Car Rod Rack

[Mark]

That's good to know, and will look into that. I ended up buying a Dubro sliding ring track thingy, hoping to make something sturdy. I want something that will hold it tight to the roof, no sagging, many a day on the surf or road, i have taken a quick nap in the back.

The straps are adjustable on each end so that they can be sized for vehicles of various widths. I tightened them to reduce sag to a minimum. That way I can leave them in place even when not carrying rods. They do not interfere overhead with passengers or cargo.

Good luck with your Dubro rack. That looks like a good solution also.

[summersoff]

I’ve tried all sorts of things over the years. The worst was probably when I was more into fly fishing for trout. I used a magnetic rod holder on my Cherokee that put the fly rods from the hood over the roof. I think you could go about 12.5mph before the holder would start to move and you had to drive super careful on the gravel mountain fire roads. I don’t remember ever breaking a rod but I soon figured out how to carry fully rigged from the passenger floor back. It makes me miss the mountains just thinking about it!

When I was in college I worked in a fly shop out west and would sell those magnetic rod holders. I can't tell you how many people came in with horror stories of rods flying off their SUV's. I had to explain, they were just jewelry for showing off your expensive fly rods with no practical application

[Slobber Bob]

When I was in college I worked in a fly shop out west and would sell those magnetic rod holders. I can't tell you how many people came in with horror stories of rods flying off their SUV's. I had to explain, they were just jewelry for showing off your expensive fly rods with no practical application

I've seen similar versions of racks like that on the beach for transporting surf rods, but they were suction cupped on instead of magnets. That always looked like a sketchy setup to me.

[Slobber Bob]

I have Yakima ski racks (Fresh Track 4) that I used to use when I had an Xterra for transporting both my surf or kayak rods. I still use the ski racks on an Outback, but mostly just for whenever I plan to drive on the beach to surf fish anymore.

Otherwise, I mostly drive a Versa hatchback and I just put the kayak rods in the passenger front seat and so they stick into the back. They fit really well like that (one - piece) and are very secure.

[Redfish12]

Summersoff, I considered what you got and was going to mount to some square aluminum bar across the ceiling and then attach to the cargo hooks on the ceiling of my xterra. Seems like that should work and I’ve been on several boats that use those and the rods don’t seem to move even in pounding surf.

[HJS]

Word of warning about storing rods in a vehicle. Whatever set-up you use don’t be tempted to leave the rods in the vehicle for days/weeks/months at a time or longer, especially if your car is routinely parked in direct sun. I did that for a while when I owned a big Suburban. I hung them up just inches from the roofline. The intense heat on hot summer days absolutely wrecked my fly line, cracked it to pieces, and made the mono on my spinning reels to coil like a slinky.

[Mark]

Word of warning about storing rods in a vehicle. Whatever set-up you use don’t be tempted to leave the rods in the vehicle for days/weeks/months at a time or longer, especially if your car is routinely parked in direct sun. I did that for a while when I owned a big Suburban. I hung them up just inches from the roofline. The intense heat on hot summer days absolutely wrecked my fly line, cracked it to pieces, and made the mono on my spinning reels to coil like a slinky.

Good advice. Also never store your wet fly rods in their sealed tubes. I did that...once.

[summersoff]

I was packing the car to chase some reds and do some solitary camping down south, and thought I’d show you the rack I settled on. I took the Dubro rack, mounted it on some scrap wood, added some eye hooks and wing nuts and pressured it up to the rear child safety latches. For the front, I used a $12 car clothes hanger bar. I was going to drill the Dubro clips to it, but after holding it in place with zip ties, I realized they were more than enough to keep it in place. Over all, I’m happy with it, it easily holds eight rods safely and securely, no more bent guides. It still gives me plenty of room to nap in my Subbie if i don’t feel like setting up the tent. Total was about $45.
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[mudskipper]

I made mine out of 4” schedule 40 PVC with an end cap on the front and a clean-out fitting on the back. It’s mounted to the base “channel” from an old Yakima bike rack I got off Craigslist for $20 (it was broken, but all needed was the base channel.

The PVC tube bolts in perfectly to the channel, and the Yakima round bar mounts clamp it to the bar. No issues whatsoever, even up to 110mph.

The clean out is pretty secure, you can’t unscrew it by hand at all under any circumstances. I welded up a fitting tool to unscrew the back. Without the tool, it ain’t coming off. At least not with whatever some shitbird walking around a parking lot would be carrying.

Holds up to six rods. I have a bigger one made of 6” pipe the same configuration, but don’t normally use it because it takes away a lot of rack space when it’s up there

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[Redfish12]

Looks like that turned out great!

[mudskipper]

Looks like that turned out great!

People think it’s a rocket launcher or bazooka, lol.

(Although the bigger 6” version CAN hold a flat-top AR with the optic and mag removed!)

[Slackdaddy]

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[mudskipper]

Nice.

[summersoff]

Those definitely look secure and safe for the rods. And I do like the Bazoka style for cross country, but I like to have gear rigged, ready to go when I arrive. Too many times I have hit the beach with a blitz happening. Plus, I already take too much time at the launch to be rigging four or five rods, my impatient buddies would shank me. But that is definitely the way to go to transport rods safely, nice job.