My try at the turtledog stand

[wylie_coyote]

I had been thinking of how to use PVC pipes as extendable legs with one section inserted into the other and a pin of some type to hold it in position. The problem I am having is what to lash the upper three pieces with. Do I lash it or configure some sort of pole long enough to go through all pieces and was a spreader top. That way the legs could be shrunk down into two or three sections and held with pins.

I have seen PVC sections with dowels in one end used to put the sections together. This was a snug fit for the dowels into the PVC and worked well but the PVC will not nest (like I made my legs) inside each other for storage.

As for the top of mine I did try the hinges and rods nothing really seemed to work the way I wanted and still fit into the PVC for storage. So that is when I went to the lashing. this has held up and does not slip I have used para cord on both stands (I plan on switching it out but have not yet).
I made continuous loops that hang down through the PVC and put the hammock on the loop with either the carabinor that came with the ENO or other ones since I have moded my ENO to use a continuous ridge line with descending rings.

Good luck ScottM

[mountain_man_mike]

I like your design. Very well done indeed. I was thinking of reclaiming the corner posts from an EZ UP and making some sort of stacking swivel near the top and I love the nested PVC concept!

Did you tinker with 3' sections of conduit (1/2", 3/4" and 1") and those spring pins (like inside an EZ UP) to shorten your set up further?

Again, that's a great piece of work you have there and welcome to the asylum.

[kerryandjane]

Wow what a stand! Octothorpesarus led me here. I love how it collapses into itself. I'm not afraid of a little lashing either.

Have you done a version 2? What would you do differently if there was a next time?

[wylie_coyote]

HI KerryandJane thanks for looking!

I have not done a 2.0 fully yet.

I would like to increase the PVC to 5.5' or 6' each to increase the ridge length this would allow for an 11' tarp too.

I did put more holes in the conduit so it will go to 7' (that is not while in tripod mode) so linear straight up.

But other then that it has worked great one of our BSA camps here has some pretty open camp sites so it has come in handy.

I also want to make a tarp that would cover both with out touching the stands to make a cooking are etc between the 2 stands.

[kerryandjane]

Thanks for the response, i've subscribed to this thread for future updates..... It's such a brilliant design and I'm gonna try it.
I'll only have one chance to do this and I want to do it right. I'm planning to use it in the lounge for sleeping ... maybe fulltime.
Can you help a hanger out? I got some questions.

5' to 5.5' or 6ft sounds great. I was thinking of this too and raising the leg length to 5ft too but just for options of 7 ft ridge. (5' with your 2' over lap maybe.)

1. Can you share a close up of the pins?
   What did you use as a cotter pin? Did you need 2 in each leg? Did they bend under load?
   
2. Your legs are stainless steel. Any buckling or worries of failure due to the leg in leg? Do you think an aluminium version would buckle under 210lbs of pure fat and broken dreams?
   What did you mean when you mentioned the 7' pole was straight up? Do you mean the pole had to be verticle? Having the poles only over lapping by 1' cause noticeable strength/wobble issues?
   
3. How is the PVC pipe holding up as a ridgeline? Noisy? Wobbly? Dangerous?

The coupler 4" -3" i'm finding around here has a hole in the middle so putting the poles and other guy-lines in one end only for it to fall out the other side.
Does the coupler you have have a hole or are you capping the inner PVC pipe and putting it butt first. and finishing it with a cap?

Thanks for your help and your genius idea.

Depending on how I go with aluminium and sourcing the PVC i'm planning to make an adjustments to your master piece and a cheesy addition.
Idea 1: If it still fits in the PVC Try replace lashing with hardware -
From Agfadocs thread - Another version of the Aluminum Surplus Military Pole Stand.


From SteelerNation post in Agfadocs thread - Another version of the Aluminum Surplus Military Pole Stand.



Idea 2: The Bush Craft Chair - because why not. All I'll need is a bit of nylon and another piece of conduit.

I think if I have the PVC at 5.5' and have 2, 5' high conduit (the smaller conduit inside the larger) with hardware inside the PVC they should fit snug. In theory right?

How snug are your poles when inside the PVC? Have you been bored enough to weigh the complete setup?

[wylie_coyote]

Thanks for the response, i've subscribed to this thread for future updates..... It's such a brilliant design and I'm gonna try it.

Thanks for the compliment! We have enjoyed ours and are getting ready to be used by my kids when we move to Texas on the 4th and 5th as beds for who knows how long?

I'll only have one chance to do this and I want to do it right. I'm planning to use it in the lounge for sleeping ... maybe fulltime.
Can you help a hanger out? I got some questions.

5' to 5.5' or 6ft sounds great. I was thinking of this too and raising the leg length to 5ft too but just for options of 7 ft ridge. (5' with your 2' over lap maybe.)

1. Can you share a close up of the pins?
   What did you use as a cotter pin? Did you need 2 in each leg? Did they bend under load?
   
   I don't have pictures so here is a link to them we have used 2 types of pins but only 1 pin per leg. The ones I like best are below.
   http://www.harborfreight.com/20-piec...ent-67534.html
   I uses the 1/4 inch diameter ones
   
2. Your legs are stainless steel. Any buckling or worries of failure due to the leg in leg? Do you think an aluminium version would buckle under 210lbs of pure fat and broken dreams?
   What did you mean when you mentioned the 7' pole was straight up? Do you mean the pole had to be verticle? Having the poles only over lapping by 1' cause noticeable strength/wobble issues?
   
   Okay so my legs are made of metal electrical conduit from Lowes or homedepot. I have had up too 300Lbs in the hammock with no issues. If you make the PVC longer you can also make each leg section longer so that you can have more overlap inside the legs this will ad weight but will make it stronger if you are worried.
   When I said 7 feet I meant from the tip to tip of each pole not the overall tripod height. This is also only one stand and yes I was worried about the minimal overlap of the legs so these legs are a little longer then then the first stand I built. We could that stand Version 1.1B since it is not huge modification over the original posted version.
   
3. How is the PVC pipe holding up as a ridgeline? Noisy? Wobbly? Dangerous?

The PVC remains flexable while you are in the hammock there is some noise and movement of the PVC up and down while getting in and out but it can handle the weight. as for the coupler yes it has a whole in it so I cut a piece of thick plastic to go inside the couple to close it up so the legs don't fall out.
Also, minimizing the rope going thru the PVC minimizes the movement up and down. I have made amsteel continous loops that have a little play in them that are working great for me.

The coupler 4" -3" i'm finding around here has a hole in the middle so putting the poles and other guy-lines in one end only for it to fall out the other side.
Does the coupler you have have a hole or are you capping the inner PVC pipe and putting it butt first. and finishing it with a cap?

As for your hardware to make the leg connections I have seen several Ideas on the forums and they work great, but I could not find a way to make it work and still get the legs to go into the PVC. if i went to bigger PVC they would have fit but I was trying to cut weigh and costs.


Thanks for your help and your genius idea.

Depending on how I go with aluminium and sourcing the PVC i'm planning to make an adjustments to your master piece and a cheesy addition.
Idea 1: If it still fits in the PVC Try replace lashing with hardware -
From Agfadocs thread - Another version of the Aluminum Surplus Military Pole Stand.


From SteelerNation post in Agfadocs thread - Another version of the Aluminum Surplus Military Pole Stand.



Idea 2: The Bush Craft Chair - because why not. All I'll need is a bit of nylon and another piece of conduit.

I think if I have the PVC at 5.5' and have 2, 5' high conduit (the smaller conduit inside the larger) with hardware inside the PVC they should fit snug. In theory right?

How snug are your poles when inside the PVC? Have you been bored enough to weigh the complete setup?

Everything is pretty snug inside it took some practice to figure out the best way to put it all together but I think I go the hang of it now. As for weight it comes in at 25-30 lbs.

I like the chair by the way! Best of Luck!
Feel free to ask more questions or PM me. I will try and up load some more pics when we get settle into Texas next week.

[daverr]

Thanks for sharing this! I do a lot of hotel traveling but sleep terribly on the beds. I'm thinking I might start traveling with this in my trunk.

So I drilled holes in the 1/2" conduit about 1/2 from top and then middle of 3/4" conduit. Insert 1 1/2" into 1 3/4" line up holes and insert cotter pin this pole is now 6' long. put 3 together and lash putting in fittings that you want.

I am having a hard time envisioning where to put the holes based on this. Can someone help me out? The picture makes it look like the hole on the top pole is in the middle and the hole on the top pole is very near the top.

[wylie_coyote]

Thanks for sharing this! I do a lot of hotel traveling but sleep terribly on the beds. I'm thinking I might start traveling with this in my trunk.



I am having a hard time envisioning where to put the holes based on this. Can someone help me out? The picture makes it look like the hole on the top pole is in the middle and the hole on the top pole is very near the top.

HI daverr

So on the 3/4" conduit put 1 hole in the middle of the section hole goes all the way through. then in the 1/2" conduit put a hole about 1/2" from top (as you said very near the top) again hole goes all the way through. This way you slide the 1/2" into 3/4" and put a pin in it now the pole is 6' tall if you used 4' sections. On the second stand we made we put 2 holes in the 3/4" conduit 1 in middle and 1 hole 1' from bottom this allowed for an extra foot in length of final pole.

Not sure it that is any clearer?

[the_lorax]

Definitely want to try this out soon. Do you think that install of PVC for the ridge pole you could use EMT conduit? I'm thinking 3/4 inch cut in a couple sections with a shorter piece of 1/2 inch inside it with some pins to serve as connections for the two outer halves. Would it be strong enough?