pvc roof rack pipes

Hi Craig,
very easy to do, I have two 100mm diameter pipes running down each side of the roof rack for water 16ltrs each. I put a tap at the rear end, and 't' section in the middle with a threaded top to take an threaded end cap (I fill it here). The other ends have no thread and are siliconed in place. All that was required to put it togeather was a hacksaw and silicon. The materials were from a friend but are available in harware store. A tip - make one end threaded to unscrew and clean (wish I did!) and if for water storage drill a small hole in the filler cap to release presure or you may end up with a leak (learnt this from experience),

Cheers
BigMav

Craig

Bunnings or Mitre 10 everything you need for your PVC storage or if you want to purchase ready made Rhino Rack and browse the site. They have the PVC tubing and bits for sale.

Regards

Paul

Craig,

You can by them ready made, but it's just as easy to buy the components and make one to suit your exact purposes.

The most common size is 100 mm PVC tube, but make sure you buy the "pressure pipe". This, and the reinforced end caps are available at any Plumbing supply store.
You should be able to buy whatever length you require.

Retail shops such as Roof Rack World and Roof Rack City also supply these components and special brackets to attach to Roof Racks.
You can even get smicky hinged type end caps which twist sideways to open/close and these are lockable.

But, the cheapest solution definately is from Plumber Supply Outlets.

PVC pipe very handy!..You can screw-cap and seal end, to stor water..fit a small tap. One good idea that works well is to paint pipe black ( attach to roofrack or bullbar) provided it is in the sun, at end of a days travelling, the water is hot..good enough for washing etc.

If you are using it for storing poles & want to unscrew the cap often I suggest you take a thinggymajiggy for removing oil filters in cars. A sort of strap with a binding handle. Reason is the ends caps can get really sticky with dust & B hard to remove.

If it is useful, and I remember the figures correctly, 100 dia pipe gives 8 litres per metre of length.

clamps for above can also be purchased from a good plumbing outlet or ezystrut or equivalent

Thanks a bunch guys thats the info I was after .. will get to work. was just going to use them for storage but the black / warm water for a shower sounds good to.

Craig

Well, V8Troopy,
The idea re storing water was one I have actually seen for myself..seemed to work ok to me! Then, what the hell do I know?...You have taught me one thing...keep my ideas to myself, and leave it to you experts.
Bronco

Hi

have one on each side of the rack for poles, fishing rods etc. Made them up myself and used large SS hose clamps to fix them on. These were hard to find - not at Bunnings. Went to a Truck Spares place where they are sold at cheaper than smaller ones from Bunnings.

If joining the PVC with solvent cement make sure you but the one for potable water. Normal sewer solvent ain't good for you.

Hey Mike.
Not going 'silly'on you!! (hmmmm, sounds almost school-girlish!), certainly not getting into any form of arguement about it. Just saw the application a while ago, and it seemed a good idea at the time. But I am the first to admit I know nothing about such things, so, like I said, leave it to the experts! Now, if it's something to do with distance and perspective in relation to applying oil to canvas,..then bring it on! By the way, the guy who demonstrated the useage, was, by all account, a person who spends a lot of time in the bush, and I thought it was kind of a good idea at the time, and was purely passing on the option.
Happy motoring!
Bronco

Re; the PVC thing . I have a troopy with 3bars and a small basket and two PVC tubes. On passenger side I have approx. 2m of 150, yes 150mm tube, painted black (a couple of $2.50 MATT Black aerosols from any cheap shop!) with sealed cap on FWD end and Screw-on cap on rear. Originally had a small LEVER type tap on one end (FWD) with a screw thread on mouth of tap, to which was attached a STD garden tap/hose tail, (both readily avail from any hardware shop.)
Worked perfeckally on level ground ... PITA on uneven ground. Had to use the Hi-lift to get the drain action working ! Solved that by fitting another tap to the rear end screw-on cap, again with a std garden hose fitting. So now it don't matter about uneven ground any more and thusly both ends function ! And refilling is really simple ..... just connect any standard garden hose to either end, making sure to OPEN THE TAP FIRST and start filling, at home, at a servo or anywhere you can fudge a normal garden hose. Just keep filling 'till the overflow shows ......Oooops, almost forgot ........... have a boat drain bung (screw-in type) as vent (and bucket inlet !) for the odd occasion when I fill from a creek or river.

Have a short hose with a stop-cick for everyday use and a longer hose with a cut-off shower rose for the end of day warm ablutes, much appreciated by the ladies and kids [and me.]

First post for this fella ........
Have 'lurked' for a few months and had a ball listening and learning !!!! Couldn't stand it any longer ......... the cheque is in the mail (trust me, I'm a Doctor, nothing will happen ......... and it won't hurt a bit, believe me ...........takes me back to the old days again !!! ) and just waiting for number and sticker.

hi all, just to add my 2bobs worth in,I was going to make up "water tanks" also, a friend who is a plumber and does a lot of 4wding saod dont use PVC piping for cooking or drinking as the pipe leaches lead and other toxins.
as i said just my 2bobs worth
CHIPS

My 2 bob's worth...................

If using the PVC pipe as a storage compartment for tent poles, make the pipe length only marginally longer than the poles (collapsed if that type).
Then cut and glue some high density foam to the inside of your caps.
This will
1. stop the poles from rattling and
2. stop the poles from flying out through the end cap in the event of a sudden stop.

Doc.

If you want to reduce the tendency for your vehicle to roll over, then you are better off keeping dense things like water and metal poles low down in the vehicle and using the roof rack for low density things like bedding and clothing.

Mike