Hanging a hammock

JeremyLee89

VA Ambassador - The RAF

FRIEND

VA

• Jan 4, 2022

• #1

I am contemplating for camping to use a hammock attached to the Supercub instead of carrying a tent and all. I have seen pictures and videos of guys doing it with their carbon cubs and such, but was curious on if anyone knows what could be the weight limit for the Supercub 135hp. I was planning on attaching it to the tiedown wing ring and have the other point attached to the cross tube inside the cockpit. It would only need to support about 165 lbs.

 

h2oavi8r

SPONSOR

Silverdale, WA

• Jan 5, 2022

• #2

I backpack with my son-in-law who uses a hammock. He sews most of his gear and is very precise - maybe it’s his engineering degree!
So of course I shared this question with him and he sent me the following info. Maybe it will be useful or at least entertaining.

The forces around hammocks can be deceiving and can cause a lot of
damage if not careful. Here is a link to a calculator that can show
all the various forces with the various variables associated with
hanging in hammocks.

https://theultimatehang.com/hammock-hang-calculator/

If the suspension angle is too small, the shear force is very large
and could cause bending and damage to things not meant to see forces
in those angles. One strategy to get around the strong shear forces is
to use a solid ridgeline suspended from fixed points allowing the
object holding the hammock only to have forces in a vertical
direction. See the attached picture of me in my hammock stand. The
ridge line is made from a chain link fence pole that keeps the shape
of the hammock by seeing the compression load from the hammock and
only requires it to be supported by being hung vertically from fixed
points. This makes it ok to be hung by more things that can easily
support vertical forces such as home made tripods in my case. The pole
was cut in half and reassembled with the male and female ends being in
the middle and is held together with only the compression from the
hammock.

This is my prefered sleep system when visiting relatives when all beds
are being occupied. Just add a lightweight underquilt and you're good
to go!

View attachment 59228

 

A

av8rtom

FRIEND

• Jan 5, 2022

• #3

I use a "ENO" hammock from REI. I suspend it from the x-brace and the wing tie-down ring using a couple of appropriate length lines and a caribiner on each end. I have a PA-12, but this set-up should work just as well on a PA-18.

 

RVBottomly

PATRON

Asotin County Washington (KLWS)

• Jan 5, 2022

• #4

I could never get good sleep in a hammock. It tends to overextend my knees and torque my lower back. How do you guys do it?

 

h2oavi8r

SPONSOR

Silverdale, WA

• Jan 5, 2022

• #5

RVBottomly said:

I could never get good sleep in a hammock. It tends to overextend my knees and torque my lower back. How do you guys do it?

Click to expand...

My son-in-law figured out how to lie diagonally which works for side or belly sleepers. That's what I am and he's trying to convince me to give it a try. There are some advantages over sleeping on the ground.

 

A

av8rtom

FRIEND

• Jan 6, 2022

• #6

Yep..., lie diagonally for a long sleep. I also like to throw a therm a rest in there as well.

 

JimParker256

Registered User

Farmersville, TX

• Jan 6, 2022

• #7

I slept in a hammock for years when we lived in Brazil. The one pictured in h20av8r's post is similar to the ones we used in Brazil. You definitely sleep diagonally, which makes for a pretty flat surface.

The so-called "hammocks" you often find in US big box stores (the ones with the wooden bar across each end, and a metal frame) are an abomination. There is no way to be comfortable (and stable) in those contraptions.

 

JeremyLee89

VA Ambassador - The RAF

FRIEND

VA

• Jan 13, 2022

• #8

Thanks for the replies guys!