Anybody here built a zip line?

[jejeosborne]

I built two zip lines on our property. The large one is 330 feet in length and is over 30 feet high when you cross the creek. I used 7/16 aircraft cable that I purchased from a cable specific supply house. I used treated 2x4's vetically on the back side of the tree trunks to protect the bark. One very important factor is to use very good cable clamps. I used Crosby clamps that are forged and have specific torque requirements. Remember, "never saddle a dead horse" when clamping.
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I purchased a Petzl tandem speed pulley that is rated for this exact purpose. http://www.petzl.com/us/outdoor/transport-pulleys-0/tandem-speed

We also purchase a couple of Petzl harnesses and webbing. Learn the correct knots for the webbing.
http://www.petzl.com/us/outdoor/harnesses-0

Here is a youtube link to me riding the zipline. You can hear my mother-in-law asking my wife "how did he put up the cable?" My wifes answer makes this post all the more fitting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh39z3o0BQ8

 

[ultrarunner]

Any updates to the the Zip Line projects in the last 12 months?

 

[Dargo]

Any updates to the the Zip Line projects in the last 12 months?

Works great. Just a bit cold to drop off onto the frozen lake right now.

 

[scoutcub]

Works great. Just a bit cold to drop off onto the frozen lake right now.

Any pics/details? I've toyed with the idea for a future project. Got several spots on 2 properties that could be well utilized. Problem is, terrain is differing heights.....so how to return the carriage......?

 

[Dargo]

Any pics/details? I've toyed with the idea for a future project. Got several spots on 2 properties that could be well utilized. Problem is, terrain is differing heights.....so how to return the carriage......?

I built a launch platform about 10' tall on top of the dam of the lake, which is about 8' high, and the run is around 350' long. To return you just unclip the trolley from the cable and carry the rigging back to the launch platform. Generally they have my RTV1100 and an ATV running back and forth to avoid the "long" walk. No elevator on the launch platform though. They have to climb the stairs up to the deck.

Seriously speaking, the kids and dozens and dozens of guests had a blast on it last year. I have 2 different sets of handles and a seat. The seat is generally used if you are going to just ride the zipline all the way across the lake and not drop in. You just drag your feet on the far end or, with kids, have someone 'catch' you. The end of the line is a section of railroad track sticking up out of the ground with a cable holding it back to an anchor point. Even with only about 5' of a 12' section of track sticking out of the ground, the track bent when I was first applying tension to the cable. The cable does pass through 2 old tires before the track, so you'd be stopped and fall onto the ground rather than clanging off the track.

 

[Michael_Porter]

Any updates to the the Zip Line projects in the last 12 months?

I've got a property in Iowa with a large creek, 60 feet wide and 15 feet deep that can't be crossed for much of the year. In the Spring, it often jumps its banks and carries large trees along with it. A bridge is not practical. There are some very nice woods on the other side we like to walk in.

I'm putting up two zip lines, one going and one returning, so my wife and I can get across this creek all year. I'm still in the middle of the project but I will post more about as we do our first experiments.

I'm using deer hunting ladderstands as my starting platforms. I chose the Big Game Partner Plus because the platform could hold two people and was the largest available.

Here's a great source for zip line gear and technical help:

Home | Zip Line Gear .com

 

[BruceWard]

I'm using deer hunting ladderstands as my starting platforms. I chose the Big Game Partner Plus because the platform could hold two people and was the largest available.

The stress on the cable can be a large multiple, sometimes 11 times or greater, of the weight on the line. I am hoping that you are securing the cable to something substantial. In the previous post Dargo mentioned bending a 5' section of railroad rail that he had attached the cable to.

I am planning to build a gondola type system to travel about 200' up and down a 30 degree slope. If I do so the towers on each end will be made from 10" to 12" I-Beams or Tubing with triangular braces and several yards of concrete.

 

[Michael_Porter]

The stress on the cable can be a large multiple, sometimes 11 times or greater, of the weight on the line. I am hoping that you are securing the cable to something substantial. In the previous post Dargo mentioned bending a 5' section of railroad rail that he had attached the cable to.

I am planning to build a gondola type system to travel about 200' up and down a 30 degree slope. If I do so the towers on each end will be made from 10" to 12" I-Beams or Tubing with triangular braces and several yards of concrete.

My cables are anchored to large locust trees, not to the platforms. My lines are only 100 ft in length. According to the Ziplinegear.com web site, 1/4" cable kits will support a 350lb safe working load. I'm using 3/8" galvanized aircraft cable with a 14,000 lb minimum breaking strength. I'm way over engineering this project.

Your gondola project is much more challenging to engineer. A heavy gondola 200 ft along a 30 degree incline! A lot of potential energy stored there! I hope you have some kind of redundant braking just in case something gives way.

 

[BruceWard]

Yes there will be multiple brake systems. Starting with 2 to 4 drive hoists including their own braking, a rubber based brake system to slow the carts with friction on the cables and likely metallic cable brakes. I have also considered a manual release which would drop the gondola from the overhead cables. It would be no more than a few feet from the ground and the bottom would be sufficiently bumpy to stop it from sliding down the slope.

 

[aczlan]

Yes there will be multiple brake systems. Starting with 2 to 4 drive hoists including their own braking, a rubber based brake system to slow the carts with friction on the cables and likely metallic cable brakes. I have also considered a manual release which would drop the gondola from the overhead cables. It would be no more than a few feet from the ground and the bottom would be sufficiently bumpy to stop it from sliding down the slope.

I think a manual brake might be a better idea than having a release that could drop the gondola and let it bounce down the slope (in a worst case scenario).

Aaron Z