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Putting a hammock in my camper van

January 2, 2014 by Mike 10 Comments

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Here it is, Hammock in a van… UPDATE: You can see the completed van here

hammock-in-van
I’ve since upgraded to a bigger hammock for a bed, which is perfect for sleeping in – see the last picture at the bottom of this page. Buy your hammock here(U.S) OR here for U.K

How to install a hammock in your van or campervan

I told Matt my plan for mounting the hammock and he suggested using ‘toggles’ which I’d never heard of before. We went to buy two heavy duty eye bolts and D shackles and matt did the rest with his star wars drill and good brain. It is super solid – fixed to the strongest parts of the van.

eye-plate
fixing hardware the same on each end but the front one has a spacer bolt to keep the shackle close to the fixing plate and hopefully prevent excessive leverage pulling the plate away from the wall since this will be mounted on the side wall
m6-toggle-bolt
Toggle bolts were used for the back fixing since the back of the steel cannot be accessed to get a nut behind. This is a neat solution and also help distribute the load better. I wish I’d heard of these things a while ago!
hammock-mounting
I used karabiners to allow for quick hammock access
sling-karabiner
The total length is 3.2m between fixing points. I used a nylon sling folded a few times to get the right length

A hammock upgrade – for a bed

That other hammock was too small. This is not only somewhere to chill but it will also be another bed for mates.

I upgraded to much bigger hammock for several people which is way more stable and easy to sleep in:

big-hammock-in-van
measuring 210cm across!

So there you have it. Hammock in a van! have you done this? I wonder I could put another in here?

Buy hammock here(U.S) OR buy hammock here for U.K

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Filed Under: Converting my van Tagged With: uk, van conversion

Books to help you…

Make a van into your home…Live the life (new!)…
From Van to Home bookLive in a Van and Travel book
Get From Van to Home hereGet How to Live and Travel in a Van here

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Comments

  1. Jaryd Krause says

    January 23, 2014 at 12:57 pm

    sweeet Van mate

    Reply
  2. SSSANDHU02 says

    January 23, 2014 at 6:24 pm

    where did you get your hammock?

    Reply
    • Mike Hudson says

      January 23, 2014 at 9:38 pm

      I got it off Ebay but it is a little too narrow at 80cm (and I’m skinny) This is what I bought http://ebay.eu/1ehlU5W but I’d probably for a wider one (150cm) like this now http://amzn.to/1jqPZHi

      Reply
  3. SherlockedWhovian says

    January 25, 2014 at 3:05 am

    I found your project website today….so cool!

    Reply
  4. Zeus Smith says

    January 29, 2014 at 12:08 am

    toggle bolts are only rated for like 20 lbs, good luck with that.

    Reply
    • Mike Hudson says

      January 29, 2014 at 1:01 am

      Hey, cheers for the concern. The spring toggle ratings I’ve seen on datasheets are quoted for the application these are intended to be used for; i.e. drywall (rather than steel). After dividing the weight in the hammock by 8 (4 bolts in each eye plate) it is no problem at all

      Reply
  5. Steve says

    March 17, 2014 at 4:42 pm

    wow i like what you did with the interior. it looks like the inside of a sauna

    Reply
  6. Simon Clark says

    May 19, 2016 at 2:46 pm

    Hey man. Where did you get the nylon slings that went between the hammock loop and the karabiners? Cheers

    Reply
  7. Feta from Vansformation says

    September 3, 2017 at 2:02 pm

    Hiya,

    Ta for the blog; although I went with a different technique to put a hammock chair in the most recent self-build, this got me thinking about using toggle bolts creatively.

    All the best,
    Feta from Vansformation
    EDIT: Name of “BITS” has changed to “Vansformation” since originally posted.

    Reply
  8. Scott Welzbacher says

    May 16, 2019 at 2:52 pm

    Everyone needs an Emergency Hammock

    Reply

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