Transporting roll cage tubing (20' long).

You can find pickup truck racks on craigslist for cheap. One that extends over the cab would be ideal.

Three 8' 2x6s.

Cut one into four 2' lengths.

At the front of the bed, just behind the stake pocket, hook one end of one of the 8' boards under the bed lip on the drivers side so it hangs out on the passengers side. Screw one of the 2' sections to the bottom board against the inside of the bed rail on the passengers side to wedge the board in place. Attach another 2' section to the top of the 8' board such that the end of it is far enough out past the outer edge of the bed and cab that something on the 8' board against the end of the 2' doesn't touch anything. You may have to move or fold in the mirror.

Repeat at the back end of the bed. The boards should firmly wedge in place with something on the end but lift clear easily by lifting the ends that stick out.

Bundle your tubing together and set it with 4-6' sticking out the back. Strap to the boards, strap to rear hitch, strap to something up front. Hang red flag on back and drive home slowly.

Find a local plumber, roofer, etc that has ladder racks on his truck and offer him $40 to haul them.

I just checked the U-Haul site, a 20' truck rents for $40/day plus mileage. If the place you're picking up the tubing from isn't far away it will be cheaper than most options suggested.

Even a boat trailer could be used. Just tie everything down securely. I riged up a lumber rack out of 2x4's back when I was building my house to haul 16' lumber. Scary but it worked.

WonkoTheSane wrote:

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.

What kind of car needs 280 linear feet of tubing in the roll cage, anyway?

Yeah, I don't think HF ladder rack would be up to the task. Luckily, NCJay was right and now that I'm at work (where I helpfully left my notes/measurements), I can see that the longest piece I should need is the main hoop @ 8.5' long, so 10' should be plenty. Chopped in half it is! That'll be easy. It'll barely hang off the tailgate.

To whomever it was that asked about the quantity: It's for an Rx-7, my estimates are 807" of tubing (68'), run through my F-Up and bend extension multiplier (30%) = ~1050" (~87'). I also want to make 2 (or maybe 3) roll bars for my and the gang's Miatas (~25' per after fudge factor), so I'm hoping to get my cage & 2 roll bars out of this order.

And, I'm planning on doing some clothes lines out of some scraps for SWMBO :)

codrus wrote:

WonkoTheSane wrote:

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.

What kind of car needs 280 linear feet of tubing in the roll cage, anyway?

The steel guys were able to get "scraps" for a cheaper price, so I ended up with 9.5' after being cut in half, so it was easy and light enough to drop into the bed.

All of that conniving for nothing.. Thanks guys!

Ask the supplier to deliver? The Metal Supermarket has done this for me on occasions when the material wont fit in the FRS. Not that expensive.

Edit: Never mind, I see you fixed it.

WonkoTheSane wrote: The steel guys were able to get "scraps" for a cheaper price, so I ended up with 9.5' after being cut in half, so it was easy and light enough to drop into the bed. All of that conniving for nothing.. Thanks guys!

I like solving other peoples problems, Mental Masturbation.

I've always had mine delivered. Trailer would probably be best. You might get away with using the HF bed extender that I use for hauling my 16.5" kayak.

http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive-motorcycle/cargo/truck-bed-extender-69650.html

Here's the victory shot, yay lifts!

...now for the easy part...