Greetings!
First post here, so please forgive my noobishness. I'm working on setting up a 2003 Tacoma Double Cab TRD 4x4 for some Overlanding here in Cambodia. I've made a few trips out and about already, and so far I've had a difficult time finding good hanging locations for our two hammocks and tarps. The jungle/woods need to be cleared by hand a lot to make room, and usually I don't have the time to do this... nor do I really want to impact the local environment in such a way. I like leaving no trace whenever possible. So, I'm trying to think of the best way to allow me to hang two hammocks just from the truck itself. I've hung between multiple roof racks before, and between the truck and a single pole/tree, but would prefer to have the option to be self supported when needed.
I came across this post on Hammock Forums which got me thinking about this idea.
I'd like some feedback on this as an idea. I can get the roof rack/mount and hitch mount made very inexpensively here in Cambodia, so I figure it is worth a shot. I'm concerned about how to best mount this to the roof, and the impact it will have on the integrity of the roof and the mount itself. The post on hammock forum talked about some stress fracturing at the base of the mounts... but they also mentioned DRIVING with people in the hammocks... which I won't be doing.
So here are some doodles about what I'm thinking:
This image shows a roof rack with a special hollow crossbar to allow metal poles to be inserted to create the front points for the suspension to hang from. Similar to the above idea, but I thought this design would be much simpler by having it straight across the truck. For the rear suspension points, I'd use a "T bar" in the hitch (pictured below). I'm estimating that this will give me around 12+" of distance between the suspension points.
The same setup, but with the "X" roof mount configuration. This would give me much more distance between suspension mounting points, but to me, it looks like this design could potentionally put more stress on the roof rack mounts? I'm definitely not an engineer, which is why I'm posting for feedback. This should give at least 15+" between suspension points.
This shows what I was thinking for the rear hitch mount. I thought having the rear pole resting on the ground would add stability. The vertical section can slide freely in the short horizontal section mounted to the hitch.
This shows the "T" shape better than the previous image. It would be easy to add some rope/wire supports to minimize movement and spread the load.
And this is what I'm thinking for providing rain coverage. Custom tarps are really inexpensive here. I have some silnylon tarps for my hammocks, but I don't think they would work well with this setup, as I want to keep the suspension points as close to the truck as possible to minimize the force of leverage on the mounting points. I'd have some vertical pole pockets added to the roof rack and rear T hitch to help elevate the ridgeline of the tarp. I'd create some simple adjustable poles for the tarps corners.
Here is a similar type idea for the rear hitch:
Questions:
Would this work? I'm most concerned with a proper design of the roof rack and mounting it, before I post on Hammock Forums asking for some advice at calculating the proper distances for the suspension for a proper hang.
An alternate option would be to install a front hitch mount (which I'm wanting to do anyways for a multi-mount winch). This would be a bit simpler, and have less potential to mess up stuff with the roof. But, I'm going to have a custom roof rack/carrier built anyways. Using a the front and rear hitch would give me 17-18" of suspension distance.
Abandoning this idea, I could us some hammock tripods that I could use to hang from. This would require a larger overall camp footprint though. But would perhaps be lighter and easier to pack in the back of the truck. That idea is far less appealing to me though, but would give me greater flexibility in hammock locations. I see pros and cons of being rather close to the truck.
I have a motorized bed cover for my truck, which will be loaded with gear and supplies so I don't want to figure out a sleeping method for there. I'd LOVE a roof top tent, but I don't have the funds to import one sadly. For all the materials and fabrication of the rack, hitch mount, and tarp, I should be under $150.
Let me know if there is anything I can do to provide more clarity!
Thanks for any and all thoughts!
Edited to add some pictures of my truck from a recent trip
And here is a video of what the road was like to the village we traveled too:
First post here, so please forgive my noobishness. I'm working on setting up a 2003 Tacoma Double Cab TRD 4x4 for some Overlanding here in Cambodia. I've made a few trips out and about already, and so far I've had a difficult time finding good hanging locations for our two hammocks and tarps. The jungle/woods need to be cleared by hand a lot to make room, and usually I don't have the time to do this... nor do I really want to impact the local environment in such a way. I like leaving no trace whenever possible. So, I'm trying to think of the best way to allow me to hang two hammocks just from the truck itself. I've hung between multiple roof racks before, and between the truck and a single pole/tree, but would prefer to have the option to be self supported when needed.
I came across this post on Hammock Forums which got me thinking about this idea.
I'd like some feedback on this as an idea. I can get the roof rack/mount and hitch mount made very inexpensively here in Cambodia, so I figure it is worth a shot. I'm concerned about how to best mount this to the roof, and the impact it will have on the integrity of the roof and the mount itself. The post on hammock forum talked about some stress fracturing at the base of the mounts... but they also mentioned DRIVING with people in the hammocks... which I won't be doing.
So here are some doodles about what I'm thinking:
This image shows a roof rack with a special hollow crossbar to allow metal poles to be inserted to create the front points for the suspension to hang from. Similar to the above idea, but I thought this design would be much simpler by having it straight across the truck. For the rear suspension points, I'd use a "T bar" in the hitch (pictured below). I'm estimating that this will give me around 12+" of distance between the suspension points.
The same setup, but with the "X" roof mount configuration. This would give me much more distance between suspension mounting points, but to me, it looks like this design could potentionally put more stress on the roof rack mounts? I'm definitely not an engineer, which is why I'm posting for feedback. This should give at least 15+" between suspension points.
This shows what I was thinking for the rear hitch mount. I thought having the rear pole resting on the ground would add stability. The vertical section can slide freely in the short horizontal section mounted to the hitch.
This shows the "T" shape better than the previous image. It would be easy to add some rope/wire supports to minimize movement and spread the load.
And this is what I'm thinking for providing rain coverage. Custom tarps are really inexpensive here. I have some silnylon tarps for my hammocks, but I don't think they would work well with this setup, as I want to keep the suspension points as close to the truck as possible to minimize the force of leverage on the mounting points. I'd have some vertical pole pockets added to the roof rack and rear T hitch to help elevate the ridgeline of the tarp. I'd create some simple adjustable poles for the tarps corners.
Here is a similar type idea for the rear hitch:
Questions:
Would this work? I'm most concerned with a proper design of the roof rack and mounting it, before I post on Hammock Forums asking for some advice at calculating the proper distances for the suspension for a proper hang.
An alternate option would be to install a front hitch mount (which I'm wanting to do anyways for a multi-mount winch). This would be a bit simpler, and have less potential to mess up stuff with the roof. But, I'm going to have a custom roof rack/carrier built anyways. Using a the front and rear hitch would give me 17-18" of suspension distance.
Abandoning this idea, I could us some hammock tripods that I could use to hang from. This would require a larger overall camp footprint though. But would perhaps be lighter and easier to pack in the back of the truck. That idea is far less appealing to me though, but would give me greater flexibility in hammock locations. I see pros and cons of being rather close to the truck.
I have a motorized bed cover for my truck, which will be loaded with gear and supplies so I don't want to figure out a sleeping method for there. I'd LOVE a roof top tent, but I don't have the funds to import one sadly. For all the materials and fabrication of the rack, hitch mount, and tarp, I should be under $150.
Let me know if there is anything I can do to provide more clarity!
Thanks for any and all thoughts!
Edited to add some pictures of my truck from a recent trip
And here is a video of what the road was like to the village we traveled too:
