Rooftop Rod Storage

[MassYak85]

Has anyone found (or even better...made) some sort of tube to store rods on top of their car/truck? I know their are options out there (rod vault, Rod Pod etc.) but I'm not looking to drop half a grand on some pipes. Just curious to see what anyone has come up with. 

[Mikeltee]

I too looked as well and found something for less than $200 but it was $500 for my roof racks so I didnt do it. It took me a couple days to find it. I'm pretty sure it was lockable and held rods to 8'. I'll see if I saved it.

[webertime]

Conduit caps on Amazon (4, 6 or 8") for $40-50

Schedule 40 PVC tube in length and diameter of your choice $20-40.  Assuming you have some sort of rack on your vehicle, it's pretty cheap.  Buddy did it and painted the caps red and tubes black and it looked great for years.

[Mikeltee]

https://www.carid.com/rhino-rack/conduit-locking-end-cap-1-piece-for-100mm-pvc-pipes-3-9-mpn-lse100h.html?view=604133&gclid=Cj0KCQjw4s7qBRCzARIsAImcAxb3XZELolvxY2p8Hc_M_lKEJCaEhoFALTc2LWlBoP8RPui8WPTeRvwaArHJEALw_wcB

[DanielG]

Maybe this is naive but anyone thought of just a 4" pvc with a fitting with a screw on end cap? I just looked on Home depot's website. A pipe, end cap, and screw on fitting about $23. That with a couple of stainless band clamps to hold it on?? Of course it wouldn't lock, but a large hole drilled through the cap and pipe at an angle to put a padlock or some other fastener.

Just sayin', as I don't have a need for this type of thing.

[MassYak85]

I Ike the PVC idea but I'd like to store them with the reels on and have something on the end that can encompass the reels and be lockable 

[waymont]

As you can see my car is very small. So 7' rod tubes won't fit inside the car. I built this rig and it's a perfect solution for 7-8 rods up to 7'3". It's made from 4" drain tubing with 4" end caps from Home Depot. It took a minute to find the "U" bolts. I got them local from McMaster-Carr. I added 1" foam to the end caps and screwed them in with four shallow 1/4" screws. The bottom never comes off, and the top screws have to come out when loading/unloading. total cost was $36.00. It's fantastic! except cleaning the bugs off the front is nasty business.

In my opinion transporting with the reels attached is a bad idea. It would put a lot of strain on you reel seats and reels too.

[Crankin4Bass]

14 hours ago, MassYak85 said:

Has anyone found (or even better...made) some sort of tube to store rods on top of their car/truck? I know their are options out there (rod vault, Rod Pod etc.) but I'm not looking to drop half a grand on some pipes. Just curious to see what anyone has come up with. 

I've seen people use ski racks around here in MA. Thule used to make a holder for rods called the 885 Castaway. You might be able to find one of those used.

[markedman]

Maybe I missed something, but why not use a Flambeau Bazuka and connect it using pad locks to your roof rack?

 

I have one and use a long shank padlock to secure it to my tie downs in the bed of my truck. I use a small padlock to lock the bazuka itself.