"Mobile Storage" question...

[Scott]

As some have seen, I have one of those black, double-walled HDPE tubes for storing my glider. A while ago, I discovered how nice-n-easy it is to strap the tube to my truck and just slide the glider in for transport. (No mussing around with straps!)

But that convenience spawned a habit: the glider just lives on my truck now, in the tube. (Why take it out? It seems happy there.) What I'm wondering is...will leaving the glider on my truck 24/7 cause the glider any harm?

I'm specifically wondering about motion. As Steve Wendt observed once, "where there is motion, there is wear." I don't think my glider's moving much though, if at all---it's a very snug fit in the tube (no slack space around it anywhere). And it's protected from UV, of course. And I'm not worried about anyone ripping it off where I live (I'd love to see someone try!).

Does anyone think this could lessen the glider's lifespan? (As opposed to pulling it out of the the tube and hauling it around every time I fly.)

Scott

PS - Of course I get the usual weird looks and questions driving around with the 20' tube on my truck..."What's that? A cannon? Hehe." or "You in the sewer business? Hehe!" But I can live with those. Besides, I never have problems finding my truck in a shopping center parking lot!

[hepcat1989]

I would think your plumbing would vibrate, shake around, and cause wear. I've been told of road rash over time just transporting from launch to launch. Also a chance of a fender bender some place causing damage driving it around all the time,- (grocery gettin).I don't know.........Shawn.

[Spark]

This has been discussed before (pretty much everything we talk about has been discussed before) ...

A black tube will get very hot inside in the summer. Enough to melt glue ... and heat like that can't be good for the dacron.

You can get condensation moisture in the tube. With ample airflow, it will evaporate. Without evaporation, there is risk of mildew.

Ditto what Shawn said. Dirt or sand gets in between your mylar LE insert and the dacron ... the glider rocks and wiggle-waggles inside the giant phallic symbol as you make left and right turns ... shifts forward and backward .25 inches as you accelerate and slow, causing 'micro-scuffing'

A two different times in the past, I have had full length white PVC tubes, with custom fiberglass nosecones and fins. I really liked the protection the they offer (from those evil ones who would cause harm), but I got tired of the constant weird looks and questions from wuffos, and the micro-scuffing

[mcelrah]

Gas mileage suffers... - Hugh

[theflyingdude]

I would not recommend leaving the glider on your vehicle when you're not transporting it to or from a flying site. Not only will that increase the wear on the glider and hurt gas mileage, you also risk damaging the glider if you're involved in an auto accident.

I've always thought driving around with a huge PVC tube on your vehicle is one of the lamest ways to tranport a glider (followed closely by a single ladder rack). I once found a pilot's glider laying on the road up to High Pt launch after it slid out out of the tube when the endcap somehow came off on the way up. The pilot wasn't even aware he'd lost his glider until I showed up on top a few minutes later with his glider on my racks.

A good set of padded racks is all you need. And besides, that way you can carry other gliders which is a necessity when you need to set up a shuttle or do an x-c retrieval.

JR

[Spark]

...

A good set of padded racks is all you need. And besides, that way you can carry other gliders which is a necessity when you need to set up a shuttle or do an x-c retrieval.

JR

Racks that can hold more than two gliders and can stand up to a rough road

[Scott]

Good points all. I've already taken the glider out of the tube and stored it inside. So I get the impression everyone thinks carrying a glider in a tube is just lame, period? Is strapping it down to racks actually easier on the glider?

I thought having the glider supported along its entire length was better than having all the weight on 3 places? I also thought a tube was better because it protects the glider from the elements. (Yeah, I know about travel bags, but the plastic ones are a pain, and I think the fancy zippered waterproof travel bags are pretty expensive, aren't they?)

Now you guys have me wondering if I should even store my glider (stationary) in the tube in my backyard? (I know other people do this---is it bad for the glider even if the tube is shaded from sun and doesn't get hot?)

Scott

[CraginS]

[quote="Spark"][quote="theflyingdude"] ...

A good set of padded racks is all you need. And besides, that way you can carry other gliders which is a necessity when you need to set up a shuttle or do an x-c retrieval.

JR[/quote]

Racks that can hold more than two gliders and can stand up to a rough road ;)[/quote]

As the preacher said at the tent revival, "Testimony time!"

For a long time I used good padded metal racks on the body of my van, but used a PVC pipe assembly for thhe front bumper rack. Very serviceable, and only cost about $20 and an hour to build. One day at the Pulpit, Sparky noticed my rack, and told me it would never survive the roads to launch out west.
The very next week I flew Daniel's for the first time. As Mark Cavanaugh was driving my van back down to the LZ, with a glider on it, the rocking of the glider caused by the rough road torqued the front rack into four pieces.
Pretty good object lesson on Sparky's observation, and surprisingly timely.
For my truck I went for a Tex rack, and have never regretted it.

cragin

[Scott]

Oh---my racks are plenty strong. They're Yakima bars bolted through a 1/2" fiberglass cap and backed with steel plates. If you've hauled kayaks and canoes around river shuttle roads for years, you can easily handle anything this sport can dish out.

Scott

[gottafly]

I have the exact same set-up. HiQ tube, only mine is much shorter - Litespeed 3 (w/out tip wand length). I get weird looks, bad gas mileage, etc. But I can carry another 3 gliders next to it, and inside the tube doesn't get hot at all. It's pretty snug- a 12" interior diameter. I never put the glider away wet or even a little damp. I really don't see anything wrong with leaving it in the tube for extended periods of time on top of the car- besides the accident possibility. I fly every day if the weather permits, so for me, it would be on the car every day anyways! Pretty much all the wear points are well padded when packing up. Tying with narrow straps is not great for Mylar, for sure. I bought a "plug" $65 from HiQ for the back end (not a cap) and the way the thing fits and straps on, there is just about no way it could fall out. Funny thing is the static electricity when I pull the glider out. Ouch. Just my 2cents.

[Scott]

Funny thing is the static electricity when I pull the glider out. Ouch.

LOL---yeah, I noticed the same thing just last night!

Regarding tube versus strapping to pads---a guy on the Oz forum pointed out that if you really crank down on your straps when you tie your glider to the racks, then you're probably not doing your leading edges any favors. If you leave the straps looser, then you've got movement (possibly as much as you'd have inside a tube).

I dunno---the whole tube-versus-straps thing doesn't seem so crystal-clear to me!

Scott

[silverwings]

For my personal glider, I made some velcro attached pads that I put around the outside of the glider to spread the load and pressure from ropes (flat webbing better than rope). I also agree about the moisture, heat, drag/mileage, and accident potential with keeping your glider in a tube on your vehicle.