securing cylinders in transit

[wheeledgoat]

PRO TIP: you know that 20lb propane tank you use for your grill (and homebrew stand, and turkey frier...)? It fits perfectly in a milk crate for secure transport!

Now, what's the equivalent for our scuba tanks? There's gotta be some genius solution out there. How do you secure your tanks? Best I've come up with so far is putting pool noodles between them and wedging them in with my other gear. 4 tanks across the back of my Forester fits pretty nicely. The dog grate separating me from the cargo offers some protection in a crash but looking for a more secure setup.

 

[Diesel_Diver]

I usually put the boots up against my tailgate and use a ratchet strap over then. 6 is the perfect number for my half ton

 

[tomfcrist]

You could also tie the pool noodles together...won't have to wedge gear to maintain security

 

[2airishuman]

I made some stout wooden boxes that each hold four cylinders on their sides, two wide, two high. They work great. I'll post pics later.

 

[buddhasummer]

I use plastic piping tied together, 3, it allows me to carry 3 tanks unsecured, they don't move. You can make them bigger to accommodate more tanks. This of course assumes you have enough horizontal room.

Not mine, stolen from the net.

I made this style:

 

[Lorenzoid]

I use plastic piping tied together, 3, it allows me to carry 3 tanks unsecured, they don't move. You can make them bigger to accommodate more tanks. This of course assumes you have enough horizontal room.

View attachment 427152

Not mine, stolen from the net.

I made this style:

I made one of these things using pool noodles over PVC pipe. Three tanks is the obvious maximum. I just wish I could figure out how to design it for stacking FOUR tanks.

 

[buddhasummer]

I made one of these things using pool noodles over PVC pipe. Three tanks is the obvious maximum. I just wish I could figure out how to design it for stacking FOUR tanks.

Add a fourth noodle. That'll seat three and you can place the 4 on top.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Add a fourth noodle. That'll seat three and you can place the 4 on top.

Ah, but four noodles/pipes across is too wide for my vehicle. I would ideally like to stack two on two. But that requires a more sturdy base. I have seen some--I believe I recall one made out of wood--but the problem with those is that they do not fold up compactly when they're not being used.

First-world problems.

 

[Clark Fletcher]

I'm convinced there is nothing that is a 100% guarantee as far as securing tanks. I have a cradle in the bed of my truck for my tanks which I fabricated. It has stops in the front and back to keep the tanks from moving forward or backwards. The cradle itself has handles on either side through which I run a ratchet strap. The ratchet strap goes over the top of the tanks, through the handles on the cradle, and hooks to tie down points on either side of the bed of the truck. The ratchet strap basically holds the tanks and cradles down together as one unit.

All this works very well unless you have a wreck (as I did a week ago on my way to the quarry). When I went to transfer the tanks from my truck to my wife's car (truck had to be towed), I found that the tanks were out of the cradle with the strap still secure to the cradle and the tie downs in the bed of the truck. The good news is that there was no damage to the tanks and no damage to anything else in the bed of the truck. I have ideas for a better cradle that would solve this problem (i.e. make it wreck proof) but, it would be so expensive to make and such a PITA to use, I doubt I'll ever fabricate one.

 

[Marie13]

My spare soft weights work very well to block my tanks in the trunk of my Focus. I can fit 4, plus pony, without having to stack them (without having to remove milk crate with car supplies). Of course, the shorter HP80 tanks allow me to get more in my trunk.