Common Customizations for Vinyl Swing Sets

Custom-designing vinyl swing sets is a lot of fun! When moms and dads discover that all King Swings’ standard designs are completely customizable, they get excited! They usually scour our website, drinking in all the information and dreaming big.

But sometimes, having the information easily at hand is nice. This is especially true when you are just starting out on your custom swing set journey. I created this list of the most common King Swings swing set changes. BTW, changing the color doesn’t count in this list.

I asked Nicki and Crystal, the sales team, about what are the most common changes currently. Dinosaurs were still around when I was on the sales team, so I needed a refresher. Funny enough, parents are still parents, and the most common changes haven’t really changed much over the years.

I present to you the updated most common customizations for 2023.

Swapping Swings

We all must have been traumatized by trapeze bars at some point in our lives. Changing the trapeze bar to a different swing has been one of the most common changes over the years. 

Why does no one love the trapeze bar? 

The most common reason is that siblings will use the swing set, and the parents are thinking about the WWE fight that would break out over the single belt swing. Better to replace the trapeze bar with another belt swing so siblings can both swing at once. The last thing you need is another thing they could fight over. 

Another reason the trapeze bar gets replaced is to make room for a baby swing. Parents look at replacing the belt swing and glider but quickly pass them by to choose the trapeze bar as the one swing removed for a deluxe toddler swing or bucket swing.

But what if you want the trapeze bar but also need a baby swing and an additional belt swing to avoid fights? Another common “change” is simply adding an additional swing to the purchase that can be stored and hung up as needed. Swapping out the swings on your King Swings swing set is very easy, so if it’s your turn to host the playdate, you can easily take down the baby swing or trapeze bar and hang out the extra belt swings.

Adding Decking

This customization is often coupled with the next item, but adding decking under your tower is a great way to double your play areas without doubling your footprint. 

The most common decking application includes a lemonade stand, coffee bar, or clubhouse walls under the tower. This gives the bottom of the tower a complete feel, and your children’s feet stay up off the dirt when playing in the clubhouse and lemonade stand, which helps keep your swing set clean.

Decking provides a place for chairs, tables, and other outside furniture under your tower. You could hang some curtains between the 4’x4’ posts on a tension rod, and suddenly you have a shady, breezy place for your child’s summer reading. 

Adding decking under your tower is a great move. It provides a flexible space that can be decorated and made comfy and cute for outside snacking or reading.

Clubhouse Walls and Lemonade Stands

When coupled with decking, clubhouse walls and/or lemonade stands are a great addition to your swing set.

Clubhouse walls create a house under your tower, but what your children’s imagination creates with the house is the best part. The clubhouse could be a kitchen, dungeon, hunting cabin, palace, restaurant, etc! The clubhouse can have a functioning door or a simple opening and can be customized with our big windows so you can keep an eye on the play.

The lemonade stand is one of the most popular add-ons that we offer! It is downright cute and comes with two tea chairs. Even if you don’t do decking or the tea chairs, the lemonade stand by itself is a fantastic addition to your playset.

Additional Slides

From dual waterfall slides for the ever-fun slide races to simply adding a super spiral slide to an empty side of the tower, adding additional slides is a common customization.

The challenge with adding additional slides is, yes, it adds a ton of fun, but it can also increase your dimension significantly. For example, if you take our best-selling swing set, the Sea King, and add a tunnel express slide to the empty backside of the tower, you would add an additional 8’ to your swing set’s footprint.

If you have the space and the budget, attaching a super spiral slide, turbo tube, or any additional slide is a great option and is common customization for our customers.

Perpendicular Monkey Bar

The perpendicular monkey bar comes into play in two situations. 1) Mom and Dad are working with a tower that is too tall for standard monkey bars, or 2) they want the monkey bars separate from the swing beam.

The perpendicular solves both of those issues. It attaches to the end of either a high beam or a standard beam. This way, the children can use the swing beam while their siblings or friends test out the monkey bars.

Conclusion

The best custom changes are the ones you make to tweak the swing set to fit your family’s unique children and needs. Whether that means changing the ladder to a ramp or having the swing beam have all belt swings, your changes are the best for you since they are guided by your family’s desires, needs, and skills.

Our swing set design teams are standing by, and trust me, they are used to fielding lots and lots of questions! That is what they are here for, so ask away! They love to help you design the perfect set for your family.

King Swings has been crafting vinyl swing sets for over thirty years, and we would love to help you bring the playground home. Give us a call at 717-687-8210!