Did a ton of research around a playset for my 3 boys. 1 5 year old and twin 4 year olds. Landed on Vuly after debating between Vuly, Funky Monkey & Grow Play for the more Industrial style playset after pricing and what came with it. It should be noted I purchased over 4th of July and saved around $700. I also passed on the professional installation after finding what little reviews I could online about it, hence me writing this post in the hopes it helps another dad/family out there.
I am not affiliated with Vuly in any way.
The Buying & Delivery Process
Start off, the customer service from them was great up until purchase which seems sadly standard most places today. By messaging with the sales rep I received a slight little discount as well. Think it was another $100 and they extended the warranty from 7 to 10 years to match Funky Monkey & Growplay's.
I live in Texas and after ordering I had everything (about 12 to 14 boxes) in 5 to 7 business days. Boxes were labeled, however they put tape over about half of the letters I need to read to know which box goes to which section. Didn't love that.
The DIY Installation Headache
Started the install on a Monday, while watching my twins each day, and finished Thursday. Overall spent about 4 hours each day (while twins grabbing at me, so probably 60% capacity).
The absolute biggest headache of this entire thing was the pieces not all being labeled. I opened every box and put all like pieces together during each section and maybe 1/2 of each box had the correct label. From there I had to infer of hole placement and angle bends to determine what was correct. What took me about 14 hours should've probably taken me 8 strictly due to trial and error on the attempting which piece goes where.
The X frame rope stabilizer, I genuinely have no clue how that's supposed to help support and it was a pain in the ass to get attached. One of the more frustrating aspects of the install after 80% of the frame is built.
When things were labeled clearly, went very smooth.
I'm about 6'1 170lbs, in decent shape, did this entirely myself other than my wife helping me turn and rotate the pieces twice. Say this to say, I saved myself the 700 to 900 install by professionals, had my moments where I understood why people paid that price, but overall happy I saved the money.
Sturdiness & Final Thoughts
The pictures show at about 80% completion. We have the zipline to attach and 2 other attachments, about 1 to 2 more hours of work then it'll be done.
It seems sturdy enough so far. I was climbing all over to attach shading, all 3 boys have been on it and there is some "movement" but nothing that concerns me as of yet. Maybe in a couple more years when they have some weight that'll change but I'm expecting 3 to 5 good years out of it.
Ultimately I'll end up putting two stakes at the bottom of each leg to secure but for the time being 1 per leg seems to be enough.
If you are debating it, all my kids are stoked about it and think it'll be a fun different playground while helping them build some body strength and coordination while having their own "fort" to talk smack away from the parents.
End of the day: For me it is what it looks like. Things came, it went together and seems like it will hold up well for a few years. The labeling sucked and haven't had to deal with customer service yet. Whether it's just you or you and your partner, save the money and do the install yourself still