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bczoom

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Well, it took awhile, but I finally got one installed.



They're <span style="text-decoration: underline;">a lot</span> of fun for all ages.



The one I put in is about 240' which was the max I could do without
having logistical issues (like buildings, trees, creek... in the way).



The hardest part is getting the right tension on the cable. When you
have riders ranging from 50 to 200 pounds, it needs some tweaking so
the smaller riders can reach the ground at the end of the ride but the
adults aren't scraping their butts on the ground for the last 100'.
What I found helped with this is to have the adults use the handlebars
that are right at the trolley and the smaller riders grab a strap that
hangs down about 3' from the trolley.



It's hard to judge the speed but from a dead stop at the top until
you're stopped at the bottom is about 13 seconds. If my math is right,
that's an average of 12 MPH so I'd guess you get into the 20's before
you need to hit the binders.



I didn't count but would guess that you can get around 40 runs per hour.</p>
 
can you post a picture of the trlley or pulley system you setup? thats really the only thing i'm missing i have been wanting to make a zip line in my yard i have the cable(brother manages a crane company). i see them zip lines on youtube and they look like some fun.</p>
 
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Since you have the cable yourself, be sure you get a trolley that can
handle that size cable. I picked one out but in talking with the guy, I
found out that the trolley wouldn't fit on cable bigger than 3/16 so I
had to get something different (as I am using 1/4" cable).



Here's where I got the trolley. I got the "Viper"

http://ziplinegear.com/



Here's a chart of the different trolleys and their differences.

http://ziplinegear.com/pulleycompare.pdf



I also got the seat kit.</p>


One important thing to note if using your own components. Each part must be rated at 3000# or higher. That gives you a working load of 300#.</p>


OK, here's a picture...</p>


The lanyard hanging from the trolley is visible at the very end of the ride (to the right of the ladder).



At the near end, where I snapped the picture, the cable is about 12' in
the air. I part the RTV under the cable at this end and you stand in
the box to launch. This is kind of a safety feature. The kids can't
reach it to ride unless I put something like the RTV under it.</p>


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i have big oak trees in my yard i was gonnaconnect the line to the trees. with one end up about 20' or so and the low end at bout 10' i might have to go higher i don't know i'll find out when i get the cable up and hook a sack to it.lol</p>
 
How long is your run going to be? A 10' drop is enough for about a 120' run (which is about a 6 second ride).</p>


Getting that cable up is going to be a bear. I had to use a snatch block and my RTV winch to get it close. The winch was bogging down and the RTV was skidding through the yard.</p>
 
well the way the trees are in my yard i can make it a few diferent sizes the longest run i have is395' and the shortest run is 120' with the oaktrees i have the highest takeoff point i have is about 35'i gould top off a pine tree i have and make the takeoff point 40 or more feet highi know the 3/8 cable is gonna be a beyach getting strung and i might have to go with a smaller size. as for as the stopping point i was thinkin of getting a bunch or bean bag chairs and pillows and chair cushions and makin a colision stop at the end.lol</p>
 
You need a minimum of about 8' of drop per 100' of run (+ 8-10' at the lower end). That means for a 100' run, the uphill side needs to be at least 16' up, the low end 8' up (and those are minimums).</p>


That better be one heck of a pine tree. It's going to have a couple tons of force against it.</p>
 
the pine tree is about 24" it's a nice size tree but my first tree of choice is the oak tree them pine trees are iffy you never know when they gonna snap.</p>
 
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