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I may have a shot at a two tree – tree house connected with a rope bridge. I got the house part down. When I was a kid, we built a three story one in a friends back yard oak tree.
But the bridge? Do I need to buy a Boy Scout handbook? I’ve got some ideas floating around in my head, but if some kid fell off the thing because of my inexperience with rope bridge building, I would never forgive myself.
Anybody know how to do it right? Or where to look?
Ed.
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Replies
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Ed,
So the guy liked the bench so much that he now needs a tred house? The jobs just keep getting more and more illustrious...
Jon
*The only thing that I remember about the rope bridges that we did at scout camps, was that the strongest and tauntest ropes were at handrail height. Short lengths of rope connected them to the ropes that supported the walking surface.With the handrail ropes being the tightest, when someone walked across the bridge, the extra weight further tighten the handrails and made it more stable from twisting and tipping.Boy Scouts was a long time ago. Terry
*No, this isn't the bench guy. That's a whole different customer. But don't give him any ideas.I was a Boy Scout too.......but like Terry says, that was a long time ago.Ed.
*Boy Scout rope bridges: My boys built one on Okinawa a lifetime ago across a Benjo Ditch (That's a polite term for a sewer ditch) on a rainy day. Bridge was about 100 ft long. Heaviest rope was on bottom - it takes all the weight. Got it up and all the boys got across it at least once, singly. You can probably finish the story. All the boys then proceeded to mount it. Don't recall how many. But just as the last boy got on, the rain soaked earth gave up its grip on the stakes and the bridge slowly and unceremoniously lowered all the boys into the ditch. A sight to behold that we did not get on film. Would make any Three Stooges flick look like high drama.Don
*ed. two handbooks come to mind.. Boy Scouts Pioneering merit badge.. and Army Engineers Field Manual.. both have (had ) great how-to's on rope bridges....
*Ed, run a taut cable from tree to tree and suspend a bosun's chair from a pulley. Let them ride back and forth in style.Or, if the trees are tall enough, who couldn't resist swinging across, Tarzan style.Naw, what you want is a suspension bridge. You must have some left over teak for the foot boards.
*Put a trampoline in between the tree houses and let 'em jump and bouce from one to the other!
*Go to Glen Cockwell.com/scouting- Ed, did you get your new hats yet? Bob
*When I was in jungle training we made a rope bridge to traverse a steep ravine, looks like this....( V )...the bottom is a heavy rope, two ropes run parrallel about 3'up ....it's laced together with twine about as thick as cloths line. The three main ones are about 1.5" thick. It will hold a lot of weight if attached properly. You walk on the lower one and use the others like a guard rail. Quite safe.The other kind is one rope stretched taught with another about 6' above it. ( : ) You hold on to the top and slide sideways along the bottom. Quicker, but pretty dangerous.
*Ed, I hate to rain on your parade, but will you have any liability if one of the little darlings falls off the rope bridge and breaks his neck? In these litigious times.....
*Don H.,Rain on.....I've already covered that with the builder. You're thinking just like me. They will get the client to sign off on this thing. But I still don't want anyone to get hurt.Jim,I know the kind you're talking about, but I think this has to be a foot bridge that kids can cross. We'll see what the "photo examples" they are going to give me look like. Tex,Trampoline, why didn't I think of that?Pro,Thanks for the link. Still waiting on the hats.Ralph,I love that idea. That would be my choice as a kid. I'll see if I can sell it. I do have a little teak left over, but the client wants some garden benches and a picnic table. No left-overs for me.Mike,As always, thanks for the info. Good stuff there.Don R.,Sounds like a shitty ending. I hope to avoid the same. Great story.Keep it going, I got two weeks till we start.Help!!!Ed.
*Man, does this look like something the kids would like to do for a living?Practice now on Ed's bridge to see if you are one of the few good men.
*This one looks like it would be a piece of cake to build. Just how far apart did you say the two tree house were??
*Here ya go. One each suspension bridge.
*Pull Ed, PULL!
*Maybe this would be more fun for the little tykes.
*I'd suggest stainless steel cables. Natural fiber ropes such as Manilla can rot out in time, synthetics can break down due to sunlight.-- J.S.
*Ed, I tried a search for the Tree House Hotel....maybe that's not the right name.....it's a place I saw on the travel channel a while back...1 or 2 years ago.....where a family build big tree houses....then rented them out for the night. To get by the building codes....their "rates" for the night required you to buy a $50 t-shirt to become a member in the club....and club members stay free. I remember a few of the tree houses were connected by rope bridges. Maybe someone else will have better luck tracking down the info. The owner built all the tree houses himself.......maybe a chance for a working vacation/research project! Jeff
*The book "Tree Houses You Can Actually Build" is supposed to have a chapter on how to build a rope bridge.ISBN: 0395892732Authors: David and Jeanie Stiles
*JeffSlight off topic, but I did find a "Treesort" http://www.treehouses.com/But I did find http://www.btinternet.com/~fulton/th-links.htm which has all kinds of links including a number of professional treehouse builder and a number of treehouse resorts. But start here http://www.btinternet.com/~fulton/treehous.htm
*Man do I have the info now!Thanks,Ed.
*I believe that rope is not intended to support loads where human lives are at risk. You might read the instructions on the rope.
*Ed,Someone already mentioned it, and they were right. Go to any Scouting store and pick up a copy of the Pioneering Merit Badge Book.It deals with all things made from rope, and even shows you how to make rope; which as kids we did, and it was fun to do.The rope bridge is referred to as a "monkey bridge" in this book; as well it should, because you gotta be part monkey to walk across it. It's fun to build and to walk across, but the bottom rope has to be fairly tightly tied off; otherwise you will be rolling around on the bridge a lot.The bridge is basically made from 4 to 5 inch dia posts which are lashed together in an "X" fashion. About knee height from the bottom, a ledger pole, 4 ft. long, is tied to the "X" to give it an "A frame" look. The poles should be approx. 12 feet long, and the main "X" lashed at about 5 feet down from the top.This is where the foot rope will be placed. Stuff rags in this crotch point so the rope won't get rubbed too much.3 stout posts are driven about 3 feet in the ground (about a foot apart from one another) approx 3-4 feet back from the "X" tower and act as anchor points. Each post is tied to one another to help against lifting forces. The main foot rope is attached to these posts.The hand ropes are attached about 3 feet up from the crotch area of the "X" tower. One hand rope tied to each post. 1/4 inch line then used as guard rails.(stringers). This line is tied off to one handrail, pulled down and loops around the foot rope, and then is pulled back up tight to the other handrail and tied off. Each stringer rope is approx. 9 ft long and stringers are placed about 3 feet apart. (If it weren't for those stringers, i'd have fallen off that damn bridge many a time....fancy of foot I am not!) Note that the stringers are tied to the main rope while all ropes are still on the ground, and before tower is lifted into place. )Least, thats the easier way to do it.Anyway, that's the gist of it. The Pioneering book explains it a lot better.The ropes commonly used are manila, the one used as the foot rope should be 1 inch thick or greater. The handrail ropes are to be 1/2 inch thick or greater. You will need approx 30 feet more rope than your intended span length.LOL.Davo.
*Thanks Davo, I'll get that book also. I ordered two books from Amazon that were mentioned here. I know they will be filled with good info.Ed.
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I may have a shot at a two tree - tree house connected with a rope bridge. I got the house part down. When I was a kid, we built a three story one in a friends back yard oak tree.
But the bridge? Do I need to buy a Boy Scout handbook? I've got some ideas floating around in my head, but if some kid fell off the thing because of my inexperience with rope bridge building, I would never forgive myself.
Anybody know how to do it right? Or where to look?
Ed.