Rainbow Play System on a Budget

[mamaLori05]

Ours was 1 yr old when we bought it. We haven't had it very long (about 6 months), but we haven't had to replace anything. My DH wasn't worried about the warrenty. He said that thing is built like a Rock! If any of the wood goes bad, he will just go to home depot and buy a new piece, but he doesn't even see that happening. When we were looking at used ones, we saw ones that were like 10 years old and still in pretty decent shape with original wood and everything. Some of them had replaced bolts, but nothing major. They did recommend to us to take in the top tarp in the winter to save on wear and tear. I could see that needing replaced after a few years, but not a big deal.

We did buy some new stain for it at Home Depot by Bear. Otherwise everything still looks brand new!!

 

[lylesangel]

I just bought a set on Craigslist... it was about 25% of the cost of a new one, and was very sturdy.

Here are a few lessons:

MEASURE!!!

if you are planning on moving in a trailer, make sure that it is 6" wider than the widest part of the base. ours was 60" on the nose, and cost us A LOT of time and effort before we broke down and rented the big trailer from UHAUL

During disassemble, you will need several socket sizes. you will also need the longer sockets, as these systems do a good job hiding the nuts and bolts. You will also need a vise grips (some bolts may spin when taking the nuts off) and a hammer in case things are stuck. you will also need a 7-8 ft ladder.


all said, it was very well worth the money, and by taking it down/reassemble

label everything

after disassemble, go to a hardware store and get new nuts/lag screws/washers - again several sizes are used.

We took off the Swing/steps/slide, etc and then moved the tower in tact. This turned out to be a great idea, although make sure you go very slow, stay off highways, and if possible, have someone behind you with flashers on.

The tower (in tact) was too much for 2 people... get 4 people, you can lift up and put the on the trailer no problem


If you can, stain the whole thing before putting back together.

Also plan where you want it and prep the area. rest the corners on 6 x 6 bricks and if you don't want grass underneath the tower, prep that ahead of time.

all in all, well worth it to get a great playset, and save some $$ by doing the work yourself.