Can You Put A Trampoline On A Slope? – Best Solutions
Do you want to be the Parent of the Year? Let me give you a quick tip – Get a trampoline!
Having grown up with a trampoline in my backyard, I know firsthand the joys it can bring to a child. And once I had little kids of my own, I knew exactly what to give them for Christmas.
But unfortunately, the place where I lived had a crooked backyard.
It never made much of a difference before when I mostly spent my time gardening. But once I got a trampoline, setting it up there proved quite difficult. And since I was not one to give up, I started brainstorming different ways to make it work.
It took some time, but eventually, I came up with a couple of different solutions. Though the ideal location for a trampoline is flat and soft ground, you can still put a trampoline on a slope if you need to. But for that, you might need to jump through a couple of hoops.
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Don’t worry. I will not leave you empty-handed. If you are here, I can assume that you are in a similar predicament. And I will try my best to equip you with everything I learned when I was trying to figure out how you can put a trampoline on a slope.
Does A Trampoline Need to Be on A Flat Surface?
There can be no argument that a trampoline is best placed on a flat, even surface. But that does not mean if your yard is not completely flat, you cannot place a trampoline there.
What it means, though, is that you need to spend some time and money to get the ground as level as possible before setting up a trampoline.
The reason why the trampoline needs to be placed on a flat surface should be obvious. Since you are jumping on the trampoline, if it is crooked, you will not be able to jump straight up.
The force of gravity and the angle of the trampoline mat will cause your jump to have a weird trajectory.
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And if the slope is quite significant, you can end up flying out of the trampoline. I don’t think I need to explain how that is a bad thing.
Can You Put a Trampoline on A Slight Slope?
I firmly believe that you should avoid putting a trampoline on a crooked yard. The risks that come with it are too much to ignore. And if you plan on letting your kids use the trampoline, you should not take the gamble.
However, if the angle of the slope is minimal, for instance, just one or two degrees, either way, you might be able to get away with it.
You need to make sure that the legs of the trampoline sit firmly on the ground and that there are no wobbling issues in any sections.
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In addition, using some rubber blocks at the legs of the trampoline is a good idea to make it a bit more even. You could also use trampoline anchors to make sure it stays firmly grounded.
If you do end up putting a trampoline on a slight slope, make sure you put up trampoline nets around it. Safety should always be a priority when you are buying a trampoline for your kids.
How Do You Put a Trampoline on A Slope?
Putting a trampoline on a slope, though not ideal, can be done if you do not mind some extra hassle. There are a couple of different ways to level the ground and make it suitable for your trampoline.
And I will talk about each of them. But the first step to fixing the slope is to figure out just how severe it is in the first place.
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1. Determine The Slope of Your Backyard
There are a lot of different ways to figure out the slope in your backyard. If you already have a trampoline, then measuring the slope level should not be too difficult.
In addition to the trampoline, you also need to have a long wooden plank, a carpenter’s level, and a measuring tape.
Start by placing your trampoline in the crooked garden or yard where you want to set it up. Then place the wooden plank on the trampoline keeping it parallel to the slope. After that, set the carpenter’s level on top of the plank.
Next, you want to lift the plank slowly while keeping an eye on the bubble inside the carpenter’s level.
Your goal is to balance the bubble inside between the two lines. Once the bubble is balanced perfectly, measure the distance from the trampoline to the bottom of the plank.
Then you want to divide the diameter of your trampoline by the distance that you found. If the resulting value is more than seven, this means it is not a suitable spot for your trampoline, and you should find a better position.
However, if the value is lower than seven, then you can apply some techniques to set up your trampoline in that spot. Once you find the perfect spot, here are a couple of ways that you can use to make it flat enough for your trampoline.
2. Dig a Trench
The most effective way to get your trampoline installed in a slanted garden is by digging a trench on the upper side so that it becomes level to the lower side. But unfortunately, digging a trench can be quite taxing, even for someone who is at peak physical condition.
Luckily when I had to dig a trench for my trampoline, I had a couple of friends who didn’t mind lending a hand. You can also hire professionals to do the digging for you if you do not want to put in the elbow grease yourself.
While digging, make sure you make the depth of the trench perfectly level to the lower point where you will place the trampoline. If the surface stays uneven after digging the trench, there is no point in digging it in the first place.
You can use your carpenter’s level to check the uniformity of the ground. If you want, you can also use an artificial grass mat under the trampoline to make it look better.
3. Adding Soil
You can also add extra soil to the lower side of the ground to level your trampoline. But to make sure the soil stays in place, you want to make a boundary of sorts. That way, the crooked side of the ground will get elevated and give you a flat and soft surface to set up your trampoline.
This method also works great if the ground is not crooked but rather uneven in different places. Just add extra layers of soil where you need them and level it up using a shovel.
4. Leveling blocks
Another way to place a trampoline on a slope is to use leveling blocks at the bottom of the trampoline legs. By leveling blocks, I mean the same ones that you may have seen used under cars and RVs. Since these blocks are designed to lift cars, they can easily handle the weight of the trampoline when it is in use.
The good thing about this process is that you do not need to dig the ground, which means no physical effort on your part. Also, if your garden is uneven in weird places, leveling blocks will allow you to make it flat.
These blocks are stackable and can also be interlocked, making them ideal for uneven surfaces.
You can use as many leveling blocks as you need and can set them up in any way you like. Needless to say, this presents a versatile option to those who have a weirdly shaped backyard or garden. Leveling blocks can work wonders if your garden is extremely uneven and rough.
5. Trampoline Leveler
If the other two methods are not for you, then all is not lost just yet. The third method that I am about to show you is, in fact, my favorite of the bunch. I am, of course, talking about investing in a couple of trampoline leveler legs.
Trampoline levelers are basically extension legs that you install at the bottom of the trampoline legs to extend or lessen the height.
This can be especially useful if you have uneven ground and want to set different heights at different points of the trampoline.
However, if you want to just raise one side of the trampoline, using a trampoline leveler lets you do it extremely easily. In most cases, these levelers are locked at a specific height of your liking using nuts or clamps.
So, they tend to be quite secure. Besides, the legs of these levelers are also quite sturdy and can dig into the soil quite easily for better stability.
There are many different levelers out there in the market. The only reason why more people do not use levelers is that they can be quite expensive. Just a basic pair of levelers can cost you around 50 dollars. But you can find cheaper units too if you are on a tight budget.
What to do with the uneven ground?
Some households do not come with a slanted backyard but rather one with an uneven finish. If yours is one of them, then you will be happy to know that there are some good ways to fix it.
You can, of course, apply all the same tricks that I already talked about if the ground was crooked.
In addition, you can also hire a contractor and have him level up the ground. He can add soil in places, dig a trench where he needs to, and you will end up with fairly even ground by the end of it.
You can even add grass seeds so that after a couple of weeks, your yard looks polished.
But without treating the ground, you cannot and should not place a trampoline there. Sure, it can cost a fair bit of money, but if you want your kids to be safe when jumping on the trampoline, this is an investment that you have to make.
Don’t Use Your Trampoline on Hard Ground
I think it should go without saying, but you do not want to put your trampoline on hard ground. This includes surfaces like tiles, concrete, or pavements.
But I also understand that not everyone has the luxury of having a backyard garden with enough space to support a trampoline. And some people also end up with a paved backyard in some neighborhoods.
I can understand the urge to get a trampoline, and it is extremely unfair that you cannot get it just because you do not have a grassy backyard. For those people, I have made a separate guide that shows different ways you can put a trampoline on concrete.
But it is best to use a flat, soft ground to place your trampoline.
With All That Said
I know that putting a trampoline on a slope takes a lot of time and effort on your part. But once you take the time to get to the ground level and set up the trampoline perfectly, it will be worth it.
There are hundreds of incidents each year involving trampolines, and if you put trampoline on a slope, you will only be increasing the risk of accidents.
Frankly, if you cannot be bothered with taking the time to properly set up your trampoline, you should not buy one in the first place.
My guidelines should give you enough ideas to set it up evenly on uneven ground. If you follow my tips and take all the other precautions like setting up safety nets and placing soft materials under the trampoline, then your children can enjoy many fun afternoons on their trampoline. Good luck!
Hi, It’s Jason and Louise here and welcome to our website. We are parents to Hannah and Zachary who absolutely love the outdoors and are actually addicted to jumping on their trampoline. Our amazing little family lives on a beautiful 20-hectare rural property with Horses, Dogs, Cats, Chooks, a Rooster, Cats and also a Pet Kangaroo.