Stick that in yer pipe and carry it....

[JaggedEdges]

Hi folks,

So I saw someone had a little tongue box for their camp chairs the other day and thought that was a good idea. However, it started the old gears grinding, and I thought later, PIPE!!

Fairly sure I could shove my chairs into 6" pipe, might be able to go a bit smaller. Had 2 chairs that might go into 4", but broke one of them. So I'm thinking 5 ft of 6" pipe slung just ahead or behind the wheels under the trailer and I can stash my chairs in their own weatherproof compartment...

But oh no, I didn't stop there, I'm trying to think of absolutely everything I could shove into pipes slung under the frame.

Canopy/Easy-up... well, the one I intend to use, is a bit of a chunky beast, I think it would need a 12" pipe to fit the frame in, so maybe that's not a good example. I do however have a light gazebo that I could probably cram into a 6"... Dining tents with loose poles might be a candidate, any tent really, since they all seem to pack to more or less cylindrical. Only fly in the ointment are those angled poles some have.

Beach umbrellas are a lot more possible, they pack round... unless they have a wind up handle on sticking in the way. Maybe some would go in a 3" or 4"

Table, yeah, I have one of those roll top slatted aluminum tables, which are awesome by the way, if you see one get it. Not sure if I'd go for one pipe or two pipes for it. Miiight squeeze in a 6" both top and legs.

Water... you want a tank? Don't wanna lose half your kitchen to it? Well, 8" pipe 5ft long will hold around 12 gallons... however, it will weigh a bit too so that sucker is going to have to be bolted on real good. You want this as near the axle as possible... you could probably get it inside the wheel arcs since you don't have to pull anything out the end once it's in there. Even 4ft of 6" holds a useable 5 gallons. Think that's about what stock tank is in the small popups these days.

Of course what you've got room for will depend on how high your trailer sits, whether you want offroad clearance, whether you're happy with the 5 or 6 inches you get on your TV for "normal" roads. Putting stuff close to the axle shouldn't hurt your "breakover" clearances or departure angles. Even up to a 6" might not lose you clearance depending where your axle tube is.

This probably isn't going to be suitable for those torsion axle designs where the frame is only in the air 6" already. However, if your frame is near knee high, then you'd be right thinking there's a heck of a lot of wasted space under there. Best part is, you're adding or relocating load as low as it can possibly go, should do wonders for keeping CofG low.... if you had all this sort of stuff in a roof carrier, should be night and day difference.

Now also of course, you could build yourself a wall of tubes on the back of the tongue, but remember it will make your tongue heavier.

Any other ideas for storing stuff in pipes?

[rowerwet]

I would build plywood tubes to store stuff in, as a lot of space is wasted with a square peg in a round hole. The round pipe will also cost more, and be much heavier.
Personally we just store it all insde the tear.
I can see some good with umbrellas and other round stuff, though.

[mikeschn]

Pipes are a good idea...

I'd like to see someone implement that, and come back with some photos...

Are you going to volunteer Jagged?

Mike...

[Fergy]

made this for my not so teardrop










just for the sake of ideas

[Fergy]

if you want to see copious uses of PVC stormwater pipe to house all sorts of goodies just do a search "myswag pole carrier"
there are heaps of good images
like this if it lets me attach
http://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.Mfd14 ... d=3.1&rm=2

[azgreg]

There's a build thread here somewhere that has a large PVC tube in the lower front that goes from side to side.

[JaggedEdges]

Nice job Fergy, that seems to hold a lot of useful odds and ends.

Think I found the main pole carrier thread... http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=4996.0

Guess you Aussies are smarter than you look in those hats you put on for the tourists

Pipes are a good idea...

I'd like to see someone implement that, and come back with some photos...

Are you going to volunteer Jagged?

Mike...

Well the getting the tear done is job #1, but after that I will definitely be working on such accessories, though it could go on earlier I guess if there's some holdup waiting on parts or material to come in. I have a piece of ABS kicking around that I might squeeze my chairs in. I haaaad an umbrella that would have gone in it nicely but when the snow melted I found it lying on the ground, all mildewy nobody is owning up to that.

I would build plywood tubes to store stuff in, as a lot of space is wasted with a square peg in a round hole. The round pipe will also cost more, and be much heavier.
Personally we just store it all insde the tear.
I can see some good with umbrellas and other round stuff, though.

Yes for that easy up, a ply box would probably be a lot better fit, 8 square instead of 11 round.. my camp chairs end up more round than square though with the fabric. Not entirely sure the weight would be very great now there's foam core pipes in hte larger diameters intended to address the weight problem. By the time you've wrapped a ply box in glass cloth and resin, to fully proof it against wet grit and mud, I think you'd do worse. The one place cost would be more of an issue is for water tank use, because then you'd need schedule 40 PVC, no ifs, no buts, no coconuts, which will be about $120 for an 10 ft length of 8" plus caps, cement, fittings to dress it out etc, otherwise you can use whatever you can get hold of cheap, sewer pipe, downspout, that stuff with the markings worn off they have in the Habitat for Humanity Re-store, you should see what contractors throw in dumpsters, need 4 feet, bill for 10 ft piece, 6 goes in the dumpster.

Though if you want really light, bang boxes together out of anything lying around, roll tubes, use mail tubes, anything that you can grease/wax up, then use it for a plug/form for epoxy and glass. Provided of course you squeeze enough resin out of it, if it ends up as thick as the ABS pipe it's probably about same weight.

[dogscats]

For square pipe How about vinyl fence post with read made top ? I believe you can get 8 by 8 ''

[Fergy]

a bit exe but will do the job
there is also one surveyors use
deon mind the ebay link im not sure if there allowd
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/STANDARD-STO ... 3ab3ed8a44

[JaggedEdges]

For square pipe How about vinyl fence post with read made top ? I believe you can get 8 by 8 ''

That sounds like something to bear in mind and take a look at. What I'm seeing at the moment with a quick search though is post covers, which don't sound very strong. I have seen mailbox posts in vinyl or something though. I'll be on the look out at any rate.


Another thing I just remembered is that electrical conduit, the kind that's plastic, square or rectangular, and has a lid, can come pretty durned large, but not sure you'd find it anywhere other than industrial suppliers, ah, trunking was the word I was looking for, and you can get it in steel too... example of the PVC...


But I think that stuff is getting up there in price, unless you can find some surplus, discarded, end of line or something. Also you're on your own for end caps I think though some fittings might be repurposed. It's PVC though, which I think pretty much welds together with a solvent cement, so sealing a fabbed end shouldn't be too hard.

Things that are likely to go in these damp from early morning cut and runs, might appreciate some vent holes though, don't know how you'd want to do them so they don't collect damp rather than get rid of it though.


It's a good question as to "why not put them in the camper?" yeah, there's bags of room in there for the road. Personally though, I'm in an area that is subject to severe storms, (We're actually on the end of Tornado Alley if you trace it upward) so if we get warning of inbound, I'd wanna stash the chairs and canopy/umbrella ASAP and hunker down in the camper.... well it might only be 1% or so that these storms are spawning twisters, but they farrrr more frequently have fierce downbursts and local high winds, so, if you don't nail it down, or stash it, it blows away, or gets mashed. Had a tent we were in just go down like an Elephant sat on it about 30 secs after first rumble of thunder, one time.

[dogscats]

It will stop a Horse. Vinyl fence post you can see smaller at home depo

[Shadow Catcher]

Two pipes a 6" which has all of the tent poles and a 4" which holds the sewer hose.