Transporting PVC in a Pickup

[MacGlenver]

Any advice on transporting PVC in a pickup truck? We'll have a Ram 1500 Crew Cab with (supposedly) a ~6' bed; however, we're going to be hauling about 50 pieces of 10 foot long, 1" schedule 40 PVC.

We'll have the bed of the truck packed solid, so we're thinking of doing the following:

1. Lay all 50 pieces side by side
2. Apply duct tape across all 50 (1 long strip across the top, one in the middle and one on the bottom).
3. Flip all 50 pieces over and repeat step #2.
4. Roll the whole thing up like you were rolling a tarp, and put tape around the now circular bundle to keep it solid.
5. Lay the PVC on top of the full truck bed, with the extra 3-4 feet sticking over the tailgate (with a flag on the end).
6. Put a couple of bikes on top of the bundle and strap it all down.

We've also considered sticking the end of the PVC bundle against the inside of the tailgate and having the extra length go over the top of the cab (with tie-downs), but that seems less stable and will pick up more wind.

Any advice? Should we instead do 5 layers of 10 PVC pipes to keep it flatter?

Any experience with California/Nevada traffic laws as far as having stuff sticking out of the back of your truck?

Thanks!!

[some seeing eye]

I'm an advocate of 20' lengths over the roof and tied down to the front bumper. YMMV.

[MacGlenver]

An interesting suggestion... So we'd couple the 50 pieces of PVC together into twenty five 20' lengths. I worry about visibility though. Would they get in the way of the windshield significantly given that we'd have so many?

[offarock]

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You could also add a lumber rack.

I got mine by talking to a guy in a parking lot who had the same truck as I did with a lumber rack. When I asked where he got it he stated it came with the (used) truck and he did not want it. I offered 100 and he accepted if I would do the removal.

Now my Hexayurt rides on top of the bed and the trikes ride over the cab. Tons of room left in the bed for 4 passengers worth of supplies.

You see these cheap on CL from time to time.

[some seeing eye]

The visual cross section of a bundle of packed PVC pipe is minimal. 25 pieces of 1' is a 5"x5" bundle duct taped as needed. We rig it toward the passenger side and tie it to the front bumper, tow loop or whatever is available frontsidei. Fits many vehicles including rented sedans where I've done it.

With a rental, suggest wrapping any contact points with the body with soft cloth and padding.

[MacGlenver]

Damn, I'm envious of that rack on your truck. I should have mentioned that we're renting the truck, since we're all flying in from the east coast. We land Saturday morning and will spend about 8 hours buying/prepping and hit the road for early entry at ~2am Sunday morning. In other words, we won't have much ability to prep anything too fancy . Man I need to move to Cali...

some: good to know. that gives me some comfort that we'll be able to figure it out once we get there.

Any advice on how best to bundle, or does my design sound decent (taping them together and rolling them up)? Over kill? Should I wrap with a tarp instead?

[theCryptofishist]

I am so not clever at this sort of thing, so don't spurn anyone else's idea for mine. I'm hoping that if something is good in my idea, that the eplaya braint rust will refine upon it. I think your roll would work better if you introduced a tarp to it. My guess, working with pens and pencils, is that the tape thing alone would just jostle itself out of alinement even as you were rolling. If you rolled up a tarp with it, I just think it would maintain the integrity better.

[Rice]

Damn, I'm envious of that rack on your truck. I should have mentioned that we're renting the truck, since we're all flying in from the east coast. We land Saturday morning and will spend about 8 hours buying/prepping and hit the road for early entry at ~2am Sunday morning. In other words, we won't have much ability to prep anything too fancy . Man I need to move to Cali...

some: good to know. that gives me some comfort that we'll be able to figure it out once we get there.

Any advice on how best to bundle, or does my design sound decent (taping them together and rolling them up)? Over kill? Should I wrap with a tarp instead?

Whatever you do, make it easy for Gate to search...

[Bob]

Can't get a rental with a rack?

Does it have tie-down points on the outside of the bed, or just on the inside?

Without a rack, I'd cinch the 10-ft bundle with three or four ratchet straps (or nylon cord or fat bungies), rest the front end in the bottom of the bed, let the ass end rest on the tailgate, hang a red flag, and secure it from moving sideways w/ rope or ratchet straps to whatever tie points you have at the rear of the bed. Grab an extra flag or two in case the one blows off. Duct tape helps. Unless the truck has good tie points on the outside rim of the bed, or you're very confident in your ability to tie a load, I'd avoid resting the bundle horizontally on top of your gear. If you do, use something to cushion the front end of the bundle so it doesn't mar the paint on the back of the cab.

Flopping crap over the cab (eg a 20-ft bundle) on a rental is asking for trouble, IMO.

[CapSmashy]

The Dodge has a 6'6" bed and full 8 feet with the tailgate down (I have an 08 Ram)

Factory tie down points: 4 corners approx 5 or so inches up from the bed and 4 stake pole points, 2 in the front, 2 in the rear. There will also be a lip running along the underside of the bed rails on both sides. Don;t go too tight on the straps as you can bend the sheet metal. Watch for it to just start giving a little and stop.

Your best bet, if possible, would be to layer the PVC on the bottom of the truck bed and load on top of it. It will ride much better down there as opposed to trying to secure it to the top of an uneven load. It also eliminates the need to try and tape it up into bundles and avoids the sticky mess that duct tape will leave behind. Run a strap over the section laying on the tailgate using the edges of the bumper as your tie down points. Hang a couple of red flags off the back and you are golden.

Having your PVC at the bottom of the load will also speed up your gate process as opposed to your gate person informing you that you need to head to D-Lot so the pvc can be unloaded so the rest of the truck bed can be examined.

If for some reason you can not load the pvc first, tape it up in smaller bundles of 6 to 8 sticks at a time. Make sure it is good and tight to avoid having the sticks in the center slide out of the bundle. I can not imagine the horror of attempting to secure 50 sticks of 10 foot pvc with duct tape at the same time.

[FIGJAM]

I think that pvc comes in 10 sticks to the bundle.

Just lay the 5 bundles in the bed and pack everything on top of them.

Strap the load so nothing escapes and the pvc will be fine.

Red flag!!!

[Bob]

One reason I suggested leaning the bundle on the gate is it's pretty much foolproof. If you shove it over to the driver's side over the wheel well, it won't rob too much space in the bed, and the driver can easily use the mirrors to check the load. Tailgate down, without good tiedowns, is a bit more dicey, but YMMV.

[Canoe]

Don't use duct tape. You could have a very sticky mess that will collect dirt.
If you need to use tape, spend the extra and get Gaffer's tape.

[CapSmashy]

Don't use duct tape. You could have a very sticky mess that will collect dirt.
If you need to use tape, spend the extra and get Gaffer's tape.

Gaffer's tape is not a readily available item in most cases.

[Canoe]

Gaffer's tape is not a readily available item in most cases.

But I guess the time to clean the duct tape mess is.
Along with hexayurt recommended bi-filament tape, Gaffer's is available at goodbuyguys.com in black & grey, most colours of the rainbow, some neon, and white.

[CapSmashy]

Gaffer's tape is not a readily available item in most cases.

But I guess the time to clean the duct tape mess is.
Along with hexayurt recommended bi-filament tape, Gaffer's is available at goodbuyguys.com in black & grey, most colours of the rainbow, some neon, and white.

I buy mine at one of the studios here in town. My tape roll probably has about $300 worth of gaffer's tape on it.

Its the economical breakdown of spending 20 bucks on a roll of gaffer vs 3 bucks on a roll of duct tape and playa dust takes care of the sticky in no time flat. I have 5 years worth of duct tape pieces on my carport poles.