Rod Transportation Question.

[Missourifishin]

I did a quick search, and am not sure if this has been answered.. I drive a small pickup truck. The cab is tiny. I've always just throw my rods in the back, but that was for pretty short distances. I'm going to be driving over 2 and a half hours with them this evening, so there is a good chance I might have to make a pit stop. Obviously I don't want to leave my stuff in the bed of my truck while I'm in a gas station bathroom, travelling alone.

I think they would have to be bent to fit in the cab. Is that ok? Thanks. And sorry if this was a dumb question.

[Choporoz]

http://www.sportys.com/PilotShop/product/13087

[Catch and Grease]

I don't think bending them would hurt anything for that short amount of time as long as it isn't excessive, but you could always have them in the bed and if you need to run in a place you can just put them inside your truck real quick then put them back in your bed when your done....

[Missourifishin]

http://www.sportys.com/PilotShop/product/13087

Haha. Nice! I think I'll pass though.

[Missourifishin]

I don't think bending them would hurt anything for that short amount of time as long as it isn't excessive, but you could always have them in the bed and if you need to run in a place you can just put them inside your truck real quick then put them back in your bed when your done....

Good call man. I think that's what I'll do. I could even crack the window a little and let the tips stick out while I run inside, as long as I don't accidentally hit the power window button before I get them out.

[Raul]

That´s easy, first of all, measure the longest rod you want to transport and add about an extra inch, go to the hardware store, purchase a PVC pipe of the length you obtained after measuring your longest rod, two caps, PVC glue, a drill bit. At home smear a liitle PVC glue to one of the caps and to one of the pipe´s end, insert cap and allow to dry, while you are at it it drill place the other cap on the other end of the pipe and with the drill bit make a hole that goes thru the cap and the pipe, insert a piece of rope on the pipe´s hole and make a knot, nothing fancy, just two loop knot, then do the same on the cap´s hole and there you have it, a nice rod tube you can just toss in your pick up to transport your rods.

[Bluebasser86]

No sliding back glass? My last truck did and I usually stuck my rods through there, especially if I was going to be driving down dirt roads. 

[gulfcaptain]

I used take long drives with mine to fish places that were about that distance, but it was all saltwater gear.  Usually had the reels in the cab and the rods bundled together as well as wrapped where they would ride on the tailgate( couple were 9'7").  if I needed to go inside anywhere, then I put them in the cab with the passenge window down.  Then roled it up to the point where it was almost touching the blanks and then locked up and went in.  

[Missourifishin]

Raul, good idea. I should work on that before my next long roadtrip. Bluebasser, nope, no sliding glass. Gulfcaptain, none of the rods I took were over 7 foot, which is about the longest that the bed of my truck can fit. But I basically did the same thing you described.

The bed of my truck was full of snow when I left, so I wrapped all my rods together with a trash bag covering the reels and kept them all together with some rubber bands. It probably wasn't necessary, but I'm kind of paranoid about my expensive (to me) gear. I only had to make one pit stop, and I made sure it was in a nice area in a suburb that my brother used to live in. I just left my gear in the bed of my truck while I hit the bathroom quickly. It made me nervous, but I doubted anyone was going to be looking to steal gear out of a truck in the snow, in a nice neighborhood. On the way back yesterday, I randomly decided to stop at hooters and watch a little football. So I put them in the cab, with just about 4-6 inches of the rods sticking out the passenger side window. Everything worked out, and I had a really nice trip. We fished a power plant lake Friday, and the bass just weren't biting. My buddy hooked a really nice one on a jig, but it somehow got off. But 3 of us caught almost 100 crappie on Saturday, and we kept enough of them to have a great meal that night.

To summarize, the rods and reels were fine in the back of my truck, and the one time I knew I was going to be inside for a long time I put them in the cab with the tips sticking out the cracked window. I am going to consider using Raul's idea though.

[Master Bait'r]

PVC tubes with a foam sleeve inside.  Bolt down a lock ear to the screw-on cap and also where it lines up when tight on the pipe body- you can lock them, and even bolt them down to your truck bed with a few saddle brackets.  Cheap.  Easy.  Safe.