Tank racks for transportation?

[EliteDetail]

anyone know of any good quality tank racks to carry 4 tanks in the back of my pick up truck. Im looking for something very nice but not @ 130.00 like the ones from precision dive gear in FL...theres are very nice, just what I want but 130.00 for a tank rack for my truck is just to costly. Anyone know of any other options? I need something that looks nice yet usuable. thanks guys.

Jay

[Charlie99]

such as this one (http://www.diversdirect.com/scripts/ecatalogisapi.dll/Item?Item=18349&Template=9990000001000999&Group=36) should work. You could put together a simple one with some 2x4's and plywood, but the foam ones are a lot lighter when you want to store them.

[diver_paula]

Hi Jay.

First I must say that I don't own a pick-up truck so you may need to consider something heavier duty.

The foam racks that Charlie gave the link to work well. However, it should be noted that not all tank sizes will fit in the foam. My steel 95's don't.

I would think best for you would be to build a rack yourself with 2x4's. You could use those cinching cords used on boats.

An alternative foam rack can be made by stringing rope thru pool noodles. The noodles can be picked up at Toys-R-Us and then cut down to size. They already have the core drilled out so you'd just need to thread the rope thru them.

Paula

[EliteDetail]

thanks to both of you. the foam isnt a good alternative for me as they dont hold together well say if it go over a speed bump in my lifted truck or if im driving onto the beach or offroad. I need something thats very sturdy like something made of plastic or aluminum and have like rubber tracks for the tank to sit on like those seen at precisiondivegear.com those are pretty *****en but im not looking to spend 130.00 plus shipping for a 4 tank rack. I have 2 80's and 2 63's that need a good sturdy home. thanks for any and all assistance.

[medic13]

hears what I did took four eyebolts and drilled and secured them in my tool box and then sit my tanks upright and secure them from eye to eye with racket tie down they are secure wont go any wear and as safe as any thing else I have seen and cheap !!!

[O2Addict]

I use noodles (the ones kids use in pools), cut them in to 3 then put rope between them and then sit the tanks on top. Stops them from rolling and also cushions them. Plus I have bungy cord holding ht etanks down to stop them from jumping.

[a4lod]

. . . a couple of aluminum fence posts. Cost me a whole eight bucks - Canadian funds too. Laced some rope in between them, taped some foam around the tank contact points and voila, anti rolling tank transporter. Hell I even splurged (s.p?) and bought the green nylon coated post. Email me if you want a pic.

[O2Addict]

CDN$8 so basically they paid you to take the posts? :D

[Mitchell]

Build it out of steel. Real cheap. Then have it Rhino Lined. Not expensive at all. Won't rust either. Good Luck.

[Cavenutz]

I carry from 1 to 20 tanks at a time and found a great way that is cheap and safe! I have a pickup that has a bed liner in it and it has places in the liner to put a board to keep stuff from rolling around I guess. So I bought a 2"X12" cut it to fit in those slots. Then I marked and cut 3" long holes every 8" with a router. I then went to Wal-Mart and bought a Cargo strap that had a ratchet on one end. I sit the tanks in front of the board standing up and run the strap around them and through the 3" holes. Then I just ratchet it tight and I can haul them without having to repair a bent tank valve steams or hear the "clang" of a tank that came loose? I also carry 104cuft doubles and deco bottles and as I add tanks all I do is move the strap to a different hole to accommodate the number of tanks?

Cavnutz

[bertschb]

Cavenutz-

Could you post a picture of your rack? Sounds really nice.

[bmcelr02]

Jay,

If you're still looking for a good set of inexpensive scuba tank racks, send me an email at pvcscubatankracks@yahoo.com and I'll send you pictures of my racks and see if they meet your needs.

Thanx,

Bill

[matt_unique]

I was using the foam but of course they only support the tanks in one direction. I bought 5 pieces of PVC pipe and connected them together with rope. Drill holes through the PVC and tie good knots on each side to hold in place. It works great, it's cheap, and with rope you can roll up the holder and take up less space.

--Matt

Diagram below (ha ha)

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[bhapps24]

I use an old pallet with bungies. who cares what it looks like. it just needs to work.

[Warren_L]

I was using the foam but of course they only support the tanks in one direction. I bought 5 pieces of PVC pipe and connected them together with rope. Drill holes through the PVC and tie good knots on each side to hold in place. It works great, it's cheap, and with rope you can roll up the holder and take up less space.

--Matt

Diagram below (ha ha)

|--|--|--|--|
| | | | |
| | | | |
|--|--|--|--|

That's what I did. Used 2" PVC, cut them down to size, drilled holes in them, and strung them with some polypropylene rope. They are secured with some bolt snaps to some cargo rings in the back of my SUV. Works great and is cheap!

[DrDuktayp]

I use an old pallet with bungies. who cares what it looks like. it just needs to work.

Now that's a rack. Each week I get my freight in on pallets and have some pretty nice ones. There is an added bonus to this method- Besides being able to unload with a forklift :) Pallets are great for beach bonfires-- which are legal here.

Looks like I've got a new bottle rack - grin-

DrDuktayp

[OneBrightGator]

That's what I did. Used 2" PVC, cut them down to size, drilled holes in them, and strung them with some polypropylene rope. They are secured with some bolt snaps to some cargo rings in the back of my SUV. Works great and is cheap!

I did the same thing, I also took some flexible tubing and zip-tied pieces around the PVC, it provides some "grip" on the tanks so they don't slide out the end of the rack.

Ben

[Warren_L]

I did the same thing, I also took some flexible tubing and zip-tied pieces around the PVC, it provides some "grip" on the tanks so they don't slide out the end of the rack.

Ben
That's a good idea - they were slipping around quite a bit as the PVC does not provide a lot of traction. I'll give that a go.

[SoloScuba]

If anyone is interested I have some of the expensive Precision Dive Gear two tank racks for sale. The company is out of business to the best of my knowledge, but I have a couple of brand new two tank racks I'm selling for $49.95 each. Just shoot an e-mail to danaoneal1@yahoo.com if you are interested.

Dave

[diver-greg]

I often need to carry up to 10 tanks in the back of my double cab pickup. I currently have wooden racks (2 - 2 X 6's with scallops for the bottom, and 2 - 2X6's with double scallops for the top). This works reasonably well - it should be better when I put some rubber strips on the bottom of the flat bottom piece to keep it from sliding on the bed liner, and some inner tube rubber in the scallops. I like the idea of the PVC pipe and rope as it would take up less space for storage, but this seems to only work for one tier. My system is very bulky (and heavy - the wood here is all mahagony - it looks good, though). Any thoughts or experience on other options?

Greg

[murphdivers286]

Could you use schedule 80 pvc and make a box that would hold tanks. You could glue only certain sections and use SS pins to hold the sections together while you transport the tanks. When you was finished with the rack, you could take out the pins to store the rack. You could use non-skid bottoms used for furniture obtainable at your LHS (local hardware store) so the box would not slide. Let me know what you think?

[diver-greg]

What you are describing sounds interesting, but I can't quite picture what you are suggesting. (Sorry for the delay in responding.)