Transporting roll cage tubing (20' long).

Good news! My roll bar tubing is in! This opens up an exciting new world of being responsible for my own noggin.

Bad news! It's 20' long tubing (which is standard). I haven't really thought about the logistics of getting it home. What do you guys do to transport it?

I've got at my disposal a 2500hd long bed that isn't very pretty.. I was thinking of some sort of sling hanging over the door and bed?

a car trailer works good for stuff like this..

i've seen 20 foot chunks of lumber hauled in a long bed pickup by setting them in the bed laying on top of the closed tailgate, a similar plan should work for steel tubing... wrap a couple of ratchet straps around the bundle just inside the tailgate and ratchet them down as tightly as you can.. i think the truck should have some tie down points in the bottom of the bed at the front, so do the same thing there..

Probably best to use a better solution than this:

novaderrik wrote: a car trailer works good for stuff like this.. i've seen 20 foot chunks of lumber hauled in a long bed pickup by setting them in the bed laying on top of the closed tailgate, a similar plan should work for steel tubing... wrap a couple of ratchet straps around the bundle just inside the tailgate and ratchet them down as tightly as you can.. i think the truck should have some tie down points in the bottom of the bed at the front, so do the same thing there..

Unfortunately I don't have access to a car trailer at this point, I was thinking the same thing..

I thought about hanging them off of the tailgate, I'm a bit worried about having all of that weight and 12' of tubing hanging off the back. It would probably work, though..

XLR - that looks fine to me...? :)

Yeah, an open deck trailer is great for this.

I dunno if I'd want 14 feet of tubing sticking out the back of my pickup's bed, that seems likely to not end well.

Depending on how many tubes it is, and what lengths you need in the end, you could bring a sawzall with you and cut them in half before loading.

I have hauled pipe by laying it over the passenger side mirror and tying it to the bumpers. Old ratty work truck though. And just a couple of joints.

Codrus- it's 14 tubes, and I don't want to cut any in half if I can avoid it, as I'm not sure I'll need one bar to be 11' long if I do :). I had thought of cutting a few, but it seems like it'll be as hard to transport one 20' long tube as 14...

Uhaul has 12' trailers available, that might be a bit better than the 8' bed.

does the truck have a sliding rear window?

i'm spoiled, i have trailers at my disposal. how far do you need to go?

Rent a 6x12 utility trailer from uhaul for $30? That's a 7-8ft overhang, should be fine strapped down.

It does have a sliding rear window, I don't know that I could fit 14 tubes through it, though.

I need to drive about 12 miles of country road home.

I'm thinking the uhaul might be the easy way.

Drive over it and tie/strap the bundle to the front and rear bumpers. I've seen rebar done this way using a couple of 2x4s to stiffen the whole affair so it doesn't drag in the middle.

Stay off the interstate on your way home.

KyAllroad wrote: Drive over it and tie/strap the bundle to the front and rear bumpers. I've seen rebar done this way using a couple of 2x4s to stiffen the whole affair so it doesn't drag in the middle. Stay off the interstate on your way home.

That's a good idea! Cradle it up!

WonkoTheSane wrote: Codrus- it's 14 tubes, and I don't want to cut any in half if I can avoid it, as I'm not sure I'll need one bar to be 11' long if I do :). I had thought of cutting a few, but it seems like it'll be as hard to transport one 20' long tube as 14... Uhaul has 12' trailers available, that might be a bit better than the 8' bed.

Just weld them back together when you get home! :)

The cradle idea is interesting. No local GRM buddies who can loan you a trailer for an afternoon?

codrus wrote: Just weld them back together when you get home! :) The cradle idea is interesting. No local GRM buddies who can loan you a trailer for an afternoon?

The inspectors might frown on that :)

None that I'm aware of, my trailer sources recently sold theirs, and I don't want to drain the racing budget on mine yet. It's the age-old "have a car to race OR have a trailer to transport the car, pick one.." issue.

I always get my tubing cut in 10' lengths. Been doing roll cage work on and off for a while and have never needed a piece longer than 10'. I also don't have a wall that's 20' long to store it on.

Buy some 2X4s and build yourself a wooden truck rack in the bed of the truck. Lash tubing down to wooden structure. There is a plumber around me that carries 20 footers in a pickup truck. He made a rack on one side of the truck. Front welds to the front bumper and sticks up above the roof line. It has a u shaped piece of metal welded to the upright piece. Has something similar mounted back by the tailgate. Last time I bought roll cage tubing it was 22 foot lengths. Used the open bed car trailer and still they hung out the back a good 4 feet.

Hmm. Maybe I'll review my measurements and cutting into 10' lengths would be fine.

ladder rack on pick up with 2x4 Fork to go around front bumper.

When I built a cage I figured out the length of tubes I would need and had the supplier cut them to length. None were over 12 ft and they fit inside my extended E250 van. Transporting and storing 20ft long tubes was just not happening.

American solution: ladder rack.

Mexican solution: hang it underneath the truck.

Dominican solution: bring a friend on the back of a Honda 70, and let him drag it behind you while you drive!

I've done the hang-under-the-truck before. Just be like the Eagles and take it easy.

(The-farkin-eagles.gif)

I'll look over my notes, and have them cut up if I can, and if not, I'll take it eaaaaaassssyyyy, take it eaaasssyyy..

$99 at Harbor Freight right now, and there's a 20% off coupon on their home page.

Ladder Rack

I'd rent a 20' moving truck from U-Haul or similar. Assuming it will only take you a couple hours to move the tubing it shouldn't be that expensive, and then you aren't doing anything that's potentially unsafe.

EvanR wrote: $99 at Harbor Freight right now, and there's a 20% off coupon on their home page. Ladder Rack

He said 14 pieces? That's a lot of weight......