Hammock inside an ambulance?? Can anyone school a complete hammock noobie

[Ozrockrat]

First of all a confession. Apart from a couple of disastrous drunken escapades I have absolutely no experience with hammocks.

Inside our converted ambulances we always install a nice comfortable sleeper sofa. This work great for the 2 of us. But now I am in the middle of converting another one I am looking for options to allow for our 10 year old grand daughter to sleep. (she keeps growing out of the other options).

What I was wondering is the feasibility of using a hammock and what sort would be the best for this use?

Requirements:

1. Easily mounted/dismounted.
2. Comfortable for teenager.
3. Not too much droop (not a lot of room over the current bed areas)
4. Stable and secure
5. Pretty colors to ease the migration to a different sleeping platform.
6. heavy duty enough for me to use it if needed. (and I am a fat bugger)
7. Must be able to hang with enough clearance for us to get up for those nocturnal toilet visits while sleeping underneath/beside it. :ugh:

Also do they come with multiple mounting points or just the 2. I can have outrigger mounts to the sides if needed.

Thanks in advance for your collective wisdom.

 

[TexomaPowerboater]

I've seen a sportsmobile made with hammocks. May still be on their gallery. If I recall there was room for four to sleep without using a pop up. If it was me I'd make some bunk beds that fold up along the walls, two on each side, or just get her a tent man. She will probably enjoy the privacy of a tent.

 

[Ozrockrat]

Thanks for the input. No luck in finding that Sportsmobile on their site.

On the current rig (Yella one) we have a bunk builtin over the sleeper/sofa but even though it takes all the room above the window it is now a bit cramped vertically for her to comfortable sleep. In the Big Red rig we are actually setting up a separate bedroom for her by putting a sleeper/sofa as the rear bed in the dual cab. (over 60" long and 48" wide bed with over 40" of headroom above it). The one that is giving me most concern is the single cab one we are setting up as a 2 person rig and I want to have the versatility of traveling with 3 when required.

I am all for a tent/swag for camping trips but for the way we do longer term traveling they are not optimal.

Maybe I am being naive in thinking I can carry a sub 2lb bit of material that would give me the versatility I am looking for with minimal interior rework.

 

[TexomaPowerboater]

search on yahoo images "hammock sportsmobileforum" and you'll see some pop up.

 

[jacobconroy]

I have a couple of backpacking hammocks that I've played around with for a couple of years...and I don't know if it's going to work for you (inside a rig). My regular (banana-style) hammock requires at least 10 feet of span to hang correctly, and to keep me a foot off the floor, it needs to be tied at about 70 inches of the ground at each end. These types are usually good for people that sleep on their side or back.

If your grand-daughter sleeps on her stomach, then you are kinda limited to a bridge hammock. Mine requires the mounts on each end to be around 14 feet apart.

But, for a little person it might be different. I image that you can buy kid-sized hammocks. They would require less span. Also keep in mind that the tighter you hang them (or stretch them), the "tippier" they get. Hanging a hammock tight to save span and height might wind up with her landing on top of you in the middle of the night.

 

[1leglance]

I agree with the above, a standard camping hammock needs alot of droop, I have a Henessy I can bring by for you to play with and a simple camp hammock but each needs some sag to allow the diagonal sleeping that makes a hammock so nice.
You might be better off with a 4 pt attachment style (each corner) that will keep her from flipping out but still stow away. I have slept on these and while not as comfy (they put more bend in the middle of your body, not good for us older fat folks) they work well for kids.

If it was me, I would make the attachments for a camp hammock at opposite corners all the way up at the inside roof so you can have some droop.

Again I am happy to bring what I have over for you to play with.

 

[Ozrockrat]

Sounds good Lance. Are you going to be round Wednesday week?

 

[1leglance]

I am get back in town Monday and fly out NEXT Sat the 24th, if you mean Wed the 21st then I work 11a-11p but I bet we can work out something, like me getting out of work early

 

[screwball48]

Check out the Cavevan hammock that Cole used in his sprinter van.



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[Eagle05]

Check out the Cavevan hammock that Cole used in his sprinter van.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

The first time I saw those I wanted to get a van just as an excuse to get one.

https://cavevan.myshopify.com/products/van-hammock

 

[tgreening]

You might not need as much space as you'd think. I believe most folks are thinking hanging space with the idea of tree straps attached to each end of your hammock. In this case you'd need that 10'+ of linear space in order to get the proper droop, along with having to make your attachments higher off the ground in order to keep your butt off said ground.

But if you use something set up like an Eno Eagle Nest you might have more luck. Their hammocks have a heavy duty biener at each end. If you make an attachment directly there you only require about 112" of length and 50" of height. A lot is going to depend on your interior and where you can hook what, but those eagle nest hammocks are cheap enough you can buy one to dink around with inside to see just what you can make work. Food for thought anyway.

 

[tenoverthenose]

I've never put a hammock in a vehicle (thought about it though...) but I have spent a lot of time backpacking with hammocks, so I thought I might chime in.

First, I'd recommend avoiding the ENO hammocks. While they are heavy duty, the fabric is less comfortable and stretchy than some other hammocks. Some of my favorite hammocks are made by Dutch (dutchwaregear.com). If it were me, I'd be looking at his 11' Netless Wide Hammock. The width will give you more comfort if you can fit it in. Also, that doesn't need 11' in length to mount (as tgreening noted), as the hammock has to sag and create a nice curve for you to sleep in. There are no tree straps with these, just the hammock end that you can hook (biner, J-hook, etc.) inside your vehicle. You can always get a shorter hammock if you don't have room too.

After you take a few measurements, I'd give Dutch a call and see what he says.

 

[Ozrockrat]

Thanks for the input guys. Just another noobie question. I noticed some of the heavy duty ones had extra loops for hooking to. Is there any advantage to adding straps to the sides to stabilize it or what are they used for.

 

[Honu]

the side is to just give a bit more open feel when sleeping and often bungie type material is used in them so they have some give

I sleep in a hammock full time and camp in them with all my family we have various styles and brands ditto dutch being good along with others
I might guess you need about 40 inches of height to hang comfy droop or hang whatever you want to call it is what I mean by height and about 9 feet in length
a bridge style could take less depth but requires more length https://www.warbonnetoutdoors.com/product/ridgerunner-hammock/
no matter what you will want some kinda bottom insulation and a top quilt (insulation) while you can use a sleeping bag a top quilt is more comfy
check out www.hammockforums.net

check out ridge line length compared to length of hammock https://theultimatehang.com/hammock-hang-calculator/
a 10 foot wide could be comfy and fit in a tighter space than a 11

https://theultimatehang.com has some reviews and info also

 

[Ozrockrat]

Thanks for the input guys. But just for reference in case someone is searching.

Nope they will not work as a 2nd level bed in the back of an ambulance.

Good news is the grand daughter loves it to play in so now I need to work out how to mount it to the side of the truck with an awning over the top