Vuly assembly
The leaf springs go on like you torque lug nuts. In the wrong order, you cannot finish.
Vuly’s springless Thunder uses leaf springs, and they have to be attached in a balanced cross-pattern, in an orientation that is the opposite of what looks right. Owners who worked around the circle got half done and stuck. One spent over eight hours.
A third kind of bounce, with a first-of-its-kind assembly trap
The trampolines already on this directory cover two technologies: traditional steel coil springs, and Springfree’s springless fibreglass rods. Vuly’s Thunder is a third thing again, a springless design that uses leaf springs, vertical sprung steel bars under the mat, for a quieter bounce with no pinch points. Their Ultra, Flare and Lift 2 models use conventional coil springs and go together much like any other trampoline.
The Thunder is the one with the reputation. Its build quality is well regarded, the springless design removes the classic pinch-and-entrapment hazards, and owners generally love the bounce. But attaching the leaf springs is, by wide agreement, the hardest assembly in the category, and it is hard in a specific and avoidable way.
It is not that the springs are heavy. It is that they must go on in the right ORDER and the right ORIENTATION, and both are counterintuitive. Get them wrong and the mat pulls itself out of shape as you go, until the last few springs simply will not reach.
How long, and why it varies so wildly
The spread here is entirely down to whether you know the order.
| Model | Time | People |
|---|---|---|
| Vuly’s claim (coil models)Optimistic even for the easy ones. | "about 1 hour" | 2 |
| Coil model (Ultra / Flare)Genuinely the easier build. A few fit tricks. | 2 to 3 hours | 2 |
| Thunder, knowing the orderThe leaf springs are the whole job. | 3 to 4 hours | 2 strong |
| Thunder, NOT knowing the orderAn owner’s real number. Half-done and stuck is the failure. | up to 8+ hours | 2 |
| Vuly’s own install serviceThey offer it, roughly $297 to $519 depending on model. | booked | them |
The Thunder is heavy, around 120 kg assembled in the large size, and it takes two strong adults. Owners describe needing two men for the frame alone.
The leaf springs, and how to not get stuck
Install the springs like lug nuts: balanced, across the circle, never around it
The single most valuable thing on this page, from an owner who worked it out. Do not install the leaf springs one after another around the ring. Install one, then the one directly opposite, then turn ninety degrees and do that pair, then keep subdividing, always doing the spring across from the last, keeping the tension balanced exactly the way you torque the lug nuts on a wheel. Go around the circle in order instead and the mat distorts as you load one side, and you will get roughly halfway before the remaining springs cannot be stretched into place. Balanced, and you finish. Sequential, and you are taking half of them off again.
The springs go on in the non-obvious orientation
The other half of the same owner’s hard-won lesson. It looks as though the springs should face outward for long travel, because that is how springs seem like they ought to work. They do not. Short travel, the other way. Fitting a whole set the intuitive way and discovering the bounce is wrong, or that they will not seat, is a long afternoon wasted. Check the manual and the assembly video for the correct orientation before you attach a single one.
Assume the supplied spring tool will fail
This is almost folklore among Vuly owners, and it is real. The leaf spring tool that comes in the box is widely reported to bend or break partway through, the metal hook splitting its own plastic handle, or flexing the spring away from the mat at exactly the wrong moment. Owners finish the job with a substitute kitchen tool or a better lever. A professional installer brings a proper tool, which on this trampoline is most of the battle.
There is no anchor kit for the springless models, and it needs anchoring
Straight from Vuly’s own support team: they do not sell an anchor kit for the Thunder range, and their storm advice is to weigh it down with pavers or sandbags and, before a storm, to take the net poles down and lay them flat on the mat. A large springless trampoline catches wind like a sail, so anchoring genuinely matters, and the solution is not in the box. Plan your own anchoring, especially in an exposed or windy yard.
Leaf springs can crack, and the frame can rust. Watch both.
Reported honestly, because it is a pattern rather than a certainty. Several owners report leaf springs cracking or snapping over time, and rust appearing on the frame within two to three years despite galvanising, particularly near the coast, one owner a few hundred metres from the ocean had none at two years, while others had heavy rust. The takeaway is not that it will fail, but that the leaf springs and the frame are the parts to inspect periodically, and that coastal buyers should watch corrosion closely.
Know what your model does and does not include
The Thunder and Thunder Pro have a built-in ladder on the frame, so no separate ladder is needed. The coil models, Ultra, Flare and Lift 2, include neither a ladder nor an anchor kit as standard, both are extra. And note the on-site reviews skew almost entirely four and five star, with at least one owner reporting that their honest three-star review, with proof of purchase, was never published. Read outside reviews too before you decide.
Before you build
Watch Vuly’s leaf-spring assembly video for your exact model, and note the spring orientation and the cross-pattern order before you touch a spring.
Have a better spring tool ready than the one in the box, or accept that you may be improvising.
Level the site. On soft ground the feet sink, and owners use pavers, rubber matting or wood blocks. Those pavers can double as your anchoring.
Plan your anchoring, because the springless models do not come with a kit.
And line up a second strong adult. This is not a one-person trampoline.
Why the Thunder in particular wants a pro
Because the difference between three hours and eight is knowing the spring order and orientation, and a pro who has built one knows both before they start.
Because the supplied tool is a known weak point, and an installer brings one that works.
Because the trampoline needs anchoring that Vuly do not supply, and getting that right in a windy yard is a safety matter, not a nicety.
And because Vuly themselves offer paid installation on these, at a few hundred dollars, which tells you the manufacturer knows the Thunder is not a casual build. The coil models are far friendlier, and worth distinguishing when you buy.
What an installer does
- Attaches the leaf springs in a balanced cross-pattern, in the correct orientation, so the build actually finishes.
- Brings a proper spring tool rather than relying on the one in the box.
- Assembles the heavy frame with enough hands, and levels it on a stable base.
- Sorts out anchoring, with pavers, sandbags or a suitable kit, since the springless models include none.
- Fits the net, poles and padding, and checks the mat connectors are all seated.
- Points out the leaf springs and frame as the parts to inspect over time, especially near the coast.
Get it built by someone who has built one before.
Tell us your ZIP and what you bought. Installers near you will quote you directly, and you deal with them, not with us.
Questions people ask
Why do I get stuck halfway through attaching the leaf springs?
Because you are almost certainly going around the ring in order. The springs must go on in a balanced cross-pattern, one, then the one directly opposite, then ninety degrees round, and so on, exactly like torquing wheel lug nuts. Loading one side of the mat first distorts it, so the last springs cannot reach. Work across the circle, not around it, and it comes together.
Which way do the leaf springs face?
Not the way that looks right. Owners report that the intuitive outward, long-travel orientation is wrong, and the correct fitting is the other way. Check your model’s manual or Vuly’s assembly video before attaching any, because redoing a full set is what turns this into an all-day job.
Is the spring tool any good?
By wide report, no. The supplied leaf spring tool is known to bend or break partway through the job, and owners often finish with a substitute. If you are doing it yourself, have a stronger tool ready. A professional installer will bring their own.
Does the Thunder come with an anchor kit?
No. Vuly’s support team confirm there is no anchor kit for the Thunder range and suggest using pavers or sandbags, and taking the net poles down and laying them flat before a storm. A large springless trampoline catches a lot of wind, so plan your anchoring separately, especially in an exposed yard.
How does a Vuly compare to a Springfree or a coil-spring trampoline?
It is a third approach. Springfree uses flexible rods and no springs at all; traditional trampolines use steel coils; the Vuly Thunder uses leaf springs for a quiet, low-pinch bounce. The trade-off is assembly difficulty, the Thunder is the hardest of the three to put together, though its coil-spring models, the Ultra, Flare and Lift 2, are much more straightforward.
Installers.org is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Vuly Play. Vuly is a trademark of its owner, referred to here only to describe the assembly services that independent installers on this directory provide.