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For permanent platforms on your own land, can you use galvanized bolt/screw instead of straps?

HuumanCreed

HuumanCreed

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Westminster Maryland
Picked up one of these at a yard sale for $5. Sucker is steel and 6lbs so not part of my 'mobile' plan. But was planning to install it on one of the tree in my wood for practice. Didn't come with a strap so thinking outside the box. I was considering removing the tree brackets, drilling holes, then just bolting the post INTO the tree.

I have use galvanized bolts to attach other things to trees before and have not seen any damage.

What say you? would 3 5/16 diameter bolts be strong enough to support my weight? Dont have to worry about weather or animal chewing on my straps. It would probably take at least a few years before the tree grow and eat my platform.

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HuumanCreed said:
Picked up one of these at a yard sale for $5. Sucker is steel and 6lbs so not part of my 'mobile' plan. But was planning to install it on one of the tree in my wood for practice. Didn't come with a strap so thinking outside the box. I was considering removing the tree brackets, drilling holes, then just bolting the post INTO the tree.

I have use galvanized bolts to attach other things to trees before and have not seen any damage.

What say you? would 3 5/16 diameter bolts be strong enough to support my weight? Dont have to worry about weather or animal chewing on my straps. It would probably take at least a few years before the tree grow and eat my platform.

View attachment 97104
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I think the question is best suited for the manufacturer of the lag bolts you plan to use, but personally I wouldn’t feel safe and I’d rather trust a strap around the tree, and add bolts to for alignment only. Plenty of people suspend loads from lag bolts into overhead beams, but those are dried/seasoned and not living/growing trees. Also think that as the tree grows toward the stand it will start pushing the upright beam away, stripping the “female threads” I.e. the living wood.
 
Scentlok Saddlepants said:
I think the question is best suited for the manufacturer of the lag bolts you plan to use, but personally I wouldn’t feel safe and I’d rather trust a strap around the tree, and add bolts to for alignment only. Plenty of people suspend loads from lag bolts into overhead beams, but those are dried/seasoned and not living/growing trees. Also think that as the tree grows toward the stand it will start pushing the upright beam away, stripping the “female threads” I.e. the living wood.
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Would it actually push the post/beam or just grow around it? From what I understand, tree only push when constricted, not if not constricted, they simply grow around whatever object it is attached to.
 
HuumanCreed said:
Would it actually push the post/beam or just grow around it? From what I understand, tree only push when constricted, not if not constricted, they simply grow around whatever object it is attached to.
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It’ll grow around the bolt but when it hits the beam I think it will be constricted between the bolt threads and the upright. I lagged a camera to a tree and in less than a year it grew around the bolt but the force broke the plastic camera mount and knocked the camera off. It then grew around the bolt so I couldn’t loosen and put a new bracket on. Obviously the upright is much larger so it would try to bend that to make room but would likely strip the bolt from the holes in the tree. Type of tree matters too. Mine was a cherry.
 
You can get stainless hardware too, and some other coating on lags for decking. I think you'll just need to monitor it like you would anything else you leave strapped to a tree. I don't have experience in trees but on decks is the wood that gives out, not usually the screws
 
HuumanCreed said:
You're right, I have one corroded so much that the pipe broke and flooding my house!
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yep, it's ironic because they were designed to not corrode, yet in certain conditions they corrode even more, it seems
 
Sure. You can put bolts into the tree for a ring of steps too.


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I would not use lag bolts and trust them for more than a year, also if the tree grows around the platform bracket it can corrode, or even fill with water and freeze, compromising the strength of the stand. At least with a strap you can visually inspect it from season to season and loosen it up as necessary. I have an old deer hoist that we lag bolted into a tree with heavy galvanized lag bolts. I removed one to try to use it somewhere else one day and the 1/2” lag bolt looked like a rusty toothpick.
 
I have an old pull-up bar that’s lagged to a tree and been such for nearly 20 years and I still get up and do muscle ups no problem at 160#. I wouldn’t worry at all about a good sized lag or stainless. Hell people nailed wood to trees to make platforms that lasted years. My buddies childhood treehouse still stands to this day mostly, but it ain’t the screws/nails failing it’s the wood rotting.
 
gameflogger said:
I would not use lag bolts and trust them for more than a year, also if the tree grows around the platform bracket it can corrode, or even fill with water and freeze, compromising the strength of the stand. At least with a strap you can visually inspect it from season to season and loosen it up as necessary. I have an old deer hoist that we lag bolted into a tree with heavy galvanized lag bolts. I removed one to try to use it somewhere else one day and the 1/2” lag bolt looked like a rusty toothpick.
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Grade 8 bolts. 6”x 3/8


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The_Fit_Ness_Monster said:
I have an old pull-up bar that’s lagged to a tree and been such for nearly 20 years and I still get up and do muscle ups no problem at 160#. I wouldn’t worry at all about a good sized lag or stainless. Hell people nailed wood to trees to make platforms that lasted years. My buddies childhood treehouse still stands to this day mostly, but it ain’t the screws/nails failing it’s the wood rotting.
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I’ll just point out that the force of all those examples is lateral, while the force of this cantilevered seat is pulling straight away from the tree. To each their own, I wouldn’t do it, even recognizing that a stand isn’t a safety device but a load positioning device, but I guess I don’t understand the reason you’d want to, when the strap is easier and safer?
 
As the tree grows it will either grow around the stand, or push it away, against the bolts. Not even discussing corrosion. I'd be more inclined to use a chain and turnbuckle in place of a ratchet strap. Since weight isn't a factor anyway. Pop in some bolts to climb on; or, if you're worried about kids or trespassers climbing and getting hurt on your property, put the first bolt 9' or so up and hang an etreir from it to climb to the bolts.
 
HuumanCreed said:
Picked up one of these at a yard sale for $5. Sucker is steel and 6lbs so not part of my 'mobile' plan. But was planning to install it on one of the tree in my wood for practice. Didn't come with a strap so thinking outside the box. I was considering removing the tree brackets, drilling holes, then just bolting the post INTO the tree.

I have use galvanized bolts to attach other things to trees before and have not seen any damage.

What say you? would 3 5/16 diameter bolts be strong enough to support my weight? Dont have to worry about weather or animal chewing on my straps. It would probably take at least a few years before the tree grow and eat my platform.

View attachment 97104
Click to expand...
Are you planning on sitting on it or standing on it? If sitting, then I don't see why you can't bolt it. If standing, it depends on the variables. People trust bolts/lags everyday w/ their lives. But you better make dang sure they are rated for your intended use.
 
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