Your kids hounded you for months and finally you made the purchase. You took the time to put the trampoline together and since then it has meant hours of fun for the kids. There’s just one little thing that’s bothering you. Every time someone bounces on the trampoline an irritating squeaking is coming from the trampoline frame. If you are annoyed by this it’s only a matter of time before your neighbors complain. In this article we’ll tell you how to stop a trampoline from squeaking.
Contrary to popular belief, the answer is not WD-40. Before we explain how to stop this annoyance, we’ll cover why they squeak in the first place. Then, we’ll give you some tips so you don’t have to take the entire trampoline apart.
Why Do Trampolines Squeak?
First, you want to identify the culprit. 90% of the time, the squeaking is coming from the joints between the trampoline perimeter frame and the trampoline legs. If you walk around the perimeter of the trampoline while someone is bouncing, you should be able to locate the joint or joints which make the most noise. Keep in mind you may fix the squeaking in one place only for it to pop up in another joint a few weeks from now. However, you need to start somewhere.
As we mentioned, most often the culprit is the connection between the perimeter frame and the legs. These have the most movement of any of the trampoline frame members. This occurs with a slight side to side motion happening whenever someone jumps in any direction. The flex of the fabric pulls on the frame and causes minor movements in the joints.
How To Stop A Trampoline From Squeaking
Eventually you’ll end up with some metal on metal rubbing, resulting in a squeak. Don’t bother using WD-40, as it will only get rid of the squeak for a short while. After a few rainstorms the squeaking will return. What you want to do is pull apart the squeaky frame connections and rub down with a good thick grease before fitting them back together.
Also, here’s a tip for putting a trampoline together for the first time. It’s not a bad idea to grease every connection as you assemble the trampoline. This will nip this problem in the bud and prevent it altogether.
You should grease one joint at a time. That way you don’t have to fully disassemble the trampoline to accomplish the lubrication of the squeaky joints. If you have to move on to greasing other components than the legs, that’ll take a bit of effort. In some cases you will even need to disassemble the trampoline itself.
How To Stop A Trampoline From Squeaking Summary
However, spending a Saturday fixing the trampoline will provide months and possibly years of non-squeaking performance. Luckily, repairing a trampoline is not as complex as finding a leak in an above ground pool or any other difficult issues that pop up in backyards.
When choosing your method for how to stop a trampoline from squeaking, you may be fantasizing about getting rid of the trampoline all together. However, you should take the time to grease the squeaky joints one at a time. Therefore, you will find you have a trampoline which doesn’t grate on you every time someone bounces on it. Then, the trampoline becomes the backyard fun it was meant to be.