Where does a 40 degree moonboard fit?

I’m looking to buy a home in the states and there are no gyms around so I plan to put a moonboard in the garage. But I’ve realized standard garage ceiling is 8ft and og moonboard setup requires about 10 ft height.

Do people have any workaround for this problem? Basements usually have low ceiling, outdoor is not an option in cold Midwest winters, board in the living room isn’t exactly ideal either. If I trim down the kick-board? Or can the top extend into the rafters without issue?

Obvious solution seems to be getting the mini moon board, but I’d definitely prefer full size.

Any suggestions most appreciated!

10.5' if you use a 14" kicker.  Otherwise, 11'.

Some people will go into the ceiling and get the height between rafters.  It works, but then you have to close it up when you sell the place.  You may have to relocate wiring or duct work depending on the location.

Another couple I know when into the floor instead.

Some garages are 10ft, you can definitely shop around a bit and see if you can find a place that will accommodate It.

I’ve seen people build them in standalone storage sheds as well.

http://jasonhalladay.blogspot.com/2017/01/swole-hole-moonboard-shed.html?m=1

Some homes will have small storage sheds, garages etc. if I had the space on my property I’d build a dedicated shop with nice tall ceilings.

Don't skimp on the kickboard.  Some friends of mine shortened theirs to fit in their garage (and put it at 43 degrees or so).  The starts turn out really bunchy and that 3 degrees is significant for your ego.

Thanks all! I’ve been looking more at mini moonboard, maybe it’s not a bad option after all since it can almost certainly fit in garage or basement. I’d 100% build a stand-alone climbing shed and deck it out, but I don’t plan to stay in this city super long term. I guess it will depend on the house I end up living in.

There are some good threads around on the mini on here and other forums with some suggestions and also useful info on modified full boards where people have made them steeper, shortened the kicker, slightly modified distances between the rows or all of the above. I’d definitely do some digging around to weigh the positives and negatives before building. I’d say the main thing to consider for the mini is to add some extra length to the kicker (especially if you are tall). Another thing you could think about is to make a 40 degree board with as much height as you can get, set up a couple of the mini hold sets (for example the originals + set B will get you just under 1000 problems) and then you can then use the rest of the board including the extra rows on top for extra holds for a spray set up.

Andrew Southworth wrote:

There are some good threads around on the mini on here and other forums with some suggestions and also useful info on modified full boards where people have made them steeper, shortened the kicker, slightly modified distances between the rows or all of the above. I’d definitely do some digging around to weigh the positives and negatives before building. I’d say the main thing to consider for the mini is to add some extra length to the kicker (especially if you are tall). Another thing you could think about is to make a 40 degree board with as much height as you can get, set up a couple of the mini hold sets (for example the originals + set B will get you just under 1000 problems) and then you can then use the rest of the board including the extra rows on top for extra holds for a spray set up.

I like that idea of 40 degree board as tall as it can go with mini holds on it

Tom Rangitsch wrote:

Don't skimp on the kickboard.  Some friends of mine shortened theirs to fit in their garage (and put it at 43 degrees or so).  The starts turn out really bunchy and that 3 degrees is significant for your ego.

While I agree, sometimes ya gotta make due with what ya got…if the option is smaller kicker on a steeper board or no wall, then I’m choosing the smaller kicker and more challenging wall every time

Not Not MP Admin wrote:

While I agree, sometimes ya gotta make due with what ya got…if the option is smaller kicker on a steeper board or no wall, then I’m choosing the smaller kicker and more challenging wall every time

Or just remove the bottom 2 rows as I’m guessing the height limit is 10 feet and that should get you enough space. I think the 2016 has 1 hold in the bottom 2 rows.

Princess Puppy Lovr wrote:

Or just remove the bottom 2 rows as I’m guessing the height limit is 10 feet and that should get you enough space. I think the 2016 has 1 hold in the bottom 2 rows.

This would be immensely more fucked than just making it 5 degrees steeper. This means the kicker would be 2 rows closer to the rest of the holds. Think about how much that would change problems by being able to use the kicker. Many wouldn't even be the same problem any more. 

Pretty sure there are threads about making moon boards fit in a 10' space by eliminating the bottom row of feet and adjusting each row by like 1/4" or something. Nothing is going to be perfect but moving each row closer together by 1/4" or making it slightly steeper sounds much more in line to the OG problems than completely eliminating 2 whole rows and consequently the distance between the holds and kicker.

Not Not MP Admin wrote:

This would be immensely more fucked than just making it 5 degrees steeper. This means the kicker would be 2 rows closer to the rest of the holds. Think about how much that would change problems by being able to use the kicker. Many wouldn't even be the same problem any more. 

Pretty sure there are threads about making moon boards fit in a 10' space by eliminating the bottom row of feet and adjusting each row by like 1/4" or something. Nothing is going to be perfect but moving each row closer together by 1/4" or making it slightly steeper sounds much more in line to the OG problems than completely eliminating 2 whole rows and consequently the distance between the holds and kicker.

Sure I’m just saying there are more options than changing the angle. I really don’t think it would be the end of the world. My bottom panel is half an inch shorter than the rest.

Princess Puppy Lovr wrote:

Sure I’m just saying there are more options than changing the angle. I really don’t think it would be the end of the world. My bottom panel is half an inch shorter than the rest.

Yeah, I agree. There's more than one way to skin a cat...but some ways are also better than others...A half inch off the bottom panel is significantly different than removing 2 whole rows...

I have had a full sized outdoor moonboard for several years. When I moved I went to the mini. It’s different but really fun still. You don’t get the same level of big move after big move but there are still many dynamic problems  

Another pro that I’ve come to appreciate is a shorter board means less padding required and less risk of tweaking something when you pitch off.

It is substantially harder than the other moon layouts as you probably know. Also I feel like it requires a more thorough warmup. There are less gimmie problems to burn through.

In short, I’ve come to love the mini and would recommend it if you can’t find the space/home for a full sized board. 

+1 to the idea of building a 40 degree mini, and adding extra surface at start/end.

I only made my kicker higher, as my room is limited in depth. As such extra tnuts on the  overhang would have risked falls into the opposing wall. The mini is still built to spec, with the footholds a set height from the start of the overhang.

I also put 2x frequency tnuts on my board. This has allowed me to add extra holds for warming up, circuits, my own projects etc.

Also the grading is kinda stupid. I max out at V8 outdoors, but can only do V5 on the board.

For what it's worth I built a 45 degree mini in my garage since that's the best I could fit. Don't give up the kicker and do everything you can to take the default 40 degree angle. Those degrees make a world of difference in difficulty. 

Edit: Nordic gumbies post on adding T nuts is also in the Jason Halladay blog linked above. Highly recommend. I got big juggy holds and used the same spacing as Jason and it does wonders for warmup. 

Mark White wrote:

For what it's worth I built a 45 degree mini in my garage since that's the best I could fit. Don't give up the kicker and do everything you can to take the default 40 degree angle. Those degrees make a world of difference in difficulty. 

I can only imagine how difficult the board would be at 45. There are enough holds on the 40 that I can't really pull on.

I’ve done the same (adding jugs, not 45 degrees. Dear God that sounds rough). Wish I had made the kicker larger/taller. I may do that by shifting the board up. One of those someday projects…

I’ve since added a couple of hangers to practice clipping while doing circuits on the jugs. Long term goal if I ever get serious about going after something like Goliath is to do problems clip from the finish hold, down climb on jugs, repeat.

One thing about adding extra jugs is it can get in the way going for some holds or block heel hook options. Keep that in mind as you set your warmup jugs. 

Any changes in angle, kickboard size, row spacing, #of rows, etc., will make a moon or mini moon no longer standard. You will essentially have an expensive spray wall and none of the real benefits of the community or app. I absolutely hate the folks that change their boards and then post problems on the app. Like, setting a v7 on the mini with a low start… come to find out they have a 12 inch kicker instead of the standard 6. Or set an 8 on the og, but at 35 degree’s instead of 40. It’s just not standard anymore if you do that.

C G wrote:

Any changes in angle, kickboard size, row spacing, #of rows, etc., will make a moon or mini moon no longer standard. You will essentially have an expensive spray wall and none of the real benefits of the community or app. I absolutely hate the folks that change their boards and then post problems on the app. Like, setting a v7 on the mini with a low start… come to find out they have a 12 inch kicker instead of the standard 6. Or set an 8 on the og, but at 35 degree’s instead of 40. It’s just not standard anymore if you do that.

I definitely see where you're coming from. In a perfect world they'd all be the same. I've climbed on a few moon boards and even when they claim to meet the spec's it seems that no two are the same. Holds are turned with ever so slight differences. Some boards have higher padding. Even the yellows on the two boards I most frequent (both poured by moon) feel significantly different. One set has some of the holds that are way bigger than the other.

Seems a bit aggressive to say you hate the folks who post problem on modified boards. I'm sure if you've climbed on the board for a significant length of time you've probably given 5 stars to a problem that was created on a modified board. Some things about modifications make them easier, some make them harder, ultimately I personally feel that it's a training tool and I think for the majority of people they use the board this way.

I'll definitely agree with you that I wouldn't go around saying I climb V8 on the moon board if I climbed on a 30 degree board, but I do think as long as you climb on it for a while and get a feel for the grades on the modified board you can compare grades and make problems that are in line with those you've climbed. I also agree that it can affect problems (like you pointed out on the mini) with the bunched starts, but you can just skip those. 

Andrew Southworth wrote:

Seems a bit aggressive to say you hate the folks who post problem on modified boards. 

indeed, “hate” is a strong word. Much more of a frustration than anything. And I do just end up skipping those problems.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge moonboard fan. Love 2016, 2019, and the mini. I’m aware of the shallow pour holds as well. Can’t get around that. But, on the mini especially, folks set problems and downrate sends on boards set to different angles. It’s just annoying on a board that’s already mega sandbagged. Still a fun board though

I apologize if this question has already been answered in other threads, but any recommendations on minimum depth for a moonboard? The moonboard website states you only need 7ft9in of depth (2353mm), but when I do the calculations with 12 feet of climbing space on a freestanding moonboard at 40° I get a minimum of 9ft2in of depth. Any help would be appreciated.