My Turtle dog stand

**Steelwolf** · 08-19-2013, 05:47

First I would like to thank all those that have tried this before and all their input.

My son and I fell in love with hammock camping this year. We are very involved in Boy Scouts and some of the campouts are in areas that do not have trees. So that brings me to this DIY project. I had to make two sets and tried different versions.

I started with my sons and he asked me to make the legs a little longer and I am glad I did. He has a HH deluxe with bottom entry and it works better.

I made it with a 6in hinge and paracord at the bottom. This worked very well and when setup in the grass, the paracord is almost flush with the ground. We both have (2) 6 1/2 fence poles with rope attached to a stainless steel shackel and a prisk knot at the pole.

I started mine with the angle idea and liked the concept but had stability issues. I am 265lbs and the prisk knot wanted to slip on the pole. I had to cut the angles off the top and that made mine about 6ft. Close to the ground but less to fall. hahaha

Over all a great project and not super expensive to do. Of course we had to test them out Sat and looking forward to using them this weekend at the Civil War Muster campout.

**samsara** · 08-19-2013, 06:13

Very nice, now you are all set!

Dave

**alon** · 08-19-2013, 06:18

very nice stand...

**401Hunter** · 08-19-2013, 06:27

Nice job Steelwolfe! I like you also had stability issues with my stands. To resolve this problem, I added a paracord to the hinge an ran it down the center of the tripod to the ground. I attached the paracord to a metal spiral ground anchor. The ones you can buy at pet supply stores to tie out a dog in the yard. I purchased mine at Tractor Supply. I secured the paracord with a prusik knot making it adjustable. This really adds stability to the tripod. I also added additional horizontal pipe and made a square or triangle formation so that I can hang three scouts from a total of three tripods or four boys from four tripods. In square pattern, I added a 12 foot Kelty Noah's Tarp in the middle by attaching each corner to each tripod making a fantastic shelter when you add a center pole.

**gmcttr** · 08-19-2013, 06:36

Originally Posted by Steelwolf

...Close to the ground but less to fall...

Very nice.

Just shorten the ropes hanging the ridgepole to get higher off the ground. If the ends of the ridgepole hit the tripods, they can be rotated so the pole can pass by without touching. This would also allow you to move the hanging ropes in ~1' (as if the ridgepole was shorter) therefore shortening the hammock suspension raising it up even more.

**olddog** · 08-19-2013, 17:13

Nice set of stands Steelwolf.

**jbrescue** · 08-20-2013, 08:54

Originally Posted by 401Hunter

I also added additional horizontal pipe and made a square or triangle formation so that I can hang three scouts from a total of three tripods or four boys from four tripods. In square pattern, .

I am glad to hear that this works, this was our plan as well for the same reasons. My only question for the scouters, why not just use lashing instead of the hinges? This would allow it to collapse down better and it makes the boys use their skills to set it up.

**jbrescue** · 08-20-2013, 14:28

OK, so I have been meaning to build this up anyhow. We just found out that Maumee Bay State Park has somewhere around zero trees, so construction got moved up.

Here are a few pictures of the set up that we cam up with. 8 foot 2x2's that were lashed one foot from the end. I think this will make it very easy to daisy chain them together for multiple people as well. Each tripod and ridge pole costs about $10 total.

**Floridahanger** · 08-20-2013, 15:13

Steelwolf- Great job on getting them done and they look nice. Great to get off the ground at camp.

Just bring yours up a little to keep your UQ from getting moist from wet ground or dew. You still have room to "lift" your hang.

Originally Posted by jbrescue

OK, so I have been meaning to build this up anyhow. We just found out that Maumee Bay State Park has somewhere around zero trees, so construction got moved up.

Here are a few pictures of the set up that we cam up with. 8 foot 2x2's that were lashed one foot from the end. I think this will make it very easy to daisy chain them together for multiple people as well. Each tripod and ridge pole costs about $10 total.

Nice job on the Turtlelady style stand. Remember, Turtledog(Turtlelady and Olddog) stand has evolved from bamboo and lashing to 2x2 or other size wood and hinges for foldability and durability.

I love the idea of using lashing instead of hinges for the scouts. It keeps their skill honed and gives a better understanding for practical in-field use.