We have recently moved to the DC area with a flat yard and I am looking into purchasing a trampoline. Any advice on what brand to purchase and what one to stay away from? Any tips on prolonging its lifespan as well?
Thanks in advance.
Robin

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You might want to inquire with your homeowners insurance if they cover the liability of owning one. Some insurance companies prohibit owning trampolines.

I agree with genichols. I know only 1 insurance company in our area will cover you if you have a tramp. The others will not. Most people we know simply do not tell their insurance company that they have one and risk someone getting hurt, them getting sued and their insurance not covering it AND getting canceled (with no refund of premiums). It's happened to someone we know...so definitly check it out.

Other than that, we can't have one because our insurance won't cover us if we do...good luck!

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And that's a realllly dumb thing to do. If someone does get hurt and sues you, you could lose everything you own including your home

I would suggest the same as the others, check with your home owners insurance. We were considering getting a trampoline around the same time we were considering and in-ground pool, the trampoline would make the insurance go waaaay up, while the in-ground pool had no increase in insurance. I don't remember the amount though plus it was several years ago.

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I don't have advice on the brand, but make sure you get a net around it. We had one at our last house-it's in the garage now, and our kids loved it. We are waiting to get a fence to put it up again. I don't remember any issues w/ insurance, but then again, I never thought to call them and let them know we had one.

My kids LOVE our trampoline. I DO NOT let ANY neighbors in it PERIOD!!! We rent from my Grandma and I told her if the kids ask say its you (I just tell them "Grandma says no). This is our sec. one. The first ripped after 3 years. It was a cheap Walmart Black Friday deal and the dogs slept in it. My kids are 9, 7 and 3 and still jump in it EVERYDAY. We have had a trampoline for over 5 years now.

There are some forms you can have the neighbors sign before letting their kids in but I have never printed one or had an attorney look at one.

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We have had a JumpKing from Sams Club for numerous years. After the first or 2nd year, the tramp net enclosure ripped, and my husband called the company to inquire about getting a new enclosure (we were expecting to pay for the enclosure). The company rep he talked to sent us a new enclosure for free. The trampoline is still in great shape and it's been one of the things my kids use daily; they love it and it's great exercise. I would not let any child on a tramp without an enclosure. We do not have any issues with our insurance either, but I have a rule that when we do parties or friends are over, we don't use it/the friends don't jump on it (I have made an exception if the child has one at their own house and the parent says it's ok AND I'm out there/right out there with them). I think though that all of my kids' friends have tramps in their yard too though. You also need to be sure that the kids understand that they can't all be on it at the same time (or they can't all 'jump' at the same time--make sure you get a larger one if you have several kids), as when one person jumps, it can cause the other person to hit a 'stone like' surface on their way down, etc. (does that make sense?). This is how a lot of broken bones occur.

I do not think that Sams is carrying the JumpKing brand any longer, but they have a really nice one in the stores now that looks like a really nice quality trampoline/brand (Sams in general carries a higher quality product than Wal-Mart if you're wondering). They did have one with a basketball net attached to the inside, which would be a lot of fun--my kids love to play with a ball on the trampoline. Not sure if they still have it or not though/or if it's the same one I've seen recently (I just glance over them usually as ours is still going strong and it sits out in the weather 24/7 also--we don't take it down in the winter and I'm in Arkansas where we get snow and ice).

HTH.

Oh, I totally agree but you would be surprised the amount of people who either don't tell their insurance companies on purpose or who simply don't think they need too....

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google trampoline injuries...

We've had a trampoline for about 4 years now....the kids go sledding, play on the slip and slide, wrestle each other, etc. The only broken bone "we" have sustained has been when youngest DS fell backward while climbing up into the truck, fell backward and broke his wrist.

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We live in VA and had to up our homeonwers insurance because we bought a trampoline.

This is what we did in AZ.

Trampoline is great exercise. I wouldn't go any smaller than 12 feet, keep the neighbor kids off of it, and limit to two kids at a time on it. I always sit out and watch the kids jump.

We have had a trampoline for about 9 years now and never had one injury. Ours get used daily...not only by my kids, but by neighborhood kids as well. Yes...u can google trampoline injuries and get some horrible stories...you can also google bicycle injuries....car injuries...swimming pool injuries....etc. You will find horror stories on all of it. Our homeowners insurance didn't go up at all.....because we have an enclosure around it. As with ALL toys....following the guidelines and using the product as it was intended and good parental supervision is the key to owning a trampoline.

Yep, this happened to someone we knew years ago. The child that got hurt went into their yard when they were not home, fell off the trampoline and broke his arm. The lawsuit was won because the gate to the backyard wasn't locked. So in addition to the net around the outside, I recommend you lock your gate if you have one!