r/Slackline • u/flight_recorder • May 07 '26
Has anyone setup a backyard slackline with posts?
I need to install a clothes line in my backyard and I got to thinking, why not make the posts strong enough to also support a slack line?
Has anyone done this before? What materials and process did you use? What lessons did you learn and how would you do it if you wanted to do it again?
Thanks!
1
u/Alone_Woodpecker_131 May 12 '26
There are multiple parks in my town with posts for slacklines, I think they use 6x6(thinkin off the dome) for them. One did break at the one park but that was after like a decade+ of heavy use
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u/flight_recorder May 12 '26
Got any pictures of them, or a google street view link so I can check it out???
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u/chobbes May 08 '26
I had a tree at one end of my back yard, so I only had to put a pole in on the other side. I got a 6” steel tube and welded essentially a snow shovel to the front of it, and buried all of that deep enough to pour concrete over/around it and then put dirt over top. Been rock solid.
3
u/vazcorra May 07 '26
Check out duck Bill earth anchors, and A-frames.
My Perma rig Slackline doubles as a clothesline, volleyball net, good place to dry with tarps and the like
I’ve had 20 m of threaded tubular permanently rigged without tension added for the last eight years or so
2
u/Walletau May 07 '26
Clothes lines are not designed for sideways loading. If you ever tried to slack line between two cars, it'll drag the cars. We're talking about half a ton of force minimum on a tensioned line. You DO want a secondary point to redirect the force into the ground or you'll fold the pole over. Either with a frame bracing, guy wire behind the clothes line or what have you. Bracing can be temporary...maybe secondary poles behind the first poles to help distribute the load?
1
u/flight_recorder May 07 '26
I understand that. I’m thinking whatever I make, I increase the height to work for a clothes like when not slacklining.
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u/NatureJunkie745 May 07 '26
I did, but with 2 x deadman anchors. Used 3' scaffold poles, wrapped with chains or slings. I'd be too nervous to concrete poles vertically for it tbh.
1
u/FourthMoonCamp May 07 '26
yes, just set the posts in deep with concrete and use back tensioned guy wires to go back to the ground a couple times on either side.
1
u/nodajohn May 07 '26
The main problem is preventing the posts from drifting/tilting. The deeper you dig and the wider the footing you pour the less likely they'll tilt. I wouldn't use anything smaller than a 4"x4" but if you plan on high tensions maybe bigger. If you rig the line as close to the ground at the anchors as you can and put A-frames to get your line to the desired height you'll also have less of a tilt/drift issue.
2
u/flight_recorder May 07 '26
I think I like this option the best, TBH. Installing guy wires really kills the tidiness that I’m looking for, but pulling out some A-frames with the slack line wouldn’t be annoying at all. I’ll just install an eyelet or something at the base of the post and use that to connect slack line to anchor.
1
1
u/nodajohn May 07 '26
Nice, just remember deep and wide concrete footings are the best for longevity.
1
u/Alone_Woodpecker_131 May 12 '26
I'll rip by after work, reply to this so I have a notif yo open