I made a DIY Travel Frame out of high impact 8 PVC pipe, and after about 25 hours diving it, pushing it around in the back of my truck and in the Zodiac boat, I am declaring it a success. Ive made a bunch of changes, improvements and modifications on my original, and I am finally calling it done.
Anyway, a member of RBW pmd and asked if I would make him one, so I made a total of 4. So, I have 3 for sale.
All the metal parts are stainless, of course. The PVC is coated black with 3 coats of Truck Bed Liner (LINK), with 24 hours curing time between coats 2 and 3.
Someone asked me how tough I think the PVC is. Would it get brittle in the cold? Well, this is high impact green sewer pipe, meant to withstand the pressure of the ground its buried beneath and freezing temperatures. But, I decided to perform my very own, unscientific test and see how hard it would be to break the stuff. You can watch my test on this short video I posted on YouTube. The only marks you see are the ink that was originally on the pipe. I froze the small piece wet overnight, and tested it coated in ice. Heres the link: YouTube - CCR Pipe Break Test
These frames are not precision, machine cut perfect. They are each hand cut with a jigsaw, the holes drilled by hand, the T-bolts, bottom caps, etc., each fitted and glued by hand, every edge hand filed and sanded, the body of the tube was hand sanded prior to spraying with the black coating, and so on.
I originally made this for my Inspiration Classic with a Hammerhead top. But from what I can tell, it should work great with a standard classic head or a vision head. But please dont take my word for it. Here are the measurements:
The outside diameter of the tube is 8 1/4, 21mm.
The inside diameter of the tube, the opening at the top for the head, is 7 7/8, 20mm.
The main canister fits down snuggly into the rubber capped bolts at 6 3/8, 16mm.
The full height of the frame is 18 1/4, 46.5 mm.
The inside height for the canister bottom to top of head is 14, 35.5mm.
The backplate bolts (included, and plastic welded in place) are the standard 11 apart.
It weighs 7#s out of the water, and its negative, but I havent taken the time to figure out how much.
The great thing about the frame being PVC is that almost anyone can easily custom modify it with basic home tools (for example, if you wanted to move the BP bolts, you could drill 2 new holes in about a minute). This isnt hard steel were dealing with, but easy to drill and cut PVC. Heck, if you wanted to touch up any scratches every year or so and bring it back to new, for $9.00 you can buy a can of the black liner and give it a fresh coat.
The price does not include tank mounts. This way you can choose your options. I have pre-cut the slots for the tank straps that come with the inspo case (pictured below). I used these and just let the valve/din connector rest at the base of the reg first stage opening and it worked just fine, although a little wobbly. My friend gave me a G-snap (pictured below), so I ordered another from Oxycheq (LINK), and they work well. You could also use the inspo straps and add an STA like this one (LINK) for additional support. Whatever you choose, you can do it yourself, or I can order it for you and install it for an additional $15.00 plus the cost of the parts. Or you can just use the straps for no additional cost.
Ill take Paypal, check or money order. PM me your address and Ill PM you the shipping costs. First come, first serve. PM me any questions.
Thanks!
Rick
Anyway, a member of RBW pmd and asked if I would make him one, so I made a total of 4. So, I have 3 for sale.
All the metal parts are stainless, of course. The PVC is coated black with 3 coats of Truck Bed Liner (LINK), with 24 hours curing time between coats 2 and 3.
Someone asked me how tough I think the PVC is. Would it get brittle in the cold? Well, this is high impact green sewer pipe, meant to withstand the pressure of the ground its buried beneath and freezing temperatures. But, I decided to perform my very own, unscientific test and see how hard it would be to break the stuff. You can watch my test on this short video I posted on YouTube. The only marks you see are the ink that was originally on the pipe. I froze the small piece wet overnight, and tested it coated in ice. Heres the link: YouTube - CCR Pipe Break Test
These frames are not precision, machine cut perfect. They are each hand cut with a jigsaw, the holes drilled by hand, the T-bolts, bottom caps, etc., each fitted and glued by hand, every edge hand filed and sanded, the body of the tube was hand sanded prior to spraying with the black coating, and so on.
I originally made this for my Inspiration Classic with a Hammerhead top. But from what I can tell, it should work great with a standard classic head or a vision head. But please dont take my word for it. Here are the measurements:
The outside diameter of the tube is 8 1/4, 21mm.
The inside diameter of the tube, the opening at the top for the head, is 7 7/8, 20mm.
The main canister fits down snuggly into the rubber capped bolts at 6 3/8, 16mm.
The full height of the frame is 18 1/4, 46.5 mm.
The inside height for the canister bottom to top of head is 14, 35.5mm.
The backplate bolts (included, and plastic welded in place) are the standard 11 apart.
It weighs 7#s out of the water, and its negative, but I havent taken the time to figure out how much.
The great thing about the frame being PVC is that almost anyone can easily custom modify it with basic home tools (for example, if you wanted to move the BP bolts, you could drill 2 new holes in about a minute). This isnt hard steel were dealing with, but easy to drill and cut PVC. Heck, if you wanted to touch up any scratches every year or so and bring it back to new, for $9.00 you can buy a can of the black liner and give it a fresh coat.
The price does not include tank mounts. This way you can choose your options. I have pre-cut the slots for the tank straps that come with the inspo case (pictured below). I used these and just let the valve/din connector rest at the base of the reg first stage opening and it worked just fine, although a little wobbly. My friend gave me a G-snap (pictured below), so I ordered another from Oxycheq (LINK), and they work well. You could also use the inspo straps and add an STA like this one (LINK) for additional support. Whatever you choose, you can do it yourself, or I can order it for you and install it for an additional $15.00 plus the cost of the parts. Or you can just use the straps for no additional cost.
Ill take Paypal, check or money order. PM me your address and Ill PM you the shipping costs. First come, first serve. PM me any questions.
Thanks!
Rick
