This we we built a huge freak’n 24 foot tire swing with a cheap tire, and some rope! Wait till you see this swing!
As I just said, I can’t remember what got me on this swing kick, but once I thought of it, it was gonna happen. I immediately took my daughter out back, and we found the perfect tree. After that, it was time to build a swing!
![](https://beltsandboxes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/0-31-screenshot-1024x576.png)
The first challenge was getting the rope into the tree. We closely followed an instructional video by a guy named Chris Notap. We’ll link to his video in the description. He suggested a ⅝” rope, so that’s what we went with. We found this black polypropylene rope at Home Depot, that almost doesn’t stretch at all, which is what you want. Per Chris’ suggestion, we also grabbed a bicycle inner tube, a 27” one, and slid the rope inside. That will help protect the tree.
![](https://beltsandboxes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/0-44-screenshot-1024x576.png)
After we had that on, I had to tie it into a large loop. This is where I learned about knots! Specifically, I used a Bowline knot which is easy to do, but super strong. I’ll link to the video I used to make it, but essentially you make a tree next to a hole, then a rabbit comes out of the hole, goes around the tree, and goes back in the hole, and your knot is done. Easy right?
![](https://beltsandboxes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/0-57-screenshot-1-1024x576.png)
After that, I taped up the rest of the rope. Next I had to get the rope 24’ into the tree. To do that I took some lighter string, tied it to a 2lb weight, and threw it 20 times. Eventually, I got it through the branches I wanted. I had to cut a few branches further down for this to work, and that was easy to do with our HART pole saw, and a huge ladder. Be careful on ladders kids.
![](https://beltsandboxes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/1-26-screenshot-1024x576.png)
Once I had it through, I tied the light rope to my heavy one, and I slid the draw rope into the loop we made, and pulled it up the tree. This made the loop go up to the branch, and as I pulled on it, it tightened into place. Super easy.
![](https://beltsandboxes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/1-56-screenshot-1-1024x576.png)
Next I made a simple loop in the rope about 6’ off the ground, which is where the three ropes will come together. I grabbed a second piece of rope, pulled it through the loose loop and then tied a figure 8 loop at the end of it. As I mentioned previously, this rope was pretty soft and slippery. This loose loop on the rope, eventually slid down a bit when I got on the swing. Yeah, this is not for adults but I wanted to test the extreme. So I plan to try some more secure knots to keep the knot up there permanently. I’ll let you know how that goes, on our Instagram channel.
![](https://beltsandboxes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2-25-screenshot-1-1024x576.png)
Then it was on to the tire. I found 3 equally spaced spots on the sidewall with a tape measure, and used a spade bit to cut out three ⅝” holes. This was incredibly easy to do.
![](https://beltsandboxes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2-42-screenshot-1-1024x576.png)
Next I pushed the rope into the holes, and grabbed my hardware to lock it up.
![](https://beltsandboxes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2-50-screenshot-1024x576.png)
We first slid on a pair of oversized washers, and then used a rope lock to hold it in place. After that, we just did the other 2 ropes, carefully adjusting them until the tire was level. And that was it. Then it was time to give it a test swing.
![](https://beltsandboxes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2-58-screenshot-1024x576.png)
It was obviously a little low once the rope settled, so I just readjusted it later to a more reasonable height. But yeah, as it turns out, having 24’ of rope over your head makes for a much slower, smoother, and more relaxed swing. And the kids love it.