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  1. #1
    Senior Member 3club's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Battle Creek, MI
    Hammock
    underquilt
    Tarp
    roomy, no guy line
    Insulation
    down
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    56' of straps
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    348
    Images
    7

    World's simplest treeless hammock stand

    World's simplest treeless hammock stand



    I am visiting a friend in the hills of Tennessee, and brought my hammock, but she has no suitable trees, and I needed a low cost, temporary solution. The only materials I needed to buy for this project were two 10' 2x4s from Lowe's. This was the first step.

    The next step was to dig a small hole in the ground, just about the size of a large coffee can. This is just something for the ends to sit in. Alternatively, I thought about cutting a 45 degree angle on the ends so they would bite into the ground, or you could nail or bolt the two together I suppose. But I chose the hole. I laid the boards by the hole, and got out my tarp.

    At this point I need to describe my tarp: At the ends of the ridgeline, I have loops, and to those I have a length of Lash-It a few inches longer than the tarp, so that the tarp and Lash-It form a loop which can be carabinered. The Last-It acts as a gear storage line, and as the nylon tarp stretches in rain/etc., the weight of gear on the line functions as a trap tensioner. In place of a structural tarp, you could just use an adjustable length of string tied to the far ends of the boards.

    Basically, the boards rest in the hole in the ground, and the tarp or other guy line keeps the far ends of the boards from falling away to the ground. Once you get into the hammock, the tarp or line no longer provides any structural purpose until you get out again. I attached the tarp simply by wrapping the warbonnet strap around twice at the far ends of the boards and clipping it with a carabiner. That has been good enough to keep it from slipping, even on the smooth boards.

    Also at the same end I attached the tent stake guy lines. I simply tied a small loop in the end of the string, and pulled the string through the loop to make a larger loop that tightens on itself. Because this string will be pulled perpendicular to the board, it never slipped off once everything was set up. So at this point, each board has three lines attached: two guy lines on each that will go down to the stakes in the ground, and one (the tarp, in my case) that goes between the two boards.

    For the next step, it is most convenient to have a couple helpers. They should be easy to find, as everyone around you is wondering what the hell you're up to. When I told them I was going to make an entire hammock stand out of two boards, without cutting, drilling, or nailing them, I heard a lot of "I've got to see this!"

    Place the bottom end of one of the boards in the hole in the ground, lift the other end up about six feet, and ask a helper to hold it there. Repeat with the other board. Then adjust the tarp or center guy line so that the boards maintain this configuration on their own, and the helpers are just there to balance it, to keep it from falling over.

    The angle from the ground to each board should be between 30 and 45 degrees, slightly wider than the angle you normally hang your hammock at. The idea here is that when you get in the hammock, the force on the hammock straps will pull the boards almost straight into the hole, but actually a little towards each other because the angle must be wide enough that your hammock and suspension don't hit it. So for example, if you normally hang your hammock suspension at about a 30 degree angle, and you make the angle between the board and the ground about 40 degrees, then there will be about a ten degree angle between the board and your hammock when you have it done.

    While your helpers stabilize the boards, drive the stakes into the ground and attach the guy lines. I try to get the lines to pass through the plane that is perpendicular to the end of the board, with the two lines about 90 to 120 degrees from each other. One purpose of these lines is to provide the lateral stability to the structure, and to balance it while you're not in it. When you do load the hammock, the lines keep the boards separated, pulling them down to the ground. Without them, the load in the hammock would cause the wide V formation to snap together like scissors.

    Once three of the stakes are in the ground, your helpers can let go as the fourth stake is positioned. Then each stake can be pulled up and fine tuned one at a time. You want to try to get the structure as vertical as possible when viewed from the ends, and symmetrically balanced when viewed from the sides.

    Nothing needs to be precise. I didn't measure anything, just eyeballed it. I double checked the alignment just by reaching down once I was in the hammock, and feeling if the boards met directly beneath me. I found mine to be a little off, but didn't fix it until the next day, and it held fine. The forces on the strings actually aren't that great, as most of the force of your weight is directed along the board into the hole in the ground. The strings compensate for the small difference in angle between the hammock suspension and the board, and provide lateral stability.

    It has survived an entire week of use so far, me getting in and out many times each night as is necessary after drinking many many beers with my friends, which I think was an important part of stability testing. When I leave tomorrow, everything will pack back up, I'll just fill back in the small hole in the ground, and my friends can keep the undamaged 2x4 boards. My total cost for this project was less than $10.

    I think I'll try to set this up at the fall hang and chili festival next month.

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Linkou, Taiwan
    Hammock
    Grizzbridge/RR/DIY GE/Pares
    Tarp
    DIY
    Insulation
    HG Incubator
    Suspension
    Cinch Buckle/strap
    Posts
    281
    $10 setup? Oh I'm all over that! Can you post some more pictures please.....

  3. #3
    Senior Member shipsgunner's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Chesapeake Va
    Hammock
    WBBB XLC 1.7
    Tarp
    WB Superfly
    Insulation
    WB & Hammock Gear
    Suspension
    Whoopie DIY
    Posts
    258
    Images
    14
    Nice job! A simple drawing would be nice on the stake placement.

    Thanks
    SG

  4. #4
    Senior Member 3club's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Battle Creek, MI
    Hammock
    underquilt
    Tarp
    roomy, no guy line
    Insulation
    down
    Suspension
    56' of straps
    Posts
    348
    Images
    7
    Sure, I'll take some more pictures tomorrow as I'm taking it down. When I get back home.

  5. #5
    Senior Member gnarus8429's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Northern Kentucky
    Hammock
    WBBB / Trek Light
    Tarp
    Squidbilly custom
    Insulation
    Jarbidge,UGQ TQ UQ
    Suspension
    Whoopies/strap
    Posts
    194
    Images
    15
    Yeah pictures. Seems different than I have seen before. I get the idea but more info would be great. The wheels are turning now.
    I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.

    -Albert Einstein

  6. #6
    Member BossLady's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Huntsville, TX
    Hammock
    ENO Double Deluxe
    Tarp
    Pro Fly
    Insulation
    DIY Pod
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    Atlas Straps
    Posts
    90
    Right nice setup there! Think it would anchor in the sand? Looking for an easier way to setup on the beach.
    You know, the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common: they don't alter their views to fit the facts; they alter the facts to fit their views. - The Fourth Doctor

  7. #7
    Nice set up, I am trying to do one made from steel.

  8. #8
    New Member SWMOHammock'r's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    Ozark, MO
    Hammock
    ENO Double Nest
    Tarp
    ENO Dry Fly
    Insulation
    under construction
    Suspension
    Dutchgear whoopies
    Posts
    18
    Yes more pictures and set up diagram.

  9. #9
    Senior Member BananaHammock's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Mount Prospect, IL
    Hammock
    DIY Bananahammock
    Tarp
    Dutch Duo
    Insulation
    DIY / HG Incubator
    Suspension
    Kevlar & UCR
    Posts
    1,175
    If this is simple enough for a nerd like me to build, I'm all over it too!

  10. #10
    Senior Member 3club's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Battle Creek, MI
    Hammock
    underquilt
    Tarp
    roomy, no guy line
    Insulation
    down
    Suspension
    56' of straps
    Posts
    348
    Images
    7
    Quote Originally Posted by kerryandjane View Post
    $10 setup? Oh I'm all over that! Can you post some more pictures please.....
    By your request, here are some more pictures. I'll be taking everything completely down very soon, so these will be the last pictures. At least until maybe next month at the Fall Hang.

    Please excuse my crappy camera. It's a cell phone.

    Here are the photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/1032780...eat=directlink

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