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Haydenw

Member

Registered: 2016-07-02

Posts: 55

Hammock in the back of the van

Evening all.

Just had a thought about stringing a hammock in the back of the van. Has anyone done it and if so how and what did you secure your hammock too?

I was thinking if there was a way of diagonally attaching in the van towards the cab it could work...

OAT

Member

From: Borders/Dales

Registered: 2017-01-03

Posts: 909

Re: Hammock in the back of the van

Quite possible I should think with an eye bolt high up in opposing corners.

Not sure what is to be gained from using a hammock in a van though?  Unless you find them particularly comfortable.   I havn't used them a lot myself and never in a van.

If it's for space saving I think you would be disappointed.  Although taking up little space when packed, a decent two line hammock can use a lot of room when set up.  Any other use of space would be severely limited by the needs of the hammock.  A full size one needs about 3m between fixings and the fixings to be up to 1.5m high to keep the hammock of the floor.  This would occupy the whole van diagonally.  May be fine in a bare van perhaps but then so would a folding camp bed.

One type of hammock that does work well in vans though is the "stretcher" type.  All it needs are 4 cup shaped supports for the two stretcher carrying poles.  Rear door to bulkhead should do.  As these hammocks don't hang down like those on two lines, they can be arranged over fitted units.  Even crossways in the cab for a childs bed.

Hywelius

Member

Registered: 2016-11-18

Posts: 57

Re: Hammock in the back of the van

I had the same idea. Here it is with a climbing carabiner on the back and then just tied round drivers headrest. It's a bit tight for me and wouldn't be comfy for a night's sleep. I'm going to keep it in the van for when out and about but not for inside it, more for maybe attaching to roofrack/another van or trees or whatever for chilling in when outside the van. Decided to go for a fixed / fold out bed. I'm 6'3'' and it hung down too low when you were in it and it wasn't a great position, it sagged in the middle even with the ropes shortened as much as poss and those makeshift wooden 'widener' things i knocked up.

As OAT said there's not alot of room for much else in terms of units etc. when it's up but the space gained when its packed away would be amazing if you can make it work.

With the position it's in here, your head realistically wouldn't even be anywhere near the corner, espesh with pillows or whatever and your legs are then pointing towards the sky

You could get it flatter by mounting a loop somewhere near the front doors on the A Pillar somewhere but the seats became a problem then (i tried testing it on the handle on the roof lining which I wouldn't recommend - it felt like it could give way at any moment! Got away with it though.)

if you've got swivel seats or something this could be less of an issue.

This hammock was only £6.65 on amazon (plus a couple of carabiners) so was worth a go for that price! pretty decent and I'll still get some use out of it if i'm parked up anywhere that allows for it.

It could be better with a bigger hammock that would be more comfortable or if you're small enough, this one was too small for me to get in any kind of sleeping position.

I had to really shorten the strings which made it less functional and bunched up where it shouldn't have been. Wasn't great:

Replaced it with this:

Last edited by Hywelius (2017-02-12 16:14:34)