Rod tube project

Since I will be traveling through some beautiful country, with an endless amount of rivers, creeks, and ponds, I thought it would be a huge time saver to be able to store my rods all together and strung up. To find a creek on the side of the road, pull over and start fishing would be stellar.  There are a few companies that sell rod tubes for roof racks but of course they are absurdly expensive.  

  

I hate spending money on something I can build myself for much cheaper, I certainly got that gene from dad.  So when you look at that rod holder what is it? A pipe with a container on the end.  It's extremely simple.  The pipe was easy, 1"1/2 PVC from Home Depot.  The end piece is what I had to really search around for.   I was thinking a box type object that already had a lid would be the best.  I shuttled off to my favorite thrift store to peruse around and see if anything jumped out at me.  I settled for a simple liquid contained you would normally find iced tea in, cost all of .98 cents.   It didn't already have a lid type system I wanted but the shape was great for holding a rod with a reel on it! 

I also got a hinge to make a lid and a lock strap to lock her down.  It was extremely easy to build and I had it pretty much complete in about an hour. 

I tested it out and it held my 9' Winston and my 7' glass rod complete with reels. I added some foam to the inside for protection.   The 1"1/2 pipe is a bit small and you have to take both rods out at the same time but it will work fine and takes up way less space than the 2" for how I was mounting it.  

I wanted to mount it on the drivers side since my tent flips to the passengers.  My Thule bars were not super long so I only had about 4" to work with.   I bought some U bolts from Wally's world and installed.  Oh yeh, I also painted it flat black of course.  

The rear window still has room to go up and I did some highway tests and it held up great.   The only thing I want to do is make some kind of cover for it, since it really isn't water sealed on the lid I made.