Tips for transporting rods in a pickup

[BartmanMN]

Anyone out there that does not have a boat to transport their rods in have any good recommendations on how to safely transport rods in the box of a pickup?

Looks like I'll need to lay them from corner to corner, just wondering how others secure them from getting tossed around.

[Larson15]

The absolute best thing would be to get a bed cover. If thats out of the question I would get some nylon rod socks and bungee them down.

[Deitz Dittrich]

as long as there is nothing in the truck bed to roll/bang around. You should be fine. maybe wrap the reels in some socks to protect them? The biggest issue is something else, like a tackle box rolling around and breaking them. You can also bungie them together..

I have rod Slix for my rods which also helps protect them.

[coombia21]

I mounted a set of rod racks on the side of the bedliner. They rod racks are berkley brand I think, but they are foam with holes in it for the rods and a seat belt like material that comes all the way around it and holds the rods.

[delmuts]

I bought a rod tube for mine. It will handle 7' rods( with the reels off. I think mine will hold six or seven ) from the big "C" store. Then i can stick it along side whatever is in the back of the truck and not have to worry. As others have said. If there is nothing else back there, no problem. Any chance that something could damage them, they go in the tube.

[Nick Kuhn]

Never had any trouble with laying my rods in the bottom of the boat except for they occasionally get entangled with one another. As stated the risk is a battery or something sliding over and breaking them.

[John478]

as long as there is nothing in the truck bed to roll/bang around. You should be fine. maybe wrap the reels in some socks to protect them? The biggest issue is something else, like a tackle box rolling around and breaking them. You can also bungie them together..

I have rod Slix for my rods which also helps protect them.

Yep I learned the hard way. Went up north to my dads last year to do some fishing. Had two 7' rods in back of my 6 1/2' foot pickup box so I had to lay them in there at a angle corner to corner. I also put a large cooler the box back by the tail gate. Driving on a road I had never driven before, I came over the top of a hill and there was a stop sign on the other side. Had to slam on the brakes and I could hear the cooler slam up agaist the front of the box. Didn't think much of it at first but then I remembered the rods. Pulled over to check and yep two broken rods

[LightningBG]

Just cut off the ends

JK. I would think a tube is going to be your best low cost solution without mounting something into the bed.

If someone had a fiberglass tonneau cover they could mount some of those velcro rod holders on the underside.

[bikeoutback]

I've been trying to come up with a good solution since I have a crew cab the bed is only 5'8" long and pole is 7'.

The first solution I came up with is don't ever buy a 1 piece pole unless you have a boat

Last year I didn't have a topper and usually am camping so routine was put in all camping gear and kennel and then put in the poles on top and bungee them down with tips up and over back tailgate. Haven't figured out this year yet, might just hang up the 1 piece till I get a boat.

However my only tip is ALWAYS close the tailgate BEFORE putting in the fishing poles. I've seen many poles have the tip taken off by loading them and then pinching/slapping them with the tailgate on a truck.

Here is how I had them last year, not the nicest way but didn't break any and had up to 12 poles back there on one trip between 4 people in the truck (poles on left side tips in between bungee cord):

[bikeoutback]

^ I meant poles on right side but can't figure out how to edit the post. sorry.

[LMITOUT]

How about laying them together on a blanket and then rolling it up? Probably have to stagger the reels a little to make it work, depending on how many rods you are taking.

[SpecialK]

Have you thought about buying a piece of schedule 40 pvc pipe in 4" dia and a couple of screw on end caps? Same system the plumbers and electricians use on top of the work vans? You could fit a couple rods with reels in one pipe and wouldn't matter if the cooler hit it.

[Ed Carlson]

For a tote-able system capable of 4-6 rods or 4 combo's, my vote is the Frabill Pack-A-Pole hard case.

The Frabill Pack-A-Pole system case is expandable and customizable (60"-89" (5'-7'5")) for whole combo's or just rods or a combination of both...plus room for spools and junk. Great hard case, really takes a beating and is air travel rated if needed.

[jwhjr]

BartmanMN - Do you have a topper on the truck or is the bed open?

[DTro]

Check This Out

[neptune]

I may be a bit careful with my rods by my Avalanche has a short box. I have Cabelas rod covers on all of my rods. Then i tie all of the rods together with a soft rope, wrap the tips with duct tape and set them along one side of the box with the rods resting on the tailgate. I wrap the rods with a towel where it rests on the tailgate and then tie it to the tie down eyelit in the box. They never move and I can pack stuff all around them without fear of damage.

Its a process but when I head up to Vermilion most of the time to fish, the boats up there and I am bringing all rods for walleye, bass and musky fishing...usually 15 rods or so.

[Ed Carlson]

Another choice that popped into my head is the Beckman Rod Control Deluxe Rod Bag and sleeves.

They usually run $60 but I seen they are now on clearance at Gander for $37. They hold 6 - 8 combos and come with a few sleeves and you can add more rod sleeves as required. Not a bad answer if you have a couple gangs of system rod/combo's that could be organized best for your daily use. A very good price right now that's for sure.

[ROOOOSTERFISH]

Dido on the rod bag bought one two years ago at GM. We have eight guys usually who go so a lot of equipment in back of trucks. Works great!!!!

[picksbigwagon]

Bikeoutback, I have the same short bed, 4 door trucks and I lay my rods from the top of the back seat bench (handle end) and lay the rod tip on the dash of the truck ( I fold up a towel to keep it from rattling) I can drive with 3 or 4 7 footers in the truck with 3 other guys....

[BartmanMN]

heavy blanket is the solution that I went with.

[BartmanMN]

I have a 'jackrabbit' tonneau cover.

[bikeoutback]

picksbigwagon thanks for the tip, I bought the topper during deer season last year so this is the first year have to figure out the poles in there. Been thinking about it since ice fishing ended, was hoping to run them along the top of the topper till I actually thought about it and realized 5'8" isn't going to fit 6', 6.5', or 7' poles and I didn't want them all crisscrossing each other diagonally. Probably will cab them as you say. I still think a boat is the ideal way to carry them, it's just not in the cards for a few years yet

If I hadn't gotten the topper this year my plan was to get some plack pvc pipe large enough in diameter (or different diameters) so that the pole would slip in entirely including the largest eyelet. Then I was going to make a cut out for the reel so could leave it on if wanted to leave it. Lastly would have figured out a way to connect or bolt them side by side for as many as I wanted. Maybe even add some eyelets for a bungee cord so slip it in the pvc, bungee under the reel so it stays in and then bungee down the entire set up on top of the gear or just down in the bed of the pickup. It would have hung over the tailgate and with a 7' pole may have required a red flag but everything would have been secure.

My last suggestion for 2 piece poles would be go the local pawn shop, they usually have hard sided gun cases for $5, I would think they would work good also.

[rugbymn]

Have you thought about buying a piece of schedule 40 pvc pipe in 4" dia and a couple of screw on end caps? Same system the plumbers and electricians use on top of the work vans? You could fit a couple rods with reels in one pipe and wouldn't matter if the cooler hit it.

I have a chunk of PVC sitting in my garage that I was going to throw out, but I was going to try this first. 8' and larger musky rods only fit diagonally across my bed. They take up too much room and the risk for my tackle box, tool box, or other miscellaneous thing sliding into them and breaking them is too high.

An 8' chunk of 4" PVC should be perfect. You should only need to put an end cap on one side and you shouldn't have to cap the other end. Sure you have to take the reels off, but I'd rather spend 10 minutes doing that than have to spend hundreds of dollars on new reels.

[JohnMickish]

I run a Ford Supercrew with the 5.5' box and can safetly carry rods 7'6". I take the reels off and put them in a Bazooka rod tube. I have a topper and run the case at and angle, corner to topper corner.

[Grum]

You might try stopping in at a fabric store, they usually have long heavy gauge cardboard tubes they probably would give you for free.