# Tree Stand Set Ups (show yours)



## RMH (Jan 17, 2009)

I am revamping all my tree stand set ups. I am going for safety and quite. Up until now I have ignored the safety hazards from hunting up in a tree.
Last season I bought a Hunters Safety Vest and just recently bought safety lines for all my set ups. 
For the stand sites that I need to be up above 20 feet I have been using climbing sticks, a few different brands and can never get them to be quiet. This summer I acquired an old antenna stand that was made from 1 1/4 galvanized tubing. With a little work I made it into a nice ladder. It is 30 ' tall. 









When you stand it up the rungs were two feet apart, not an easy step especially in the winter.









I bought some tubing then cutting to size. Enough for one in between each of the two foot steps making for a comfortable rise.









Bent them in the vise to prepare a flat spot for the weld.


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## RMH (Jan 17, 2009)

Welded in the additional rungs.









Painted it camo and added sand in the the paint on the steps for a none slip surface.










Installed to the tree with ratchet straps and my safety line installed!!!



















I have my climber set up as a lok on. It is very comfortable for all day sits. It is very quiet as long as I don't let the carabiner clip touch the ladder while climbing.
I have one more stand site I need to be up 30' in and am thinking I may make one more of these for next season. It would be easy to make from scratch.


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## RMH (Jan 17, 2009)

Another view.


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## johnhunter (Jun 17, 2000)

Rich, that is stupendous.

I've seen others use those old tv antenna towers for ladders, and, depending on the model, they work quite well. Once I saw one, I began to notice that those old antenna towers are very common in rural areas; even though folks have satellite television, they still have those old towers. Plenty of material out there for the ambitious stand builder.


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## RMH (Jan 17, 2009)

Earlier this summer I built two wooden ladder stands. I saw one in the background on a Pure Michigan show when they hosted a deer/habitat guru from Coldwater.
I ripped the legs to 4" from a 20' 2x10 micronized select southern yellow pine and dadoed in a 1/2" the wolmanized select red pine 2x4 steps. All joints have EPDM rubber to stop any squeak that might happen.









I flared the bottom half 7" wider at the bottom to help from sway.









EPDM rubber









*IMO the most important part for safety(do not use deck screws)*


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## U of M Fan (May 8, 2005)

Very nice!!! Good job


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## RMH (Jan 17, 2009)




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## RMH (Jan 17, 2009)

I added my safety lines (not pictured here) this past weekend and I need to add some accessories in the next couple weeks and the I am ready to stay out until the season.


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## U of M Fan (May 8, 2005)

We made some ladder stands like that years ago. That plywood gets slippery when it gets wet get some grip tape.


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## QDMAMAN (Dec 8, 2004)

RMH said:


> Earlier this summer I built two wooden ladder stands. I saw one in the background on a Pure Michigan show when they hosted a deer/habitat guru from Coldwater.


Brilliant!:lol::lol::lol:


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## StevenJ (Feb 11, 2009)

In the pure Michigan ad you can see all the details of the Lapratt signature patented stand at the 1:00 mark.


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## NovemberWhitetailz (Oct 10, 2008)

We use the wooden ladder system on our farms...... however, we have a portable stand at the top, not a wooden platform. The old screw in steps just become a pain when it's dark or wet. We use 3 20ft treated 2x4's and set the outside of the ladder width at 18" The 3rd 2x4 is cut up for steps. Green and black spray paint to conceal it..... I think if I remember right that if we build 4 at once with the cost of paint and materials it averages out to about $33 a ladder. But it's been 2 years since we've built our last. We attach them to the tree's with two ratchet straps.... one at the top and one around the mid section.


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## thetreestandguy (Dec 16, 2005)

RMH said:


> For the stand sites that I need to be up above 20 feet I have been using climbing sticks, a few different brands and _*can never get them to be quiet*_.


You're clearly one of those clever guys that basically costs me money, essentially building stuff yourself to resolve issues you've found. Regardless, I can't help myself, our ladder _CANNOT SQUEEK_!:lol:

You did/do good work, carry on!


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## RMH (Jan 17, 2009)

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I like it, how about a few more pics. How much "$ doe" to get me 30'?


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## Steve (Jan 15, 2000)

Nice work RMH. I have some plywood stands and put the paint on them real heavy and then dump as much of the abundant sand that I have as the paint will hold. This makes the surface pretty non-slip.


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## TVCJohn (Nov 30, 2005)

I did a few wooden ladder stands in the past. They work pretty good but the porcupine's seemed to like chewing on them.


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## thetreestandguy (Dec 16, 2005)

RMH said:


> posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire
> 
> I like it, how about a few more pics. How much "$ doe" to get me 30'?


Okay, since you twisted my arm!:lol:

5- 4' sections= 20' total
5- 3,300# breaking strength camo ratchet straps
8" wide rungs
5" spaced from tree
Grade 8 bolts and nylon lock-nuts
Swedged ends so that you can use as many sections as needed

Factory direct price is $159

A lot of folks will buy multiple boxes to mix and match in order to get at the right height per tree although you can buy extra sections. It's just more cost affective in the big picture to buy extra boxes if the hunter plans on using them for more than one stand.

For what it's worth, it's those extra-beefy ratchets that are a key in not allowing any movement or the resulting squeeks that you spoke of earlier.


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## RMH (Jan 17, 2009)

thetreestandguy said:


> Okay, since you twisted my arm!:lol:
> 
> 5- 4' sections= 20' total
> 5- 3,300# breaking strength camo ratchet straps
> ...


Your stuff looks great, glad you like my questions:lol:. One more .....how about crooked trees, do you have a system?


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## thetreestandguy (Dec 16, 2005)

This is kind of hard to explain in writing. The 3" swedge, where the pipe is compressed to fit into the next section, is a bit smaller in diameter than it needs to be. We've done this intentionally so there is a little slop at the connection. This gives the hunter a bit of wiggle room to move each section around before attaching in place with the ratchet. Again, that ratchet is the key, even with the slop once you ratchet the individual section in place it simply can't move due to the strength of the ratchet and design of each ladder section.

So, we're not sophistacated enough to even properly spell it let alone know the actual degree of angles that the ladder can bend. But the notion has been built into the product, just not for crazy angles.


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## RMH (Jan 17, 2009)

thetreestandguy said:


> This is kind of hard to explain in writing. The 3" swedge, where the pipe is compressed to fit into the next section, is a bit smaller in diameter than it needs to be. We've done this intentionally so there is a little slop at the connection. This gives the hunter a bit of wiggle room to move each section around before attaching in place with the ratchet. Again, that ratchet is the key, even with the slop once you ratchet the individual section in place it simply can't move due to the strength of the ratchet and design of each ladder section.
> 
> So, we're not *sophistacated *enough to even properly spell it let alone know the actual degree of angles that the ladder can bend. But the notion has been built into the product, just not for crazy angles.


You speak my language and I totally understand :lol: ......Thank You! 
To get your system to work on the crazy angles that a lot of trees have you could easily have the 5" spacer at the top and bottom "of a section" then strap with two ratchet straps and put them up individually.
I am taking down a set up this weekend that is just what I am saying, I will snap a few photos before I take it down and post them up Monday.


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