Portable Cooking Table For Tree Attachment

**WalksInDark** · 05-24-2009, 10:03

This thread got moved here: http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/index.php; or here: http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...ead.php?t=8752

Morning Folks:

I live here in the great state of VA just 15 minutes away from the A.T.

As any of you who travel on the A.T. regularly, space at the shelters is frequently scarce....BUT WHO CARES

we are after all "Hangers" and stealth camping is but a step or two off of the trail.

While I can hang my HH on any two trees regardless of slope, whenever I try to cook on anything other than a level surface...things do downhill (pun intended) pretty darn fast.

So, what I would like to do is (preferably) build or buy a lightway folding cook table that could be attached to a tree by straps so that I could have a level cooking surface wherever I choose to hang.

Anybody have plans for such an animal...or know where to buy one?

Thanks In Advance!

**east_stingray** · 05-24-2009, 10:13

That sounds like the sort of thing you might have to make for yourself, but it sounds like a very interesting concept!

**guySmiley** · 05-24-2009, 10:25

You've got an interesting design challenge ahead of you.

The closest thing that comes to mind that I can think of is a platform that a retriever would sit on while waiting for the retrieve command in a flooded forest. Like this only that thing would suck to have to backpack with.

I don't immediately see how the advantage of having a table would outweigh the disadvantage of having to haul it around, but maybe you can come up with something and make a million dollars.

**headchange4u** · 05-24-2009, 10:27

Maybe a modified tree stand type setup?

**vitamaltz** · 05-24-2009, 10:31

You could also possibly hang it from below the hammock suspension if you could figure out a way that the suspension and the line the table was hanging from wouldn't be affected by the heat.

If the table was attached to webbing around a tree it probably wouldn't be afforded any shelter from rain or wind by the tarp. It's a nifty idea, though.

**adkpiper** · 05-24-2009, 11:46

Here's my thought:

THE ADKPIPER COOKING PLATFORM!

Find a thin plastic sheet the size you want your surface to be. Needs to be rigid, but not terribly heavy-weight. A cutting board would work for the mockup; you could also use part of an old Sterilite/Rubbermaid tub or something. We'll say that you picked something about one foot square.

Drill holes at each corner--just large enough to run some cord through.

Next we need a diagram, which I'll see if it's possible to provide through ASCII art. I'm labelling the holes with numbers and the sides with letters:

TREE
1-----A-------2
|....................|
B....cutting.....C
|......board......|
|....................|
3-----C-------4

Take a length of cord--let's say 6'--and tie one end through 1. Snug it up tight so that the knot is on the B side.

Take another length of cord--let's say 8'--and tie one end through 3. Again, snug it up tight so that the knot is on the B side.

So now you have a board with two ropes and four holes. If you want to get fancy, you can cut a crescent from the A side so it'll nest a bit better against the tree--you'll need to decide what diameter of tree you'd prefer to use.

INSTALLATION

Place the board so its A side is centered against the tree at the height you want. Take the cord that's tied through 1 and start wrapping it tightly around the tree. When you've taken a few wraps around the tree, wrap it one last time, run it through 2, and then tie it with an adjustable grip hitch, tautline hitch, or some other species of adjustable hitch. If you don't mind carrying the weight, you could do this with a Nite-Ize Figure 9. One that's tied, snug it up so the whole line is taut.

Next, hold the platform level and grab the cord attached to 3. Pick a point at least a foot up the tree from your first wrapping (you're looking to form a right triangle that's isosceles or better). Run the cord up to that point, make sure it's taut (holding the platform level, and start wrapping around the tree. Wrap tightly, and wrap down from that point. When you're nearing the end of your cord, make one final wrap over the top of that first wrap (so you have a crossing), and then come down through hole 4. Again, tie an adjustable grip hitch (or use a Figure 9), and adjust so that the cord is taut and the platform is level.

I've just been sitting here thinking about this, so I don't have a mock-up to photograph, but I think it'll work. Here are the design challenges I see, and the ways I think this will work.

Must be strong enough: I wouldn't imagine that most cooking setups weigh more than 10 pounds during use, even during car camping. Unless you're boiling a gallon of water (hard to do on a camping stove anyway, because of balance), this setup should be adequately strong. Plastic is tough and rigid; even fairly light cordage can easily handle static loads of 10 lbs.

Must not slip: The advantage of the multiple tree wraps is that they make slippage much less likely. If you snug all the wrappings tight, there should be enough tension in the system that it'll keep the thing from moving. There will be a little motion the first time, but it shouldn't be much. The wrapping pattern on the major load-bearing wraps should also help prevent slippage.

Must not sway: We don't want the stove swaying laterally around the tree if it's breezy. I think that, if all the cords are adequately snug, this shouldn't be a problem. Provided a rigid platform, any direction of sway involves tension on a line that's already taut. It might swing a little, but it shouldn't be much. This could be mitigated by doing a triangle pattern underneath the platform with the bottom cord: running it through both 1 and 3 before knotting it, and then tying it to form a triangle between the legs of the cord. That'll give another strong piece in the right place to counteract a rotational force vector.

Must avoid having suspension running through the cooking area: Especially if we're using synthetic line, heat is a big no-no. This design keeps all the suspension lines out to the sides, especially if the tree is wider than a foot in diameter.

Must not tilt: Boiling water should stay put. Provided that all the lines are snug, the platform should be very stable.

Must work on trees both wider and narrower than the platform: That's the reason for leaving the knots on the B side of the platform--they won't rub against the tree if it's a big one. I think the combination of the rigid platform and the cordage should mean that the suspension works whether the tree is narrow or wide, just looking at the force vectors. The same additional triangles in the cordage would help with this, at the expense of a bit of extra weight.

Must be light: There's light-but-rigid plastic out there. There are lighter ways of doing this (tensioned fabric with a pole frame, for example), but they would make it fail the easy-to-build criterion.

Must be easy to build: All parts are available at a hardware store. If you have a drill, the holes are easy; if not, get a nail and a torch and melt the holes.

Must be cheap: Nothing here is expensive.

Must be heat-resistant: Here's the kicker. I don't picture this working well with white gas stoves. Canister stoves like the Pocket Rocket or Reactor should be great. Basically it comes down to whether the stove radiates a lot of heat downward. I'd test this on the ground, first, to see whether it'll be a problem. If so, it might be sufficient to put a piece of aluminum foil over the platform to reflect back some of that heat.

What do you think?

**hangnout** · 05-24-2009, 11:57

Looks like that would work as a table. What about going down with lines also to make it rigid (not flip up)?

Not sure I would use a stove that close to a tree though

**pegleg56** · 05-24-2009, 12:02

I could swear I've seen one in a picture in someone's gallery on this site, next to their hammock. I tried the search options, but can't turn up the picture.

**adkpiper** · 05-24-2009, 12:07

It would be easy to add another line going down. I figured it wasn't necessary if you had a stove on there, but it wouldn't add that much weight and might be helpful in really high wind.

If I were going to add a downward line, I would cross it over before wrapping around the tree, to give some added stability through additional members under tension.