Building a rod transport tube

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My fishing buddy Kris Stakely of Benton Harbor, Mich., built a nifty open-end rod-transport tube for pickup truck beds that keeps the rods secure and helps avert opportunistic thieves. He helped me make one so my rods are no longer taking up space on my truck’s passenger side. The project cost about $25. Materials include: a 5-foot section of 4-inch PVC with an endcap, a 2-foot piece of 1 1/2-inch PVC, two 1 1/2-inch elbows and two tees for the handle, as well as a sponge to provide padding in the endcap, a hacksaw, some sandpaper and two-part adhesive. <br><br> <em>All captions: Dave Mull</em>
My fishing buddy Kris Stakely of Benton Harbor, Mich., built a nifty open-end rod-transport tube for pickup truck beds that keeps the rods secure and helps avert opportunistic thieves. He helped me make one so my rods are no longer taking up space on my truck’s passenger side. The project cost about $25.
Materials include: a 5-foot section of 4-inch PVC with an endcap, a 2-foot piece of 1 1/2-inch PVC, two 1 1/2-inch elbows and two tees for the handle, as well as a sponge to provide padding in the endcap, a hacksaw, some sandpaper and two-part adhesive.
All captions: Dave Mull
Cut a few inches of 4-inch pipe to go between the tees where you’ll make a handle. Cut the remaining 4-inch pipe in half. Sand all rough edges.
Cut a few inches of 4-inch pipe to go between the tees where you’ll make a handle. Cut the remaining 4-inch pipe in half. Sand all rough edges.
Adhere a length of the 1 1/2-inch pipe between the two elbows and then attach this handle to the two tees. Glue your two pipe halves, one in each tee.
Adhere a length of the 1 1/2-inch pipe between the two elbows and then attach this handle to the two tees. Glue your two pipe halves, one in each tee.
Cut a circle from the sponge to fit your endcap, glue it in and then glue the cap on.
Cut a circle from the sponge to fit your endcap, glue it in and then glue the cap on.
The resulting tube can accept six or seven rods in rod sleeves, reels attached. Place the tube atop your kayak, where you can secure the PVC handle to your boat’s side carry handle.
The resulting tube can accept six or seven rods in rod sleeves, reels attached. Place the tube atop your kayak, where you can secure the PVC handle to your boat’s side carry handle.
Slide the kayak and tube into the truck bed so the tube’s open end is close to the bed’s front wall, and thieves won’t be able to slide the rods out. You can choose to simply lock the PVC handle to the boat handle or run a cable through both handles to lock down your kayak, too. I found a 25-foot plastic-coated dog leash that got the job done.
Slide the kayak and tube into the truck bed so the tube’s open end is close to the bed’s front wall, and thieves won’t be able to slide the rods out. You can choose to simply lock the PVC handle to the boat handle or run a cable through both handles to lock down your kayak, too. I found a 25-foot plastic-coated dog leash that got the job done.