Swing Sets - Metal, Plastic or Wood?

[MUFFYCAT]

We had a metal Hedstrom swing set for about 9 years. It had styrofoam around the poles. My kids really beat it oveer the years. We had to replace the swings a few times, they were only about $15.00.

 

[Melrosgirl]

We have a Rainbow. Bought it 2 years ago and I just ordered a longer swing beam to make it bigger. We paid about $3500 total for it. Although we like it, and their warranty is good, we have had a few problems. Some type of bug or whatever is attracted to it and we've had to replace a few pieces of wood. We're not sure what it is. It's not bad. It's like the wood splintered badly at the top. Doesn't hurt the stability of it. the wood is "free" but not hte installation. It all depends on your dealer. Our dealer doesn't know wha the meaning of customer service is at all and is quite rude, lol. (I tried to order the new part from a different dealer, but had no choice but to use the rude one lol. That hurt!)

 

[kaseyC]

Another vote for a Rainbow swingset. We've had ours for 5 years now, and it still looks almost like new. My kids are now 7 and 4 and they LOVE it and are no where near outgrowing it. Just about everyone with kids in my neighborhood has one, so they're really popular here!!!

Add me in as another Rainbow fan. We have had ours for about 2 years and we love it. We have a space-saver model with the Supersized Clubhouse and a picnic table built in underneath. Our girls love it. It is built really well and to us it is worth every penny. Also since we seem to move often and Rainbow dealers are almost everywhere, we can have it broken down here and have it reinstalled in whatever new city we are relocated too. Like jel0511 said, almost everyone with kids in our neighborhood has some type of Rainbow playsystem.

 

[disneygals]

We've had our metal one that we bought from Toys R' Us 10 years ago and there is no rust on it whatsoever. It has been through 10 winters and is still in pretty much perfect condition. I like the look of the wooden ones though.

same story here!!..lol. We bought a swingset and our first minivan on the same weekend...I knew like would never be the same.

 

[swanmom]

Like Melrosgirl, we've also had huge, huge problems with Rainbow customer service and standing behind their warrenty. The bug problem she mentioned is carpenter bees who are attracted to cedar. We've had several pieces replaced and their warrenty only covers parts not labor (which cost us ovr $200!) Of even more concern, though, is that they are having very serious problems with customer service. We have been trying since July of last year to get someone out to replace damaged pieces. I can't tell you the catalog of phone calls, faxes, more phone calls and promises to come out that weren't fulfilled. At one point, I took me a full two weeks of calling at different times every day to get past a constant busy signal. After insisting on talking to a supervisor who 'swore' on a date for repair, they didn't show.
I haven't been able to reach anyone since then. I think they're hoping that so much time will pass that I'll give up.....but I guess they don't know me.
I wonder if the problem in unique to my area or if other Rainbow owners are having similar problems.

 

[Melrosgirl]

swanmom,

I see you are in NJ. By chance is your rainbow dealer a PA/NJ dealer that starts with the letter S? Your story is so similar to mine. Took me almost a year to get some parts replaced and then they told us we were being charged for installation. Finally got the pieces and they are still sitting in our shed bc it's too much work to replace them ourselves (I'm hoping to talk the install guys into installing the pieces since I'm having a new swing beam installed in a few weeks.

 

[ncgolfer]

Walmart *should* carry 2 kinds of wood ones that are very nice and between 300-400 The Tacoma and the Durango

The metal ones such as the Amusement Park is pretty good also though its pretty wide

-em

I've got the durango model, its okay for the price. Its just not as heavy duty as I would have liked it to be. I did some of my own reinforcing with 2x4's and it made a big difference.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

In the beginning Rainbow replaced and installed our carpenter bee parts without issue, but then they started hassling us, even though it was well within the 10 year warranty (I think it was a 10 year, maybe more--I can't remember). Our house backed to woods and we had a lot of bees and I think it was more than they bargained for. Our set was not ceder, though, but redwood. Very nice and expensive, but I guess on the preferred housing list of the bees.

T&B

 

[golfgal]

http://www.willygoat.com/catalogsingle.asp?productID=20749

When the kids were little, we had a swing set similar to this one. It came with the house but I think it was originally from Sears. We had two swings in the back and a bar and rings in the front. We also had a slid off the front of the set. Most of the neighbors had Rainbow sets but the kids for what ever reason played on our set. They liked the monkey bars in the middle. It was a nice set that didn't take up much yard space.

 

[JessetheCowgirl]

We've had a Rainbow for about 8 or 9 years & even though they are quite expensive I think they're worth it.

We have a Rainbow, too, and LOVE it.

 

[Towncrier]

We had a metal one from Toys R Us that lasted just long enough for our kids to outgrow it. We have since torn down the beast and reclaimed that part of our yard. We had originally considered a wooden swing set, but I actually liked the idea that we would eventually remove the swings, so for us the metal one was the better choice.