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November, 2024

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Summer setup advice

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crazyaj01
Posts: 7 - Karma: 40
My first time doing this and looking for critique of my design before i start cutting lumber. Looking for advice on the following:

Height: Is it unnecessarily tall at 8'? Can I go shorter?
Length: Am I stretching too far at 23'? Can I go shorter?
Angles: Too steep a drop in at 45 degrees or any other transition?
Material: Should I turf the whole setup or each 2x4 individually? Open to any suggestions here minus the cost that Msnow brings

Thanks for any help.

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May 14 2013 2:32PM
25 4
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Balbertt
Posts: 1585 - Karma: 4,723
What program did you use to design that?
May 14 2013 2:44PM
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crazyaj01
Posts: 7 - Karma: 40
Solidworks. After I build it I'll post the full model and updated parts list. Right now I'm changing the deck boards to be 2x4s so it's cheaper.
May 14 2013 2:54PM
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werd.
Posts: 967 - Karma: 4,330
Search "Build-a-jib" in the top right then search for the build-a-jib cult and join it and post in there. And to answer your question, yes you can make it shorter than 8' and less than 23' long. most peoples are 4-6 feet, sometimes taller but there's no need if you build it properly
May 14 2013 2:59PM
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crazyaj01
Posts: 7 - Karma: 40
I should have disclaimed that I posted this in build-a-jib but that forums not very active so I thought I would try my luck here.
May 14 2013 3:07PM
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,809
It blows my mind how similar this is to mine, the lengths are all within 5% of mine and the ONLY difference is you used 2 triangles to support the bit you stand on, where I only used 1, even though 2 was originally my plan.
(the exact same barriers have since been added but I don't have a recent pic)

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May 14 2013 3:13PM
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90053
Posts: 2565 - Karma: 3,728
+ k for effort
May 14 2013 3:19PM
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crazyaj01
Posts: 7 - Karma: 40
Looks baller, hope my ends up looking that slick. Anything you could change? Happy with your speed dropping in? I'm probably going to cut the width on mine from 3' to more like 2'6" so I can get three cuts per 8' 2x4 instead of 2.
May 14 2013 3:33PM
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,809
More than enough speed, even without any water(I tried it with fairy liquid and water once and just gapped the rail completely haha, feet flew out from under me too, definitely wasn't expecting so much speed.

I'd really try and get at least a metre of flatness turf along the ground before the lip, would be able to build a jump so much bigger that way, and I'm still tempted to, just buying turf is annoying cause shipping is a bitch.

I'd recommend building some sort of ladder attached to it, it gets annoying as hell having to get the ladder out every time you want to use it.
May 14 2013 3:37PM
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Ankilla
Posts: 506 - Karma: 2,378
Mines 8 feet tall with a 10 foot drop in. I'm fixing it up so that there is a 2-2.5 foot space between the lip and the drop in. With those dimensions, no soap is needed and just a little bit of water works. just go with turf from lowes, it's cheap. Also, make the drop in 1.5-2 feet wide and the lip 2 to 3 feet wide. You want it bigger so you can spread legs to spin onto rails easier.
May 14 2013 4:07PM
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IBAM
Posts: 1954 - Karma: 2,351
My drop-in starts at about 4 feet off of the ground and I covered it in a material that is slower than wet astroturf, and I still get good enough speed. The one thing I would recommend is to have it a bit wider, at least at the bottom, so that popping and spinning on to rails is easier. As for whether to cover the 2x4s or cover the whole thing, having some gaps in the turf produces less friction, and therefore makes you go quicker. By doing this you could easily lower the drop in if you plan to put water on it, if not, you could keep the drop-in the same height and not have to water it.
May 14 2013 4:57PM
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NH_OPERATOR
Posts: 1070 - Karma: 2,883
Is the astro turf really a good surface for it? or would something like msnow be better. I wouldent think you could turn at all on astro turf.
May 14 2013 9:00PM
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KennyD
Posts: 264 - Karma: 537
anyone know if the grass carpet stuff that people use outside of campers would work? thats what i plan to use because its cheapest and seems like it will work good
May 14 2013 9:16PM
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Andreas_
Posts: 210 - Karma: 21
Threads
May 14 2013 11:12PM
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Easy-E
Posts: 751 - Karma: 1,686
Yeah mine is gonna be about 4 ft tall, how long should I make the transition to the jump? Like 3 ft?
May 14 2013 11:45PM
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byubound
Posts: 1636 - Karma: 9,870
Has anyone tried just buying rolls of turf and setting it up on hills?

May 15 2013 9:41AM
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J-Wile
Posts: 481 - Karma: 804
Sick design, nice job planning everything so nice.
May 15 2013 9:58AM
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Easy-E
Posts: 751 - Karma: 1,686
I have, don't buy turf just oragne fencin
May 15 2013 11:31AM
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kung_powpow
Posts: 1990 - Karma: 3,671
You will want turf for the jump part so you can spin on. Its really hard to get grip on construction fencing
May 15 2013 5:37PM
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joelski
Posts: 1014 - Karma: 736
i would just turf the 2 by 4s because that way you go faster and the dropin can double as a ladder
May 15 2013 5:48PM
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Jamartini
Posts: 408 - Karma: 1,663
Mine looks exactly like this, except for the x braces on the tower, i will post pictures in a bit
May 15 2013 5:52PM
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Jamartini
Posts: 408 - Karma: 1,663
Click for larger image mine is prob 20 feet till lip and its perfect, i wish i did make it shorter and more steep, it gets annoying keep going up ladder
May 15 2013 6:06PM
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byubound
Posts: 1636 - Karma: 9,870
The hill I was planning on setting up at has pretty tall grass, will construction fence still work? What about plastic lattice?

May 15 2013 6:29PM
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Easy-E
Posts: 751 - Karma: 1,686
mabey you can mow some of the grass? Or lay some tarpss underneith
May 15 2013 10:25PM
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NH_OPERATOR
Posts: 1070 - Karma: 2,883
How much of a beating do your skis take doing this shit? I mean obviously hitting rails and shit fucks them up, but it seems like this is probably about the worst possible thing you can do to them, no?
May 15 2013 11:21PM
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Pikachu.
Posts: 1290 - Karma: 1,641
second to going over rocks, yes. The turf really takes layers off of your skis, wax will be gone instantly haha. Do it with a old pair is my advice
May 16 2013 12:17AM
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NH_OPERATOR
Posts: 1070 - Karma: 2,883
I guess ill have to wait till next season then, I have two pairs of skis and they are both brand new.
May 16 2013 1:18AM
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