Sorry to hear that. So the L brackets that the top rail goes thru(and that the legs go into) moved towards the middle? So does that mean your hammock was hooked around the L brackets rather than thru the end caps or a stout eye bolt on the ends of the top rail? I ave used the end caps that don't look strong enough for over 2 years and they have not broken. I have a carabiner (sp?) that runs thru the end cap and attach the hammock to that biner. But, if paranoid about it not being strong enough(plus I have not been over 226 lbs), you can simply wrap the hammock suspension around the fence post and or L brackets before attaching to the end caps or biner. This will share a lot of load taking some of it off of the end caps, but the end caps will still stop the brackets from moving towards the center.
Were you using the standard 1 3/8" fence top rail from Lowe's or Home Depot or wherever?
Did it bend at a joint? Regardless, consider bracing it with something either inside the fence post or around the joints. I have found that the 3/4" EMT, 10 ft for just $6, adds a huge amount of strength when placed inside the fence post. You can run it full length or just at the weak spots/joints. Or, 1" ( $10) might even fit for even more strength. Another thing I have done to beef up joints(other than use the little sleeves from HD/Lowe's, which do help) is cut a piece of chain link fence upright into 2 ft sections to go around the joint. I think I used the 1 5/8" upright. I used that around a 15 ft long top rail with joints that ran between two 2X4 uprights for many years. It never came close to bending(I was 200-226 lbs max)
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