Zip Line
Zip lines allow you to quickly slide from one location to a lower location. They are great additions to treehouses as long as the users are old enough to hang on. Handle bars from an old bike can be used in place of the ski handle; both work well because they are easy to hang on to.
danger level
- negligible
- moderate
- high
- do not do this
tools
- D. Utility knife
materials
- A. Nylon or poly rope
- B. Ski rope handle
- C. Pully (appropriately rated)
how-to
- After scoping out where you want your zip line to go, cut the rope to length, leaving plenty of extra for tying knots. Melting the cut ends with a flame keeps the rope from unraveling. Make sure that both the rope and the pulley are rated to handle the type of loads you will put on them.
- Attach the handle to the pulley. This is the trickiest part because of the varying designs of pulleys. You may be able to just tie both ends of the ski handle to the pulley, or you may have to devise something using some extra hardware.
- Loop the pulley onto the rope and tie up the rope at the start and finish, making it as taunt as possible. Tie your knots well but make sure you can adjust one end because the rope may stretch out with use.
- Tie a scrap piece of rope to the handle bar for the purpose of pulling it from the end of the line to the beginning.
- Once you’re confident in the integrity of your setup, hang on tight and give it a try. Make sure you plan the ending; you don’t want to be going too fast when you come to that second tree.
Jan 4, 2007 | 2:39 pm
Mike wrote:
i also recommend to prevent slamming into a tree, placing a beam between two trees. By using a looped ended bolt(not sure of exact name) you can secure the cable or rope to the beam. a 4×4 beam is best due to its strength. to secure the beam to the trees use an 8″ bolt if available.
Jan 30, 2007 | 2:58 am
Tony wrote:
The rope should be checked before each go.
Jan 31, 2007 | 9:49 am
Doug wrote:
This should be labled how I broke my leg when I was much younger. Check the rope each time.
Jan 31, 2007 | 1:38 pm
Bob Dobbs wrote:
I know this sounds like a lot of fun, but SERIOUS testing should be done before sending a person down the zip line.
The rope is going to stretch and create slack, so you’ll need to re-tighten the rope.
Landing area is VERY important! You smack into a tree and you’re in for a WORLD OF PAIN!
Find a way to send down a big bag of approximatly weighted sand to judge the speed. The degree of decline is proportionately related to the rate of acceleration. Decline of rope line too steep, acceleration rate to fast for successful bail out.
DON’T have this too high off the ground, if you lose your grip landing could be VERY painful. You may also twist while decending so take that into account.
We used to make these when we were kids, but we ended up using cable, but the hard part is getting it taught enough.
Jan 31, 2007 | 2:18 pm
Innocent Bystander wrote:
Much bigger versions of these are used in the Army for Airborne training. You jump out of a 34′ tower and slide down to a berm. To safely stop travel, a rope is strung perpendicular to the zip line, just below the pully. Leave some slack in it so that it slows you down and doesn’t snap you off. It was fun to zip down the cable then swing up in the air at the end of the ride.
Feb 1, 2007 | 12:13 am
Anonymous wrote:
If you want to be able to slow down, go to a welders supply store and get a couple pair of cheap welders gloves. If you have the strength to let go of the handle for a second you can grab the rope (behind the pulley) and use the friction of the glove to slow you to a stop. Tighter grip = better brakes. Keep in mind that eventually the gloves will start to burn through, though a good half-inch thick pair of rawhide gloves should last a fair while. Also, use half-inch diameter steel braided cable. It’s more expensive than rope, but There aren’t many living humans who could break it by suspending themselves from it.
If you have the money, get a fall harness from the welders shop as well, or wherever else you can find a good one. Hook it to the pulley and you’ll be able to sit down, and let the harness do the work, nowhere near as high a risk of falling off. Will also increase aforementioned braking ability.
Feb 1, 2007 | 4:58 pm
Knucklebuster wrote:
This is a great thing if you have a summer camp on a lake. Put it up over the water and you’ll make lots of friends!
Feb 4, 2007 | 1:33 am
matt wrote:
Add say….an old and hopefully cheap bike brake to this somehow and i will give you extra cool points…and save the children points
Feb 23, 2007 | 3:04 am
Zaphod wrote:
Saw an article in National Geograpic where some girl in South America (If I remember right) had to use something like this to cross a canyon using a couple of cables (one each direction) to get to school each day. (Yeah, little 6 year old girl flying across a 500 foot canyon, 1000 feet in the air! My cajones aren’t even that big!)
For a brake, she had a curved wooden stick, which as far as I could tell, was placed in front of the pulley on top the cable to slow her speed. If you try this out, please do it on a safer, saner test run, and report your results.
Feb 27, 2007 | 8:30 pm
Kamil wrote:
Hey! This thing is really cool! I made it and i go on it every day. It’s great!
Mar 6, 2007 | 9:17 am
Gregory wrote:
If you want your rope to be as taut as can be, soak it in water before rigging it up. The water will cause the rope to expand and it will then be possible to be stretch it more. When it dries, it will shrink and tighten a bit, giving you a more rigid line.
Mar 6, 2007 | 9:55 am
SC Scouter wrote:
Looking at building one of these out over a small pond for an Eagle Scout project. Has anybody developed a suitable means of returning the line? Simply pulling the handles back to the beginning point may prove to be ineffective. Thoughts? Ideas?
Mar 7, 2007 | 9:08 am
Anonymous wrote:
Tie a long rope to the end of it and tie it someplace where it won’t interfere
Mar 8, 2007 | 11:34 pm
don wrote:
Don’t cheap out on the lives of any and all riders-forgo rope for the steel cable. as far as returning the trolly, how about a fishing rod and reel?
The real question is slope to speed. How much fall over what travel will produce what speeds? Any one? Anyone?
Mar 13, 2007 | 5:20 pm
Thornnn wrote:
Using a hand Winch Or if you gots money an electric winch does a great job for tightening both rope and cable, But remember if you use rope you will still have to constantly check your line and periodically re tighten it. Also for Brakes if you use cable a pair of channel locks work great if you need to slow down.
Mar 13, 2007 | 10:18 pm
MCR lvr wrote:
why not just put bike brakes on the handle bars of the zip line on have the brakes that stop a wheel of the bike by squeezing it tighten it up enuf th squeeze the rope or cablei the braks tho i would make a slot for the rope or cable so it doesent slide out…
souds like a good idea to me
Mar 14, 2007 | 9:55 am
Anonymous wrote:
if want a good way to take up slack in the rope around one tree loop around a ratchet strap similar to whats used on lorry’s for cargo then used the hooks to loop into a tied loop on the rope. hope this helps
Mar 14, 2007 | 2:10 pm
Me wrote:
The biker brake idea would have to be modified to work. they are made for stopping a steel disc from turning, so you’d have to make a curved pad of sorts and attach it where the regular brake pads are. then you’d have the job of trying to mount this on the plley in such a fashion that it would have enough of a solid base to stop whoever was flying down the thing. This kind of rigging would only be good for people using cable, so rope zipliners would have to find alternate means of stopping.
Mar 15, 2007 | 6:46 pm
Zip Line Builder wrote:
This whole idea is crazy and extreemly dangerous call someoen who know what they are doing before you or some you know gets hurt. There are industry standards for the insallation of Zip Lines and if you do not follow them and someone gets hurt you will be screwd.
Mar 16, 2007 | 11:02 am
thinkbolt wrote:
Yes, the danger IS high! A friend of mine did this in high school with a pulley wheel that wasn’t robust enough for his weight. He fell 15 or 20 feet from the middle of the line when the pulley stopped suddenly and he lost his grip. It was a BAD fall, and it happened much too fast for him or anyone else to do anything about it. He didn’t break any bones, but he was in bad shape for days. He was LUCKY.
Mar 17, 2007 | 8:49 am
feel good wrote:
I have a 100 foot zip line in my yard for my kids.
1 Use a steel cable. Nylon stretches way too much and nylon and polypropylene both wear.
2 I use a pair of bolts secured to the line 10 feet from the end. The bolts stop the pulley and the kids swing a bit, but it stops them from hitting the tree at the other end.
3 I used flexible piping to protect the trees from the cable.
4 Most kids will fall at the very start of the zip line. The most common reason is that their arms are not stretched or their is slack in the rope to the handle bar. When they jump of the platform they then drop a bit and don’t have the strength to hang on when the slack is taken out.
Mar 18, 2007 | 2:09 pm
Scout man wrote:
thats a good idea to use the bolts to stop the pulley but if you are using rope you can put a figure-eight stopper knot about 10 feet from the end, if you don’t know what that is google it
Mar 18, 2007 | 7:52 pm
Anonymous wrote:
Does anybody have a genius idea on what to do if you only have one tree? I only want it about 6 feet above the ground for kids.
Mar 20, 2007 | 7:03 pm
cody wrote:
buy three 4×4s one 5ft two 10ft.dig two 4ft deep holes 5ft apart.put one 10ft 4×4 in each hole fill the rest of each hole with cement.nall the 5ft 4×4 on top of the two 10ft ones and tye the rope in the middle of the 5ft 4×4.it also works for a swings frame
Mar 21, 2007 | 7:56 pm
Da Freek wrote:
One good way to slow down is to have slack rope or Steal cable. what i mean is that when your coming down it you have rope (or cable) tied to an object higher than where you want to end. so having alot of room for slowing down would help.
Mar 22, 2007 | 1:24 pm
Anonymous wrote:
my neighbor welded four pulleys in a row for extra strength ——–oooo——–
Mar 24, 2007 | 4:08 pm
Jared wrote:
I first made a zipline on my treefort as a “fire escape” with just a rope, and a curved part of an old metal lawn mower handel. I had no way of stopping so sometimes when I didnt let go in time I would smack into the tree.
Mar 26, 2007 | 2:27 pm
Grettle wrote:
Why not use POLYETHYLENE (not polypropylene) rope instead of steel? The navy uses it to trolley things from ship to ship because it’s less maintenance and about the same stretch as steel. Maybe less. It is stonger than steel for the diameter and less dangerous than steel if it breaks. Steel acts like a spring when tensioned and when broken will snap back at you. The stonger polyethylene ropes have breaking points about 20,000lbs at only a 3/8 diameter.
Apr 1, 2007 | 4:03 pm
Piku wrote:
As someone who used to run zip lines for a living I can say the rope method will give its rider a nice trip to hospital. It’ll either stretch and you’ll drop to the ground, or it’ll melt.
Use steel cable and don’t set the angle too steep, then test it with a big heavy weight to see what happens. How you stop is left as an exercise for the reader ;-)
Give consideration about how the rider will reach the ground when they’re done too. Swinging six foot in the air at the end of a zipline loses its appeal after five minutes while a ladder is fetched…
Oh, and use the proper equipment - A climbing company called Petzl make pulleys designed for this. And make a foot-loop in the bit you hold onto since a sudden stop (imagine something tanglign in the pulley - twigs, leaves, HAIR) will most likely eject the rider.
Oh, and ignore the stuff about steel snapping and whipping around. It’s not going to since you won’t tension it that tightly.
To do this safely requires an appreciation of vector forces, basic abseiling/rock climbing/rope access/caving techniques and someone stupid enough to be the test pilot.
Apr 4, 2007 | 1:55 pm
Stumpworthy wrote:
We had a zip line at summer camp when I was a kid..
We got to ride it once per year as a reward for good behavior.
Our zipline was made of steel cabling it was over three hundred feet long
At the end of the zipline there was a fail safe “Stopping Block” Which was made of 2 sturdy blocks of wood bolted together sandwich style around the cable when a fat guy would go down and hit the stopping blocks it would slide with the pulley instead of stopping instantly
When the stopping block slid too close to the tree we used a pole with a hook at the end to drag it further away from the tree
it is much more fun to have a climbing harness so you could put your arms out and fly
Apr 7, 2007 | 7:29 pm
PErson wrote:
for better results use 1000 pound cable, and if you have access to a welder, weld a peice of pipe directly to a ball joint, and from the ball joint to the pully
Apr 9, 2007 | 9:21 am
pumpkin wrote:
I just made a 60′ zip line in the back yard for the kids and it works great. I used 3/8″ steel cable attached to three trees with beefy eye-bolts (one uphill and two downhill with a bail-out Y at the end for safety exit). I built the pully mechanism with a garage-door sheave (weather resistant???), various metal straps, bolts and some strong-plastic playhouse handles joined together.
I tensioned and graded it so my 4yo boy and 5yo girl are never more than 2′ off the ground and go a max of ~6-7 mph. I lift them up to grab the handles and run down to catch them at the end–when they get the hang of it, I’ll let them drop by themselves and will eventually build a launch-platform but I’d prefer to help out for now ;)
The whole thing cost $100 at Lowes Home Improvement and took about 2-1/2 hours to assemble. The weakest link is the eye bolts…I bent one open testing it myself at 185-lb. Everything is rated at 600-lb+ but when you deal with dividing weight by the sine of a small angle, you can quickly eat up some serious strength of materials. By having a bail-out Y at the bottom, you have two sine divisions — one because the weight of the rider perpendicular to the wire (acting on the Y-bolt at the tree) and another because of the Y itself).
100-lb rider, 20-deg angle caused by slack in line, 20-deg angle from Y in tree (don’t forget to divide by 2 because there are two supporting eye bolts in each direction:
[100/(2 sin 20)] / (2 sin 20) = 214 lb static load (dynamic bouncing could easily double that!)
If you decrease the angles to 10-deg, a 100-lb static load would put 829-lbs on the end of they Y cables attached to the tree!!!
Apr 15, 2007 | 2:54 pm
ksarah wrote:
have a zipline in backyard 150 ft for about 8 yrs. used steel cable and it’s attached to a “comealong” at end/bottom to keep it taught. starts in my tree house. use two sets of petzl pulleys that are attached to a piece of treated lumber. eyebolt attaches a big dowel handle. have a 4 ft rope kids grab to pull, or sling it back to top. btw, pulleys from lowes don’t last long on steel cable
Apr 15, 2007 | 8:06 pm
crazy wrote:
if i have a treehouse about 300ft away from a lake and i want to end up dropping into the lake, how do i build the other end (not the treehouse) so that it goes out 30 feet into the lake. Its about ten foot deep there and extremely muddy.
Apr 16, 2007 | 5:55 pm
marshall wrote:
Can’t get it tight enough!
I am trying to construct an 85′ zip line over my pool. I have the cable suspended 10 feet high, between two 4×4’s and anchored to the ground on either end and a cable come-a-long prividing tension. I can easily pull the cable to the ground in the middle. — is 10′ high on either end too low to start with?
Apr 17, 2007 | 6:04 pm
KO wrote:
I have constructed a 300 foot zip line out of 3/8 stainless steel cable. I use tandam Petzl pulleys with a climbing harness. I have had problems with the stopping part of the line. I have used old tires as a cushion and have had little success. The “jolt” can be quite dangerous. I have thought of using a bungie to catch the pulley at the lower end to help slow down the movement and then have a net on a bungie to “catch” or “cradle” the person. I have not tried it yet but I think it would work. Any other ideas on a braking system??
Apr 19, 2007 | 3:03 pm
Still In Pain wrote:
Zip Lines are endless fun but I rode one six years ago without checking the parts. A quick link wasn’t completely closed and it snapped and dropped me hard. Fractured vertebrae REALLY HURT! and the damage has permanently cramped my formerly carefree healthy life. PLEASE DON’T TAKE CHANCES WITH ZIP LINES! USE THE BEST PARTS YOU CAN AFFORD AND ALWAYS CHECK THEM BEFORE USE. Think how you will feel if your negligence permanently fucks up someone you love. Well, no one ever listens to this sort of whiny advice, so I’ll go rest my back.
Apr 23, 2007 | 10:50 am
Ah, the good old days wrote:
Best zipline I ever used was about a football field in length. I can’t provide the specs as this was quite some time ago and I was smaller then. They used cable and climbing harnesses. I prefer the harness method btw. It’s safer and you can flip yourself upside down and what not. Anyways, the braking mechanism was a wooden block similar to one mentioned above except it had bungie cords bolted to its sides and the other end of the bungies was bolted to some thick wooden posts that had concrete footings. The interior of the box was lined with something to prevent wear on it or the cable but I do not know what or how. As you came down you would hit it and it would swing you upwards but only enough to be fun. Not enough for whiplash. Still don’t be like me and hit it upside down. This is about as soft a landing as you could want considering the length of the line and the velocity of its riders. Also, taking braking out of the hands of the kids is a good thing cause smacking the ground because they didn’t brake enough isn’t going to increase their IQs
Apr 23, 2007 | 10:53 am
Ah, the good old days wrote:
Gah! My diagram is ruined! Well just pretend that the appropriate spaces are there ;) It looks like a triangle. Anyone riding the zipline passes through it.
Apr 24, 2007 | 12:41 pm
how to get it tight wrote:
I’m in the middle of assembling a 210′ zipline. I read that the proper slope equals out to being 6″ of height difference for every 10′ of length. In other words 5′ of height difference for 100′ and so on.
I’m using 3/8″ steel cable with a com a long and can’t for the life of me get enough tension on the cable to keep the rider in the air. I realize that There will be slack but right know I’m nearly 15′ high at my starting point and still with my weight 170lbs it want keep me off the ground. I don’t have a winch and my com a long is pushed to the max what can I try now? Please help me.
Apr 24, 2007 | 1:56 pm
how to get it tight wrote:
ok I got it I just had to put a little more into it. Also a previous poster was correct the pulley’s from lowes suck it’s called a block and costs about $30. Creates way to much friction I’ll have to cough up the extra money for a nice job specific pulley and harness as it is so high now(about 16′).
Apr 25, 2007 | 3:27 pm
Outdoor Fun Store wrote:
For Gods sake dont use rope unless you are an experienced climber.
Plastic ANYTHING is never a good idea when your dealing with a zipline.
For tensioning you need to try whats called a “turnbuckle” but youll need a large one. Local hardware stores wont carry one with enough length to do you any good. Cable wenches (come alongs) are intended for intermittent use only. They will fail if left under load like that all the time.
Zipline over water - You will need to consult your local fish and game department to verify its ok to place one over water that is public (ie you dont own all the land around said water). Crossing waterways (creeks, rivers) is a bad idea, as they are under government ownership (typically federal).
May 2, 2007 | 2:45 pm
building a zip wrote:
I do not want to use the usual harness. I am looking into somethign similar to a nylon bosuns chair. I have found a couple. but would love to use something similar to the seat harness I see in many commercial setups or hang glider seats. any ideas where to find one to purchase?
May 5, 2007 | 1:59 pm
chris hartle wrote:
haha these ruled my childhood. we built them from tree house to tree all over our woods when i was 15. although we used cable wire and old sets of bicycle handlebars instead. tons of fun!
May 5, 2007 | 2:03 pm
chris hartle wrote:
and to get them tight we used turnbuckles which you can find at any local hardware store. i mean come on, we figured it out before we could drive a car! they are still stringing from tree to tree in the woods back home, and usable if it weren’t for the rusted pulleys.
i highly recommend the cable wire/turnbuckle combo. there will be absolutely no slack and you’ll get a lot more zip!
May 5, 2007 | 5:06 pm
Zippy from North Idaho wrote:
Be carefull of under sized turnbuckles or cheap come-alongs and dont send your kids down something too steep or too high a fall isnt impossible. Good luck
May 6, 2007 | 9:08 am
ManiacJ wrote:
Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if you attach a basket or something to it and sent packages down it? Or you could build a network of these and have something to use when your brother is hogging the phone.
May 8, 2007 | 11:48 am
NewZipper wrote:
I have read every reply and it seems a combo of bungee cord and a bottom tie-off at a 4X4 between two trees, eliminating the center, is the best feasible method for stopping my pending 150′ zip line on cable with Petzl Pulley. Where does one buy strong, thick, bulk bungee cord?
May 8, 2007 | 1:19 pm
Nevermore wrote:
Im aware of a few reasonable stopping procedures.
1) A giant net to crash into at the end (bigtime injury possibilities here I dont reccommend this one)
2) “gravity brake” which is just extra slack in the line so it makes more of a “U” shape, you go much faster on the launch but as you get past halfway you start to slow down as your going back up the other side of the “U”
3) Impact brake, as mentioned above the bungie cords are an impact type brake, they would usually be attached to a braking block and strung to either side of the flight path. The trolley would hit the block and begin to stretch out the bungies untill you loose all your momentum. Ive found bungie type systems to be fraught with maintainence issues. I prefer to use a tire brake (which is nothing more then a small tire with holes drilled through it) and hold it in place with some extra clamps behind the tire. The trolley hits this and stops, the rider swings up and back down (thus dropping all the momentum).
I dont like the “slingshot” method of bridging 2 trees with a piece of dimensional lumber. That one lil piece of lumber is not only taking lots of load, but if you are actually hitting the hardware with your trolley your gonna trash it and risk breaking the lumber. Besides a 4×4 just plain isnt strong enough to take the kinds of load that a zip line gives.
Just my $.02
May 14, 2007 | 12:01 pm
Mark wrote:
Works brilliantly, my advise off past experience is to tie a large knot in the rope before the end so the pulley hits the knot and stops rather than you hitting the tree. Washing line works well if your light enough, if your heaveyer steel cable works a treet, about 10mm. I used 2 climbing pulleys and a shopping trolley as a basket. Also to stop it i tied a second rope to the back which had some elasticated propeties to slow you to a stop rather than slamming into the rocks. (never use scrap rope). An exelent way to test them is to send it with whatever scrap metal/bottles of water you can load it with. You want it to be 1.5 times the heaviest users wieght.
May 17, 2007 | 6:56 pm
Scotty2Hotty wrote:
Me and my freinds biult a zipline out of 100ft docking line rope. We tied it high in a tree at the top of a hill and to another at the bottom. Its at least 30 fthigh at its highest point. All of the pulleys we have bought did not fit on the rope because its too thick. is it better to have the zipline rope as tight as possilbe or leave it a little loose so we dont goo too fast into a tree?
May 17, 2007 | 7:00 pm
Scotty2Hotty wrote:
The stopping method we are trying is pretty safe. We plan to tie 2 long bungie cords horizontally from a tree on each side. Once the rider comes down, they will encounter the 2 bungees and it will absorb the impact, wont hurt, and will stop ur momentum not to slowly, but not too sudden.ANy body think this is a good idea?
May 20, 2007 | 5:04 pm
B4B wrote:
Do NOT use poly rope. Someone mentioned before how the Navy uses it for zip lines. While that’s true, it’s NOT because it doesn’t stretch, it’s because IT DOES STRETCH!!! Can you picture two ships heaving about the open sea on 30′ swells connected by a single line that doesn’t have “give” to it?
Use steel cable. Stainless for durability (expensive) but galvanized is pretty durable and much cheaper, and is readily available
May 26, 2007 | 11:36 pm
Flier wrote:
KO Rig the system so that the last part of the ride is back uphill. This means a high starting point and a large droop in the cable but it works better than any other system.
May 27, 2007 | 5:51 pm
Anonymous wrote:
plastic covered cable or bare metal cable?
May 29, 2007 | 10:02 am
hay wrote:
plastic covered cable
May 30, 2007 | 7:19 am
AmOfOhio wrote:
My husband built a 260 foot long zipline across our 2 acre pond.
It works great except when an adult person drops off the zipline into the water,the handle bar flips up and the rope we have attatched to the pulley to pull it back ,gets all tangled up on the 3/8″cable.
When our kids go off of it, its ok because there’s not much weight on the line. But when an adult goes off,the bar flys up and over the cable entangling the rope thats attached to pull it back.
Any ideas to prevent this?
May 30, 2007 | 9:01 am
Anonymous wrote:
I have a similar setup only the kids hold a rope with a knot on the end. The retrieve line is tied to the knot also and is allowed to drag in the water behind the person. When they let go, the weight of the return rope keeps everything below the cable. I also had to tighten the cable to reduce bounce. Works great now!
May 30, 2007 | 12:50 pm
AmOfOhio wrote:
We did similar to ours for the kids only tied a ski rope for them to hold onto and attached another rope to the ski rope that drags in the water for retreiving it back.
But the bar on the pulley for adults has to much bounce and flips over th cable at times and gets tangled.
We tightened the cable which helped alot,but heavier people still make it flip up and tangle.
May 30, 2007 | 12:50 pm
Spud wrote:
I’m working in a fairly large (but finite) back yard. Can I sink an anchor into the ground or will it cut off too much of the run? I guess I’d put a stopper about where the shortest kid can touch the ground.
Also, I was going to run the high end over a tripod A-frame built of 4×4s and use a pulley at the top so that the zip line can also anchor the frame/fulcrum. My kids are small, but I was hoping to give it a try too. Anyone know the math to figure this out? I was going to build this all but maybe buy a zip kit pulley/handle system or like a marine-grade pulley online.
Any help would be appreciated.
btw, re the question above: when I was a young scout I wrestled with the age-old question of how you run a zipline into a lake or river if you don’t have access to the other side. I think it boils down to a chicken and egg issue.
Jun 1, 2007 | 12:06 pm
Michael wrote:
AmOfOhio or anyone who runs a zip over a pond:
How did you anchor the bottom end of the line? We are trying to decide if we want to anchor to a post on the high on the opposite side of the pond, ground level on the opposite side of the pond, or just below water level somewhere near the opposite side. This would solve our stopping issues, and the rider would either let go before they hit the stopping point, or would being to drag in the water.
Any thoughts? Any other tips before we implement our line?
Thanks
Jun 2, 2007 | 10:11 pm
AmOfOhio wrote:
My husband concreted steel posts into the ground.
The cable is attatched to each post.
He fabricated steps and a platform to climb up and stand on.
He also made a bar to hold onto for adults.
We use a ski rope and ski handle for the kids so they can tak off from the ground and not up high on the platform.
Jun 2, 2007 | 10:13 pm
AmOfOhio wrote:
Oh forgot, we don’t have anything to stop the zipline because our pond is 2 acres and theres no way you can make it clear across. We barley make it half way across the pond and have to drop.
But a quarry we used to swim at used a piece of a tire as a stopper.
Jun 3, 2007 | 10:25 am
idi wrote:
there is a tunnel from our celler into the garden. is there anyway i can make the cable turn round into the room (there’s no door).
Jun 8, 2007 | 12:04 pm
danam wrote:
working on a 350′ line (3/16 cable)through woods, with a 60 foot drop in elevation across the line. we are attempting a stopping mechanism of putting a metal pipe over the wire with plastic tubing inside for protection and a metal front plate for the trolley to hit. the trolley being 1/3″ steel, custom built will withstand the hit. then we’re attaching two garage door springs to the pipe and to two side trees. anybody know if this would stop too abruptly? we’re working on tightening it and raising it up higher this weekend and then testing.
Jun 10, 2007 | 9:12 am
matt wrote:
how much does a 35 foot steel cable cost with a pulley that can withstand up to 200 pounds
Jun 10, 2007 | 4:53 pm
tamsmiff wrote:
AmOfOhio, instead of rope, use a bar between the pulley and handle - no entanglement
Jun 12, 2007 | 1:32 pm
Michael, not a lawyer! wrote:
It is unlikely that something with as obvious liability issues as zip line will be allowed to put up on public property, especially by an amateur.
Two ways to go about it.. legally - talk to land steward (city/county/state/federal). None of these entities will probably be too excited about helping. Though you may be able to look for a grant or something to cover the cost of professional installation and any changes to the insurance policy on the property.
The other route is to install it, and pretend like you found it. This means you can’t get as much praise for being the one to add such a fun toy, but also makes it less likely that you are sued if somebody uses the zip line and gets hurt. [Note that I am not recommending this route, at least officially].
Jun 12, 2007 | 1:59 pm
Michael, not a lawyer! wrote:
matt -
the weight of the rider is not the only weight to be concerned about. There are vector forces at work on each end of the zip line. That said, a 1/4″ steel cable has a breaking strength upwards of 5,000 lbs, and shouldn’t set you back more than $50. (A 100ft reel was $70 at the local hardware store). A good Petzl trolley will cost about $70.
Jun 18, 2007 | 9:07 am
K wrote:
I have seen a zip line over a pond use a second trolly for retrieval. The second trolly has a long light line attached all the way back at the launching platform. It is behind (not in front of) the people trolly. The trollys have a latching mechanism which engages when they collide. So the procedure is this… 1) ride down zip line and drop into pond. 2) the next rider sends the retrieval trolly down the line. 3) It latches onto the trolly and 4) they pull it back with the line.
Jun 26, 2007 | 8:31 pm
Craig wrote:
I have 2 trees that I would like to use for the zip line, however, there is not an unobstructed path between the two trees. A wooden structure (to be used for the launching pad) is close to the start of the zip line (10 feet away). The wire would be connected to the upper tree and go through a 2×6 joist (from the roof of the structure) that runs perpendicular to the zip line and then straight down 50 ft. to the lower tree. My guess is that looking down the wire makes a 130 degree angle. I was thinking of reinforcing the hole that I would need to drill in the joist with a metal pipe cut to length. Would this work?
Jun 27, 2007 | 4:48 pm
scouter wrote:
You can get many sizes of pulleys at Ace Hardware. You can also get as much steel cable in whatever size pretty cheap there too. I’m getting almost all my material there. The people at my local store are REALLY helpful.
Jun 28, 2007 | 8:34 pm
jake manders wrote:
ya i just got my first zip line, about 90 feet long and the pond was like 120 feet we worked it out with some army tie downs. but any way it works great the only problem is retrieving it… for the next person.
Jul 1, 2007 | 8:32 am
Jacko wrote:
I am building a 110 foot zip line from my bulkhead into the sound. Can anyone tell me how much drop or angle I should put in the line from the bulkhead connection to the pole?
Thank you,
Jul 4, 2007 | 4:01 pm
Anonymous wrote:
what’s the best safeguard from falling? We’re considering using a net to catch the kids if they fall.
Jul 4, 2007 | 5:37 pm
still a kid at heart wrote:
I ran a 3/8 steel cable from my kids 3 story treehouse.My wife told me I was nuts.I’m glad to see I’m in good company.Bolts are a good idea for the ends of the line,but if you use turnbuckles you have the added benefit of using them as tensioners.The best safeguard for or from falling is to hold on tight and don’t let go .Happy trails
Jul 11, 2007 | 1:32 am
Anonymous wrote:
me an my friends just made a zip line over a pond were we go pond jumping its 200ft long an its about 35 ft up on a hill then goes over the pond to the other side we have a steel cable an 2 pullys its a blast but we cant seem to find somthing good to hold on an take off at the end so we can walk it back up becasue its to hard to get it up other wise so any idea’s???? thanks
Jul 16, 2007 | 8:00 am
have some sense please wrote:
Using a cheap pully and rope instead of a cable is irresponsible, and a recipe for disaster. Please have some sense and use 3/8″ or 1/2″ steel cable. Stainless is quiet and smooth but really expensive. I use the regular, loud galvanized steel cable. A pulley is not safe. It would be like using a go cart on the highway - the wrong tool for the job. Use a real zip line trolley. Not the cheapo toy ones they sell in toy stores. Find a deal on one on ebay. I use a handle from a rowing setup for cable weightset I got for a couple bucks on ebay. I use a nice disk swing seat too, a couple bucks at Walmart.
Jul 16, 2007 | 8:27 am
have some sense please wrote:
Oh, I meant 1/4″ or 3/8″, not 1/2″. My 100′ setup goes tree to tree. I use large turnbuckles on each end and all proper welded eyes and cable clamps with the saddle, etc. Don’t wrap anything around the tree, as it will kill it. research the correct method of putting the bolt and washers, etc. straight through the tree (tree house sites will show you). For stopping, I went to local equipment seller/repairer and was given two old lawn tractor tires for free. You drill holes in these, run cable through them and put a couple cable clamps behind them. Your trolley hits them at the end and gently stops the rider instead of hitting the tree. Don’t use bungy, as it can easily fail and the rubber won’t last 9 months before failing. You can use a block with a rope instead. I’m going to build a longer line and start and end it higher, with more slack. This way, it will be fast at first and then gravity will stop you at the end.
Jul 16, 2007 | 6:59 pm
freggin cool wrote:
i did this on 2 parrelell trees and used a winch on a chair it is awsome but computer chairs r reccomended
Jul 20, 2007 | 10:22 pm
Acrisius wrote:
We did a thing like this on a vacant ground. It was really funny, but a bit crazy.
My aunt got really bad hurted when she went into a tree. You must secure the installation before using it.
Jul 25, 2007 | 9:38 am
rabie4×4 wrote:
When I worked on large oil field drilling rigs, a zip line, (commonly known as a “Jeronimo line”), was installed from the work platform in the derrick to a heavy anchor on the ground or other strong point as a means of escape in case of an emergency. The “seat” was a t-handle with a long handled friction brake that contacted the cable by means of a brass contact block. These may be available from drilling rig suppliers. I never had the guts to ride one of these but heard of a roughneck who crash landed one and it didn’t sound like too much fun to me! The drop is from well over 100′ high to the ground in less than 600′ cable length. I guess it would beat becoming bar-be-que in case the well blows out!
Aug 2, 2007 | 3:47 pm
Smart ideas wrote:
If any one was curios like a comment above where an apperent issuse with retrival of the pully was needed because entanglement or other issues i have thought of a fool proof idea. First buy an extra pully( i recomend a cheapy crapy one). buy some rare earth magnits. attach your cheap pully first then attach good one. so you then attach the magnits to the front of the cheap pully and the back of the good pully. attach rope to first puuly(cheap one) and let it rip. drop rider down on the good pully(keeping cheap pully up at platform when the rider hits the end drop the second pully(make sure it has enough wieght to go all the way down). the magnits will attach and your pullys tempoarilly conected. you then pull up cheap pully with the rope and it pulls both pullys. for faster pully retrival hook up th rope to a stationary bike so you pedal bike to pull rope it will wind, or use a motorized hose reel. :) thanks for listening i hope this helps! :) (_(_(/
Aug 26, 2007 | 4:31 am
rusty wrote:
i want to try this, because our house has a walk out basement, with a hill going down to the backyard. it isnt THAT big, but you could use roughly 40-50 feet of rope, with a slow decline. i dont think there are many trees i could hang it from though. any suggestions on where to get good rope, or cables???
Sep 12, 2007 | 1:33 pm
Retlaw wrote:
I am seriously considering having a zipline built between two towers as a business idea. All danger must be eliminated here. Each rider will start from the high point and when the rider reaches the low point, a switch is flipped that takes the rider up to the high point and the high point where the rider started is lowered to being the low point the result returns the rider to where he/she started. The rider would sit in a chair like seat with a safty belt and there would be a brake involved in case the rider wanted to slow down or come to a stop. I welcome any comments on this business idea.
Sep 13, 2007 | 11:17 pm
Retlaw wrote:
I thought about clamping a steel cable I have between two trees like a bow. When you reach the middle you would start up to ward the high end, but never reach the tree where the opposite end of cable is clamped.
You would then return to the low point by swinging back and forth a few tomes.
Sep 18, 2007 | 6:36 am
irolo! wrote:
wouldnt a slipnot work? on bothends and a string to pull it back to the begining. it souldns like a cool thing to have and a great eascape route for a fire or somthing just in case and a great way to escape when im grounded and stuff
Oct 7, 2007 | 9:49 pm
wanderlustsquanderer wrote:
classic stories everyone! I have personally never had the opportunity (oppportunity has yet to present itself!) Anyway upon reading all the ideas presented here,it seems everyone is married to the idea that all braking systems must interact with the cable(rope)itself(i.e. blocks attached to the cable,tires at the endpoint or”destinationstation”(that ones mine…haha…feel free to plagerize!)of the cable, bungees on the cable… and so on…before I had any idea of how you all achieved deceleration, my first instinct was controll the pulley–itself…own it…it is everything…command it as we do every other vehicle in man’s arsenal(wheel propelled,that is) I suggest one of those new top of the line bicycle “disc” braking systems,find a way to weld it directly to pulleys axle, outside the housing , with calipers attached to housing as well, run brakecable down to the brakehandle that came with it, mount to the handlebars! !
logically ! !
whatcha think? ?
any way gimme some feedback !
P.S. anyone know of a line in the east bay of california I can bust my cherry on? !
HA ha HA ha HA ! ! !
Oct 8, 2007 | 3:32 pm
Monicker wrote:
Hello there,
A couple of my friends and I are planning on building a zipline and I was wondering if anyone has built a zipline specifically using these instructions and have had it operational. Also if you know any links that share instructions on making a braking system for your zipline please could you send a link my way. Any information regarding this would be spectacular. Thanks.
Oct 14, 2007 | 9:45 pm
McGiver wrote:
EASY BRAKE;
As you build your zipline, drill a hole a little larger diameter that your cable lengthwise through a 8″ long piece of 4×4. Thread the cable through the block of wood. About 3″ from the end where the trolly will impact, drill (2) 3/8″ diameter holes (1) on each side of the lengthwise hole. Place an eyebolt with a washer & bolt on a 6″ eyebolt.
The eyebolts will both be on the bottom, on ehter side of the lengthwise hole. Now place a stake in the ground about 5-6′ out from the centerline (as measured directly under the zipline cable) and 5-6′ upstream from the wood block. Now all you have to do is place a bungie cord of sufficient length from the ground stakes to the eyebolt on the corresponding side of the wood block.
Now, when the trolly hits the wood block, it pulls against the bungies & slows down easier than hitting a tire or solid stop. Make sure that the bungies are spread wide enough apart for the rider to pass through them before hitting the block.
I have found that the “twisted” type of stake used to secure a swingset or dog teather works best.
Oct 23, 2007 | 5:24 pm
zipcrazy wrote:
I’m thinking of building a zip line on my farm. I wanted to get some advice on cable size. I see from research that I have several to pick from. I want to keep the load light since this is being installed where I only have ATV access. Is 1/4 in. cable large enough, or should I go bigger? I’m looking at a 250-300′ run across a ravine…about a 50′ drop….Want the safest cable to use. This is for teenagers and adults….thanks
Jan 4, 2008 | 5:58 pm
c-bizcut wrote:
3/16 inch steel cable has a working load 0f 4,200 lbs. That should have sufficient safety level assuming the attachments at the ends are sufficient. We found 250 feet of cable on ebay for about 50 dollars. The pulleys and attaching hardware are available at Tractor Supply or the local hardware store. Make sure the pulleys are good steel pulleys. We found on a previous line that a little slack in the line with lower end a little high gives a little rise at the stop makes a very smooth stop.
Jan 19, 2008 | 3:36 pm
Scott wrote:
i reccomend setting up the zipline where in goes into a field from a higher building. You don’t have to worry about a tree at the end and the landing is smooth, on a matress or pad. It works great
Jan 27, 2008 | 1:48 am
rich wrote:
I made one from porch post to a 4×4 out on lawn that the clothesline was attached to…NOT A GOOD IDEA…the weathered 4×4 split right in two pieces and i fell on my butt. I always try all things before the kids do. They now have a great story to tell their friends:) I have set on up at our camp btween two large trees and they love this one!!
Feb 3, 2008 | 3:41 pm
twice bitten wrote:
I hurt myself at 16 from a zipline I made with poly rope and a poorly made triangle swing to slide down on. I made another for my kids a few years back and it has lasted (made the triangle pulley much better this time), but just a few months back it broke with me on it. I have had substantial, although thankfully not life altering physical damage from both events. I think this time I just might buy kit and play it safe.
Feb 6, 2008 | 8:37 am
dan wrote:
im using 5/8″ inch stainless steel cable wire for a 1000meter long zipline. my problem is the commercial trolleys from CMI or Pretzel that can be used for FAST zipline can only take 3/8 to 1/2″ inch cable. where can i find or custom made trolleys that can take 5/8″ cables, if i have it custom made in machine shop, what kind of “trolley wheel” do i need that can take very fast speed of upto 100kph or more.thanks
Feb 14, 2008 | 11:48 pm
TacomaWA wrote:
The rope should be subed out for steel cable. It will wear and break. You can get 200ft of 1/4 coated cable at Home Depot. For a line this long (And heavy)you will need a comealong or fence strecher ($30) also at the depot. This is wraped around one of the trees and can put 2000 lbs of tention on the line which is 4000 lbs test. If there is more the five ft of seperation from top to bottom you will need a brake. I have this setup going accross a ravine in Point Defiance WA it is 50 ft off the ground in the middle. 200ft will blow your mind. Always wear a harness incase you get stuck in the middle (it can happen)good luck!
Feb 29, 2008 | 9:03 pm
Rob wrote:
I have a short run of about 40 feet and slow the children down before they hit the tree by using pipe insulation.
I put 1/2″ foam insulation around the 1/4″ cable and then used duct tape generously around the insulation rolled around the insulation from front to back. The insulation acts as a cushion, slowing their descent and stops them far enough away from the tree so that they don’t crash into the tree.
They still get some swing action, but that is part of the fun. If the swing action is too much, you need to change the angle of the descent. Move the cable up the termination tree for less speed–down for more. (I don’t call it a termination tree in front of the children or guests).
It sounds crazy to use rope or cheap pulleys, btw. Build it so that it’s safe or don’t build it.
Mar 1, 2008 | 1:16 am
Dave wrote:
The right way to do this is to have the end of the rope be at about half the hight of the begging of the rope or higher and leave some slack in the line. I work on a 65′ high zip line and thats how the pros rig them.
P.s. if you are ever more then 12′ above the ground and you are not in a harness your to high.
Mar 16, 2008 | 4:55 pm
homedepot wrote:
i found the pulley and rope at home depot and it works like a charm i bought extra cable incase it breaks. also try welding on more than one pully for extra strenght.
Mar 19, 2008 | 7:57 am
YO wrote:
Make sure its right or its gona hurt
Mar 21, 2008 | 9:05 am
corey wrote:
i am wanting to build a zip line over a cove of a local lake… i would get steel cable rated to 4200 pounds and go from the top of one tree on one side to the bottom of another (its about 350 yards)… i was wondering if anyone had tried using a rock climbing grade caribiner instead of a pulley with something to hang on to attached to it… that way we could have multiple caribiners and be able to retrive them later and be able to go multiple times… we would be droping into the water
Mar 21, 2008 | 11:03 am
Nevermore wrote:
Corey, over 350 yards you would probably wear your carabiners out in a matter of hours, not to mention the damage to the cable itself. Also, unless you own the entire lake you may want to check your local municipality before running your cable, if its considered a public waterway its probably owned by the federal government. (I am not a lawyer nor do I play one on TV)
Dave just tossing figures like that out “The right way to do this is to have the end of the rope be at about half the hight of the begging of the rope or higher and leave some slack in the line. I work on a 65? high zip line and thats how the pros rig them.
P.s. if you are ever more then 12? above the ground and you are not in a harness your to high.
” is dangerous. There are alot more things going on then you may be aware of. Although I completely agree with your harness message.
TacomaWA Keep a close eye on that coated cable, if during your inspections you start to notice hunks of plastic sliced off, check the pulley wheels. We have found lots of trolleys ruined by plastic slivers.
Mar 25, 2008 | 8:33 am
two-way ride wrote:
||trees||—land—–____water____—–land—||trees||
That’s the general diagram of the space I want to span. I want to use a single cable for a two-way ride. Riders do not want or need to make it all the way to the end of the zipline in either direction; only far enough to clear the water section. The zipline will carry the rider from a platform in trees, over a gently downsloping 150 foot wide section of water, and up onto the island. Then one climbs the platform on the island to ride the line back over the water.
Has anybody built a two way zipline before; with the cable fixed at the same platform height on both sides of the ride? Can you share some wisdom?
If the total length of my zipline is about 450 feet, how high up should the platforms be? to carry a rider 2/3 the length of the line?
Would 3/16″ stainless 7×19 cable do the trick or should I go with something a little more heavy duty?
Appreciate the help, Thanks!
Mar 26, 2008 | 9:50 am
Derek wrote:
I want to thank everybody for sending in your information it helped me design my zip line. I put a 450+ foot line with 5/16 galvanized cable. I bought a Petzel pulley from ebay. I bought long turnbuckles , they are about 5 ft + - they are strong, they keep you away from the tree, and when you need to take up the slack youll be glad you have them . A come a long will only take out so much. I wrapped a large coated chain around my tree( not tight on tree ), then connect my turn buckle, then put the cable through the turn buckle , used three cable clamps . You have about 6 feet from cable to tree ( your not going to hit the tree ) For stopping at the end I rolled up a towel wrapped it around the cable then just hold it on with zip ties (soft on my pulley wheels gives a soft landing easy fix but works or you could roll up a piece of foam). Once I had it together and tight I rode it and ended up ajusting the line twice, lowered bottom and then raised top ( this is when you tellyour turn buckles you love them makes for easy ajustment ) I weigh 225 and it works great. I bought a 500foot spool of cable and my turnbuckles from Feher cable was around 150 or 160, turnbuckles 20, my pulley was around 75. I always do a little overkill om my projects but when my 5 and 7 year old ride it I dont have to worry. I hope this helps and thanks again for everybodys ideas.
Apr 7, 2008 | 8:29 am
BlackCrowe wrote:
I’m in Australia, I’m planning a 60m (200′) zip from a 4-trunk tree across my creek to another tree. I have a Petzl Trac trolley plus kit (harness and sling) from Colorado- it is a thing of beauty, very robust and apparently goes up to 30m (100′) per second, oh yes… I’m thinking maybe a 1 in 20 slope is enough. I am worried about braking the thing and plan to use a very well padded (to protect the trolley) approx 2′ long wood block as the guys have described above, I would rather not use a bungy setup so might go for a longer brake instead. I think it is important not to hurt the trees so I will use a big chain , plastic coated, loosely looped around a fork to avoid a constrictive force.
We will definitely be testing first with a large sack of spuds, my mother-in-law or something similar.
For the nippers I’m going to make a couple of wee ziplines no more than a 3-4 feet high and at most 30 feet long, they’ll love it and I avoid the involvement of Famiy and Childrens’ Protective Services when taking them to hospital with fractures, grazes and/or head injuries (I don’t think kids and proper ziplines mix well at all)- but mildly inebriated Dads- ideal!
Have fun guys!!
Apr 8, 2008 | 1:52 pm
An Engineer, really wrote:
If you’re making a zip line that runs any significant height above the ground, above the tree-tops, or across a wide ravine, consider AIRCRAFT. (This applies to the more ambitious zip-line projects - probably not the “backyard” kind of zip-line just a few feet in the air.) Some airplanes, and particularly helicopters, fly only a few feet above the tree-tops, and there’s no way they’re going to see a thin cable in time to avoid it. I don’t think I need to elaborate too much on the potential consequences to both the aircraft, and your personal legal status.
If you only use the line occasionally, the best solution might be to come up with some sort of a winch system to lower the line below tree-top level when not in use, and then raise it again when you want to use it. You could try interacting with the FAA (in the US) but this would probably be extremely involved. It would probably involve having the line permanently marked on aviation charts. There are some orange plastic balls available from aviation suppliers, to place onto power lines near the end of runways. You could mount these on a separate line, above the level of main line. Of course, this would draw a lot of attention to your zip-line; so you’d want to be sure you’re otherwise legal.
Apr 8, 2008 | 2:31 pm
An Engineer, really wrote:
I’ll add another point:
Someone, quite a number of posts ago, mentioned “Vectors”
In fairly simple terms, the force trying to break the cable can be several times the weight of the person being supported. The more tight the cable is, the greater the multiplication of force in the cable. This is a good argument for keeping some slack in the cable. This could also imply favoring the “Gravity Braking System” where the cable sags enough so the person comes to a stop before getting all the way to the other end, because the far end of the cable slopes uphill.
Also note that because of the unpredictable nature of steel cable (“Wire Rope”) most textbooks recommend a “factor of safety” of 10. This means that if the cable supports a 200 pound person, with vectors taken into account, it could have a load 500 lbs trying to break it. Then, the cable should be rated at 10 X 500 = 5000 pounds. (This is an example, the number could be even higher.) The cable should also be regularly inspected for fraying.
The “backyard” type zip-line that only gets a few feet in the air can be fun, and can probably just be “installed by eyeball” by amateurs. But if the zip-line is “any higher than you’d care to fall” you should know what you’re doing. For the more ambitious projects, if you don’t know exactly what terms like “vectors” and “resolution of forces” mean, find a professional who does. Analyze the line along the entire length that it is loaded. Don’t just rely on running a sand-bag down the line to test it – the line might be just below the breaking point, and break when the next person goes across it.
Apr 9, 2008 | 9:03 am
californiakayaker wrote:
I am one of those lucky people who had an oportunity to use an old well established zip line for three years every day, sometimes I went over with six round trips. It was used for transportation so it was flat essentially. There was a two foot drop in 200 feet. It used old loggers galvanized at least 1/2 inch cable. I at first was supplied with a petzel climbing pulley but after using in the rain the lube would go away and it would slow me down so I changed to a marine grade inexpensive chinese made pulley, the red type that can handle 10,000 pounds and has ball bearings and a grease fitting. I could run off a rock with a climbing harness and just make it to the lower(2 ft) side. From my experience, watch out how much you lower it. With slack, there is a generally natural breaking at the other end. Look at the videos on the web, they are around. Tires , starting with a small one, and ending with large ones , sound like a good idea. Something with friction which would slide for 20 or thirty feet sounds good. A large blown up inter tube could be used as a cushion. Just remember, people who are talking about a 50 foot drop will be extremely surprised at the speed they attain. The system used huge turn buckles and huge steel girders on both ends and, as I said, was essentially flat. It had been there for about (guessing) 50 years and the forest service left it there, but barely, with a fight. Cannot tell you where, sorry.
Apr 25, 2008 | 8:11 am
Pond Zip wrote:
I am interested in putting a zip line across a pond that is approx 100′ wide. The purpose is to drop in the water for some summer fun for both teenagers and adults. Does anyone know what the angle should be or the equation to aapproximate speed. I realize most of this will be done by trial and error due to the many variables. I just need a good starting point. We want to be safe not sorry but the goal here is to have fun. I am open to all suggestions.
Apr 25, 2008 | 5:36 pm
codyman wrote:
you need steel cable.steel cabel pully.strong hooks,cable clamps.i think you will have lots of fun on this ride
Apr 27, 2008 | 12:11 pm
forest explorer wrote:
I am gonna build one of these this summer but I’ll change it up a little. First, I’m going to use 3/8″ galvanized cable(about $70 for 200′). And the beginning of the cable will be attached to a 4×4 between two trees and the same thing with the end of the cable. I can’t wait to build it this summer and go flying past trees.
Apr 29, 2008 | 4:25 pm
Dutch wrote:
hmmmmm…. im going to attempt to put a 1000ft zip line at my cousins this month. its going to run down a ridge that has close to a 300ft drop to tha bottom. im thinkin bout using quarter inch galvanized cable for tha main line, it has a breaking weight of 7000lbs and a load capacity of 1400lbs, then a strap in harness for tha rider. any thoughts? the only concern i have is tha fact theres such a STEEP drop involved……. im thinkin with the extra length i can compensate and have some room to slow down at tha bottom. any comments are welcome.
May 7, 2008 | 12:26 pm
Mark 42 wrote:
Ever notice electric lines always have sag in them?
Telephone lines, even the small ones to the house?
Do you know why?
It’s because if you put a load in the middle of a cable stretched tight to the point it’s perfectly straight the load in the cable goes to infinity.
Lookup “Catenary tension equation” on google or wikipedia.
Some slack also eliminates the need for a net or a brake to catch the rider at the downhill end.
May 13, 2008 | 5:35 pm
Matt wrote:
Hello
I’m trying to build a 300ft zip line. I’m using all high end gear including 1/4 inch galvanized cable. I’m secured to a 24 inch diameter tree at one end and approx 10 inch diameter tree at the other. It appears that the 10 inch tree only needs to bend slightly for me at 200lbs to get the 18ft high cable to drop to the ground. Can anyone help me with the math on this one? I have the tension on the cable very very tight. The load in the middle appears to be great enough to get the 8 inch tree to bend. If my math is correct, it would only need to bend a little for me to get the cable to drop.
Thoughts? HELP
May 19, 2008 | 12:39 pm
Maren wrote:
I just built a zip line and used 3/16in cable. I read in an earlier post that is had a strength of 4000lbs (or something)/ The cable I bought said it was good for 840lbs. If this is really the case is my cable too small? It is not coated cable is that a problem too? My oldest son weighs 180
Please help concerned mom..
May 19, 2008 | 5:52 pm
Mike wrote:
i just made a zipline this weekend with my dad. the legnth is approx. 100ft. and we keep coming into this problem where the cable sags down too low that it almost stops then your body eventually hits the ground. the topography is relatively level so is there anything that i can do to fix this?
May 21, 2008 | 8:36 pm
CRAZY wrote:
I want a short line or something that my grandkids can have fun on. Not too dangerous but F U N! This would be for the kids that are 8 and older. They’res a lot of info so I will do my best to see
how it works. Thanks, ED PS Cans with holes in them for stilts sound like more fun and a LOT safer…maybe not as much fun but I want to lkkeep my grandkids around Happy and happy!
May 24, 2008 | 4:38 pm
JJ wrote:
I have an 85 foot zip line it has been up for 2 years the cable is rusted how do we get it cleaned so it will work again. Very slow right now
thank you
May 27, 2008 | 12:01 am
simplizer wrote:
?Zip line. What memories!
I have a cousin, Dave, about 4 years older than me who was always involved in some kind of fun
projects along with several of his good friends. When in their late teens they obtained several
hundred yards of 1 inch cable that was discarded by an oil well drilling company. They took this
to an area where there was about a 50 foot ledge and which had a little canyon providing easy
access to the top. They secured one end to a large cedar tree on top of the ledge and with the help
of an old Dodge Power Wagon truck, fastened the other end to another cedar down below, in a
very sandy area. They attached a big pulley over the cable and hung an old tire from the pulley, to
serve as hand holds, using many strands of bailing wire, which was the common way of doing
things back in the 1950s.
Soon, people from all over the community were coming to check it out and the braver among
them giving it a try. The first time I tried it was at night when they had a bon fire near each end.
I went back the next day, and upon seeing how high it was, the only way I could get myself to try
it again was to tell myself that I had done it the night before.
The young men who built it were very worried that someone would get hurt and get them in
trouble. When my father, in his late 50s, tried it he noticed that my mother was filming his descent
with her new 8MM movie camera so he let go a little early and rolled over several times. Scared
the daylights out of the builders as they came running and asking if he was hurt.
They added several more pulleys and then rigged up a Model A Ford motor and transmission to
turn a drum that would pull the pulleys back up with a rope. I sometimes wonder how we
survived those years.
Jun 26, 2008 | 7:02 am
ScottyKalbs wrote:
I biult a zipline about 230feet long using nylon 3/8 rope, and a matching pulley, i attached an old workout machine handle to hang on too.
Me and my friends came up with a good way to brake, and to bring the pulley and handle back up to the top.We bought 200 feet of closeline rope, and anchored it to a tree branch and then tied it off to the pulley, so when we got to the bottom of the zipline the closeline would stop us, then we just pull the closeline from the top to get the pulley and handle back up quickly and effeciently.
Jun 26, 2008 | 7:03 am
ScottyKalbs wrote:
by the way, i got all my supplies at home depot, and to get the rope tight enough we purchased a “come along” search it on homedepot.com, it helps out alot bringing 2 tons of pull to ur zipline.
Jun 28, 2008 | 1:16 am
simplizer wrote:
What do it mean when you shove dat zip line up yo butthole an den jump off a tree an the zip line tingels your bunghole as it is pulled out? Please I RELLY want to no!
Jul 7, 2008 | 12:44 am
Dr Dave wrote:
You will find some ideas and answers to many of your questions at zipline.info.
Jul 7, 2008 | 3:47 pm
needhelp wrote:
so im trying to construct a zipline but not fot the normal use. i work at a zoo and i am trying to come up with a fun enrichment idea for the tigers that uses a zipline and bungee combo with an attached “prey” (a ball). I am trying to reseacrh as much as I can to find pieces that are able to withstand a LOT of pressure and tugging. does anyone have any ideas about the cable and other pieces that might help me? they need to be very strong thats all i know!
Jul 14, 2008 | 12:54 pm
ZX wrote:
UR ALL GAY
Jul 15, 2008 | 11:05 pm
caca wrote:
I know this sounds like a lot of fun, but SERIOUS testing should be done before sending a person down the zip line.
The rope is going to stretch and create slack, so you’ll need to re-tighten the rope.
Landing area is VERY important! You smack into a tree and you’re in for a WORLD OF PAIN!
Find a way to send down a big bag of approximately weighted sand to judge the speed. The degree of decline is proportionately related to the rate of acceleration. Decline of rope line too steep, acceleration rate to fast for successful bail out.
DON’T have this too high off the ground, if you lose your grip landing could be VERY painful. You may also twist while descending so take that into account.
We used to make these when we were kids, but we ended up using cable, but the hard part is getting it taught enough.
Jul 15, 2008 | 11:06 pm
caca wrote:
hey if u call ppl gay its cuse u gay