Building a map case/camping mat case out of ABS pipe

[Corey]

Have not ran across a thread here on building a case, but several years back on fjcruiserforums Mike (Shadow-Warrior, he passed away a few years back) showed us how he built his case.
http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/foru...ion-map-case-make-your-own-under-15-00-a.html

I finally got around to picking up the parts yesterday at Lowe's, and I will be working on it this week, possibly today.
I will have the part numbers and photos of it after it is done.

The pipe though is not PVC as Mike mentioned, as that is thin walled, it is ABS pipe.
I also went with black, not white.

My case is 4" diameter by 2' long, and it will be used to hold the ground mat that goes underneath of my roof top tents ladder.
Not sure if I will try to attach this to my roof rack, or just store it in the rig.

My old mat I bought from Camping World was falling apart, and it was way to thick, and took up a lot of room to store it in the FJ in its nylon zip bag.
Having a thinner mat stored in this tube will be much easier to store.

Has anyone else built a case similar to this?
If so, post up some pictures.

 

[1911]

... several years back on fjcruiserforums Mike (Shadow-Warrior, he passed away a few years back) showed us how he built his case.

A blast from the past! RIP Mike.

Has anyone else built a case similar to this?

I used to carry lots of big maps on airplanes and just used fishing rod tubes that are light-weight and have carrying straps on them, but Mike's and your way is probably a lot less expensive. Also good that you can make one a custom length; if all you carry is mostly 7.5-minute-quad topo maps, then there is no reason to have a big long tube. I may have to make one just for that purpose.

 

[Ghostship]

This type of capped tubing works great for poop-tubes, too. I use them for expedition kayaking, as do some backbackers for the ultimate in Leave No Trace (until you get home and dispose of the wag bags).

 

[Corey]

The case is all glued and done.
Not sure if I will spray a few coats of paint on it, or just leave it.
Still not sure if I will mount it to the rig somehow, or just store it in the rig.

Pics to come later.

I could see how these tubes would be fun to build for various things to carry.

 

[Corey]

Part Numbers for Lowe's:

$7.29 22815 4" ABS cap 5817
$12.08 256096 4" x 2' ABS DWV pipe
$3.48 22800 4" ABS coupling
$6.74 145177 ABS cleanout adapter
$32.40 including tax

Already had the glue...

I have one more part than what Mike had for his write-up, I went with what the Lowe's guy set me up with.

This will keep the dirty mat from getting dirt on other gear after it is stored inside of its tube.

 

[kramme]

Excellent thanks for sharing this great idea and the details! I am going to Lowe's!

 

[lupinsea]

Very cool!

Coil the matt so that the top side is facing out when it is rolled up.

It's a trick we architects do with our drawings . . . roll them up so the printed side faces out.

This way, when the item is unrolled (drawings or matt) the "curl" will face down to the ground and it won't try and roll back up on you. That way you're not trying to fight the drawing / matt.

 

[Corey]

Thank you.

The mat has the top surface of it facing out now like in the picture, if that is what you meant.

 

[cowboy4x4]

I made mine back in 08 what I did different was make the case split in the middle that way you can get small maps out. They tend to open up inside and some get stubborn to come out, so the split case works great.

 

[Wiley]

Good thinking on the maps. The motorcycle guys make these to hold their tools and attach them to their bikes, so you know these will last if you attach them to your rig.

 

[kilimats]

curious, whats the mat for ? I can't see why it would be useful while camping but i'm probably missing one piece, let me know

 

[Corey]

curious, whats the mat for ? I can't see why it would be useful while camping but i'm probably missing one piece, let me know

It is listed in my first post above.

and it will be used to hold the ground mat that goes underneath of my roof top tents ladder

Ya wipe your feet on it before climbing the ladder into your roof top tent so you do not track the dirt all over your ladder or into your tent.

PS, it also adds a little support to the ladder legs to prevent them from sinking into soft ground.