Tie my tripod to roof rack?

[Struan Gray]

Just my little joke folks :-)

Although gun racks do make excellent storage for all sorts of useful things.

Randy: Sweden dropped conscription a while back. Decommissioned the cold war out-in-the-countryside armouries too, as organised crime kept breaking in and stealing the guns. Middle class hunters and target shooters have no real problems. Rambo wannabees get slapped down by the regs.

My only useful contribution: if going the PVC pipe route (which is what I would do), leave lots of room for padding, and consider finding room in the car for the tripod head - i.e. just put the legs up on the roof. Round here, you can get useful fixing kits to mount pipes on roof racks. It's a common thing to do.

[Alan Gales]

Just my little joke folks :-)

Although gun racks do make excellent storage for all sorts of useful things.

Randy: Sweden dropped conscription a while back. Decommissioned the cold war out-in-the-countryside armouries too, as organised crime kept breaking in and stealing the guns. Middle class hunters and target shooters have no real problems. Rambo wannabees get slapped down by the regs.

My only useful contribution: if going the PVC pipe route (which is what I would do), leave lots of room for padding, and consider finding room in the car for the tripod head - i.e. just put the legs up on the roof. Round here, you can get useful fixing kits to mount pipes on roof racks. It's a common thing to do.

I knew you were joking. I was just playing along with you!

[lecarp]

Problem solved!

[seezee]

Most of the Gitzo carbon fibre tripods, with the exception of their "Ocean" line, are not weatherproof. If it rains, you're sunk. Use a cargo pod or make a waterproof tube as suggested above, and don't leave it on the roof rack when unattended.

[Fred L]

Is that a tricked out Sportsmobile ? Wanted to get one but importing into Canada was either going to be a Herculean task or illegal. Never got far enough along to know which They did look like a great camper truck/photomobile.

[Drew Bedo]

When Imade a PVC tripod shipping tube in the 1990s, I was able to get a cut-off piece of 8" diameter Schedule-40 pipe for a hand-shake and cash at a pipe yard. The cost of PVC end caps was prohibitive for me back then, let alone the locking screw-in fittings.A friend made end plugs from stacked circles of plywood. Heavyduty hardware store handles were screwed to these end plugs. This project was done on a shoe-string over weeks—maybe months, I don't remember now.

Today I might pay for the end caps. Another touch would be to use a couple of dog collars (for big dogs) to attach a handle or shoulder strap.

It was heavy, but the intent was to protect a heavy tripod from baggage handlers and automated equipment while traveling by air. It did draw attention as unusual, but didn't scream "STEAL ME!" as would a Pelican case or some other swanky looking item might.

The whole shebang could strap onto a golf bag cart with my camera bag to roll around at the destination.

[Drew Bedo]

An option that no-one has brought up might be something made for Golf equipment. There are some hard shell cases for golf bags that are made for traveling. With the right packing, the tripos and much of your photo gear could go in one and make a durable, weather resistant package with wheels and handles. A few years ago I went to a show devoted to Samuri swords, and saw one vender walk in with thousands of dollars worth of antique swards carried one handed in a golf bag shipping case.

This would save you the DIY effort, and the kluge-look described above.

Worth a thought.

[Darin Boville]

Drew,

Bingo. I googled the gold cases and they looked great. Then, inspired, I googled--get this--"hard tripod cases"--and found a good candidate:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...case_with.html

It has many of the features I'm after:

--Not DIY. Not ugly.
--Looks sturdy
--Handles allow me to strap it to roof rack without worry about sliding out from under the straps.
--End cap (vs opening like a suitcase) will allow me to keep it strapped on the car and just slide the tripod out when I need it.
--Cap looks to have a secure nylon strap attachment mechanism plus lots of sliding required before the cap would fall off. Some of the others would just drop off it the cap became unsecured.
--Expense is not much more than the DIY solution.

Cons
--Not clear if I can lock it in any way.
--Doesn't come in a Smurf Blue color to match my FJ.

Won't know about wind noise until I try it.

Any other candidates?

--Darin

An option that no-one has brought up might be something made for Golf equipment. There are some hard shell cases for golf bags that are made for traveling. With the right packing, the tripos and much of your photo gear could go in one and make a durable, weather resistant package with wheels and handles. A few years ago I went to a show devoted to Samuri swords, and saw one vender walk in with thousands of dollars worth of antique swards carried one handed in a golf bag shipping case.

This would save you the DIY effort, and the kluge-look described above.

Worth a thought.

[Darin Boville]

Just measured the Manfrotto with the Majestic head. 40-inches. I guess I'll need the slightly longer version:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...case_with.html

Rood rack bars are 58 inches so I have plenty of room.

--Darin

[Jac@stafford.net]

Just measured the Manfrotto with the Majestic head. 40-inches. I guess I'll need the slightly longer version:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...case_with.html

Thanks for the good work, Darin. I am concerned about the padding required inside, or am I over-worrying the situation?
.