may help some of you since it could be used in any structure that has wood studs. I didn't think to take pictures as we went along so I'll try to explain it looking at the finished product. Actually, it's extremely easy and relatively cheap to build. ($30 or so)
Step 1. Find a stud on each wall you want to use. Then simply center a 2x4 flatways over the trailer stud and screw it to it using 3" deck screws. About 5 or 6 is enough. Then cut another 2x4 about 6" shorter than the first one and screw it to the first 2x4 with 3" deck screws. It should look like the vertical portion seen here.
[IMG][/IMG]
Step 2. Do the same thing on the opposite wall where you want to hang from.
Step 3. You will need to cut 2 2x4s or 1 4x4 that will span between the two walls and set on the lower 2x4s like this:
[IMG][/IMG]
If you use 2x4s, it is advisable to put a few 1/2" spacers between them to make them 3-1/2" wide. (1.5 +1.5 +.5) That way, they will be the same width as the boards you mounted on the walls. Hopefully you can see what I mean in this pic.
[IMG][/IMG]
Now, all you have to do is drill a pilot hole and screw in your eye bolts as desired. I used chains for the suspension but of course you can use whatever you wish. The finished product:
[IMG][/IMG]
If you wish to pretty it up a bit, just screw a 1x4 to the bottom of the horizontal piece to cover up the gaps and it will look like a solid beam. Or, you could use a 4x4, but they are hard to find that are not treated, which is just unnecessary expense.
The whole idea of this is simple. The mobile home studs are not strong enough to hold the strain of the hammock, but they are strong enough to hold the 2x4s in position. Force exerted by the hammock is transferred primarily to the horizontal boards which keep the vertical boards from pulling inward. The eye bolts are screwed into the vertical boards which are 3-1/2 inches wide and 3 inches thick. That's plenty of support. I have loaded my ENO DN to right at 400 pounds with this setup and there was no problems at all. If I were going to hang in a regular house, I would consider this as a bombproof option as well.
Sorry I didn't make this easier to understand with pictures in the various stages, but at the time, all I was concerned with was gettin' er done 'cause I didn't want to sleep in a bed!
Hope this helps.
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Nice job.
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