Need trampoline advice

[theggs4ever]

Santa will be bringing a trampoline for my two daughters, ages 2.5 and 8. I know nothing about them except that I will need to buy one with a net. Are any brands better than others? I live in Vegas, so the sun is hard on things here. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you.

[momee2twins]

I got ours at Sams Club last Christmas. Its sturdy enough to survive getting picked up by pre-tornado winds here in OK and tossed into the stand of pine trees we have. (the net didn't make it, but the rest was fine). I think it was $340 for the 15 foot trampoline & net.

[jaymacfla]

Have you considered the liability of owning a trampoline? Many insurers will drop you if they find out you own one. You will also need a fenced yard to limit your liability if you are allowed to own one without a rate increase. Like the other poster implied, the trampoline makes a pretty good projectile in inclement weather. Just last week, one of our neighbors had one fly away! It will be your fault and not an act of god if it damages property.

[jellybean051901]

We got a 12 foot for DD 3 and DD 8. I would recommend getting the things to fasten it to the ground. We got ours from Sears about two months ago. It was around $229 on clearance. We also only allow one at a time on it to minimize injuries.

[LCPanther1975]

I got the one from Wal-Mart last year for $158, I think. It is used almost every day. We live in Middle TN. No insurance problems here.

[dealluvr]

we got our kids one and all i know the step father had a heck of a time putting the springs on out in the cold. he did it while the boys slept and he had to keep coming in every so often to thaw out.

[biomajor]

I put a big X with spray paint in the middle of the trampoline to give them a "target" and let me be a little more confident that they weren't going to fall off the edge.

[household6]

Statistically speaking children are not injurred by falling off the trampoline so really a net is not the safety feature you need. Children are injurred on trampolines by having more than 1 child jump on the trampoline at the same time.

 

We had a trampoline when my kids were younger. With proper supervision and the 1 child bouncing on it at a time, no injuries. I work at a school and in the last 3 weeks have seen 2 kids in casts and yup, it was a trampoline accident and yup several children were bouncing on the trampoline at the same time.

 

The mat is pulled super tight by the force of a bounce down by 1 kid, when the 2nd kid hits it as it is that tight, its like hitting cement.

 

Good luck, we had lots of fun with ours, the Easter bunny brought it..heard him swear as he was pulling those springs to fit in the dark of the night.

[theggs4ever]

Like I said, I know nothing about them so thanks for all the info. I knew there were injuries with them but I thought it was because if the lack of a net. Good to know about two jumping at the same time. It gets windy here, not tornado like, but windy. So we will definitely need to secure it down. Again thanks for the info and tips.

[christina5704]

We bought one for our son last May and ended up selling it in Sept. Our homeowners insurance was going to double!!! In virginia it is required that its "told" to the insurance company otherwise they will pay NO claims if someone gets hurt. It is outrageously expensive, but at the time we we're renewing our homeowners insurance with a different company. I'm not going to pay an additional $1500 a year for insurance just for a trampoline. Heck.. our inground pool with diving board is a lot less than that. There are a lot of people where we live that do have them, I doubt that they pay insurance on them though... We bought it from BJ's, the Skywalker 15' with enclosure.

 

Edited to add: We used sandbags instead of the hook things that go in the ground.

[peppysfireball]

We had ours for 15 years and our insurance company told us we had to put a fence around it. We live 10 miles out on a road with no kids. I told them they were nuts. We have a huge pool that they didn't care about but the trampoline they did. I moved that trampoline every time I mowed teh yard and they wanted me to put a fence around it for my kids to get impaled on. As for the fence. I had a niece and a nephew fall off of their own trampolines. One broke their wrist and one their collarbone and so it does happen. We don't allow more than one child on ours at a time, but they can get injured anyway. Finally after arguing , our insurance company gave in when we explained any children on it, were invited here since there are no kids within a 5 mile radius. We now have country companies which is a family friendly insurance company that doesn't care about trampolines or pools. OUrs is so heavy the winds never touch it. WE have had it almost 20 years and the stitching is now coming out in the outside, so it''s time to buy a new net. It's a jumpking and we bought it from sams club. I don't secure it because it isn't going anywhere and I move it when I mow.

[MonsterMutts]

If you start opposite of each side with the springs they go in very easy. So do 12 oclock - 6 oclock. 9-3, 1-7, 11-5 and so on.

 

Lots of broken bones to be had on the trampolines. I lit the burn barrell to close and had a box ash fly on it. It melted in a second.

Edited October 18, 2012 by MonsterMutts

[trbarginhunter]

A friend of D's had one, they dug out the ground below and installed it at ground level with a net. It couldn't blow away, it was "in ground".

I do know the insurance was incredible...you might want to check that out!

[peppysfireball]

Some insurance companies don't care, others won't allow it. Call yours first and ask. I just switched companies after telling them I had the thing over 10 years and why complain now. Mine now said they don't care. IT's country mutual, or country companies. Allied said no way. But most of the houses in town have them and don't care, they rent and don't have insurance. Only the homeowners who have homeowners insurance have that problem with insurance companies. Weirdly, they didn't care about my big swimming pool. We strictly enforce the 1 child at a time rule. THey bounce into each other and that 's when they get hurt.

[KBsDarling]

i must have a chicken of a kid...she doesnt bounce on it...she uses it as a giant bed outside...she lays and reads/listens to music/sunbathes/even has slept out on it on summer nights.....i think the dogs jump on it more

 

our INS is a did not care BUT neighbors had to get rid of due to increase...so its not just a state to state thing but company to company. some will require nets, fence,etc

[KBsDarling]

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/374102_505249282827150_733765058_n.jpg

 

 

just came across my facebook page...yep tie downs = good idea

[peppysfireball]

No wind could lift mmine. I can barely move it. Its a Jump King

[Stowasser]

i must have a chicken of a kid...she doesnt bounce on it...she uses it as a giant bed outside...she lays and reads/listens to music/sunbathes/even has slept out on it on summer nights.....i think the dogs jump on it more

 

our INS is a did not care BUT neighbors had to get rid of due to increase...so its not just a state to state thing but company to company. some will require nets, fence,etc

thats all the neighbor kids ever did, was lay on it.....